"The Masseuse" is the 73rd episode of the NBC sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

''. It is the ninth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on November 18, 1993. In this episode,

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

struggles to get his masseuse girlfriend to give him a massage, while George is drawn to how much she dislikes him, and Elaine struggles with the embarrassment of dating a man with the same name as

Joel Rifkin Joel David Rifkin (born January 20, 1959) is an American serial killer, who was sentenced to 203 years in prison for the murders of nine women between 1989 and 1993, though it is believed he had up to 17 victims. Early life Rifkin's birth pare ...

Plot

Elaine is embarrassed when she dates a man who shares the same name as serial killer

, and contemplates asking him to change his name. Meanwhile,

is dating Jodi, a masseuse, but is frustrated by her reluctance to give him a massage. George becomes so obsessed over the fact that Jodi dislikes him, he dumps his own girlfriend Karen after she gives him an ultimatum to choose between them. After Kramer praises Jodi for her massages, Jerry gets fed up and angrily tries to force Jodi to give him the massage, causing a fight. As she storms out she encounters an enamored George, who professes that "she dislikes me so much, it's irresistible". Joel and Elaine offer a spare ticket to a

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

game to Kramer which he must pick up at the Will Call window. When Kramer is unable to produce his ID, the only way for Kramer to receive his ticket is to have the person who left it for him claim it. Joel is paged over the public address system causing everyone sitting around him and Elaine to murmur. Elaine awkwardly explains that "he's not the murderer". Elaine and Joel agree he needs to change his name, but they cannot agree on the names they each have chosen: Remy, Alex, or Todd.

Cultural references

While visiting her boyfriend, Joel Rifkin, Elaine is seen reading an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Gameday program. She suggests that many people these days are named "Deion", referencing

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...

. While brainstorming new first names for Joel, Elaine suggests "O. J." (after

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...

) as a name that would be less associated with murder. Six months after this episode aired, Simpson was arrested and charged with the

double murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

of his ex-wife and her friend.

References

External links

* Seinfeld (season 5) episodes 1993 American television episodes New York Giants {{Seinfeld-episode-stub