"The Maid" was the nineteenth episode of Season Nine of Seinfeld, and the 175th episode overall. This episode first aired on April 30, 1998.
Plot
Jerry hires a maid, Cindy (played by Angela Featherstone), whom he then starts sleeping with. Elaine discovers she has 57 messages on her answering machine when Kramer attempts to send her a fax. George tries to get a nickname (T-Bone) but a co-worker gets the one he chose instead. George tries reasoning with the new T-Bone to get his nickname. When he throws up his arms in anger over this, his co-workers nickname him Koko.
The episode also featured the New York area code 646. When the 212 area code ran out of numbers, 646 was created. Elaine repeatedly gets a piercing high beep in her phone after Kramer signs up to receive restaurant menus by fax with a service called "Now We're Cookin'". Elaine then gets a new number with the 646 area code. She is not happy with the new number because she believes the area code makes it too long to dial. She is proved correct when attempting to give her number to a man in the park. Initially eager, he reads the number, asks if it is in New Jersey. Her response is, "No, it's just like 212 except they multiplied every number by 3…and added 1 to the middle number." He makes an excuse and walks off. When an old woman named Mrs. Krantz dies, Elaine manages to get her old 212 number. Mrs. Krantz's grandson Bobby keeps calling Elaine's apartment, ignorant of the fact that his grandmother is dead, and that Elaine has her number. Elaine tries to convince Bobby that his grandmother has died by pretending to die herself; this backfires when Bobby dials 911 and firefighters beat down Elaine's door.
Kramer's girlfriend moves 'away' (in reality she only moves downtown), leading him to struggle with the drawbacks of a long-distance relationship. Jerry begins to realize that because of their relationship, Cindy is no longer doing any work, but he's still paying her, which leads Kramer to comment, “Uh-oh. You’re a John!” When Jerry confronts Cindy, she walks out on the job and the relationship.
Jerry later meets Cindy's boss - a parody of a pimp - who threateningly tells Jerry if he doesn't get the money from him, he'll get it from Cindy. Meanwhile, Kramer gets lost while visiting his girlfriend. When Jerry goes to pick him up, he spots Cindy and slows down to give her her money; unfortunately, a passing policeman mistakes them for a prostitute and a John. Later, a lost Kramer is approached by Cindy's boss and is talked into a maid job, joking about the similarities between the scene and Kramer being approached by a pimp.
Notes About Nothing
- Kramer calls Jerry from the intersection of 1st Street and 1st Avenue, which he describes as "The Nexus of the Universe". This realization inspired the opening of the "Nexus Lounge".
- Kramer also mentions that there is an Original Ray's Pizza from where he is standing. Indeed, there is a Famous Original Ray's Pizza is at 195 East Houston Street, visible from Kramer's viewpoint.
- Jerry's line, "Stay alive, no matter what occurs, I will find you," is an allusion to The Last of the Mohicans.
- Cindy tells George that "one of the girls at the maid service is named Coco," and "that girl's alright". This is a reference to The Dealership, where Jerry and Puddy discuss Koko, the chimp that can do sign language, and Puddy says "that's chimp's alright".