The Mom & Pop Store

"The Mom & Pop Store" is the 94th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode for the sixth season. It aired on November 17, 1994.

Plot

George is set to buy a 1989 Volvo sedan, but instead the car salesman talks him into buying a 1989 LeBaron convertible he says was previously owned by Jon Voight. Elaine wants to date Jerry's dentist, Tim Whatley. Kramer says that a "Mom and Pop" shoe repair store is about to close, and convinces Jerry to send his sneakers to the store to be repaired, commenting that Jerry has a Peter Pan complex when Mom marvels at the amount of sneakers he owns. While there, Kramer's nose starts to bleed, and when he lies down to stop it he notices the wires hanging out of the ceiling and suggests that Mom and Pop call an electrician.

At Mr. Pitt's office, Elaine is taking the salt off his pretzels while listening to the radio. Mr. Pitt wants Elaine to guess the title of an old song for him so that he can win a ticket to hold the Woody Woodpecker balloon in the Thanksgiving Parade, something he was never allowed to do as a child because of his strict father.

Jerry discovers that Kramer took all but one pair of his sneakers; the only other footwear he has are a pair of cowboy boots he was given in lieu of money by a club in Dallas that couldn't afford to pay him. Elaine, George, and Kramer all get invitations to Whatley's Thanksgiving party but Jerry is uncertain whether he's been invited as well.

While riding in "Jon Voight's car", Jerry goes through the glove compartment and discovers a chewed pencil and the owner's booklet. The previous owner was actually John Voight, not Jon Voight. Jerry makes fun of George and gets kicked out of the car; he then tries to run from some muggers but slips because of the boots, causing him to hurt his teeth. Because no dentist is willing to see him right before Thanksgiving, Jerry decides to crash the party where many dentists may be present.

Mom and Pop can't afford to bring the electrical installation up to the building code, so they close the store and disappear with all of Jerry's sneakers. Elaine goes to pick up the ticket for Mr. Pitt, but must sit through a loud performance by a live dixieland band before receiving it. While walking down the street, Kramer gets another nosebleed and sees Jon Voight (appearing as himself); when Kramer tries to ask Jon Voight about George's car, he gets bitten by him instead.

At the party, Elaine still can't hear a thing because of the loud dixieland music, and inadvertently turns down a date from Whatley because she thought that he was just offering her nuts. Meanwhile, George and Kramer seek a dentist to match the bite marks on Kramer's arm with those on the chewed pencil. As it turns out, the previous owner of the car was not Jon Voight, the actor, but Dr. John Voight, a periodontist friend of Dr. Whatley. While trying to show his teeth to a dentist, Jerry accidentally pushes a small statue of the Empire State Building out the window and pierces the Woody Woodpecker balloon with Mr. Pitt under it.

Later, Jerry receives a call from a man who has bought one of his sneakers and is informed that Mom and Pop are selling them in a garage sale in Parsippany, New Jersey. Jerry and Kramer decide to head out there and confront Mom and Pop, but as Jerry's car is in the shop they take the bus instead. On their way to New Jersey, Kramer's nose starts bleeding again, in a scene parodying Midnight Cowboy.

Origin

Part of this episode was inspired by events that actually happened to writer Tom Gammill. He purchased a car purely based on the belief that it had previously been owned by Jon Voight, only to find out later that he had been lied to. He kept the car, however, and it was used as George's car in both this episode and Season 7's "The Gum." In an interview for the film National Treasure, Jon Voight admitted that the car Gammill purchased was purported to have been owned by his mother, and not himself.

External links

1. "The Mom & Pop Store" at the Internet Movie Database

Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend" "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip" "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats" "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100" "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac" "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit" "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle" "The Finale"
Indicates two-part episode