The Nap

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Nap
Series = Seinfeld


Caption = Kramer talking to Elaine's boyfriend at a dock on the East River.
Season = 8
Episode = 152
Airdate = April 10, 1997
Production =
Writer = Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin
Director = Andy Ackerman
Guests =
Episode list = List of "Seinfeld" episodes
Season list = Infobox Seinfeld season 8 episode list
Prev =
Next =

"The Nap" is the 152nd episode of the hit sitcom "Seinfeld". This was the 18th episode for the 8th season. It aired on April 10, 1997. Larry David returned to continue the recurring role of George Steinbrenner, whom he would play in two other episodes near the end of this season and in the show's final episode.

Plot

George is tired and needs to take a nap while at work; he finds the perfect place, under his desk. Kramer has taken up swimming, but he finds the pool too constricting for his needs; he begins swimming in the East River. Elaine's date is worried about his back and hers; he sends her a mattress and she gets the wrong idea. She gives the mattress to Kramer. Jerry is getting new kitchen cabinets, but the contractor is constantly asking him questions. George gets Jerry's contractor to make some modifications for his desk, including space for an alarm clock. Steinbrenner is in George's office looking for him to tell him he figured out the lyrics to "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar; he decides to wait for George to return. George gets Jerry to phone in a bomb threat in an effort to get Steinbrenner out of his office. After finding George under the desk, Steinbrenner thinks he has ESP and would be perfect to meet the terrorist's demand of a fitted hat day. Meanwhile, Jerry's contractor, left on his own, has made a change in Jerry's kitchen that no one likes. Elaine gets her mattress back when she gets the right idea; however, Kramer has fouled it up with the stench of the East River. Elaine's boyfriend discovers the benefits of swimming in the East River. Steinbrenner hears a ticking sound in George's office, thinks it's a bomb and calls in the bomb squad. Jerry decides he needs his old kitchen back. Elaine throws her back out trying to get rid of the mattress. Kramer's river gets crowded and George finds a new place to nap in Jerry's cupboards which were rebuilt into their normal condition for $4,000.

Trivia

* When Elaine complains to Kramer about stinking up her mattress, he naively claims that the East River "might be polluted." Only a few scenes prior, Kramer apparently knew about the East River's industrial use; when Jerry chastises him for swimming in "the most heavily trafficked, overly contaminated waterway on the eastern seaboard," Kramer replies "technically, Norfolk has more gross tonnage."
* The song that Steinbrenner is trying to remember is "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benetar.
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus is again visibly pregnant throughout this entire season. Like in the third season, Elaine is again shown wearing loose outfits and carrying around objects in front of her gradually growing midsection.