The Cheever Letters
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"The Cheever Letters" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American
television sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' (and the 48th episode overall). It first aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in the United States on October 28, 1992. In this episode,
George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...
and
Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...
break the news about the cabin burning down to Susan's parents, but the tension over this revelation is soon eclipsed by the content of letters from
John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs ...
found in the ruins of the cabin. Meanwhile,
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 (play), a 1914 American play ...
dates Elaine's secretary and inadvertently offends her during their dirty talk. The episode was written by
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
,
Elaine Pope Elaine Pope (born ) is a Canadian writer and film producer. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Pope was writing for CBC Radio by the late 1970s, later writing TV specials for Lily Tomlin, including the 1981 TV special ''Lily: Sold Out'', as well as the A ...
and
Tom Leopold Tom Leopold (born 1949) is an American comedy writer, performer and novelist. He has written episodes of ''Seinfeld'' and ''Cheers'', along with several books. Leopold has often been associated with Chevy Chase, Harry Shearer and Paul Shaffer ...
, and directed by
Tom Cherones Thomas Harry Cherones, Jr. ( ; born September 11, 1939) is an American television director, director and Television producer, producer of several TV series. He is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', where he directed 81 of the 86 episodes ...
.


Plot

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 (play), a 1914 American play ...
and
George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...
struggle with their sitcom
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
script. Jerry telephones Elaine and complains to her about her chatty secretary, Sandra. Elaine asks Sandra not to talk to Jerry so much. Hurt, Sandra quits. At Jerry's apartment, Kramer wants George to ask Susan's father for more
Cuban cigar Cuban cigars are cigars manufactured in Cuba from tobacco grown within that island nation. Historically regarded as among the world's "finest", they are synonymous with the island's culture and contribute over one quarter of the value of all expo ...
s to bribe his way onto the
Westchester Country Club Westchester Country Club is a private country club located in Harrison, New York. Founded in 1922 as a destination for sportsmen, it was known to professional golfers and spectators for more than four decades as the home of the Westchester Cla ...
golf course. That night, George has an awkward dinner with
Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...
and her parents. Susan and George tell her father about the loss of the cabin, and he is devastated. Jerry calls Sandra at Elaine's request. Jerry retracts his comments about Sandra, by claiming that they were misconstrued by Elaine. Sandra wants to have drinks with Jerry. He accepts for fear of offending Sandra again. They return to Jerry's apartment. Sandra takes offense to one of Jerry's remarks while they were talking dirty to each other, and she storms off. George and Jerry continue to struggle writing the script. They doze off after failing to write any more. Elaine thanks Jerry for getting Sandra back to work. Jerry says that Elaine should relocate Sandra quickly. Jerry is relieved that Sandra did not mention to Elaine anything about the dirty talk. Kramer goes to the Cuban Permanent Mission at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
to ask some diplomats about buying Cuban cigars. Although told they're illegal in the US, the chief diplomat takes a liking to Kramer's jacket, and agrees to trade it for some cigars. Kramer befriends the diplomats and, as thanks, invites them to golf. Jerry and George go to Susan's house to return her sunglasses. A doorman delivers a metal box from the insurance company, the only object which survived the cabin fire. Inside are letters detailing an affair between Susan's father and novelist
John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs ...
. Susan's father openly admits to the affair. Jerry and George awkwardly slip out. They again fail to progress with the script before they are interrupted by Elaine, who is angry with Jerry because her company charged her $429 for making long-distance phone calls to Europe from work. After Elaine had Sandra transferred to another office, Sandra turned her in. Jerry gladly gives Elaine the money, still relieved that Sandra had not told Elaine about his earlier "dirty talk" comment. As she's walking out the door, she repeats Jerry's remark to Sandra, revealing that she knew about it all along.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheever Letters Seinfeld season 4 episodes 1992 American television episodes Television episodes written by Larry David American LGBTQ-related television episodes 1992 LGBTQ-related television episodes