The Mango
Encyclopedia
"The Mango" is the sixty-fifth episode of the sitcom Seinfeld
. It aired on September 16, 1993, and is the premiere
of the show's fifth season
. The episode's working title was "The Orgasm." It was filmed in front of a live studio audience
on Tuesday, August 17, 1993. In the "Inside Look" commentary on the Seinfeld Season 5
DVD
, Larry David
revealed that a friend of his came up with the setup of this episode: Elaine never having orgasms with Jerry. Larry David said that the idea was "too good to pass up."
bits which centers on the creation of seedless watermelon.
The episode then goes to Monk's Cafe
where George
tells Jerry
about his lack of confidence in bed
with his new girlfriend Karen (Lisa Edelstein
). The conversation then shifts to orgasm faking
, at which point Elaine
mentions that she used to fake with Jerry back when they were dating. Although Elaine didn’t think much of the subject, Jerry was flabbergasted at the information. This also causes George to worry that Karen was faking too.
A little while later, Kramer
takes a bite out of a bad peach
, and attempts to return the fruit to the store where he got it. This leads to him being banned from the store after he insults the owner, Joe (Leonard Termo).
Meanwhile, Jerry begs Elaine to give him another shot at giving her an orgasm, which she rebuffs in the belief that sex will ruin their friendship. This causes Jerry to become more bitter and resentful towards Elaine.
George becomes so obsessed with his performance in bed with Karen, that he experiences what seems to be erectile dysfunction
. As George tells Jerry his predicament, Kramer asks Jerry to pick up his fruit at Joe’s fruit store, refusing to get his fruit at the supermarket
. Jerry reluctantly accepts, and goes to pick up the fruit, causing him to get banned too after Joe finds out what he was doing. After the incident, George winds up getting both Kramer’s and Jerry’s fruit. George tastes one of Kramer’s mango
es, which makes an erotic transformation ("I think it moved!").
Afterwards, Elaine gives in to letting Jerry have sex with her once again, after concluding it’ll destroy their friendship if they don't. Meanwhile, Karen kicks George out of her apartment when he insults her after sex, doubting that she really had an orgasm (when, in actuality, she did).
The last scene shows Jerry and Elaine in bed, but now it seems Jerry is suffering from erectile dysfunction, and blaming George. Elaine then asks: "Y'know, I'm a little hungry...you wouldn't happen to have any of that mango left?" Jerry then realizes his solution.
of 19.3 and an audience share of 29, meaning that 19.3% of American households watched the episode, and 29% of all television
s in use at the time were tuned into it.
This episode was first read by its cast on August 11, 1993 at 10:30 a.m.
to much anticipation, as it was to premier in a new 9:00 timeslot. NBC
officials, however, were a bit more apprehensive because it was taking over the timeslot of the highly successful sitcom Cheers
.
and Lawrence H. Levy
. The subplot where Kramer was being banned from a fruit shop is based on one of Larry David’s personal experiences, where he himself was banned from a fruit shop for squeezing the produce too much.
When the episode aired, Larry David found himself in the middle of a big media frenzy surrounding the now-popular show. David gave some insight to his approach on writing the script by saying: "I like taking the worst qualities that a person has and trying to make something funny out of it. Doesn’t everybody do terrible things and have terrible thoughts? Just by trying to be as funny, you’re going to deal with a lot of things that are real, so the show’s really about something. The whole thing about the show being about nothing is ridiculous."
Kenny Kramer
(who was the inspiration for Cosmo Kramer
) said that Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer are "the most shallow, superficial, self-indulgent people...but we see there’s a little of us in them, our own dark character."
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. It aired on September 16, 1993, and is the premiere
Season premiere
In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:...
of the show's fifth season
Seinfeld (season 5)
Season five of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 16, 1993, and concluded on May 19, 1994, on NBC.-Production:...
. The episode's working title was "The Orgasm." It was filmed in front of a live studio audience
Studio audience
A studio audience is an audience present for the taping of all or part of a television program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack . A studio audience can also provide volunteers, a visual backdrop and discussion participants...
on Tuesday, August 17, 1993. In the "Inside Look" commentary on the Seinfeld Season 5
Seinfeld (season 5)
Season five of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 16, 1993, and concluded on May 19, 1994, on NBC.-Production:...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
revealed that a friend of his came up with the setup of this episode: Elaine never having orgasms with Jerry. Larry David said that the idea was "too good to pass up."
Plot
The episode opens with one of Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up comedyStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
bits which centers on the creation of seedless watermelon.
The episode then goes to Monk's Cafe
Monk's Cafe
Monk's Café is a fictional coffee shop from the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The exterior of Tom's Restaurant on the corner of West 112th Street and Broadway, near Columbia University, is often shown on the show as the exterior of Monk's, though the interiors were shot on a sound stage. The coffee shop is...
where George
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
tells Jerry
Jerry Seinfeld (character)
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld . The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, based on, and played by Seinfeld himself.The series revolves around...
about his lack of confidence in bed
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with his new girlfriend Karen (Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the television drama House.-Early life and education:...
). The conversation then shifts to orgasm faking
Fake orgasm
Faking orgasm refers to the act of pretending to have an orgasm without actually experiencing one. It usually means simulating or acting out behaviors, such as body movements, vocal sounds, and sequences of apparent intensification followed by apparent release, typically associated with orgasm...
, at which point Elaine
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
mentions that she used to fake with Jerry back when they were dating. Although Elaine didn’t think much of the subject, Jerry was flabbergasted at the information. This also causes George to worry that Karen was faking too.
A little while later, Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
takes a bite out of a bad peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
, and attempts to return the fruit to the store where he got it. This leads to him being banned from the store after he insults the owner, Joe (Leonard Termo).
Meanwhile, Jerry begs Elaine to give him another shot at giving her an orgasm, which she rebuffs in the belief that sex will ruin their friendship. This causes Jerry to become more bitter and resentful towards Elaine.
George becomes so obsessed with his performance in bed with Karen, that he experiences what seems to be erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
. As George tells Jerry his predicament, Kramer asks Jerry to pick up his fruit at Joe’s fruit store, refusing to get his fruit at the supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
. Jerry reluctantly accepts, and goes to pick up the fruit, causing him to get banned too after Joe finds out what he was doing. After the incident, George winds up getting both Kramer’s and Jerry’s fruit. George tastes one of Kramer’s mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
es, which makes an erotic transformation ("I think it moved!").
Afterwards, Elaine gives in to letting Jerry have sex with her once again, after concluding it’ll destroy their friendship if they don't. Meanwhile, Karen kicks George out of her apartment when he insults her after sex, doubting that she really had an orgasm (when, in actuality, she did).
The last scene shows Jerry and Elaine in bed, but now it seems Jerry is suffering from erectile dysfunction, and blaming George. Elaine then asks: "Y'know, I'm a little hungry...you wouldn't happen to have any of that mango left?" Jerry then realizes his solution.
Reception
This episode gained a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 19.3 and an audience share of 29, meaning that 19.3% of American households watched the episode, and 29% of all television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s in use at the time were tuned into it.
This episode was first read by its cast on August 11, 1993 at 10:30 a.m.
12-hour clock
The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem and post meridiem...
to much anticipation, as it was to premier in a new 9:00 timeslot. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
officials, however, were a bit more apprehensive because it was taking over the timeslot of the highly successful sitcom Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
.
Production
The Mango was written by Larry DavidLarry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
and Lawrence H. Levy
Lawrence H. Levy
Lawrence H. Levy is an American writer and producer on Savannah, Fantasy Island, Family Ties, Trapper John, M.D., Saved by the Bell, Who's the Boss?, 7th Heaven, Roseanne, Seinfeld.-Awards and nominations:...
. The subplot where Kramer was being banned from a fruit shop is based on one of Larry David’s personal experiences, where he himself was banned from a fruit shop for squeezing the produce too much.
When the episode aired, Larry David found himself in the middle of a big media frenzy surrounding the now-popular show. David gave some insight to his approach on writing the script by saying: "I like taking the worst qualities that a person has and trying to make something funny out of it. Doesn’t everybody do terrible things and have terrible thoughts? Just by trying to be as funny, you’re going to deal with a lot of things that are real, so the show’s really about something. The whole thing about the show being about nothing is ridiculous."
Kenny Kramer
Kenny Kramer
Kenny Kramer is an American stand-up comedian and is the real-life inspiration for the character of Cosmo Kramer from the television sitcom Seinfeld.-Pre-Seinfeld:...
(who was the inspiration for Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
) said that Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer are "the most shallow, superficial, self-indulgent people...but we see there’s a little of us in them, our own dark character."
Awards/Nominations
The Mango received the following awards/nominations:- 1994 Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy AwardThe Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series nomination: Lawrence H. LevyLawrence H. LevyLawrence H. Levy is an American writer and producer on Savannah, Fantasy Island, Family Ties, Trapper John, M.D., Saved by the Bell, Who's the Boss?, 7th Heaven, Roseanne, Seinfeld.-Awards and nominations:...
and Larry DavidLarry DavidLawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
. - 1994 Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy AwardThe Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Comedy Series nomination: Tom CheronesTom CheronesTom Cherones is an American director and producer of several TV series.-Early life:He grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his father operated a radio and TV repair shop. His grandfather was a Greek immigrant. From 1961 to 1965, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy...
. - 1993 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series nomination: Tom CheronesTom CheronesTom Cherones is an American director and producer of several TV series.-Early life:He grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his father operated a radio and TV repair shop. His grandfather was a Greek immigrant. From 1961 to 1965, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy...
. - 1995 Writers Guild Award for an Episodic Comedy: Lawrence H. LevyLawrence H. LevyLawrence H. Levy is an American writer and producer on Savannah, Fantasy Island, Family Ties, Trapper John, M.D., Saved by the Bell, Who's the Boss?, 7th Heaven, Roseanne, Seinfeld.-Awards and nominations:...
and Larry DavidLarry DavidLawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
.
Episode Notes
- The exterior shot of Joe’s fruit shop is not in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, but is actually on the backlot of CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Studio center. - The name "Almo's bar and grill" can be spotted on the storefront next door to Joe’s. This is a reference to the father of SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
set designer Tom Azzari, whose name is Almo.
External links
- "The Mango" on Sony Pictures
- "The Mango" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...