In season 3’s “The Tape,” George Costanza sees a CNN report about a Chinese doctor’s miracle cure for baldness and immediately places a collect call to Beijing to order it.
Desperate Measures
With help from Ping, the delivery guy from the local Chinese restaurant, George sends off his money and waits for a foul-smelling cream that promises a full head of hair. The smell becomes a running gag, and so does George’s total faith that this time, it might actually work.
Based on Real Life
As with so many Seinfeld plots, it came from real life. DVD trivia for the episode says the Chinese baldness cure was based on something Larry David actually tried himself.
Writer Bob Shaw has also recalled a shared experience from the time David lived next door to Kenny Kramer, the real-life inspiration for Kramer. Kenny Kramer later turned that connection into his famous “Reality Tour” of New York Seinfeld locations.
A Long-Running Theme
David co-wrote the episode with Bob Shaw and Don McEnery. It set up a vanity theme George would return to again and again over nine seasons.
His hairline became one of the show’s most dependable sources of comedy, eventually leading to George’s famous toupee storyline later in season 6, when Elaine finally throws the hairpiece out of a window.
The Rest of “The Tape”
The episode is also remembered for its main plot, in which Elaine secretly records a sexy message on Jerry’s tape recorder, leaving Jerry and George obsessed with figuring out who the mystery woman is.
“The Tape” aired on November 13, 1991, during the season when Seinfeld was still finding its audience.
Looking back, it’s a perfect early example of the show’s formula: a real moment from Larry David’s life, exaggerated just enough to become TV gold.