Seinfeld: Classic or Dud

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Top o' the heap classic. Best non-animated comedy in the history of television, even though the last year or two's worth of episodes (sans the beating heart guidance of Larry David) were a bit "out there" and stretching for material, plus they made George this sort of annoying crank. And the last episode sucked bigtime.

I watch reruns of this show whenever I have the chance, seriously. I'll watch 2-3 episodes a day if I'm watching TV and there isn't an episode of Survivor or Temptation Island on.

Jerry himself is probably the weakest link, but I find his "bad" acting not even bothersome. He does add some classic lines like "I just had a bowl of Kix" and of course there's the whole "awthatsashame" sort of dismissive lack of caring tone that informs the whole show. It's George, Kramer and Elaine who make the show hum like a fine-tuned Beemer. Plus the classic support cast (George's parents, Jerry's parents, Uncle Leo, Newman, Puddy, the Rosses, Mr. Pitt, J. Peterman) -- just excellent, excellent casting where each actor is probably playing the role of their career.

My favorite show of all time would still have to be The Simpsons, but overexposure to the more classic episodes has left me really not wanting to re-watch those episodes much, but something about Seinfeld is different. It puts other "comedies" like the shite that ABC shows (dumbass shows with Jim Belushi, John Ritter, etc.) to shame, even with the wacky slap-bass keyboards, bad poofy Jerry hair, and the black jeans/white sneakers look.

Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Friday, 30 May 2003 19:58 (twenty-one years ago) link

I feel like my unwavering revulsion at this show is the promising beginning to what will surely be a long career as a total killjoy. I'm proud of it.

amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 30 May 2003 20:25 (twenty-one years ago) link

A show that should be about evil black humor and contempt theoretically = up my alley. But it is not.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 30 May 2003 20:27 (twenty-one years ago) link

That's cos you hate everything except for Kevin Shields

Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 30 May 2003 20:32 (twenty-one years ago) link

No, I hate him too. Twelve years and no new album?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 30 May 2003 20:43 (twenty-one years ago) link

seven months pass...
Slap-bass put me off this, so I've never seen more than about 2 full episodes. But I saw the film 'Comedian', have been told how amazing it is, so:

WHY THE FUCK ISN'T IT ON VIDEO??????

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:24 (twenty years ago) link

Comedian is actually not that great at all. Half of it's about some annoying, self-obsessed upstart comic they used to juxtapose against Jerry's celebrity.

jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:45 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, which was quite comic, wasn't it? I enjoyed the film either way.

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:46 (twenty years ago) link

Juxtapose against Jerry's celebrity = make him look like a sympathetic character? Someone described the film thusly to me over the weekend.

Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:48 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, I'd agree with that, but, hell, Eisenstein would approve. I mean, if you like Jerry, there's nothing necessarily wrong with that.

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:53 (twenty years ago) link

Whoops, I misread your original post, Enrique. I thought you said you hadn't seen Comedian but was told it was amazing. Seinfeld the show is naturally k-classic. I'm currently drinking tea out of a Seinfeld mug that a high-school girlfriend's mom gave me, like 8 years ago!

jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:21 (twenty years ago) link

Seinfeld was on late at night in the UK (well, about 11.20), and there were never mugs to accompany it to my knowledge. But the absense of DVD/VHS is weird, it being so culty.

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:24 (twenty years ago) link

I really liked Comedian, I found it kind of fascinating.

enrique: apparently the cast members had been in some sort of dispute over royalties--it's supposed to be out on DVD soon though.

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:25 (twenty years ago) link

Stupid royalties. They all rolling in it already!

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:26 (twenty years ago) link

Seinfeld Season 3 (I think? 1992-93, at any rate) is one of the greatest single seasons in TV history.

jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:27 (twenty years ago) link

In the meantime whilst awaiting DVDs, UK viewers can still watch old episodes on Paramount (if you have cable or satellite). Last night when I came in from the pub I was watching the one where Denise Richards was playing a 15 year old girl. That kind of surpassed anything else that happened in the episode.

ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:28 (twenty years ago) link

Wow, I don't remember that one. The number of actors who were on Seinfeld before becoming famous is pretty impressive, although the only ones I can remember right now are Jane Leeves (as "The Virgin") and the mom from That 70's Show (as Jerry's agent).

jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:32 (twenty years ago) link

it's true though, if you have cable you're never far from an ep.

enrique I think the other cast members were jealous of seinfeld's creator/producer credit and the spectacular amounts of money he made from that

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:33 (twenty years ago) link

the episodes of the Simpsons which he wrote are the only watchable Simpsons

you are clearly wrong, and not only is EVERY simpsons episode watchable (even if they suck, which many do) the best were written by Conan O'Brien.

Catty (Catty), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:34 (twenty years ago) link

Why do I have money for all these unread books and not for cable? I must be stupid.

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:35 (twenty years ago) link

anyone catch the season premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm last night?

Chris V (Chris V), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:36 (twenty years ago) link

Actually, the effect of having the upstart comedian in Comedian was to make Seinfeld more sympathetic. The young kid was REALLY fucking obnoxious and full of himself.

NA (Nick A.), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:38 (twenty years ago) link

yeah, that was a little sketchy I thought--but it was interesting to compare the established comedian with the upstart

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:39 (twenty years ago) link

A quick search of imdb shows that the Denise Richards one was in season 4 (episode "The Shoes"), and that this weeks Paramount episodes will also be featuring Teri Hatcher and Megan Mullaly.

ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:40 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, I just searched for that, too. I remember it now: she played Russell Dalrymple's daughter. Never knew it was her, though.

jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:42 (twenty years ago) link

The number of actors who were on Seinfeld before becoming famous is pretty impressive, although the only ones I can remember right now are Jane Leeves (as "The Virgin") and the mom from That 70's Show (as Jerry's agent).

also Janeane Garofalo, who i love love love, appears as the interviewer in the episode where George and Jerry get accidentally ovrheard while pretending to be gay - "...not that there's anything wrong with that!"

i have downloaded several episodes as mpg through Limewire - i dare say through Kazaa or soulseek you can get many more.

Greatest TV Comedy like, ever.

jed_ (jed), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:44 (twenty years ago) link

also Janeane Garofalo, who i love love love, appears as the interviewer in the episode where George and Jerry get accidentally ovrheard while pretending to be gay - "...not that there's anything wrong with that!"

That wasn't JG. She did appear in another episode as Jerry's dream girlfriend, though, who too loved cereal for lunch, dinner and in between.

Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Monday, 5 January 2004 16:52 (twenty years ago) link

I heard that the problem with royalties was that the rest of the cast wasn't going to get any at all!

But yeah, I'll definitely get it on dvd. I liked Comedian a whole lot. The process of putting together his new act was interesting (especially the bits where he blanked out completely), but seeing all the snippets just made me want to see the complete product. I remember thinking that the commentary track was very good, but I can't remember why. Maybe just because Jerry is a funny guy and Colin Quinn is funny as an idiot.

Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:01 (twenty years ago) link

hah - yes your right of course. I wanna see that cereal episode again.

xpost

jed_ (jed), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:03 (twenty years ago) link

the problem with DVD release, of course, is that there are around 180 episodes. Its a lovely thought though.

jed_ (jed), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:08 (twenty years ago) link

How many seasons are there? I'm sure they'll make a lot of money off them for a long time to come.

Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:17 (twenty years ago) link

Fucking BBC, shows repeats of Dad's Army that even I've seen six zillion times, and never any Seinfeld...

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:20 (twenty years ago) link

I heard the hold-up on any DVD releases is due mainly to the cast negotiating for obscene amounts of money for doing the commentaries.

oops (Oops), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:37 (twenty years ago) link

tomorrow night is back to back last season of curb-YE on bbc3 or 4 or whatever digital back water is reserved for class shows

Jaunty Alan (Alan), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:38 (twenty years ago) link

Commenting on 180 episodes would be a bit of a chore!

Enrique (Enrique), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:40 (twenty years ago) link

its BBC4 for Curb Your Enthusiasm. i havent seen any of this yet.

jed_ (jed), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:55 (twenty years ago) link

it's on at least three times a day where I live--i dont think the show would benefit from DVD--it's best when you randomly catch an episode every now and then, without any chronological perspective. having all that Seinfeld in one place would seem wrong.

ryan (ryan), Monday, 5 January 2004 18:20 (twenty years ago) link

ryan OTM

Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 5 January 2004 18:30 (twenty years ago) link

well they should release it on DVD in the UK only then.

jed_ (jed), Monday, 5 January 2004 18:36 (twenty years ago) link

they wouldn't do the commentaries unless they got royalties was the thing

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 5 January 2004 19:04 (twenty years ago) link

Jerry Seinfeld does drop-in on old friend Larry David’s TV show
NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Seinfeld will do a “pop-in” on his old friend, Larry David, this season on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
“But don’t blink,” David told Newsweek magazine for its Jan. 12 issue.
He said the comedian, with whom he created Seinfeld, showed up on the set during an episode set in Manhattan and makes a brief cameo, but wouldn’t elaborate.
The fourth season of the HBO comedy, which began Sunday night, stars David as himself: a cranky comedy writer. He figured he’d do 10 episodes a year, compared with the 23 required for a network series, and that production would take eight months at the most.
But even though the shows are mostly improvised, he found that writing 10 episode outlines takes so long, he has to start on a new season as soon as he finishes the last one.
“I’m working all the time,” the 56-year-old said. “It’s 51 weeks a year. I’m working more days on this show than I did on Seinfeld . . . It’s not OK at all! It’s the opposite of OK!”

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 5 January 2004 19:06 (twenty years ago) link

is that Larry David sitting on a bench in the background of the Seinfeld Chinese Restaurant ep? Also, all eps of Seinfeld in 1 place = that basketballer ep of CurbYE

Jaunty Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 10:18 (twenty years ago) link

I bought the first 3 series of CYE off eBay and they are a joy to watch.

We don't *need* commentary on Seinfeld, just give us all the episodes to watch when we want!

Nick H (Nick H), Saturday, 17 January 2004 23:18 (twenty years ago) link

eleven months pass...
"and you want to be my latex salesman" was an ad-lib! neat.

amateurist, wow. incredible wrongness.

i revived this thread to say that "bizarro jerry" must be top 3, easy. i just saw it again and realized that it features
1. bizarro jerry ("does he live underwater? is he black?")
2. man-hands ("there's a beach towel on the rack...")
3. kramer's fake 9-to-5 ("you know this is my crazy time of year!")
and
4. the meat packing plant turned secret model hangout fortress ("i guess the dj booth was over there, by the bonesaw").

god, unbelievable.

m. (mitchlnw), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 17:56 (nineteen years ago) link

has there ever been another sitcom so much about language?

m. (mitchlnw), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 17:59 (nineteen years ago) link

i still have never seen the "bizarro" episode, despite having seen most of the series' run. someone needs to alert me when it's on.

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 18:04 (nineteen years ago) link

three months pass...
larry david wrote some simpsons eps?!

cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 30 April 2005 10:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Seinfeld is the best show
Because
A) IT has Larry David's Cerebral Humour
B) Jerry Seinfelds Absurd Humour
C) Kramers physicial humour
D) Apply all these to the Elaine character so they include the female sex also.
= THE ENTIRE HUMOUR SPECTRUM.
truly genius concoction.

Nellie (nellskies), Saturday, 30 April 2005 15:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Kramer is awful. the show essentially grinds to a halt when he comes on. I want to like it more than I do, and there's the occasional funny line, but its really just a pale facsimile of Newhart's show, ennit?

Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:06 (nineteen years ago) link

you are insane.

s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:15 (nineteen years ago) link


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