Seinfeld: Classic or Dud

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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

(also super-meta-ending of Newhart >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> super-meta-ending of Seinfeld)

Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:17 (nineteen years ago) link

well that goes without saying.

s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:18 (nineteen years ago) link

(not sure what that proves though)

s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:19 (nineteen years ago) link

you are insane.

crossposts

cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:19 (nineteen years ago) link

what can I say, Kramer has never made me laugh - the humor seems so forced, this really clumsy combination of Harpo Marx and a thousand other sitcom "wacky neighbors".

Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:26 (nineteen years ago) link

i like when he gets sand in his eye

ryan (ryan), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:35 (nineteen years ago) link

shakey mo collier you are wrong

RJG (RJG), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:44 (nineteen years ago) link

way upthread: like it gives their self-involvement some kind of splendor by association

i think you're in part right about this but "splendor" is the wrong word--it's just a slightly exaggerated parody of the meaningless things we find important. i mean people could be smug and watch seinfeld--but then i think they are missing the point, and it's not fair to judge something by its audience, esp a sitcom.

ryan (ryan), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:46 (nineteen years ago) link

and part of what makes Jerry so funny, and his performance as an actor perfect, is that indestructible phoniness about him. he is the most completely shallow person to ever live! they even made an episode based around this premise! he's like an angel of death walking through new york...contrary to george's despicable humanity.

ryan (ryan), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:48 (nineteen years ago) link

funnier "wacky neighbors" than Kramer:
Exeter
Mr. Furley
Jim J. Bullock (I forget what his character's name was)
Larry, Darryl, and Darryl (ah, anagrams)

(also -10 million points for the slap bass)

Jerry/Larry is easily the best character on the show.

Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:58 (nineteen years ago) link

jerry/larry?

RJG (RJG), Saturday, 30 April 2005 20:11 (nineteen years ago) link

"a slightly exaggerated parody of the meaningless things we find important."

i think this was true once, back when a lot of the ideas within the show were stand up comedy material, but the sitcom style seemed to actually deify the shallowness it once parodied. i'm not sure sitcoms *have* to do that, just saying that "Seinfeld" did. To me that made it unlikeable and even undermined a sound basic premise - that the meaningless ticks people have really are intrinsically funny.

Kim (Kim), Saturday, 30 April 2005 20:39 (nineteen years ago) link

jerry seinfeld was always the worst part of seinfeld.

f-a-b-o-l-o-u-s (adamwest), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:07 (nineteen years ago) link

Anyone else notice that Jerry Seinfeld sometimes kind of quotes mannerism bits from Don Knotts as Barney Fife? There are quite a few times I have picked this up.

Earl Nash (earlnash), Saturday, 30 April 2005 23:18 (nineteen years ago) link

neither jerry nor george are really complete characters--judging by Curb Your Enthusiasm I'd say they are the two sides of Larry David's personality.

ryan (ryan), Sunday, 1 May 2005 01:51 (nineteen years ago) link

Not really. George is clearly Larry David. The show could almost do completely without Jerry.

slightly more subdued (kenan), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:07 (nineteen years ago) link

I typed that before I'd read this:

"jerry seinfeld was always the worst part of seinfeld."

OTM, quite.

slightly more subdued (kenan), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:08 (nineteen years ago) link

he's the straight man most of the time.

s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:44 (nineteen years ago) link

don't underestimate the straight man!

s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:44 (nineteen years ago) link

But he's a bad straight man! A straight man doesn't smirk like George W. fuckin' Bush all the time.

slightly more subdued (kenan), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:46 (nineteen years ago) link

I mean, "straight man" is a hard job. Jerry is not up to it, and he does not get better at it in nine years.

slightly more subdued (kenan), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:48 (nineteen years ago) link

" The show could almost do completely without Jerry. "

COMPLETELY FUCKING INSANE.

Youre right, hes not the straight man. But he is completely necessary, he is the equilibrium between George/Neroutic and Kramer/Psychotic. Im not as religious about the show as most people, but the Sienfeld IS classic, no question about it, lock thread, give it up, goodnight.

JD from CDepot, Sunday, 1 May 2005 03:27 (nineteen years ago) link

shakey you didn't really make me put faith in your sense of humor by listing those characters as funnier than Kramer. (though yeah, RF rocks)

()ops (()()ps), Sunday, 1 May 2005 04:32 (nineteen years ago) link

arguments about whether something/someone is funny or not are the most ridiculous arguments on ILX, which obv is saying something.

()ops (()()ps), Sunday, 1 May 2005 04:33 (nineteen years ago) link

you are all insane!

cozen (Cozen), Sunday, 1 May 2005 07:59 (nineteen years ago) link

jerry is my favorite character on the show :(

he's not merely a straight man, tho he is that. well, how does a straight man function? is he a stand in for the audience? a measure of normalcy with which we can identify?

if that's the case i think jerry is something slightly different--think of the "Even Stephen" espisode where everything in Jerry's life balances out--he's completely invincible! no emotions, not a care in the world, completely childish in a sense. those are the best espisodes. that sort of cheerful nihilism (almost a kind of zen!) makes him a pretty unique character because he is totally devoid of "conflicts"--even his clean freak stuff is meant to remove him from us once again, he can't even stand to be around humanity. whenever, esp in the later episodes, jerry becomes more human it's not as convincing, and is probably the source of people complaining about him being a dead weight.

ryan (ryan), Sunday, 1 May 2005 15:38 (nineteen years ago) link

"Jerry/Larry" meaning Jerry's delivery and persona seem inextricably linked/modelled on Larry David (unless Larry's deliberately parodying Jerry in "Curb Your Enthusiasm", which I guess is possible). A lot of the mannerisms, tone of voice, etc. seem identical.

Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 2 May 2005 16:53 (nineteen years ago) link

I saw the show only once or twice, thought it was funny but I just wasn't watching much TV then. As it became more & more of a phenomenon it was weird to be left out. Like not having HBO or owning a car (we don't). The hype around the last episode was insane, it was all over the news. That day I happened to be driving a (rental) car from Virgina to Pennsylvania, and it seemed like all Seinfeld all the time on NPR! Come to think of it, the end of Seinfeld was right around the start of the M Lewinski "affair."

So one for the time capsule, but I doubt I'll ever rent the DVDs.

m coleman (lovebug starski), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:09 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...
i only realised recently, after watching the rerun of the chinese woman episode, that larry david was the man in the cape.

i want this framed and on my wall:

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/4333/seinfelds6e48sl.jpg

sunny successor (katharine), Friday, 23 June 2006 13:20 (eighteen years ago) link

haha

Roughage Crew (Enrique), Friday, 23 June 2006 13:22 (eighteen years ago) link

Is he going to flap his arms?

Nathalie (stevie nixed), Friday, 23 June 2006 13:22 (eighteen years ago) link

Larry Mutt otm

laurence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 23 June 2006 16:51 (eighteen years ago) link

three months pass...
so i've finally watched every single episode. How great are the last three seasons.

Was a little disappointed with the finales but hey ho.

I think my particular favourite episode would have to be the Merv Griffin show, all the main characters have great plotlines in this one I thought - Jerry's obsession with his girlfriends toys, George and his pigeon problem, Elaine and the sidler, and of course Kramer pretending to host a chat show is just the greatest thing I've ever seen. When he plays the music tape for George's entrance. Hilarious!

Ste (Fuzzy), Thursday, 12 October 2006 13:42 (eighteen years ago) link

Dud. It's never made me laugh, slap bass is horrid and as for Jerry's predilection for suits and basketball trainers...eww...
-- DG (rgreenfiel...) (webmail), June 7th, 2001 7:00 PM.

ewww!

sunny successor (katharine), Thursday, 12 October 2006 14:18 (eighteen years ago) link

There are so many classic moments in Seinfeld, but the "classicest" in my opinion is the one when "Poppy peed on my sofa". The story revolved around two main things, but both of them were dependent on Poppy: Elaine's stance on abortion, and Kramer's idea of a "pizza place where you make yer own pie!". While evidently Elaine believes that a baby isn't a person until birth, and Kramer feels that a pizza isn't a pizza until you pull it out of the oven, Poppy believes that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception, and a pizza is a pizza the moment you "stick your fists in the dough". It took many years of watching reruns before my wife finally made the connection, and I felt like a complete buffoon because I hadn't.

Classic.

shorty (shorty), Thursday, 12 October 2006 15:48 (eighteen years ago) link

The guy who played Jay Peterman now hosts Family Feud. He's a bit odd.

Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:13 (eighteen years ago) link

saw another Larry David cameo the other night as a Deli cahsier who refuses a twenty because "we don't accept bills with lipstick on the president."

Dr. Alicia D. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:54 (eighteen years ago) link

!!! what happened to home improvement guy??

xpost

sunny successor (katharine), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:55 (eighteen years ago) link

The best. Can watch a given episode 20-30 times (and perhaps more).

Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 12 October 2006 18:01 (eighteen years ago) link


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