They said it was a show about nothing. Nine years of nothing meant something, after all.
Seinfeld anchored NBC's Thursday lineup for much of the 90's, coupled with Cheers and, later, its spin-off, Frasier, from 9-10 pm (ET).
Jerry Seinfeld developed the show based on his stand-up act, and populated his fictional universe with the kind of diverse personalities you'd find on, say for example, The Bob Newhart Show or Taxi. For example, you had Elaine (Julia-Louis Dreyfus, ex-Saturday Night Live, currently on Veep), Jerry's ex-girlfriend, now just a close friend whose later relationships would be the source of many an episode. Kramer (Michael Richards, fresh from "UHF") was the eccentric neighbor who, like Lenny & Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley years earlier, didn't believe in knocking on the door. Then again, it seemed as though he left his brains in his apartment. George (Jason Alexander) was the neurotic other Everyman who, in the context of the series, worked for the Yankees as a traveling secretary. Apparently, he didn't do enough traveling.
Everyone has their favorite episodes or catch phrases, such as "Yadda, yadda, yadda", or in the case of the infamous Soup Nazi, "No soup for you!". Al Yaganeh's restaurant now is a national chain thanks to the show.
And speaking of the Soup Nazi, check out this excerpt........
My folks didn't watch the show in first run initially, but caught on with the reruns in later years.
These days, Jason Alexander is shilling for KFC. Patrick Warburton (Puddy) does likewise for National Car Rental, and always seems to find primetime and/or cartoon work. Jerry is likely to turn up at Citi Field to see his beloved Mets, even sitting in the TV or radio booth occasionally, and has a new online series, Comedians in Cars Drinking Coffee, which started on Crackle, then moved to Netflix.
Series rating: A-.
2 comments:
When the show was first run, everybody it seemed was talking about this marvelously funny show. I decided to watch an episode.
I didn't find it funny and found the characters instantly unlikable (and not in the love to hate kind of way). People continued to tell me how wonderful this show was. I decided to give it another shot.
I still didn't find the show funny or entertaining.
I gave it up. Maybe it's just me, but it didn't have what it took to hook me. It's not that I'm not into subtle humor or shows that make you think, it's just that this show didn't rub me the right way.
From what I hear, the show had mixed results in syndication. Plenty of people who thought it was fun to watch during its run would say it seemed to be less watchable in syndication.
Maybe I was ahead of the curve and didn't even know it!
It was a product of its time, after all, although I think everyone's met a Kramer......
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