Seinfeld (1989-1998)

Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, and Michael Richards
Grade: Classic

Seinfeld is on everyone’s list when we talk about the greatest sitcoms/television shows ever, and there’s a reason for this.

It’s true.

The only detractors of Seinfeld seem to be people who don’t get the humor and see how funny everyday life can be. Truthfully, you only appreciate the comedy of the show once you’re an adult. No one under the age of 18 will find this nearly as funny as someone who’s grown. It’s not that the jokes are risqué, it’s just that when you get older, you start to appreciate the little things in life, including joking about the minutia of everyday things. The common tagline attributed to Seinfeld is that “It’s the show about nothing”. In reality, it’s about everything. Though there are basic narrative structures, characters, and relationships, the genius of Seinfeld is the filler surrounding it. It’s about life, everyday responsibilities and tasks, and observations that we as humans say and do daily, wondering “Why are things the way they are?”. It begins and ends with the “King” of observational humor in comic legend Jerry Seinfeld.

Jerry plays a fictionalized version of himself. The character is a stand-up comedian with varying degrees of success throughout the show. Despite being one of the lead writers, star, and known comedian, he tends to play the straight man in the show to everyone else’s chaotic personalities. Now, he’s still very funny as the lead of the show, but he usually doesn’t start the ridiculousness that seems to happen from episode to episode. He prefers to be the sarcastic voice of reason for his friends, though you know he’ll be roped into everything somehow. Obviously, he’ll still find himself in predicaments, but Jerry’s own misadventures and observations are what keep the show grounded. Though Jerry has his own quirks (neat freak, germophobe, childish, loves Melrose Place, etc.), he’s the most normal character on the show. He’s the friend everyone confides in, even though he would be just as satisfied by not having to help them either. The character isn’t heartless, especially not in the beginning. He starts out a bright-eyed, normal, likable, and laidback jokester who cares what others think. As time moves on though, he cares less and less about people and is perfectly fine with doing things how he sees fit. If no one’s along for the ride, he’s fine with that too. If they are along for the ride, they’ll have to accept his brand of sarcasm and criticism on all fronts.

Jerry has a knack for finding something wrong with anyone and anything. We see it in every episode and in almost any conversation he has with his close friends. He’ll be the first one to verbally attack someone else’s quirks whether it be with friends, side characters, or any one of the many girlfriends he has. In his defense, if you have to deal with someone like Kenny Bania (Steve Hytner), you’d criticize people too.

Another interesting note is Jerry’s inability to keep a long-term relationship. We see this in many sitcoms with the main character, as they go from girl to girl. However, in these other shows, there’s a story arc here and there where the star really finds a woman he likes, and it may last another episode or two to create some sort of intriguing story. With Seinfeld, this very rarely happens. If a relationship ever lasts more than an episode, it’s never taken seriously by the characters, and the tone of the show never changes to consider emotional depth. If anything, Jerry becomes a worse person as the seasons pass by, but you never hate him for it. Oddly enough, it becomes a big part of his likability factor. He becomes even more sarcastic, a bit of a dick, and still has the same hangups on women he has from the beginning of the show. He devolves as a person with time, but this is when the character’s growth is at its apex.

Seinfeld is the only show I’ve seen that’s been able to make their main star worse as a person, and it makes him more likable. At one point, we see him break up with a woman over his refusal to stop telling an inside joke about her in “The Voice“. Mind you, this is something that happened in Season Nine! The only time he considers a serious relationship, with thoughts of marriage coming across his mind, is when he meets a woman (Janeane Garofalo) who’s exactly like him in terms of humor, personality, likes, and dislikes in “The Invitations“. Funnily enough, the only reason he realizes he becomes infatuated with her so soon after meeting her is because she’s the female version of him! In a way, he is the person he’s been looking for. If this doesn’t tell you who Jerry becomes as the seasons go by, I don’t know what does. For the record, the marriage never goes through because he realizes he hates himself and can’t marry someone who’s exactly like him. This is the selfishness in the character, but it works because of Jerry’s comedic timing and inexplicable excellence as a comedic actor.

As the show gears towards the final seasons, what Jerry becomes is exactly what’s needed as a balance as the other three push even harder into the off-the-wall direction by show’s end.

Honestly, Jerry Seinfeld isn’t a great actor or anything. Through the first few seasons, he smiles through most of his emotions and doesn’t show any range past yelling sometimes, but like I said before, it’s his comedic acting that makes the show. Once he settles into his role and gets more comfortable in who he is on the show, it works in every aspect. He doesn’t need to have the range of someone like Michael Richards or Julia-Louis Dreyfus. He’s already so damn funny, cool, and quotable, you can easily see why he’s the clear-cut star America loved so much. Plus, you don’t need to do much since Michael Richards and Jason Alexander cover enough ground for everyone. If Jerry was as crazy as them, the show’s antics would be overkill. Jerry is the balance, with Julia-Louis Dreyfus’s show-stealing self being the icing on the cake.

George Constanza (Alexander) is Jerry’s best friend, and he’s something else to say the least. George’s transformation from Season One to Season Eight is easily the best out of the four principal stars. His character starts out as a Woody Allen impression (which Alexander has admitted), but once the show progressed a bit, he started to understand the character much more in collaboration with Larry David’s writing. In doing so, he started to base the character on Larry David himself. It’s not a coincidence it started to click at this very moment because David based his writing of the character on his own self, including certain events, opinions, and details regarding his own personality. In what I considered to be the most “George Costanza” move ever in “The Revenge“, he quits his job in an outlandish manner but after realizing job prospects out there aren’t the greatest, he tries to go back the next day and act like nothing happens. Since nobody takes him seriously anyway, it could hypothetically be passed off as a joke. As crazy as this sounds, David tried to pull this exact stunt off when he quit working for Saturday Night Live. This is the maniac behind the George Costanza character and once it clicked for the both of them, the character hits his stride and easily becomes the most interesting, hysterical, and well-written supporting characters in television history. The lore and development of George by the show’s end becomes one for the ages too.

You don’t even realize how iconic he is until he tells his life story in “The Andrea Doria“, an episode where he tries to beat out an Andrea Doria survivor for a coveted apartment by telling the tenant association why his tragic story is much worse.

George is a lot of things. He’s the embodiment of selfishness, neurotic at the highest of levels, vengeful, self-loathing, lazy, cheap (though don’t accuse him of this), insecure, EXTREMELY petty, and thinks everyone’s out to get him. In his defense, most of the time this ends up being true, but the reason is usually rooted back to something he did. George is a weasel and anytime he tries to get something he wants or tries to pull off some crazy scheme, his adventures always seem to become the highlight of the show. He’ll preview his idea with Jerry at the coffee shop and whether Jerry is impressed by his ingenuity, or he tells him it’s a god-awful idea, George will go through with it, and it will fail eventually.

What’s even more fun to watch is when it blows up in his face, and Jerry is there to remind him about it in the funniest way possible. Regardless of all the problems George finds himself because of his own actions, he’s proven to be a low-key genius with some of the ideas he comes up with. In an episode like “The Switch“, it really gets you thinking how his crazy idea might actually work in the right circumstances. His handling of working with the Yankees (like locking his keys in his car and everyone thinks he’s the first one there and the last one to leave in “The Caddy“) and trying to collect his paycheck by doing things as lazily as possible seem like work-related antics you can get away with if you have enough conviction as a liar. This is the key to making the antics of George not seem out of the realm of possibility somehow. He’s a massive liar and seeing how far he will take his lie also becomes one of the iconic traits of the George Costanza character. He’s considered to be the master of deception. No human being is willing to go as far as he is willing to, to meet his end goal of whatever it may be for that episode (The Marine Biologist, The Hamptons, and countless others).

“Jerry, just remember. It’s not a lie if you believe it”.

George just does things wrong. There’s no other way to put it. In one of the funnier George-centric episodes in “The Opposite“, the only time life starts looking up for him is when he does the exact opposite of what his instincts tell him. Of course, he naturally will stop his own momentum by being himself, but it’s still hysterical to watch unfold.

Additionally, watching him flip out and his psyche go through the ringer as he deals with insane parents, an inability to keep a relationship going because of his uncanny ability to screw things up, and his horrible luck in anything he has going for him, he’s essentially the exact opposite of Jerry. Jerry’s a guy who has all the luck and tends to always even out (The Opposite). This is why Jerry seems to be at ease at all times and never has a care in the world, except when dealing with Kramer, or Newman’s punk ass.

Elaine Benes (Dreyfus) is Jerry’s ex-girlfriend. Despite previously dating, they decided they work best as friends, and she becomes one of the core members of the group. She starts out as the cute and level-headed funny one who’s fine trying to figure out her life, with strong enough beliefs to the point it affects the men she dates (The Couch, The Boyfriend). Midway through the show however, she is stripped of her innocence and sweet nature, and becomes a key member of the comic adventures through her developed personality. After her work with Mr. Lippman (Richard Fancy) at Pendant Publishing and being the assistant for the insanely demanding Justin Pitt (Ian Abercrombie), and an overabundance of awkward situations and happenings at both workplaces, we start to see the growth in Elaine. With the combined stresses of her annoying friends and the craziness of her jobs, she starts to go onto a path of ruthlessness. She becomes angry, power hungry, annoyed with everyone and their quirks, vindictive, and superficial. She’s easily the most headstrong (borderline stubborn) person of the group too. She’s not afraid to talk shit and have her voice heard, despite being best friends with three of the most talkative people in New York hanging around and roping her into daily hairbrained schemes either purposely or coincidentally. She’s feisty as hell too and will cause an issue if she feels slighted by anyone (The Soup Nazi, The Susie). She gets into scuffles with Jerry, George on numerous occasions, and even George’s father Frank (The Little Kicks), among others.

Just like Jerry is with his girlfriends, Elaine goes through boyfriend after boyfriend as well, usually finding something wrong with every one of them. Routinely, each one has a more specific (and funny) problem than the last causing things to go sour in a hurry like with the bad breaker-upper in “The Andrea Doria“. Though there are many of these losers, recurring character David Puddy (Patrick Warburton) is easily the best one. They can’t stand each other but always make up, even though they’re constantly at odds. Another big trait of Elaine is that she gets super cocky when anything goes her way (The Foundation) and once again, it always blows up in her face much to Jerry’s delight and shit-eating grin (The Voice). It gets to the point where she begs for something to happen to Jerry, but he insists he’ll be just fine because that’s how funny (and smug) he is.

The over-the-top personalities Elaine deals with whether it be in work or wherever else couldn’t be more entertaining. Working for J. Peterman was easily the most entertaining though, due to the outrageously good John O’Hurley.

Elaine is the most underrated character in the main cast. With three completely different minded male characters, you need to have a woman’s personality to shake things up and remind everyone how stupid they are. Though she plays the role of a buffer early on, her success as a supporting character is attributed to the same process that happened to George. Once her role developed and they started to understand who Elaine Benes is, she skyrocketed into the funny co-star she was destined to be. Instead of being the third wheel in the show’s humor, she become vital to the mix. Seinfeld wouldn’t have been as perfect as it was without her personality changing in the way it does. Honestly, you can’t compare her to any female character of any sitcom, especially during that timeframe. All the female main characters you find in sitcoms, though are still well balanced in terms of depth, tend to be genuinely good-natured and sweet. Elaine becomes the antithesis of this and though she shows her nice side a lot, her aggressive core is what separates her from them. If you put every classic female sitcom character into a room, Elaine would be the sole person to find a way to start an argument over a snide comment or look, and it would devolve into a fight. This is the type of energy Elaine brings to Seinfeld and why she’s so different from what Jerry, George, and Kramer bring to the table.

Just don’t let her dance. EVER!

Then, there’s the lovable eccentric that is Kramer (Richards). He’s the enigma of the group and is as bizarre as they come. He doesn’t have much of backstory. We only learn bits and pieces of how he came to be through one-liners throughout the show’s tenure. In fact, we don’t find out his first name is Cosmo until Season Six in “The Switch“. He’s the never boring, aimless, oddball neighbor of Jerry’s who always lets him know about some outrageous experiment he’s going to try to attempt. He almost never has a job, mooches from Jerry’s apartment every chance he gets, and is always cooking up some wild scheme or adventure on the daily. Sometimes they’re money ventures, but other ideas he comes up with are created out of thin air to create some kind of loophole to benefit himself like when he tries polyphasic sleep to waste less time in “The Friar’s Club” or when he decides he can only wear warm clothes straight out of the dryer in “The Calzone“. Then, you got moments where he just goes about being the random person he is like finding the set of The Merv Griffin Show in a dumpster and setting it up in his apartment in “The Merv Griffin Show“. You never know what you’re getting with Kramer but as soon as Jerry’s door open, and he flies into the apartment like the walking cartoon character he is, you know he’s about to set the scene for wackiness and will affect the rest of the episode and its characters with one of his crazy ideas (The Little Jerry).

What’s interesting about Kramer compared to the other is how he’s unapologetically honest to everyone. You can’t tell him anything because he will say it. It’s not like it’s his principle as a person, he’s just oblivious as to why it’s a big deal. In one character-defining moment, George dates a beautiful woman who’s only issue is that she has a large nose, and Kramer is the only one to point it out to her while the others walk around it in “The Nose Job“. Instead of wanting to attack Kramer, it inspires her to actually get a nose job. For some characters, mostly women, his honesty works for them, and it ends with him winning. In other cases, if things go badly, his friends usually have to deal with the consequences. It’ll typically go right over Kramer’s head, as he’s already onto the next project of his (The Voice). He is the definition of the wacky sitcom character every show has and needs. From his mannerisms to his hair, to his walk, Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer is television’s greatest wildcard, purely because he’s an unforgettable mess who explodes like a ball of energy in any scene he walks into.

One of the biggest positives coming out of Seinfeld and why it’s remembered so fondly is because of how far they go out of their way to not make this show a stereotypical sitcom. The humor is different from any other show, especially during that timeframe. It’s as if they were told how to write a show, and Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David collectively said “We don’t care. We’ll do it our way”. Going along with this, they very rarely have an overarching story that carries throughout the show. For the most part, the episode happens, and that’s it. Sure, there are recurring characters, stories, and people that are brought up from before, but the show isn’t like in Friends where each season is basically one big progressive story in the lives of the characters. The only real progression is done in the characters and how life has turned them into worse people. When looking at the overall narrative however, you could watch any episode of Seinfeld (barring the finale), and not miss anything too important with the characters or stories. This is why it has endless replay value.

You could argue this as a point against the show too. For instance, why in “The Deal“, do they tease a relationship between Jerry and Elaine, revealing to Kramer at the end of the episode that they are basically dating again. However, by the next season/episode, it’s never mentioned again? This is the only relationship throughout the entirety of the show I wanted to see! I understand this isn’t the show Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David wanted to write, but I can’t help but agree with NBC on this one. They were too good together, especially early on, to not pursue this for a season or two. Now, you can point to the fact that they did this episode to appease the network because they were pushing for it, but I hate how immaturely it was handled writing-wise. You can’t end the episode on such a major moment and not have any sort of payoff or retconning of events. There needed to be some sort of follow through where the characters at least talk about why they broke up or why it didn’t work. Even in the episode, Elaine says they can’t go back to being friends without attempting the relationship, so it would make no sense for them to go back on this point by the next episode.

Interestingly enough, there aren’t any sad moments either. All of the bad things that happen throughout the course of the show are played up comedically somehow, furthering the asshole characters the four become. This includes when George’s fiancée Susan dies in “The Invitations“. As I mentioned before, this is a major reason as to why the show is different and why it was so special. Once the group becomes more bitter, antisocial, critical of others, and they start to have problems with everyone and everything (with the exception of Kramer who isn’t a dick but just an unintentionally destructive moron), they become laugh-out-loud funny. Secretly, these characters are much more like us than we’d like to admit. We make fun of people behind their backs and smile when we see them, we criticize the way people live all the time, and we tend to make jokes in serious situations. Seinfeld is honest about this. Any kind of societal norm that people regularly do with acquaintances are a chore for them. Whether it be going to birthdays or housewarming parties, they wonder aloud why they have to go, what type of gift they should bring, who they’re going to see there, and whatever else real human beings think about in the pessimistic thought process we tend to have.

“Why do we as humans do these things? Why do we have to?”.

This is something we do in everyday life, and this form of questioning is a staple of Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up, which is why his humor is so relatable.

This conversation-styled format created a realistic and laid-back approach to the sitcom that hasn’t been reached since Seinfeld, especially in the multi-camera format. They manage to take those observations we have daily with our friends and are able to use it as background conversation for a full show, setting up the events for the episode seamlessly, and it’s funny. That’s saying something. Now, don’t let that bore you. The show may seem normal but because of the situations the characters set up through conversation, the misadventures this foursome get into are absolutely insane, crazy, and downright ridiculous, as the show progresses each season. Once the balance between the convo format and absolute chaos reaches its sweet spot somewhere in Season Three and fires on all cylinders by Season Four, the show is untouchable from there on out.

The recurring and supporting characters are second to none as well. Both of George’s parents are played masterfully by the insane Jerry Stiller and Estelle Harris (a woman who’s in the conversation for “Most Annoying Voice of All Time”). There’s Jerry’s parents always trying to save a dime to the annoyance of Jerry, and Jerry’s evil nemesis and Kramer’s good friend, Newman (Wayne Knight). Wayne Knight can do whatever he wants in his career, but to me and millions of other Americans, he will always be Newman. When something bad happens at work, I still whisper (or scream) to myself “Newman!” while holding up my fist in anger. The series of expected, catchphrase-filled conversations when Jerry sees Newman never gets old. You know exactly how it will turn out as a fan, but you can’t wait for Jerry to frustratingly quip, “Hello Newman”, to which an annoyed Newman will respond with, “Hello Jerry”.

In context, it’s funny every time.

There are loads of other supporting characters who have become synonymous with the show like Uncle Leo, “The bra-less wonder” Sue Allen Mischke, “The Library Cop”, “The Soup Nazi”, “Crazy” Joe Davola, Jackie Chiles, George Steinbrenner, “The Virgin”, Mr. Kruger, and so many more. Every single supporting character are not only highly memorable but become crucial to the show’s lasting popularity and success, as are all the inside jokes between the friends about these people. The comments made are so creative and relatable, a lot of these lines have become a part of the lexicon we speak today. You might have not realized the influence the show has had on our culture. Things like “double dipping” a chip, a woman having “man hands”, regifting, or even saying “yada yada” to avoid giving out specific details of a story, are all terms popularized by the show in one of their legendary episodes. The creativity, wittiness, and imagination by Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and their team of writers proves to this day way Seinfeld will always be looked at as one of the best shows ever written.

There are countless classic episodes. There’s honestly way too many to name, but I’ll point out a few. There’s the competition between the foursome on who could avoid masturbating the longest (The Contest), Jerry accusing dentist Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston) of converting to Judaism just so he can tell Jew jokes (The Yada Yada), and the show-defining episode where Jerry, Elaine, and George wait to be seated at a restaurant (The Chinese Restaurant). Another one in this category is “The Parking Garage“. To explain the show to a novice viewer, these two would be go-to episodes to present. There’s also the run-ins they have with a Martin Van Buren-related gang (The Van Buren Boys), Elaine’s hatred of The English Patient (The English Patient), Elaine’s idea to sell the good part of the muffin (The Muffin Tops), Kramer pretending to work at a place he doesn’t actually have a job at (The Bizarro Jerry), George getting mad how he’s not getting credit for buying Elaine a big salad (The Big Salad), Elaine creating a fake co-worker and it’s inexplicable consequences (The Susie), Kramer being convinced he saw a “pig man” in the hospital (The Bris), and problems dealing with a “low-talker” (The Puffy Shirt). Along with this, there’s George referring to himself in third person after meeting another who does it (The Jimmy), Kramer causing a series of issues after getting a strongbox (The Strongbox), and the hard-to-find today episode where the group is stuck in traffic during the “Puerto Rican Day Parade” (The Puerto Rican Day). There are numerous others, but we’d be here all day if I were to mention them. Even so, I’ll end this section on “The Soup Nazi” episode.

You can’t write about Seinfeld and not mention it.

People have mixed feelings about how the series finale was handled. Watched by a staggering 76.3 million viewers, a lot of people tend to hate on it for a myriad of reasons. Some were expecting the cliché sitcom finale where everything works out, all the characters are happy and move on with their lives, and each storyline is officially closed out on a high note. In the Seinfeld finale, they go by none of these tropes. They end it in a way that makes sense of the not-so-nice characters. It wouldn’t be logical for the show to get a happy and emotional send off. It wouldn’t fit the tone, the characters, or what made the show what it was. If no episode previously had this type of content, you can’t change it all for the ending. This may be a controversial statement, but I think “The Finale” was the most creative, biggest, and best way you could write off a group of people like this. It stayed true to the show and the characters they created while having the story feel as large as it should for a series finale. It may have been a bit harsh (and somewhat unrealistic), but it was a very funny, unforgettable, and original way to do it. Would I have wanted Jerry and Elaine to end up together? Would I want Jerry and George to sell their pilot and become huge successes in Hollywood? Would I have wanted a sad, emotional goodbye like Friends? Honestly, yes, but I’ve been more and more okay with how it ended when you bring the whole show into consideration. It wouldn’t have made sense to do the “classic sitcom ending” some may have wanted.

Just like every Seinfeld episode, comedy needed to be the focus, the characters had to be indifferent to the consequences of their actions, and the story needed to be as wacky as ever since the show has to go out with a bang.

Life can’t have a happy ending for them. This was not the foundation Seinfeld was built upon.

The show also gets extra points for not staying on the air too long. They could’ve easily stayed for a few more seasons and still be fresh, especially because since those last five seasons were peak television, but Jerry Seinfeld himself decided to call it quits while the show was on top. I got to respect that. If you can walk away from NBC’s offer of $5 million per episode to continue, you’re a stronger man then me. You offer me that type of money, I’ll do any fucking thing you say.

Watch it. Stream it. Enjoy it however you can (it’s still on every channel anyway in syndication).

Again, it’s not a sitcom you would appreciate if you’re too young. Once you become an adult, you finally appreciate Seinfeld for what it’s worth. It ages like a fine wine. Along with the regular chaos that ensues on the program, you come to appreciate the bare bones of it all. This is a show of how people actually are and how they actually think. In all honesty, we skew towards negativity, and Seinfeld embraces that. It showcases the awkward interactions we have with people and how quirky and unlikable others can be, while the group sits there and makes fun of them just like you and your friends would in real life. Think about it, if the cast of Seinfeld met the cast of Friends, there’s a good chance the Seinfeld group is going straight to Monk’s Cafe immediately after to tear apart the personalities of the group and roast the interactions they had with them. This is where the difference lies.

Because of this, I understand why it’s considered to be one of the greatest shows ever. Its humor, fearlessness, and innovation are unmatched.

This is why Seinfeld will forever be a timeless classic.