Seinfeld: did you get it?

[klunderbunker]

Seinfeld is considered to be either one of the greatest shows in the history of television, or one of the biggest wastes of time in the history of television. To me, it's the textbook definition of a show that you either got or you didn't get. Some people find it to be absolutely hysterical. Others find it to be utterly boring. I've seen a few episodes here and there but for the most part it was before my time. From what I've seen, I don't get the appeal. I chuckled here and there and it's not particularly bad, but to me it's certainly nothing mind blowing. I would fall under the category of not getting it.

So what about you? What are your thoughts on Seinfeld? Great show, or just overhyped?

 

[ztwhite]

The reason you don't get it is because most of the topics that Seinfeld was based around are moot points in 2009.

The various complications, misunderstandings, social disasters (yada yada yada) of some of the show's most classic episodes don't exist or are not funny due to the many technologies that have proliferated since Seinfeld went off the air in 1998.

Cell phones

"The Sponge," from the show's seventh season, is best remembered for coining the term "sponge-worthy." Although, the episode's funniest moments involve George (Jason Alexander) fretting about being cut "out of the loop" after he tells his doomed fiancée Susan the truth about Jerry's pants size. What's even funnier is that the main characters are constantly out of each others' loops—to the extent that episodes like "The Movie" are entirely dependent on the principal cast's inability to get a hold of one another. Of course, that wouldn't be a big deal in the age of cell phones, where George, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) or Kramer (Michael Richards) could just let Jerry know they're going to another theater via text message. And while George is such a miser that he'd likely be one of those jerks who prides himself on not having a cell phone, a large chunk of his development as the show's major fussbudget would be lost if, in "The Chinese Restaurant," his girlfriend Tatiana could call him directly. George is dumb, but he's not dumb enough to answer his own phone as "Cartwright."

Caller ID

By the time "The Susie" aired in February 1997, caller ID was a readily available technology. But taking George's stinginess into account once more (he did let Susan buy potentially toxic envelopes for their wedding invitations just because they were cheaper), it wouldn't make sense for him to shell out the extra cash to screen for a potential break-up call, not when an answering machine could do the job. With caller ID now as standard a phone feature as the handset, George would definitely know if it was Jerry or Allison calling—and no one born after 1983 would know the "Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)."

YouTube

If a comedian as witless as Jeff Dunham can have the seventh-most-watched video in YouTube history, then surely a fictionalized version of Seinfeld (the guy who perfected observational humor) could knock Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" out of the top spot. Hell, he could even use it to launch his long-in-the-works pilot Jerry. Bam: Seinfeld's greatest meta-joke destroyed by the Internet meme machine.

"The Boyfriend"'s nod to Oliver Stone's JFK wouldn't work well in the YouTube era, either—not that the "back and to the left" gag has aged particularly well to begin with. Applying some Jim Garrison-style analysis to the episode's Zapruder film sequence, we see a man (who must be Orville Nix in this situation) filming Kramer and Newman (Wayne Knight) as they get assaulted by someone they assume to be New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez. If you recorded a World Series champion (or two champions, if you support Jerry's "second spitter" theory) hocking a loogie at a fat guy and his gangly friend with a goofy haircut, wouldn't you upload the video to YouTube (or Vimeo and Daily Motion) as soon as you got home? Newman would have seen the video that very night, vlogged about it, and redirected all his Hernandez hate at Jerry.

Keyless entry

Cosmo "Let's install a hot tub in my apartment" Kramer is George's polar opposite in money matters; so you'd better believe any car he'd buy would be equipped with remote-control keyless entry. And he wouldn't cheap out: That baby could trigger a panic signal from any level inside "The Parking Garage." That still doesn't guarantee the car would work once he finds it, but that's the kind of problem cell phones were created to solve. (Seriously, the "show about nothing" would be less so if these characters had cell phones.)

Decider

We're not saying our colleagues in New York would list an appearance by a white supremacist at Madison Square Garden, but there'd probably be a Gag Reflex that would let Jerry and George know not to swipe a car reserved for said white supremacist, which they do in "The Limo." Similarly, Decider's movie listings would eliminate the B-story in "The Pool Guy" where Kramer pretends to be the voice of Moviefone. If this article proves anything, it's that Decider is great at making Seinfeld less funny.

 

[laxfan41]

It was one of the greatest shows ever, although the show is so stupid, it is hillarious. One of the best was when Elaine's boss ate the candy bar with a fork and knife. People still say "No soup for you!" Seinfeld takes on weird things that people do everyday that most people make fun of. I think that people who don't like and think that it is a huge waste of time just don't get the show (One of the most obvious things ever said, but still.)

 

[tLight]

I dvr it on a regular basis. Theres so much funny shit that happens, but then again you would have had to been born in the early 80's and remember the 90's to get most of the jokes, plots, and underlying stories that the show centers around. I remember watching it as a kid and it was hilarious, and its just as funny now as an adult.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Seinfeld was the shit! Not many people can dig dry humor, they like the funny to be right out in the open, with Seinfeld, sure you had to think about it, but it was fucking awesome. The whole cast worked wonderfully with each other, and it was just a great show all around. I don't see a single flaw in this sitcom. Oh and by the way, it perfected what a sitcom is supposed to be about SITUATIONAL comedy. Not out in your face funny.

 

[Freddy4190]

It definitely was a show that you either liked or didn't. I remember watching it vaguely as a kid, and then watching the final episode which is still one of the most watched things ever. The show had it's bits that were kinda meh. That weren't HILARIOUS, but definitely funny. It also had moments that would make you laugh your ass off. I totally got the show, and enjoy watching re-runs of it now. Seinfelds a great show.

 

[The Brain]

I definitely got it. I thought Seinfeld was a great show. I’m the type of guy who goes about daily life finding humor in the little things. That’s what Seinfeld was all about. All four of those characters were so wrapped up in themselves and obsessed about the most minor things. On some level we can all relate to that.

 

[byrnside]

Seinfeld shaped my life as I know it, from the Yada Yada, to buffer zone, to serenity now... The list goes on and on, and for me, it is THE greatest show to date.. I'm pretty sure there isn't one thing someone could say to me that I couldn't turn into a Seinfeld reference somehow. I've been watching this show since I was in high school, and I have every season on DVD, which I can't say for any other show. Mainly, because I couldn't watch any other show over and over again like I can Seinfeld, and it still be funny. Kramer and George absolutely make the show.

 

[BigT_HolyShit]

hey, Hey, HEy, HEY, HEYY theres a thread bout Seinfeld?

Seinfeld is the best show bout, quote, "NOTHING". Apart from Jerry Seinfelds pretty shitty acting, the rest of the cast make for a believable, relatable, hysterical and utterly enjoyable episodic television show. I have purchased the box set of Seinfeld including every single episode, including their pilot.

What makes Seinfeld so enjoyable? Two words to summarise the show? KRAMER and GEORGE. Well two names. George is convincing as the selfish, egotistical bald man who can't seem to do anything right. Kramer's clumsiness is rofl.

Did i get the show? HolyShit yes!

Oh yeah and to add to what i said earlier, they are having a SEINFELD REUNION Show. When I got home from UNI today, it was mentioned on the news that all the characters are returning together.

Didn't understand whether it was for another season or simply another episode. So excited..

 

[X]

Oh yeah and to add to what i said earlier, they are having a SEINFELD REUNION Show. When I got home from UNI today, it was mentioned on the news that all the characters are returning together.

Didn't understand whether it was for another season or simply another episode. So excited..

It's not actually a Seinfeld TV show special or something, it's just all four of the original cast members are going to appear on the season premiere of Larry David's show "Curb Your Enthusiasm", in the show they're going to be playing themselves, and in the episode they're going to be having a Seinfeld reunion as a part of the plot. Should be great either way.

 

[NSL]

I was, and still am, a big Seinfeld fan. It's humor is definitely not for everyone, and that's OK. I won't bash people for hating it, because I know that some people get it, some people don't, unlike a lot of other shows from the 90's. When I was younger watching it, I found a lot of parts funny, and others didn't make sense. re-watching it now, I get all of it, and it makes it a lot funnier.

 

[TeryoLaw]

Hey, that's interesting. I didn't know there was gonna be a "Seinfeld reunion". I'd like to check that out.

Im a huge fan of this show. It could be because I grow up during the 90's. Some of the things they do in the show are just crazy, genius and utterly hilarious. I don't know if I can give a detailed explanation myself, either you like it or dont.

 

[Kenny Powers]

The Seinfeld Reunion starts this Sunday on HBO. I'm a fan of Seinfeld but a bigger fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm. My folks were always fans of Friends and Seinfeld and still watch it today. My friends are huge Seinfeld friends but I catch it every now and then. It should be a great show since it's a mock reunion and the only way I think all of the cast would ever get together again on television.

I'm sorry but Julia Louis Dryfus is just as hot today if not more than she was back in the 90's. It will be interesting to see what that crazy "racist" Michael Richards is up to. It seems unless these 4 are together they are unsuccessful in doing their own shows. Except Jerry of course who still gets crazy money for Stand Up and commercials.