Revisiting "Seinfeld"

 

To get us through the winter and early spring months of this year, Linda and I decided that we would binge watch the comedy series "Seinfeld".  We started with the pilot episode in Season One and made it though all nine seasons and 173 episodes.  Linda was a sporadic watcher of the show, so much of it was new to her.  I thought that I had seen them all, but soon discovered that I had missed quite a few during the first three seasons.  I also learned that Linda had never seen the now infamous Finale, but more on that later.

I am happy to say that the show holds up (if you can overlook cordless telephones the size of cinderblocks).  It is still funny, sometimes tears-in-your-eyes-pee-your-pants funny, especially some of the antics of Cosmo Kramer  (sabotaging a laundromat washing machine with concrete, wearing skinny jeans, showing up and "working" at some corporation, accepting a Tony Award).  I have long maintained that the character of George Costanza belonged on the Mt. Rushmore  of Sitcom Second Bananas (along with Ed Norton, Barney Fife, and Corporal Agarn), and I still do, but if you make an argument that Kramer belongs on the Mountain, it would be hard to argue against you.

Upon this re-viewing of the series, I can say the the show got funnier every season and reached it's peak in Season Seven, the season that involved George's engagement to Susan Ross, the events leading up to the wedding, and how it all came to an end.  It's only my opinion, but I think that while it still had its high comic moments, it started running out of steam in Seasons Eight and Nine.

As we were plowing through it, Linda asked something along the lines or "Do Jerry and Elaine get together in the end?"  That's when I realized she had never seen the Finale, and I decided to say nothing of it until she saw it.  Her opinion was the same as everyone else's: It was terrible way to end the show.  I have a friend who told me that the final  episode pointed out the self-absorption of the characters, that they were essentially just not nice people, and as a result, he's never been able to watch reruns of the show.  I get it.  However, it didn't make me want to not do the binge thing that we did, and I know that I will keep watching reruns of the show whenever the mood strikes.

Just some of my favorite thoughts when it comes to the series in no particular order:

• The marble rye
• Close talkers
• Jerry's parents
• George's parents
• Festivus, which has become a real thing, by the way
• Not that there's anything wrong with that
• The Puffy Shirt, which came about because of a..
• Low talker
• NEWMAN!
• Jack Klompus
• The Summer of George
• The Human Fund
• "Get OUT!!!"
• Elaine dancing
• Marisa Tomei
• Puddy
• Kramer's entrances
• They're real and they're spectacular
• The faces that Elaine could make
• That's gold, Jerry. GOLD!
• Bookman the library cop
• George Costanza - just about everything about him
• These pretzels are making me thirsty

I know that as soon as I hit the "publish"button on this, I'll think of a dozen more classic bits that have woven themselves into the everyday thoughts of those of us who watched and loved the show.

As time has gone on, we have seen Michael Richards get pretty much culture canceled for an unfortunate stand up routine that he did after the show ended.  Jason Alexander did a  series called "Listen Up" that never made it past one season, but you see him popping up all the time on commercials and guest acting gigs on television.  Julia  Louis-Dreyfus has won a slew of Emmys for the show "Veep" and has made some pretty decent movies.  Jerry Seinfeld has continued doing stand-up, and just made a movie for Netflix called "Unfrosted".  It won't make any ten best lists, but it was entertaining and, more important, funny.  I also see hints on the internet that he has taken to becoming a "cranky old guy" now that he has hit age 70.  I haven't seen that personally, but hey, that's how these arcs usually go.  He has, if true, become his Uncle Leo and his dad, Morty.

I suppose that it is difficult for actors to overcome when that have become so solidly identified in the public's mind with one character or show.  It happens a lot in show biz, but if your legacy is to be identified forever as being a part of one of the classic television shows of all time,  I am guessing that any actor would say "sign me up", or in the case of Cosmo Kramer, he would say "Giddyup!"