Seinfeld: Classic or Dud

Anyway, I want to hate this show, it's the type of cultural phenomenon that normally annoys me, but every time I stumble across a rerun I end up watching it and having some good laffs. Last night I saw the one where Elaine dates a mover but breaks up with him because of his stance on abortion. And George invites himself over to a family's house to watch their rented copy of Breakfast at Tiffany's because he didn't read the book for his study group. It was funny. I'll say classic.

BBC2 didin't treat these shows like the comedy gold they were (sticking them late evening etc WTF?!) whereas crap like friends and will and grace get prime time on C4 (OK the former was funny for the first two series).

crosspost: daddino doesn't rock anymore.

I HAVEN'T EVEN BEGUN TO ROCK YET!

I'm afraid of you.

George Constanza is a brilliant character. A recognizable, even sympathetic monster.

Witness this and this. As well as this, once in a while.

Also, I'm fairly sure I would love Larry Sanders, but I've never seen it because of the stupid fucking BBC.

But I do think it's a great show, and sometimes ridiculously funny. And I think the "nihilism" (but it's not that - it's a sympathetic portrait of failed humanity) is what makes it great. Curb Your Enthusiasm does this too, but too much so - we need some real humor and niceness along with the nasty stuff. Also, the particularly New York voice of the show. Complaining about the hackneyed plot lines is like complaining that Buffy has to kill a vampire every week (well, ok, maybe there's something to that).

It's not my personal favorite tv show - I like sentimental, yuppie-sensibility stuff like Mad About You and Northern Exposure, which I won't make greatness claims for. And It's not the greatest tv show ever - whatever that is, it's probably not a sitcom - but I think a good argument can be made for best sitcom of the last 25 years

I totally disagree with this. I've come to HATE the basic attitude of Seinfeld - I watch it every night, it's the only thing on TV in New Zealand - and Jerry's whole, 'My parents love me, aren't I adorable, you all love me, and I'm just gonna be a fucking bastard because I can' thing is really wearying after a while. Seinfeld doesn't even break a sweat. He's always as cool as a cucumber, looking at everyone else - looking at girls - and the sneer is never too far away. Larry David seems much humbler - he can hardly bear to look anyone else in the face, let alone laugh AT them. This makes 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' seem much, much nicer to me.

Seinfeld has ruined me for all other sitcoms: I can't watch any of them without getting bored. I think it's actually gotten better in syndication: the episodes I thought were lame first time around seem funnier to me now. There's also a tragic, hopeless undercurrent to the humor that's perfectly disguised by its breeziness, tho it's probably fatal to take Seinfeld too seriously.

Also, after watching it 53,000,000 times I think I've started to fancy Elaine a bit.

But I'm not entirely without complaint.

They truly should have found someone else to play Seinfeld. In a stellar
comedic cast he stood out as a rank amateur, often botching the
proceedings. The scripts stroke his ego shamelessly, pairing him with
an endless parade of beautiful women and sparing him the severest
discomfort. And his standup was horrible, an unintentional joke.

But he couldn't stop the show from being brilliant! Starting about
halfway through the second season, the writers were so great at
layering several absurd storylines, culminating in these chaotic
comedic orgies that can only be compared to end-of-episode
climaxes in _Fawlty Towers_. How come more sitcoms don't
have this format, instead of a boring linear string of
sometimes-funny wisecracks? Mindless jokes _Seinfeld_
decidedly IS NOT.

Thing is, the early episodes were pretty crappy - that's partly
why I think people don't like them, they got a bad taste in their
mouth early on and never gave it a second chance.

Also, the episodes are highly self-referential, so you have
to watch it from the opening credits, or half the jokes don't
make any sense whatever.

And woah, are there actually people named Shoshanna?
I know a Shoshanna and I thought that her name was a
bizzare hippie side effect.

Oh yeah, and the sight of a pimp Kramer being
arrested for assaulting a prostitute = one of the best
endings ever.

remember Bee Movie

He was legitimately great at this on Seinfeld though, something that really defines that show for me is how most episodes end on a good joke rather than trying to wrap anything up

I just searched 'Unfrosted' on twitter to see if I was maybe off-base with my impression that it's getting a mostly negative reaction and after scrolling through dozens of people hating on it the first positive comment is from someone whose profile says they own over 2300 Funko Pops lol (including/plus "300 + grails")

Kurt Pickard
Murfreesboro, TN 2h ago

"Unfrosted" is a true delight, especially for those of us who grew up during that era. For those who didn't, I can see where some of the nuanced humor gets lost. No bloody violence, foul language, sex or computer graphics. The casting is superb and we need to keep a special eye on Eleanor Sweeney. Everyone in the house can lean back in the recliner and enjoy some good natured fun. How uncommon is that these days? Jerry Seinfeld hit this movie out of the park and should be nominated for an Oscar's Oscar. My only complaint is that Larry David was noticeably absent.

no bloody violence, foul language, sex or computer graphics 👎🏽

it does have that Gus Grissom joke though, which has divided even fans of the film

@JerrySeinfeld I very much enjoyed Unfrosted. I would be pleased if you would consider removing the name of Gus Grissom from the movie. It's not appropriate. Also, FYI - IBM is not responsible for Univac. Of course Chef Boy-are-dee had noting to do with Pop Tarts either. :)

— ReadandRight (@ReadandRight999) May 10, 2024

The casting is superb and we need to keep a special eye on Eleanor Sweeney.

assuming that this was the girl who played one of the two kids who appear at various points throughout the film, she was really eerily good

That Kurt Pickard review reminds me of those Walter Monheit blurbs in Spy Magazine back in the day. (In fairness it should be pointed out that the Spy Magazine TV Special in the late 80's was ably hosted by a young Jerry Seinfeld.)

Ha I thought the movie was funny -- Austin Powers-esque zaniness. I have to admit I'm a cereal fanatic, so humour involving Battle Creek, MI, and niacin is up my alley.

Some side bits were amazingly unfunny, but it's hardly the worst thing put out by Netflix this month, let alone decade.