Seinfeld is 25 years old!

[black_biff_stadler]

I've never seen the episode about the fraudulent frozen yogurt in reruns. I remember the focal point being that the young son of a woman Jerry knows just happens to randomly be walking past him in a yogurt shop when he, in amazement at how good the "fat free" yogurt is, exclaims "This is so fucking good!"

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, and at the end of the episode, after multiple attempts to show him that swearing is bad, the kid starts ripping apart a cassette Jerry recorded of his act the previous night, to which he exlaims "What the fuck are you doing you little piece of shit!?!?"   

[Grizz]

I've seen that one a couple times in reruns. Hilarious.

[PetFish]

I've not watched it but I've been told that the Goldbergs fails in execution.

What does "fails in execution" even mean?  Sounds like a buzzword to make someone who doesn't like it sound smart.  If someone doesn't like it, just say they don't like it, no need to be pretentious about it.

Also, you should never let people decide for you what you should or should not do.  Check it out and decide for yourself.

I happen to love it and it reminds me of how great The Big Bang Theory was when it first started.

[El Barto]

I've not watched it but I've been told that the Goldbergs fails in execution.

What does "fails in execution" even mean?  Sounds like a buzzword to make someone who doesn't like it sound smart.  If someone doesn't like it, just say they don't like it, no need to be pretentious about it.

Actually, I think it's a pretty good assessment. It is a very good idea. It has a very good cast. The characters seem to be what they need to be. Yet, it just isn't that funny (although I only watched on episode). Simply put, it's a lot of very solid pieces that nevertheless don't work together for some reason (in this case I'd blame the writers). In other words, it fails in it's execution.

[Bolsters]

Yeah, and at the end of the episode, after multiple attempts to show him that swearing is bad, the kid starts ripping apart a cassette Jerry recorded of his act the previous night, to which he exlaims "What the fuck are you doing you little piece of shit!?!?"   

"Thanks for ruining my dad's business you fat fuck!"

[PetFish]

Actually, I think it's a pretty good assessment. It is a very good idea. It has a very good cast. The characters seem to be what they need to be. Yet, it just isn't that funny (although I only watched on episode). Simply put, it's a lot of very solid pieces that nevertheless don't work together for some reason (in this case I'd blame the writers). In other words, it fails in it's execution.

Every show has flops, even Seinfeld, so to watch 1/20 episodes that happened to not click (for you) but then to think they're all bad doesn't seem to be very fair.

If it gets canceled right away, then it failed in its execution, and will have been executed.  Going on this current thought, The Big Bang Theory has been failing in its execution (to me) for the last 4 seasons but it just keeps getting more and more popular.

I just wish people would stop being so heavily influenced by what others say regarding "art" (music, movies, etc) and just go and check it out for themselves and decide for themselves whether or not they like it or fails in its execution.  Saying "I heard from someone who read somewhere that somebody who saw a 12-minute
preview and they said it sucks so I'm not going to bother with it" is really sad but I see it all the time.

[Grizz]

I've not watched it but I've been told that the Goldbergs fails in execution.

What does "fails in execution" even mean?  Sounds like a buzzword to make someone who doesn't like it sound smart.  If someone doesn't like it, just say they don't like it, no need to be pretentious about it.

Also, you should never let people decide for you what you should or should not do.  Check it out and decide for yourself.

I happen to love it and it reminds me of how great The Big Bang Theory was when it first started.

Big Bang Theory also fails in execution. It means that the premise, characters, demographic, and potential are very good. Perfect on paper. However, in practice, or execution, it's not that good.

The Big Bang Theory should be better than Seinfeld to me. I'm a nerdy douche that uses big words to sound smart (before you judge I didn't do that until I started hanging around people like that and trying to be friends with them). I get all the comedy behind being socially awkward, I'm not offended by it, and I find it funny. I can find Sheldon very relateable. Yet, after watching a full episode, I smiled three times and laughed once. Unacceptable. The jokes were so predictable and poorly executed that when the annoying as all hell overly excited laugh track kicked in, any remnants of a humorous reaction were killed with fire. (I am aware that it is shot in front of a live studio audience, but there is a laugh track as well. The amount of weed and natural gas that would be required to make the audience laugh that hard at bad jokes every three seconds would quickly send the show way overbudget.)

I plan on watching the Goldbergs but I haven't gotten around to it.

[KevShmev]

The odd thing about Seinfeld is that most TV shows, especially comedies, are at their best in the earliest seasons, but while Seinfeld was funny early on, it wasn't consistently all-time great funny until Season 4, and they really hit their stride by the time Season 5 rolled around.  I think the last two seasons, while having some awesome episodes, got a bit hokey at times, in large part thanks to the departure of Larry David after Season 7.  Seasons 4-7 is by far the best 4-season run any comedy has ever had.  Those could have been the only four seasons they did and it would still be the best sitcom ever.

[King Postwhore]

Kev 100% correct.

[Sycsa]

The odd thing about Seinfeld is that most TV shows, especially comedies, are at their best in the earliest seasons, but while Seinfeld was funny early on, it wasn't consistently all-time great funny until Season 4, and they really hit their stride by the time Season 5 rolled around.  I think the last two seasons, while having some awesome episodes, got a bit hokey at times, in large part thanks to the departure of Larry David after Season 7.  Seasons 4-7 is by far the best 4-season run any comedy has ever had.  Those could have been the only four seasons they did and it would still be the best sitcom ever.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is like that as well. All of it is excellent and it gets better and better every season. Larry David's sense of humor resonates with me extremely well. Come to think of it, Seinfeld and Curb are the only two live action sitcoms I ever liked and I watched them both dozens of times. I experimented with Arrested Development, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, HIMYM but they all seemed so tame and dumb compared to Curb & Seinfeld. 

[ThatcrazyKISSfan]

The odd thing about Seinfeld is that most TV shows, especially comedies, are at their best in the earliest seasons, but while Seinfeld was funny early on, it wasn't consistently all-time great funny until Season 4, and they really hit their stride by the time Season 5 rolled around.  I think the last two seasons, while having some awesome episodes, got a bit hokey at times, in large part thanks to the departure of Larry David after Season 7.  Seasons 4-7 is by far the best 4-season run any comedy has ever had.  Those could have been the only four seasons they did and it would still be the best sitcom ever.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is like that as well. All of it is excellent and it gets better and better every season. Larry David's sense of humor resonates with me extremely well. Come to think of it, Seinfeld and Curb are the only two live action sitcoms I ever liked and I watched them both dozens of times. I experimented with Arrested Development, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, HIMYM but they all seemed so tame and dumb compared to Curb & Seinfeld.

Dude, how could you not like Arrested Development? It's right up there with Curb. I like the first 2-3 seasons of It's Always Sunny, but it's not up there with Curb and AD. How I Met Your Mother's success is proof that we're fucked as a nation.

[KevShmev]

"You find yourself in the kitchen, you see an eclair in the receptacle, and you think to yourself, 'What the hell, I'll just eat some trash.'"

[Zantera]

What I love about Seinfeld that separates it from many other sitcoms is how they manage to write several plotlines in one episode, but having all of them interfere with each other. It doesn't feel forced, and the episode could feature all of the characters having different problems, but the storylines come together perfectly. In many other sitcoms, there's 2-3 different plotlines in an episode, and they don't cross over into each other at all. Or they feel really forced. With Seinfeld, I really love how they were able to write separate stories, but make it cross into each other.

[jingle.boy]

Kev 100% correct.

Close... but c'mon, Season 3 was gold as well - The Parking Garage, The Pez Dispenser, The Library (with Bookman), "These pretzels are making me thirsty", Keith Hernandez, and the finale with Kramer moving to California.  That's when they started to hit their stride, and Season 4 is my favorite.  Not a bad episode that whole year.

[Sycsa]

Dude, how could you not like Arrested Development? It's right up there with Curb. I like the first 2-3 seasons of It's Always Sunny, but it's not up there with Curb and AD. How I Met Your Mother's success is proof that we're fucked as a nation.

I actually got through a season and a half with AD, which says a lot (couldn't stand to watch more than a couple of episodes of Sunny and I endured some HIMYM episodes on account of my girlfriend), but every episode was a hit or miss for me, regarding both the humor and the characters. I had fun, but I also found myself cringing a lot. I still get a chuckle when I think of the "hermano" episode though. Maybe I'll give it another go, see how the reboot turned out. Did you like S4 by the way?

Oh, I also really dug Ricky Gervais' Extras (got into it because of Curb), couldn't say the same for The Office though. Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is pretty sweet as well. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a Curb S9 and I rather re-watch old episodes than experiment with anything new at this point. Maybe I'll give Louie a spin some time. 

[ThatcrazyKISSfan]

Avoid Season 4 of AD at all costs.

[senecadawg2]

Seinfeld wipes the floor with most sitcoms, and definitely AD imo. For me it's just so much more relatable and unique.

[KevShmev]

Kev 100% correct.

Close... but c'mon, Season 3 was gold as well - The Parking Garage, The Pez Dispenser, The Library (with Bookman), "These pretzels are making me thirsty", Keith Hernandez, and the finale with Kramer moving to California.  That's when they started to hit their stride, and Season 4 is my favorite.  Not a bad episode that whole year.

True, Season 3 is pretty great, too, but it does have a handful of episodes I consider to be pretty average, while 4-7 is pretty much one great episode after another.  Season 3 definitely has some of their best, though.

[Grizz]

I've never seen the episode about the fraudulent frozen yogurt in reruns. I remember the focal point being that the young son of a woman Jerry knows just happens to randomly be walking past him in a yogurt shop when he, in amazement at how good the "fat free" yogurt is, exclaims "This is so fucking good!"

"The other day Matthew said 'Mom, where's my fucking cupcake?'"

[Cool Chris]

The best thing about Seinfeld is that you could be a minor character in one show with very few lines of dialog and you'll be remembered forever cuz Seinfeld allowed you to go nuts with it and make it your own, make it unique, and make it memorable.

On another forum I wrote a post about how integral the bit characters were to the success of the show. Cheers had one of the best comedic ensemble casts ever, but I couldn't name one person outside the main cast in that show's history (ok, except Gary or whoever owned the rival tavern). The story and the humor always revolved around the main cast. With Seinfeld, there were so many bit players in their world who added so much depth and humor.

[El Barto]

The best thing about Seinfeld is that you could be a minor character in one show with very few lines of dialog and you'll be remembered forever cuz Seinfeld allowed you to go nuts with it and make it your own, make it unique, and make it memorable.

On another forum I wrote a post about how integral the bit characters were to the success of the show. Cheers had one of the best comedic ensemble casts ever, but I couldn't name one person outside the main cast in that show's history (ok, except Gary or whoever owned the rival tavern). The story and the humor always revolved around the main cast. With Seinfeld, there were so many bit players in their world who added so much depth and humor.

Andy Andy. Harry the Hat. Nick Tortelli. Mr. Melville. Mr. Gaines (brilliant). Robin Colcorde. Eddie LeBeck. The annoying French guy who wanted to pork Kellie. Kellie. Those are just recurring characters. A lot of the one-offs were just as good. Of course Cleese. The fidelity expert who wanted to bang Rebecca. The snooty French caterer.

That said, it is one of the best ensemble casts there is, though. I'd almost certainly put it in the top five; though I have no such list at this point. Hell, Woody and Kellie's wedding is not only one of the best examples of ensemble comedy there is, but one of the best 1 hours of sitcom there has been. 

[jingle.boy]

Calling Dr. Daniels!  Doctor Jack Daniels!  One of my top 5 TV moments ever.

Of course, this is my top TV moment ever.

[Cool Chris]

As I was out working on my deck, I thought about John Cleese and Harry the Hat, and the old guy who owned the restaurant upstairs. I recognize the haste in my posting.

The rest of those do not, or did not, stand out in my mind. And I never liked the Kellie plot line. Not sure why.

[KevShmev]

The best thing about Seinfeld is that you could be a minor character in one show with very few lines of dialog and you'll be remembered forever cuz Seinfeld allowed you to go nuts with it and make it your own, make it unique, and make it memorable.

On another forum I wrote a post about how integral the bit characters were to the success of the show. Cheers had one of the best comedic ensemble casts ever, but I couldn't name one person outside the main cast in that show's history (ok, except Gary or whoever owned the rival tavern). The story and the humor always revolved around the main cast. With Seinfeld, there were so many bit players in their world who added so much depth and humor.

Andy Andy. Harry the Hat. Nick Tortelli. Mr. Melville. Mr. Gaines (brilliant). Robin Colcorde. Eddie LeBeck. The annoying French guy who wanted to pork Kellie. Kellie. Those are just recurring characters. A lot of the one-offs were just as good. Of course Cleese. The fidelity expert who wanted to bang Rebecca. The snooty French caterer.

That said, it is one of the best ensemble casts there is, though. I'd almost certainly put it in the top five; though I have no such list at this point. Hell, Woody and Kellie's wedding is not only one of the best examples of ensemble comedy there is, but one of the best 1 hours of sitcom there has been.

Damn straight to all of this!

I always got a kick out of the sarcastic delivery out of the Gaines' butler. The one where Rebecca thought she was gonna be Mr. Gaines' date at a party at their house, but he really just invited her to work, had this great exchange:

Rebecca: I think that I was supposed to be Mr. Gaines' date.

Butler: Really? Oh, they'll love that in the kitchen.

 

And yeah, Woody's wedding is easily some of the best comedy ever.

[El Barto]

Egad! George's mom is one of the most horribly offensive and repugnant characters I've ever seen. I'm trying to think of comparable characters, and she's right up there with Livia Soprano and Cybil Fawlty when it comes to abhorrent TV women. Agnes Skinner, too. 

[jingle.boy]

The thing about the guest spots on Cheers vs Seinfeld, is that the Cheers ones were memorable, but none ever became iconic.  None will surpass The Soup Nazi, but there are so many more (one timers and recurring characters) ... Puddy, Mr. Peterson, Steinbrenner, Poppy, Bubble Boy, Banya, Bookman, Izzy Mandelbaum, Man Hands, The Close Talker, The Soft Talker, The High Talker, Pam, Uncle Leo, Crazy Joe Devola, Donna Chang, The Jimmy... the list goes on - not to mention all the girlfriends of George and Jerry.  It wasn't always the character themselves, but the way they were used... hell, we never even saw Bubble Boy or Man Hands.

[King Postwhore]

Egad! George's mom is one of the most horribly offensive and repugnant characters I've ever seen. I'm trying to think of comparable characters, and she's right up there with Livia Soprano and Cybil Fawlty when it comes to abhorrent TV women. Agnes Skinner, too.

Not from TV nut I've always hated any of William Atherton's characters.  From the arrogant reporter Richard Thornburg in Die Hard, to the arrogant professor from Real Genius  Prof. Jerry Hathaway to Ghostbusters Walter Peck, an inspector for the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA.


I hated all of those characters. In a good was because he could play someone so disgusting.

[Zantera]

I agree about the Seinfeld side-characters being very memorable and iconic. Some of them only appear in a limited amount of episodes, yet whenever one of the characters mention their names, you (as a viewer) know exactly who they mean, even if they had only appeared once or twice before.

[Bolsters]

hell, we never even saw Bubble Boy or Man Hands.

We did see Man-Hands. They had shots of an offscreen man touching Jerry, but there were also shots of a perfectly normal looking woman who was playing her.

[King Postwhore]

When Jerry watched her crack open the lobster with her bare hands it was priceless.

[Zantera]

I love hot the characters play off each other, but George is my favorite. I just love it how he gets so worked up about the little things, and that very minor things will ruin stuff for him. He's the best. 

[KevShmev]

Yep, I think George is easily the best character on the show (although Kramer was arguably funnier, thanks to how funny Michael Richards made him), and I usually opine that he is one of the best four TV characters ever (along with Walter White, Tony Soprano and Archie Bunker). 

It's hard to remember all of his great lines, but one of my favorites is when he is telling Jerry what he doesn't like about his girlfriend, and when Jerry asks him why doesn't he just tell her, he replies in a very honest tone with, "I'm much more comfortable criticizing people behind their backs."

[King Postwhore]

I love hot the characters play off each other, but George is my favorite. I just love it how he gets so worked up about the little things, and that very minor things will ruin stuff for him. He's the best. 

I think the 4 main characters all do this. and in the end they only have each other.  They are bitching partners in jail.

[senecadawg2]

Just watched The Marine Biologist last night and it reminded me of how much I like George as a character. But Kramer is still my favorite. There's just something about his presence that demands attention, even when he's not the focal point of a particular scene.