Seinfeld is 25 years old!

[KevShmev]

Woah.

Also, there is a magazine out in stores now, from the editors of TV Guide, that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the first Seinfeld episode.  It has a top 25 episodes list, which goes like this (with quotes inserted by me):

25. The Hamptons ("Do women know about shrinkage?")
24. The Strike (A Festivus for the rest of us.")
23. The Little Kicks ("More like a full-body dry heave set to music.")
22/21. The Boyfriend Parts I and II ("THAT is one magic loogie.")
20. The Implant ("Oh, and by the way, they're real, and they're spectacular.")
19. The Yada Yada ("You're a rabid anti-dentite!")
18. The Bizarro Jerry ("She had man hands.")
17. The Sponge ("Yes, I think I've very sponge-worthy.")
16. The Shower Head ("Uncle Leo is having regular sex?" 'I know, it devalues the whole thing.")
15. The Serenity Now ("Serenity now, insanity later.")
14. The Pez Dispenser ('You can't break up with me, I've got hand." "And you're gonna need it.")
13. The Junior Mint ("Alright, just let me finish my coffee, and then I'll go watch 'em slice this fat bastard up.")
12. The Opposite ("Bald men with no jobs and no money who live with their parents don't approach strange women.")
11. The Outing ("You could throw a dart out the window and hit someone better than me.")
10. The Merv Griffin Show ("More heavy gravy?")
09. The Pen ("Stella!!")
08. The Chinese Restaurant ("You know, it's not fair that people are seated first come, first served; it should be based on who's hungriest.")
07. The Bubble Boy ("I'm sorry, the card says Moops.")
06. The Jimmy ("Jimmy's going into shock!")
05. The Fusili Jerry ("I'm Cosmo Kramer, the Assman.")
04. The Puffy Shirt ("Then let him have bananas on the side!!!!!!!!!!!")
03. The Soup Nazi ("I had to listen to a five minute discussion on which one is actually called shmoopy.")
02. The Marine Biologist ("The sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."
01 The Contest ("I'm Out!")

Stellar top 25 list, although I would have liked to have seen The Muffin Tops, The Non-Fat Yogurt, The Calzone or The Conversion in there, but there are so many awesome ones, they all can't be in there.

Anyway, it was high time for another appreciation thread for the best comedy ever, so here it is. 

[ColdFireYYZ]

Great list, but I would have definitely included The Rye. That one's a top 15 episode for me.

[rumborak]

Awesome. I don't feel like rewatching all of it, but this list of episodes I might just put on for giggles.

[bosk1]

Wow, hard to believe.  That top 25 is a pretty solid list.  Hard to criticize, but I feel like I have to give a bit of a plug for The Bizarro Jerry.  I can see a few other "classic" episodes ranking above it, but I think it should definitely be top 5 at least.  I cannot think of another episode of Seinfeld (or any show, for that matter) that had so many A-grade arcs going on simultaneously.  In this one episode alone, you had the following arcs all going on:
1.  The bizarro Jerry arc with Elaine and Kevin.
2.  "Man hands" with Jerry
3.  Kramer accidentally "working" for Brandt/Leland
4.  George and the secret "supermodel club"

Any of those alone would have made for a pretty great episode.  All 4 combined make it phenominal, IMO.

[KevShmev]

Oooh, The Rye is definitely a great one I forgot to mention, ColdFireYYZ.  I think the hardest I ever laughed at this show was following Jerry's "Shut up, you old bag!" line. 

bosk1, I like Bizarro Jerry a lot, but I think it was more clever than funny.  Okay, yes, it was very funny, but I just personally found many to be much funnier.  But hey, that's just me.

[King Postwhore]

Kramer and the horse is hilarious in The Rye.



Also, let me respond to the title,  "GET OUT!"

[Cool Chris]

When I saw Jerry perform live, he had a little Q&A session at the end. As good as his stand-up is, his Q&A improv shows how brilliantly funny he is. Someone asked something about a marble rye, and his response was along the lines of "oh, yes, the marble rye... you know that old lady just died, so yeah, thanks for bringing that up and ruining everyone's night." Genius.

[ColdFireYYZ]

When I saw Jerry perform live, he had a little Q&A session at the end. As good as his stand-up is, his Q&A improv shows how brilliantly funny he is. Someone asked something about a marble rye, and his response was along the lines of "oh, yes, the marble rye... you know that old lady just died, so yeah, thanks for bringing that up and ruining everyone's night." Genius.

I really need to see him live someday.

[El Barto]

Seinfeld is 25 years old!

I take it you mean his wife.

[KevShmev]

I really need to see him live someday.

He's consistently very funny.  Not as gut-busting funny as guys like George Carlin or Bill Cosby, but much funnier than he appeared in those little shorts that used to open Seinfeld episodes (most of which struck me as being more clever than funny).

[Cool Chris]

I do agree with that, and those little stand-up bits were more of a lead-in to the show anyway more than a highlight reel.

In fact, I think his stand-up is much more solid now than ever, especially compared to when he started hitting it big, when he seemed more pedestrian.

[hefdaddy42]

Pretty good list.  I agree with The Contest being ranked # 1, but there were so many good episodes that it would be hard to be definitive.

[King Postwhore]

I also love the Kenny Rogers Chicken episode as well as when Puddy became religious and The Move.  "I end it with a swirl".

[Zantera]

I don't know the name of the episode, but last night on TV I watched one of my personal favorites, the episode where a girl thinks George is insane, and all the weird shit happens. It perfectly displays what I love about Seinfeld, how the clever writing results in a near perfect script. All the plotlines tie together beautifully. Lloyd Braun, the cashier and the guy with the water hose are all responsible for George's car burning up. I just love it how it gets more convoluted, and the girl asks George about it, and he's trying to convince her that he's not insane, when all the crazy shit happens. I love the scene in the park where he has almost convinced her, only to come off as a paranoid lunatic when pointing out the cashier on the horse.

[El Barto]

I recall The Abstinence as being pretty funny. I also recall Elaine being damned hot as an airhead.

[ZKX-2099]

I also recall Elaine being damned hot.

 

[jingle.boy]

I gotta agree with the Top 3 for sure.  There's a handful I don't agree with, and a few that are missing.  Can't remember which episode, but Kramer as the bus driver was one of the greatest scene, up there with the Marine Biologist soliloquy from George; Mulva; Poppy peed on my couch!

The whole 'making of the TV show' in Season 3 (maybe it was Season 4) could not be topped.

Oh, and there's always the Art of Seduction

[PetFish]

I never liked The Bubble Boy episode.

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.


Some examples:

- The Spanish delivery guy tries to give a package to Jerry who refuses to sign for it thinking it might be a bomb cuz he doesn't know how it's from, they have a 12-second back-and-forth conversation and I remember it
- The "pimp" when Jerry is dating a maid
- Detective Bookman
- Babu
- The Pool Guy
- Mike (broken thumbs/bookie)

There's so many memorable moments and characters.

[rumborak]

[Kotowboy]

I love Seinfeld and only ever started watching due to Michael Richards who i'd seen on UHF.

[Kotowboy]

I really need to see him live someday.

He's consistently very funny.  Not as gut-busting funny as guys like George Carlin or Bill Cosby, but much funnier than he appeared in those little shorts that used to open Seinfeld episodes (most of which struck me as being more clever than funny).

  Wait - George Carlin is supposed to be FUNNY ?!

[Phoenix87x]

And its still just as good and just as relevent. My favorite show ever

[jingle.boy]

Pretty soon, I'll be exposing jingle.son to the genius of Seinfeld.



Wait.. wrong tv show

[cramx3]

I never watched Seinfeld when it aired.  I was never much of a sitcom guy.  However, when Curb started, I had friends who got me into watching it and I loved it.  They told me about Larry David and Seinfeld and how I should watch it if I liked Curb... and they were correct.  I haven't seen most episodes, but when its on I will watch and enjoy.  I cant believe its been 25 years though because that is making me feel old.

[PetFish]

If you want the "new Kramer", just watch the big brother on The Goldbergs.  That guy rules.

[Grizz]

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

[TempusVox]

Good list but I would have added. "The Bris" (Pig Man and the Mohel...which btw would be a great name for a band.  ); also "the Chicken Roaster" (Kenny Rogers Roasters as someone mentioned already); also "The Rye"; and "The Pothole" (Kramer adopts a highway).

[Jaq]

"We're not gay...not that there's anything wrong with it!"

[pogoowner]

Good list but I would have added. "The Bris" (Pig Man and the Mohel...which btw would be a great name for a band.  ); also "the Chicken Roaster" (Kenny Rogers Roasters as someone mentioned already); also "The Rye"; and "The Pothole" (Kramer adopts a highway).

Yeah, those are some great ones that really deserve some recognition. The whole sequence of events with the red light from the Kenny Rogers sign and the apartment switch is fantastic.

[Kotowboy]

I also loved Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was like Seinfeld for adults only

[jingle.boy]

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

Personally, I think it's great.  It's That 70s Show for the 80s.

[senecadawg2]

No love for The Mango? I love love LOOOVE that episode and I'm always surprised to see it left out of lists like this. Then again, Seinfeld is (for the most part) incredibly consistent.

Oh, and while it may have aired 25 years ago, Seinfeld is timeless

[jingle.boy]

No love for The Mango? I love love LOOOVE that episode and I'm always surprised to see it left out of lists like this. Then again, Seinfeld is (for the most part) incredibly consistent.

Oh, and while it may have aired 25 years ago, Seinfeld is timeless

Word.

[KevShmev]

I think it moved.

[hefdaddy42]

I THINK IT MOVED!