Topic: Seinfeld on All4

[Gurke and Hare]

Of course, later S5 also has The Marine Biologist, so stick with it.

[rue the polywhirl]

I’ve been on a Seinfeld loop of late. Started rewatching from S7 onwards, then back to S1, now I’m at S7 again. I honestly would consider S1-4 to be somewhat ropey in lessening proportions whereas S5 is the first season of wall-to-wall greatness. It definitely kicks up yet another gear and is also bolstered by George moving in with his parents by and also the emergence of Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza. S6 almost matches it for quality except maybe has a few more duffer episodes and padded out clipshow. S7 might well just be my favourite season with the Wedding story arc and introduction of Jackie Chiles. The sight of George enduring an episode of Mad About You with Susan might just be my favourite seinfeld thing behind George’s answering machine from season 8. And of course I think S8 and S9 hold up surprisingly well despite Larry David’s departure.

[dr beat]

That was irritating but thankfully they got rid of it for the following seasons. He gets the most visceral laughs out of me, although George I think is the best written.

If I'm totally honest my all-time favourite bit of Seinfeld is when Kramer first meets Elaine's close-talker boyfriend

[Wentworth Smith]

I honestly would consider S1-4 to be somewhat ropey in lessening proportions.

Season 4?!

What is wrong with all you people? Have you all gone mad?!

[neveragain]

If you haven’t already, you need to read the spec script an onion/snl writer did for a Seinfeld 9/11 episode. Very good indeed.

https://randomnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Seinfeld-The-Twin-Towers-Billy-Domineau.pdf

Exceptional in its darkness, replete with lines that hit you right between the eyes. Perhaps the blackest piece of comedy I've ever seen (read) and a work of art in that regard. Also true to the characters/serves as a great parody.

[Mobius]

Yeah that is really impressive. Definitely the best one of those pretend scripts I've ever read. Got the language and style down pat.

[magval]

I recall the writer of Seinfeldia (which is good, read it!) having a serious issue with the modern Seinfeld parody Twitter account, going so far as to devote an entire chapter to it near the end of the book.

I'm not saying this script is the same thing, but it being brought up reminded me of that. I'll read this surely.

[poodlefaker]

Maybe this will herald a revival of normcore.

I think the clothing is the most dated thing for me (the episode about the double-breasted suit!) - otherwise I feel allowances can be made for it being ripped off by lesser shows making it seem less fresh now. I do really appreciate Elaine being shown as a woman who enjoys having sex and eventually finds a relationship confining due to Puddy being so very dull.

J Petersen is the best character, though.

George's style holds up, I think; Jerry looks terrible, Elaine gets away with it.
Frank Costanza is the best character.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Oddly, I think Jerry's style looks the least dated in the pilot episode (which is technically 80s). It seems to gradually get worse through the seasons, his mullet just seems to grow and grow



Kramer's fine since he just wears thrift store 60s/70s gear which never goes out of style

[Puce Moment]

When I first starting watching this show back in the 90s when it was on BBC2 I really did think that Jerry was a full-on anti-hero douchebag type on purpose. I didn't know anyone of that age who wore white trainers, had 60 boxes of cereal and a Formula 1 car poster on the wall. Plus he's always smiling when people are stressed and miserable, and his stand-up bits are the weakest part of the show.

Then I found out that I was simply watching Jerry Seinfeld.

I'll agree that the first two seasons are ropey, but for me season 3 is when the quality (and the budget) notably increase. My American wife was a fan from the early days and she remembers season 3 being the breakout season in terms of viewership which greatly affected the budgets and stories in season 4, when Kramer starts getting A plot lines.

[Gurke and Hare]

Frank Costanza is the best character.

"You got the A."

[Bobloblawslawbomb]

If you haven’t already, you need to read the spec script an onion/snl writer did for a Seinfeld 9/11 episode. Very good indeed.

https://randomnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Seinfeld-The-Twin-Towers-Billy-Domineau.pdf

Thanks for posting that, absolutely brilliant.

[EOLAN]

If you haven’t already, you need to read the spec script an onion/snl writer did for a Seinfeld 9/11 episode. Very good indeed.

https://randomnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Seinfeld-The-Twin-Towers-Billy-Domineau.pdf

Would Jerry have had to convert to Christianity so he could make the St Peter jokes?

[QDRPHNC]

If you haven’t already, you need to read the spec script an onion/snl writer did for a Seinfeld 9/11 episode. Very good indeed.

https://randomnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Seinfeld-The-Twin-Towers-Billy-Domineau.pdf

Within the next 10 years, some kid will make this entire episode out of AIs.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

That 9/11 script is magnificent.

[buttgammon]

Would Jerry have had to convert to Christianity so he could make the St Peter jokes?

Although I loved that script, this bit struck me as rather out of place amidst the general Jewishness of the programme.

[neveragain]

That opening line sent a shiver up my spine. There's something poetic about it and then you realise (though you knew anyway) what he's talking about.

Only negative thing I could say about the script is that the ending isn't very funny. But the performance would lift it.

[Jerzy Bondov]

I love that script. It’s great that he got Jackie Chiles, Steinbrenner, George’s parents and Uncle Leo in there. It’s a sort of mash up of a few different episodes but it’s really spot on.

Kramer: “You remember my crazy friend Mo Atta?”

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I love that script. It’s great that he got Jackie Chiles, Steinbrenner, George’s parents and Uncle Leo in there. It’s a sort of mash up of a few different episodes but it’s really spot on.

Kramer: “You remember my crazy friend Mo Atta?”

George pretending to be a 9/11 hero sort of writes itself, that's exactly what he'd do, but the guy who wrote that script absolutely nails the Seinfeld tone. Rhythm, cadence, all that jazz, It's funny too. 

[buttgammon]

Each of the four main characters gets an absolutely perfect storyline in that script. It's just so natural.

[Captain Crunch]

Jerry:  Are you reading the manual from my VCR?
Kramer:  Well we can’t all be reading the classics, Professor Eyebrow. 

[Jerzy Bondov]

George pretending to be a 9/11 hero sort of writes itself, that's exactly what he'd do, but the guy who wrote that script absolutely nails the Seinfeld tone. Rhythm, cadence, all that jazz, It's funny too.

I love how it's a genuinely good Seinfeld script. You'd think it would be an edgelord thing but the actual National Tragedy itself isn't really played for laughs. It also has a little vein of conspiracy theory running through it which is very funny.

[ajsmith2]

I agree: it's entirely true to all the characters: it's not an exaggeration or parody: that's exactly how they would've reacted to 9/11. And while of course there's no way a Seinfeld that continued through the 00s would've done that script in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, I could totally see them doing variations of all 4 subplots over the ensuing decade, once the 'dust' had settled so to speak.

[imitationleather]

KRAMER
You know he was always talking about
how evil America was? Eventually I
told him, “Why don’t you do something
about it?” I thought he’d write to his
Congressman!

That got a genuine hearty chuckle out of me. Great stuff.

[gilbertharding]

Would Jerry have had to convert to Christianity so he could make the St Peter jokes?

"And that offends you as a Jewish person?"

"No - it offends me as a comedian."

[QDRPHNC]

KRAMER
You know he was always talking about
how evil America was? Eventually I
told him, “Why don’t you do something
about it?” I thought he’d write to his
Congressman!

Yeah, and the Kramer cadence is perfect. You can hear Michael Richards' voice going way up at the end of it, perhaps accompanied by a spastic overheard arm flail.

[Puce Moment]

My wife was watching more Seinfeld yesterday while I dicked around. I found myself checking in whenever Kramer or Newman are on-screen. Also, I never realised before how much this sitcom trades in cliche inasmuch as they often mine shitty TV tropes for yucks. I love it. The episode with the Library guy finding unreturned books in the style of The Equalizer or some jaded detective. Then last night's episode was Kramer going off to LA (Newman "LaLa Land...... LA") which had the whole murder subplot with the detectives who preempt CSI by many years.

Even that scene I alluded to when George and Jerry are interrogating Kramer about the keys is fucking great - playing out like hoodlums terrorising some poor guy.

Also, when Jerry wants to be friends with the baseball player who dates Elaine. The entire scene in the diner when Jerry shows how hurt he is comes straight out of the worst dialogue between women about how shitty men are.

It's not a criticism - I love it!

[Wentworth Smith]

Kramer going off to LA (Newman "LaLa Land...... LA") which had the whole murder subplot with the detectives who preempt CSI by many years.

Kramer singing 'Cause the murderer struck again!' as the grieving family walk by is one of the great sitcom moments.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Always liked how Seinfeld never had any "serious parts" like you see crop up now and again in most other comedies. Not that they can't always work but I can imagine it would seem horribly out of place on this show, like a subplot about Elaine being with an abusive boyfriend a la Roseanne.

[icehaven]

Having seen Friends about 20 times round but being on my first watch of Seinfeld it was weird seeing Janice turn up in an episode as George's love interest. I've never seen her in anything else so obviously kept waiting for her to go "Oh...my...GAWD"