Seinfeld

Seinfeld
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Larry David Jerry Seinfeld
Starring	Jerry Seinfeld Julia Louis-Dreyfus Michael Richards Jason Alexander
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	180 (including two-part episodes and clip shows) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Fred Barron (Season 1) Larry David (Seasons 2-7) Ben A. Scott Howard West George Shapiro Andrew Scheinman Jerry Seinfeld (Seasons 8-9)
Location(s)	New York City
Running time	21 minutes (syndication), 22 minutes (original)
Production company(s)	Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributor	Columbia Pictures Television (1989-1998) Columbia TriStar Television (1999-2002) Sony Pictures Television (2002-present)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	July 5, 1989 – May 14, 1998
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Seinfeld is an American situation comedy, that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons. Many of its catchphrases have entered into the popular culture lexicon. The show led the Arthur Nielsen Media Research Ratings in its sixth and ninth seasons and finished among the top two (along with NBC's ER) every year from 1994 to 1998.^[1] In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld as the greatest television program of all time.^[2] A 2006 sitcom industry poll conducted by a UK TV show, voted Seinfeld as the highest rated show in TV history. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked Seinfeld as the 3rd Best Show of 25 years, next to The Sopranos, and The Simpsons.

The eponymous series was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, with the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself. Set predominantly in an apartment block on New York City's Upper West Side (but shot mostly in Los Angeles, California), the show features a host of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, who include George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer. Seinfeld was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment and distributed in association with Columbia Pictures Television and Columbia TriStar Television. Sony Pictures Television now distributes the series as of 2002. It was largely co-written by David and Seinfeld with inputs from numerous script writers, including Larry Charles, Peter Mehlman, Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin, Carol Leifer, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer, Steve Koren, Jennifer Crittenden, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Charlie Rubin, Alec Berg, and Spike Feresten.

Overview

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David pitched Seinfeld as a "show about nothing," similar to the self-parodying "show within a show" of Season 4 episodes "The Pilot". Seinfeld stood out from the typical family- or coworker-driven TV sitcoms of its time. None of the principal Seinfeld characters was related by blood or worked together. The episodes of most sitcoms revolve around a central theme or contrived comic situations, whereas most episodes of Seinfeld focused on the minutiae of daily life, such as waiting in line at the movies, going out for dinner, buying a suit, and coping with the petty injustices of life. Some people think that the world view presented in Seinfeld is somewhat consistent with the philosophy of nihilism, the idea that life is pointless.^[3]

Tom's Restaurant, a diner at 112th St. and Broadway in Manhattan, depicted Monk's Cafe in the show. Google Street View

Originally, the show began with Jerry Seinfeld delivering his stand-up comedy routine, which was set in a comedy night club. The theme of his act is loosely based on the plot of each episode. Originally, his stand-up act would bookend an episode, for a while even functioning as cut scenes during the show. By Season 4, the cut scenes in the middle of the episodes became less common and by Season 6 the clips that ended the shows also became less common. By Season 8, the stand-up act was cut out entirely as the plots expanded and required more time. The show's main characters and many secondary characters were modeled after Seinfeld's and David's real-life acquaintances. Other recurring characters were based on well-known, real-life counterparts such as the Soup Nazi (based on Soup Kitchen International manager Al Yeganeh), Jacopo Peterman of the J. Peterman catalogue (nominally based on John Peterman), and George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees.

In most Seinfeld episodes, one story thread is presented at the beginning, involving the characters in separate and unrelated situations. Rapid scene-shifts between story lines move the story forward. By Season 4, the episodes ended by having all of the separate story lines converge—often unexpectedly. Despite the separate plot strands, the narratives reveal "consistent efforts to maintain [the] intimacy" between the small cast of characters.^[4]

The show kept a strong sense of continuity—characters and plots from past episodes were frequently referenced or expanded upon. Occasionally, story arcs would span multiple episodes and even entire seasons. Larry David, the show's head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons, was praised for keeping a close eye on minor details and making sure the main characters' lives remained consistent and believable. He would later make use of season-long story arcs in his next series, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The show stood apart from other sitcoms of the time for not placing a shred of importance on the characters learning moral lessons. In effect, the characters are often morally indifferent or callous. It was often said that the mantra of the show's producers was: "No hugging, no learning."^[5]

Main characters

• Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld)—Jerry is the show's central character, a stand-up comedian who is often seen as "the voice of reason" amid all the insanity generated by the people in his world. The character is a germophobe and a neat freak, as well as an avid Superman fan. Jerry's apartment is the center of a world visited by his eccentric friends George, Elaine, and Kramer.^[6] Plot lines often involve Jerry's romantic relationships; he typically finds small, silly reasons to stop dating women; in one episode, he breaks up with a woman because she eats her peas one at a time. While seemingly the 'normal' one amongst his friends, his character's neurosis reveals itself in his obsessive cleanliness, narcissism, and steadfast immaturity.

• George Costanza (Jason Alexander)—George is Jerry's best friend since high school. He is cheap, dishonest, petty and often jealous of others' achievements. He is often portrayed as a loser who is insecure about his capabilities. He frequently complains and lies about his profession, relationship, and almost everything else, which usually creates trouble for him later. He often uses an alias ("Art Vandelay"), when lying or assuming a fake identity. George was once succinctly described by Elaine as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man". Despite these shortcomings, or perhaps because of them, George has managed to date numerous women and achieved a successful career as Assistant to the Traveling Secretary for the Yankees. George's personality shortcomings usually make these sucesses short-lived. He fantasizes about being an architect and once pretended to be a marine biologist. He often does questionable things which others might also do, but frequently gets caught in the act (such as urinating in a parking garage^[7] or reeling in a rye bread).

• Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)—Elaine is intelligent and assertive, but superficial. She sometimes has a tendency to be very honest with people, which often gets her into trouble.^[8] She often gets caught up in her boyfriends' habits, her eccentric employers' unusual demands, and the unkindness of total strangers. A recurring theme for Elaine is her frustrating inability to find Mr. Right; she also goes through an on/off relationship with David Puddy throughout Season 9. She used to date Jerry, and remains his close friend. One of Elaine's trademark maneuvers is her forceful shove when she receives good or shocking news while using her catch phrase "Get out!". She is notable among sitcom actresses in that she is not the "straight face" of the show and behaves with much the same conceited attitude as her male friends.

• Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards)—Kramer is Jerry's "wacky neighbor" and friend. His trademarks include his humorous upright pompadour hairstyle, vintage clothing and his energetic sliding bursts through Jerry's apartment door. Elaine refers to him as a 'hipster doofus'. At times, he acts naive, dense, and almost child-like, yet randomly shows astonishing insight into human behavior. Indeed, his oddities aside, Kramer is often the only main character acting with any sort of apparent conscience, and is typically the only one to lobby for maintaining social decorum in order to appease acquaintances. Though he never seems to have held a 'real' job, Kramer's wacky schemes, among other unknown sources of money, leave him without any apparent financial issues. He often dreams of ridiculous schemes to make money, some of which include a pizza place where "you make your own pie", a cologne that smells like "the beach", authoring a coffee table book about coffee tables (for which he appeared on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee), and designing a brassiere for men called the "Bro" (or Manssiere according to Frank Costanza).^[9]

Secondary characters

Main article: Minor characters in Seinfeld

There are numerous recurring minor characters in Seinfeld. The most prominent are:

• Newman (portrayed by Wayne Knight)—An overweight and despicable though curiously well-educated postal worker. He is Kramer's accomplice and Jerry's nemesis and is a neighbor of both (Apartment 5E). He will go out of his way to make Jerry's life miserable. He is usually greeted contemptuously by Jerry with "Hello, Newman" to which he also mostly responds with "Hello, Jerry" in similar fashion. He is typically found plotting against Jerry, eating, and being obnoxious in Jerry's apartment. Newman has an infatuation with Elaine, who finds him repellent but occasionally exploits his attraction to her. He is the most frequently recurring male character, from his first appearance in the show's third season all the way through the last episode.
• Morty Seinfeld (originally portrayed by Phil Bruns, but later replaced by Barney Martin) and Helen Seinfeld (portrayed by Liz Sheridan)—They are Jerry's parents, who live in Florida. Morty is a retired raincoat salesman and famous for obstinately sticking to his convictions; Helen cannot understand why anyone would not like her son. They always feel that Jerry is not making enough money and try to help him out financially. These two characters are based on Jerry Seinfeld's real-life parents.
• Frank Costanza (originally portrayed by John Randolph, replaced by Jerry Stiller) and Estelle Costanza (portrayed by Estelle Harris)—They are George's eccentric parents. George usually blames them for his current mental state and failure to succeed in life. They are known for their violent temper, often leading to yelling and constant verbal fights. They make many appearances from season 4 to 9.
• Uncle Leo (portrayed by Len Lesser)—He is Jerry's uncle and Helen's brother. He personifies the eccentric old man and often tries to demean Jerry with comparisons to his own purportedly successful son. He has a habit of grabbing the person with whom he is conversing by the arm. He always brags about his son, Jeffrey (who never makes an appearance on the show), who works for the NYC Parks Department. Uncle Leo has several appearances in seasons 2 through 9.
• Susan Ross (played by Heidi Swedberg)—George's fiancée and a former NBC executive. She first appeared in season 4 as an NBC executive overseeing Jerry and George's pilot. She and George dated for a while until she "became" a lesbian. She returned in season 7 when she and George got engaged, only to die in the season 7 finale from licking the poisonous glue of their cheap wedding invitation envelopes that George insisted they buy. She is the most frequently recurring female character in seasons 4 and 7, and has a cameo role in the season 9 episode titled "The Betrayal". She does not get along well with the others- a short-lived friendship with Elaine and Jerry ended when she found their mundane chatter annoying. Susan always disliked Kramer, not only because he threw up on her but because he left a smoldering cigar to ignite a stack of newspapers that burned down her father's cabin.
• George Steinbrenner (voiced by Larry David, portrayed by Lee Bear, who is only seen from behind)—He is George's boss and owner of the New York Yankees. Steinbrenner's face is never shown on the show. He is parodied for his arrogance and lack of touch with the realities of running of a baseball team. A recurring gag is for him to call George into his office, then proceed to ramble on about inane topics as George slowly walks out the door. Topics range from spicy mustard to bomb threats to calzones. In "The Invitations", the real George Steinbrenner makes a cameo appearance and goes out with Elaine. The scenes were cut due to time constraints and are available on the season 7 DVD. He usually appears from the finale of season 5 to 9.
• Jacopo Peterman (played by John O'Hurley)—He is one of Elaine's eccentric bosses. Peterman owns The J. Peterman Company and Elaine works on the catalog published by the company. Using the florid style of a treasure hunting adventurer, he typically announces his journeys to exotic locations in search of unique clothing. He is usually seen making an appearance from the finale of season 6 to season 9.
• Kenny Bania (portrayed by Steve Hytner)—Bania is a fellow stand up comedian. Jerry hates Bania because he considers him annoying and a "hack". Bania's trademark "Hey Jerry" is often treated by Jerry and his friends with annoyance and indifference. Kenny Bania appears in various episodes throughout seasons 6 through 9.
• David Puddy (portrayed by Patrick Warburton)—Puddy is Elaine's on-again, off-again boyfriend. He is a competent auto mechanic, but also an airhead with numerous quirks, most notably his squinting, staring, and insatiable appetite for high fives. He calls himself a Christian and he is known for his short, unapologetic delivery and unflinching assuredness, such as when he delivers his catch phrase "Yeah, that's right". He is seen in seasons 6 and 9.
• Jackie Chiles (portrayed by Phil Morris)—Jackie is Kramer's lawyer. He has a secretary named Suzy and sets up appointments for his clients with an unseen "Dr. Bison". He also speaks with a rapid-fire delivery and tends to overuse grandiose adjectives like 'preposterous' and 'outrageous'. Chiles is a caricature of the late Johnnie Cochran. He is seen occasionally in seasons 7 to 9.
• Justin Pitt (portrayed by Ian Abercrombie)—Usually referred to as "Mr. Pitt," he was Elaine's demanding boss during the sixth season. He hired her because she reminded him of Jackie Onassis. He makes his appearance throughout Season 6 as well as "The Finale (Seinfeld)".
• Tim Whatley (played by Bryan Cranston)—Jerry's dentist, he appears in Seasons 6, 8 and 9. Elaine accuses him of regifting in "The Label Maker", and he converts to Judaism and begins to make references to the Jewish people as if he is a lifelong Jew in "The Yada Yada".

Notable guest appearances

See List of Seinfeld minor characters for a complete list of celebrities who played themselves and other guest stars in minor roles.

Besides its regularly recurring characters, Seinfeld featured numerous celebrities who appeared as themselves or as girlfriends, boyfriends, bosses and other acquaintances. Many of those who made guest appearances would become household names later in their careers, or were comedians and actors who were well-known for previous work.

Characteristics

Theme

Seinfeld violated several conventions of mainstream television. The show, which is often described as "about nothing",^[10][11][12] became the first television series since Monty Python's Flying Circus to be widely described as postmodern.^[13] Several elements of Seinfeld fit in with a postmodern interpretation. The show is typically driven by humor interspersed with superficial conflict and characters with strange dispositions. Many episodes revolved around the characters becoming involved in the lives of others to typically disastrous results. However, regardless of the damage they caused, they never gained anything from the experience and continued to be selfish, egocentric people. On the set, the notion that the characters should not develop or improve throughout the series was expressed as the "no hugging, no learning" rule. This quote is referenced in an episode ("The Secret Code") where Kramer says to Jerry, "Well the important thing is, you learned something," to which Jerry replies, "No I didn't." Unlike most sitcoms, there are no moments of pathos; the audience is never made to feel sorry for any of the characters. Even Susan's death in the series elicits no genuine emotions from anyone in the show.

The characters were "thirty-something singles ... with no roots, vague identities, and conscious indifference to morals".^[14] Usual conventions, such as isolating the characters from the actors playing them and separating the characters' world from that of the actors and audience, were broken. One such example is the story arc in which the characters promote a television sitcom series named Jerry. The show within the show, titled Jerry was much like Seinfeld, in which Seinfeld played himself, and that the show was "about nothing". Jerry was launched in the Season 4 finale, but unlike Seinfeld, it was not picked up as a series.

Plotlines

Nearly every episode is based on the writers' real life experiences. For example, "The Revenge" is based on Larry David's experience at Saturday Night Live ^[15]. "The Contest" and "The Phone Message" are also based on David's experiences^[16]. "The Smelly Car" is based on Peter Mehlman's lawyer friend, who couldn't get a bad smell out of his car. "The Strike" is based on Dan O'Keefe's dad, who made up his own holiday—Festivus ^[17]. Other stories take on a variety of different turns. "The Chinese Restaurant" consists of the main characters simply waiting for a table throughout the entire episode. "The Boyfriend", revolving around Keith Hernandez, extends through two episodes ^[18]. "The Betrayal" is famous for using reverse chronology. ^[19] Some stories were inspired by headlines and rumors, which are explained in the DVD features "Notes About Nothing," "Inside Look," and "Audio Commentary." "The Maestro", Kramer's lawsuit is roughly similar to the McDonald's coffee case.^[20] "The Outing" is based mainly on rumors that Larry Charles hears about Jerry Seinfeld's sexuality. ^[21]

Catchphrases

The Seinfeld community can draw on a large amount of in-slang, "a lexicon of Seinfeldian code words and recurring phrases, that evolved around particular episodes", often called seinlanguage.^[13] The characters frequently coin new terms to refer to characteristics of secondary characters, such as "re-gifter", "mimbo", "sidler", "man hands", "close-talker", "low-talker", and "high-talker". The show has propelled many catchphrases such as these pretzels are making me thirsty, Yada Yada Yada, shrinkage, master of your domain, and Not that there's anything wrong with that into daily life conversations.^[22][23][24]

Evolution

Seasons 1 to 3: The early years

The show premiered as The Seinfeld Chronicles on July 5, 1989. After it aired, a pickup by NBC did not seem likely and the show was actually offered to Fox, which declined to pick it up. However, Rick Ludwin, head of late night and special events for NBC, diverted money from his budget, and the next four episodes ("Male Unbonding", "The Stake Out", "The Robbery", and "The Stock Tip") were filmed.^[25] These episodes were highly-rated as they followed Cheers on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., and the series was finally picked up. At one point, NBC considered airing these episodes on Saturdays at 10:30PM, but instead gave that slot to a short-lived sitcom, FM. The series was renamed Seinfeld after the failure of short-lived 1989 ABC series The Marshall Chronicles.^[26] After airing in the summer of 1990, the series' second season was bumped off its scheduled premiere of January 21, 1991 due to the start of the Persian Gulf war. It settled in a regular time slot on Wednesdays at 9:30PM and eventually flipped with veteran series Night Court to 9:00PM.^[27]

Seinfeld was championed by television critics in its early seasons, even as it was yet to cultivate a substantial audience. Early episodes such as "The Chinese Restaurant", "The Pony Remark", "The Parking Garage", and "The Subway", tended to be more realistic than the later ones, and dealt with the minutiae of daily life, such as getting stuck on the subway or waiting to be seated at a Chinese restaurant.

An episode in Season 2, titled "The Bet" written by Larry Charles, showed Elaine buying a gun from Kramer's friend. This episode was, however, not filmed because the content was deemed unacceptable and was hastily replaced by the episode "The Phone Message". ^[28]

Seasons 4 to 5: Seinfeld's prime

Season 4 marked the sitcom's entry into the Nielsen Ratings Top 30, coinciding with several popular episodes, such as "The Bubble Boy", "The Outing", "The Airport", and "The Junior Mint". This was the first season to use a story arc, in which Jerry and George try to create their own sitcom, Jerry.

Much publicity followed the controversial episode, "The Contest", an Emmy Award-winning episode written by co-creator Larry David, whose subject matter (masturbation) was considered inappropriate for primetime network television. To circumvent this taboo, the word "masturbation" was never used in the script itself, instead substituted by a variety of oblique references. Midway through that season Seinfeld was moved from its original 9 p.m. time slot on Wednesdays to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, following Cheers again, which gave the show even more popularity. NBC moved the series after Ted Danson had announced the end of Cheers and Seinfeld quickly surpassed the ratings of the 9:00 p.m. Cheers reruns that spring. ^[29]The show won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993, beating out its family-oriented competitor Home Improvement, which at the time was a big hit for NBC's rival ABC.

Season 5 was also a ratings-hit as it consisted of many popular episodes such as "The Mango", "The Puffy Shirt" starring Wendel Meldrum as the low talker, "The Lip Reader" with Marlee Matlin in the title role, "The Marine Biologist", "The Hamptons", and "The Opposite". Another story arc has George returning to live with his parents. In the midst of the story arc, Kramer creates and promotes his coffee table book. The show was again nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to the Cheers spin-off Frasier, which was only in its first season. Seinfeld was nominated for the same award every year for the rest of its run but would keep losing to Frasier.

Seasons 6 to 7: Maintaining the top

With Season 6, Andy Ackerman replaced Tom Cherones as the director of the show. Even so, the series remained well-regarded and produced some of its most famous episodes, such as "The Fusilli Jerry", "The Chinese Woman", "The Jimmy", "The Face Painter", and "The Switch", when Kramer's mother revealed that his first name is Cosmo. Story arcs used in this season were Elaine working as a personal assistant to her eccentric boss Justin Pitt as well as George's parents' separation which ended by the next season. This was also the first season in which Seinfeld reached Number 1 in the Nielsen Ratings.

In Season 7, a story arc involved George getting engaged to his former girlfriend, Susan Ross, whose last appearance was in Season 4. He spends most of the season regretting the engagement and trying to get out of it. Garnering its highest ratings yet, Seinfeld went on to produce some of its most famous episodes—namely "The Soup Nazi", "The Secret Code", "The Maestro", and "The Rye" among others.

However there's a memorable controversy which affects the remaining seasons. The death of Susan seen in "The Invitations" had the fan base turn on George. Following the anthrax scare of 2001, the episode, "The Invitations" was temporarily not shown in syndication due to the concern that it might seem objectionable and insensitive to portray Susan's death due to licking toxic envelopes.^[30]

Seasons 8 to 9: Without Larry David

The show's ratings were still going very strong in its final two seasons (8 and 9), but its critical standing suffered.^[31] Larry David left at the end of Season 7 (although he continued to voice Steinbrenner in Season 8), so Seinfeld assumed David's duties as showrunner, and, under the direction of a new writing staff, Seinfeld became more of a fast-paced show. The humor began to rely heavily on slapstick, and storylines occasionally delved into fantasy, an example being "The Bizarro Jerry", when Elaine is torn between exact opposites of her friends or when Jerry dates a woman who has the now-famed "man hands". Some notable episodes from season 8 include "The Little Kicks" showing Elaine's horrible dancing, "The Yada Yada", "The Chicken Roaster", and "The Comeback". A story arc in this season involves Peterman's trip to Burma and Elaine writing Peterman's biography which leads to Kramer's parody of Kenny Kramer's Reality Tour seen in "The Muffin Tops".

Season 9 included episodes such as "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Butter Shave", "The Betrayal" (scenes shown in reverse order chronologically), and "The Finale", which was co-written by Larry David. The last season included a story arc in which Elaine has an on/off relationship with David Puddy. Despite being offered to return for another season, Seinfeld decided to end the show after its ninth season.

A major controversy caused in this final season was the accidental burning of a Puerto Rican flag by Kramer in "The Puerto Rican Day". This scene caused a furor in the Puerto Rican community, and as a result NBC showed this episode only once.^[32]

Series Finale

Main article: The Finale (Seinfeld)

After nine years on the air, NBC and Jerry Seinfeld announced on December 26, 1997, that the series would end production the following spring in 1998. The announcement made the front page of all the major New York newspapers, including the New York Times. Jerry Seinfeld was even featured on the cover of Time magazine's first issue of 1998.^[33]

The series ended with a 75-minute episode (cut down to 60 minutes in syndication, in two parts) written by co-creator and former executive producer Larry David, which aired on May 14, 1998. Before the finale, a one-hour retrospective clip show was aired which included memorable scenes from the show's past nine seasons.

It was also the first episode since the finale of Season 7, "The Invitations", to feature opening and closing stand-up comedy acts by Jerry Seinfeld. The finale was filmed in front of an audience of NBC executives and additional friends of the show. The press and the public were shut out of the filming for the sake of keeping its plot secret, and all those who attended the taping of the final episode signed written "vows of silence."^[34] The secrecy only seemed to increase speculation on how the series would end. Various accounts suggested that Jerry and Elaine get married while more cynical fans favored Julia Louis-Dreyfus' suggestion that the foursome die in a car accident. The producers of the show tweaked the media about the hype, spreading a false rumor about Newman ending up in the hospital and Jerry and Elaine sitting in a chapel, presumably to marry.^[35]

The episode aired on the same day that Frank Sinatra died, and its airing may have been somewhat overshadowed by this event, but nonetheless it enjoyed a huge audience, estimated at 76 million viewers (58 percent of all viewers that night) making it the third most watched finale in television history, behind M*A*S*H and Cheers. However, the finale received mixed reviews from both critics and fans of the show. The actual finale poked fun at the many rumors that were circulating, seeming to move into several supposed plots before settling on its true storyline—a lengthy trial in which Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are prosecuted for violating a "Good Samaritan law" and are sentenced to jail. The last conversation in this final episode repeats the very first conversation from the pilot episode, discussing the positioning of a button on George's shirt. In the finale, the characters vaguely recall having the conversation before.

According to Forbes magazine, Seinfeld's annual earning from the show in 2004 was $267 million.^[36] He was reportedly offered $5 million per episode to continue the show into its tenth season but he refused.^[1] As of July 2007, he is still the second highest earner in the television industry, earning $60 million a year.^[37] The show itself became the first television series to command more than $1 million a minute for advertising–a mark previously attained only by the Super Bowl.^[38]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of Seinfeld awards and nominations

Seinfeld has received awards and nominations in various categories throughout the mid-90s. It was awarded the Emmy for "Outstanding Comedy series" in 1993, Golden Globe Award for "Best TV-Series (Comedy)" in 1994 and Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" in 1995, 1997 and 1998.^{[39][40][41][42]} Apart from these, the show was also nominated for an Emmy award from 1992 to 1998 for "Outstanding Comedy series", Golden Globe award from 1994 to 1998 for "Best TV-Series (Comedy)", and Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" from 1995 to 1998.^[43]

Ratings history

In addition, the syndicated reruns of the program have regularly been in the top 10 syndicated programs and remain in that position as of 2008.^[50]

After Seinfeld

The "Seinfeld curse"

Louis-Dreyfus, Alexander and Richards have each attempted to launch new sitcoms as title-role characters. Despite decent acclaim and even some respectable ratings, almost every show was canceled quickly, usually within the first season. This gave rise to the term Seinfeld curse: the failure of a sitcom starring one of the three, despite the conventional wisdom that each person's Seinfeld popularity should almost guarantee a strong, built-in audience for the actor's new show. Shows specifically cited regarding the Seinfeld curse are Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Watching Ellie, Jason Alexander's Bob Patterson and Listen Up!, and Michael Richards' The Michael Richards Show. This phenomenon was mocked in Larry David's hit HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which Larry David brings up the idea to Jason Alexander that he should do a show about Alexander's inability to shake the 'George' title in order to move on with his career. When David and Alexander begin feuding in the show, Larry David takes the idea to Julia Louis-Dreyfus. They plan to work on a show called Aren't You Evelyn? but Larry David blows their chances with every network they meet, causing Julia to bow out of the idea.

Since the end of the program, Alexander has acted in film, theater and television, including guest appearances on Larry David's HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and has received on-screen and voice credits in television (such as Arrested Development) and the Disney/Pixar animated film A Bug's Life. Louis-Dreyfus stars in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, which debuted in March 2006 to strong ratings and has been consistent ever since.^[51] The show was also renewed for a second season. Its 45 episodes make it the longest running show starring a Seinfeld alumnus since Seinfeld ended. Louis-Dreyfus also received an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy series for her role as Christine. In her acceptance speech, Louis-Dreyfus held up her award and exclaimed, "I'm not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!"^[52] The show was also renewed for its fourth season, through the 2008-09 season. The "Seinfeld curse" was discussed in the opening of Saturday Night Live episode on May 13, 2006, hosted by Louis-Dreyfus; Alexander and Seinfeld also appeared in this episode. Richards continues to appear in new film and television work, as well. In November 2006, controversy arose concerning racial epithets Richards shouted at black hecklers during a live comedy club performance in Los Angeles.^[53] He apologized for his statements a few days later during an impromptu appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, which Jerry Seinfeld had arranged to take place during his interview segment.

"It's so completely idiotic… It's very hard to have a successful sitcom," Larry David once said of the curse.^[54]

Another scene

On the November 1, 2007, episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld mentioned the possibility of filming one last scene, after they leave prison. He mentioned he is far too busy to do it now, but did not announce what the scene would entail as it is still a possibility they will do it.^[55] In commentary from the final season DVD, Jerry Seinfeld outlines that he and Jason Alexander spoke about this scene being in Monks Coffee Shop, with George saying “That was brutal” in reference to their team's stint in jail.

Consumer products

A recurring feature of Seinfeld was its use of specific products, especially candy, as plot points. These might be a central feature of a plot (e.g. Junior Mints, Twix, Jujyfruits, Snickers, Nestlé Chunky, Oh Henry! and Pez), or an association of a candy with a guest character (e.g. Oh Henry! bars), or simply a conversational aside (e.g. Chuckles, Twinkies). Non-candy products featured in Seinfeld include Rold Gold pretzels (whose advertisements at the time featured Jason Alexander), Kenny Rogers Roasters (a chicken restaurant chain), Oreo Cookies, Ben & Jerry's, H&H Bagels, Baskin Robbins, Dockers, Drake's Coffee Cakes, Ring Dings, Pepsi, Mello Yello, Snapple, Bosco Chocolate Syrup, Cadillac, Saab, Ford Escort, Tyler Chicken (a parody of Tyson Chicken), Specialized Bicycles, BMW, Volvo, Toyota, Tupperware, Calvin Klein, Klein Bicycles, Ovaltine, Arby's, TV Guide, Trump Tower, the board games Risk, Boggle, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, and Battleship, Entenmann's and the J. Peterman clothing catalog. The computers shown in Jerry's apartment are Apple Macintosh and several different models were shown, although Jerry only uses his computer once (onscreen) during the entire show. Also seen throughout the show's run were many different brands of cereal. A notable exception to this pattern is the use of a fictional scotch brand called "Hennigan's". One product placement, for Snapple, was inserted as a parody of product placement; when offered some by Elaine in the middle of a conversation, the character Babu Bhatt's (owner of a Pakistani restaurant named as "Dream Cafe") brother declines, calling the drink "too fruity".

The show's creators claim that they were not engaging in a product placement strategy for commercial gain. One of the motivations for the use of real-world products, quite unrelated to commercial considerations, is the comedy value of funny-sounding phrases and words. "I knew I wanted Kramer to think of watching the operation like going to see a movie," explained Seinfeld writer/producer Andy Robin in an interview published in the Hollywood Reporter. "At first, I thought maybe a piece of popcorn falls into the patient. I ran that by my brother, and he said, 'No, Junior Mints are just funnier.'"^[56]

Many advertisers capitalized on the popularity of Seinfeld. American Express created a webisode in which Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman (voiced by Patrick Warburton, who played the role of David Puddy) into its commercial. Another advertisement featured Jason Alexander in a Chrysler commercial. In this, Alexander behaves much like his character George, and his relationship with Lee Iacocca plays on his George's relationship with George Steinbrenner. Similarly, Michael Richards was the focus of a series of advertisements for Vodafone which ran in Australia where he dressed and behaved exactly like Kramer, including the trademark bumbling pratfalls.

Seinfeld in HD

The cable superstation TBS has recently began airing Seinfeld in true high-definition, rather than stretching the traditional episodes originally broadcast in standard-definition. As Seinfeld was filmed in 35 mm film, each episode was cropped for standard television broadcast in the 1990s. Now Sony Pictures has restored all episodes by adding area to each side of the film and cropping the bottom in order to properly fit the 16:9 format. The entire frame has been zoomed in as well to fill out the remaining screen area. Amazon.com lists season 1 of Seinfeld in Blu-ray, though no release date has been announced.

Media

DVD releases

Main article: Seinfeld DVD releases

Between 2004 and 2007, each season of Seinfeld was released on DVD.^[57] On November 6, 2007, "Seinfeld: The Complete Series" was released on DVD. The final season and the complete series set included a 2007 reunion of the four main cast members and Larry David.

Music

A signature of Seinfeld is its theme music. Composed by Jonathan Wolff, it consists of distinct solo sampled bass guitar riffs which open the show and connect the scenes, often accompanied by a "percussion track" composed of mouth noises, such as pops and clicks. The slap bass music eventually replaced the original standard sitcom music when it was played again after the first broadcast "The Seinfeld Chronicles".

Seinfeld lacked a traditional title track and the riffs were played over the first moments of dialogue or action. They vary throughout each episode and are played in an improvised funk style with slap bass. An additional musical theme with an ensemble, led by a synthesized mid-range brass instrument, ends each episode.

In The Note, the first episode of Season Three, the bumper music featured a scatting female jazz vocalist who sang "Easy to Beat". Jerry Seinfeld and executive producer Larry David both liked Wolff's additions, and three episodes were produced with the new style music. However, they had neglected to inform NBC and Castle Rock of the change, and when the season premiere aired, they were surprised and unimpressed, and requested that they return to the original style. The subsequent two episodes were redone, leaving this episode as the only one with the additional music elements^[58]. In the commentary of The Note, Julia Louis-Dreyfus facetiously suggests it was removed because the lyric "Easy to Beat" related too closely to the low ratings at the time.^[59]

In the final three seasons (7, 8, and 9), the bits were tweaked slightly to give them more frenetic rhythms and the occasional hint of guitar. Throughout the show, the main theme could be re-styled in different ways depending on the episode. For instance, in "The Betrayal," in which part of the episode takes place in India, the theme is heard played on a sitar.

Non-original music featured in the show:

See also

• Must See TV
• List of Seinfeld episodes
• List of Seinfeld fictional films

References

General references

External links

• Seinfeld.com, the Official Site from Sony Pictures Television
• Wikia has a wiki on this subject at Seinfeld
• Seinfeld at the Internet Movie Database