"Seinfeld" (1990) TV series 1990-1998

User Rating:

9.4/10   

Creators:

Larry David
Jerry Seinfeld

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

31 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The continuing misadventures of neurotic New York stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York friends.

Plot Keywords:

Neurotic | Eccentric | Stand Up Comedian | Friendship | Neighbor

Awards:

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 58 wins & 120 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 6	7:00 PM	TBS	The Pie	#5.15
Mon. July 6	7:30 PM	Fox	Highlights of a Hundred	#6.14

Cast

Jerry Seinfeld	...	Jerry Seinfeld / ... (174 episodes, 1990-1998)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Elaine Benes / ... (174 episodes, 1990-1998)
Michael Richards	...	Kramer / ... (174 episodes, 1990-1998)
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza / ... (174 episodes, 1990-1998)

Also Known As:

"Stand-Up" (USA) (working title)
"The Jerry Seinfeld Show" (USA) (working title)
"The Seinfeld Chronicles" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

23 min (180 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 (some episodes) | Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG | UK:PG | UK:U (some episodes) | USA:TV-14 (some epiosodes) | UK:15 (one episode) | Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied) | Finland:K-3 (2004) | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:Atp | Denmark:A | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

757 New Hampshire, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

In early episodes, Jerry's apartment number switches from 3A to 5A

Goofs:

Continuity: In some episodes, when exterior shots of the fictional "Monk's Diner" are shown on two sides, you can see the real name, Tom's Restaurant.

Quotes:

George Costanza: Only I could fail at failing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999) (TV)

Seinfeld, a cultural landmark?

I caught a few episodes of Seinfeld over it's final two seasons run on public channel, and made it a point to catch a lot more of Jerry and friends during it's reruns. I found it very amusing on first viewings, but as time wore on, I began to like it more and more, and to eagerly borrow taped episodes from friends, and to hunt for re-runs on syndicated channels.

Of the two comedy TV series in the history of television, I would choose both Seinfeld and Monty Python as the cultural landmarks of the medium. In Seinfeld, there is not a trace of sentimentality and glib moralizing that plagues the American sitcom genre. Characters do not hug each other on Christmas, fall in love, wax on and on about family and friends, there is no faux-cathartic season ender so favoured by the writers of, say, "Friends".

Instead, we have the narcissistic Jerry, constantly mining the minutiae of everyday detail for every bit of situational comedy; we have the hyper-aggressive Elaine, whose strings of breakups with boyfriends are as impressive as her petty neuroses leading up to the breakups themselves; the ultimate schlub-loser George, who lies to every single woman he dates, sells faulty equipment to the handicapped and muscles off women and children when fleeing an apartment fire; and the impossibly inventive physical comedy of the entrepreneur cum schmooze Kramer.

Over and over again, week in and week out, the quartet discuss trivialities with unbridled zeal, as the non-descript narrative pings from one mundane setting to another. Seldom has such wit been generated by such gargantually pointless human endeavours. That is where the brilliance of Seinfeld lies, in the ability to go to the most bizarre ends to fulfill the potential of a less than hopeful comedic premise; and the endless, pointlessly smug and nihilistic banter that almost invariably escalates into some of TV's classic lines, such as when George shouts triumphantly after winning an argument that "there is no bigger loser than me!".

Surely, we won't find something like this again, for many more years to come.