Fans debate whether the finale was funny versus good, with some defending it as brilliant despite lacking laughs while others argue a comedy should prioritize humor.
I guess I'm just a fake fan. While I thought the finale had some moments, overall, I didn't think that it was very funny. I also think (I better check to be sure that this suit works before I write this) that those who claim that "real" fans thought it was funny are working much to hard to explain themselves. In other words, I think that they know that it wasn't *that* funny, but just can't admit it.
Flame retardant suit off.
Mary (who has seen every episode *except* the pilot)
I don't think that too many people are arguing that it was "funny" or not, but whether it was "good" or not, and that's the crux of the argument of many of the finale's defenders (like myself): it doesn't have to be "ha-ha" funny to be good, or even brilliant. I won't argue with anyone who wants to rank the finale in the bottom quarter of episodes insofar as being "funny," in that there were jokes and/or situations that elicited gut-busting laughs. That, however, was not the point of the episode. Evidence of a bad episode would be the amount of misfired jokes, not a general lack of jokes -- and that's what we have here. Larry David decided not to write a normal episode and shot for something else -- a kind of highbrow satiric concept cenetered on classical satire and existential philosophy. The numerous references make this aim fairly self-evident, if you are familiar with the material. Classical satire is based on irony and juxtopositions, not gut-busting laughs. An example that Stephen King once made is an decent analogy: King once wrote that there are different levels of horror in writing and film-making, all the way from a kind of visceral terror that can haunt the audience on a very personal level long after the watching/reading experience is over, down to the "gross-out;" whereby the artist tries to scare by just becoming graphic. Not that a real good laugh is of any "lesser" value than what David was trying to achieve, but it is important to understand and realize what he was shooting for. He, himself, ought to have known that a significant percentage of the millions tuned in would not "get" what he was driving at. I really liked his idea, although the execution could have been better. It wasn't nearly the funniest of Seinfeld episodes, but that doesn't prevent it from being among the best moments in televised sit-com history.
Well, Seinfeld is considered a comedy, no? Aren't comedies supposed to be funny? I don't watch Seinfeld (I guess I should say "didn't watch") for existential philosophy. It was a comedy; I laughed. I didn't laugh much in the Finale. And gee, that's an awfully long arguement in favor of the finale . . . are you trying to convince me, or yourself?
On Mon, 18 May 1998 22:40:12 -0400, "Samios" wrote:
On the clip portion, the 45 minutes before the final episode, they showed some genuinely funny stuff. One example: When Elaine is begging Kramer to tell her shrink that Kramer is her boy friend and that they are in love. Kramer IMMEDIATELY asks "Are we intimate", which you can tell is neither something she expected nor something that she wants to discuss with Kramer AT ALL. But the writer knows he has a comedic situation by the tail, so Kramer immediately says "How often do we do it" at which point Elaines patience wears out and she tries to end the thing, but Kramer isnt letting her off the hook, so she rolls her eyes and says "5 times a week" and Kramer says "Oh, baby!" Now that is humorous dialogue and they didnt even have to throw in any slapstick. The laugh track was earned on that one.
Likewise Jerry's line of questioning about George's relationship, ending with "Let me ask you this. Do you have any Tampax in your apartment?" That whole dialogue was beautifully set up. Beautifully written, immaculately delivered. And I'm sure I could find a thousand more examples of similar humorous dialogue, dialogue that builds to a payoff.
There isnt ANYTHING like that in the finale. Compare either of these examples to George and Jerry haranguing Elaine about her cell phone call and the best Larry David could think of to have her say is "How about this? Bye bye". Dull.