Its Like You Know ... Seinfeld!

So in tonight's episode the waiter and the model at 'hot and heavy'

Something else was from 'the git go' (only as Michael Richards could say it)

Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery but it does not make for creative TV shows. I suppose if I saw this show 10 years ago it would have been a sensation. But after nine years of Jerry and Larry David's genius Its Like... is just a pale imitation with a weak story line. Hence every show is predictable - we know where every one is going - no magic - no new expressions - no political statements (unless you consider mayonnaise an issue).

The genius of Seinfeld was that they did obsess on trivial things but in a meaningful milieu of potent political statement. (2 marks for alliteration please)

Oh well, we got the tapes...(Here's us 40 years hence) ... "you see grand-kids, there was this 'x-generation'-'yuppie' thing going on in the '90's and just watch how this show parodied our daily life, relationships, and somewhat accepted beliefs - really it was very good..." ... slow down! sit down! put that down! get down and watch!

 :-)

"The News Guy(Mike)" wrote:

Gotta agree. I've watched this show twice. I can't even make it to the finish. Tonight's show kinda reflected on the episode (don't feel like droppin gout of usenet to your website for the episode title, sorry) where Elaine has to write Peterman'd book using Kramer's life's stories. That bald guy is no Kramer. And this show's no Seinfeld.

Maybe it because the show is set in LA. Its like...well...no you don't.

Somewhere your writing composition teacher is gleaming with pride.

C. Parker

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ILYK is amusing, but its sole identity as a blatant Seinfeld ripoff and redo will prevent it, I think, from acheiving much long term success. Really successful, acclaimed sitcoms have originality and uniqueness. The show now that has these features and is actually more deserving of being thought of as the successor to Seinfeld is The Norm Show. The setting is a new one - I can't think of any social-worker sitcoms from the past, the writing is funny and different in tone from Seinfeld. Norm himself is hilarious and so is Laurie Metcalf, and the situations in the first few episodes have been pretty new and inventive, I think - due in large part to the fact that the overall setting is one that hasn't been explored in a sitcom before. Norm McDonald's "un-comedian" like delivery is very funny here like it was on SNL (where he also shone in his incredible impressions, like David Letterman, Bob Dole and Burt Reynolds), but somewhat warmed up (less snide/sarcastic, more likeable) from his Weekend Update days.

Everybody on this ng probably is watching it already, but if not, skip ILYK and check out Norm an hour later. It's like, you know, a good show.

richforman

True. It really IS a show about nothing, while Seinfeld was an 8 year sustained satire on the values and mores of a generation. ILYK has its funny moments, and the cast is first rate, but you sense it could be a lot more if it had some sort of central guiding purpose like Seinfeld did (no matter what Jerry and Larry winked and said for the press, we knew better).

Don't know if I'd go quite that far, but it is a well-written and well-performed comedy in its own right, with a fine cast, a creative premise and a pretty consistent level of quality. If ABC has any guts and its programmers any taste, they'll keep it around long enough to reach that 100 episode threshold which denotes long term success these days. Is it great? Too soon to tell. But The Norm Show is certainly very good, on the same level as Drew Carey (which is one of the best of the current post-Seinfeld shows).

Bob Smith, afternoons WXXI-AM 1370, Rochester NY

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Thanks for the comments, Bob. I agree, Drew Carey has developed into a consistently high-quality show; I'm glad they gave it tame to build. I think I I have liked it more since I got to know Drew himself a little better by reading his book "Dirty Jokes and Beer" last year. One characteristic the show has in common (for me) with "Ellen," and in contrast to "Seinfeld," is that none of the supporting cast is anything to write home about; the humor and appeal is mostly generated from the likeability, and vulnerability of the star. Kind of from nowhere, Wednesday has morphed into my big couch-potato/sitcom night that I look forward to (after many, many years of NBC's Thursday night line-up generally winning that coveted role), and on ABC no less.

richforman

I agree. It's crap.

Mike, I couldn't agree more. Even a Seinfeld re-run like tonight's "Festivus for the rest of us" is a damn sight better than 90% of what the networks call sitcoms.

However, Drew Carey is a real witty show. It's too bad he doesn't have the calibre supporting cast of a Jason, Julia and Michael.

Still enjoy reading your posts.

JG

The News Guy(Mike) wrote in message news:[email]...