What Parents Need to Know About Seinfeld:
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Parents need to know that this famous sitcom, which has become a permanent part of the pop culture lexicon, purposely portrays characters who are selfish, amoral, and not always likeable. Lying, cheating, and gossiping are frequent plot elements. Episodes often center on a character's dating dilemma and include discussions of contraception, masturbation (though the word is never uttered), and personal habits. Teens and parents who enjoy cerebral humor will find much to celebrate in this series, though younger viewers may be bored or confused by the adult dynamics.
Families can discuss the series' situations and characters. Are the situations realistic? What makes the characters appealing, even though they're often mean and selfish? What kind of judgments do the main characters make about the others in the show? What do these judgments say about the characters themselves? How does New York figure into the narrative?
Sexual Content Lots of discussion about dating. Plenty of innuendo and funny discussion of sex (sometimes veiled, sometimes less-so). One episode centers on a birth control device; another on masturbation (though it's never referred to directly).
Violence Some slapstick pratfalls and physical violence -- nothing serious, and always played for laughs.
Language Mild: "damn," "ass," "hell," "bitch." One episode revolves around trying to guess a woman's name that rhymes with a part of the female anatomy (possibilities include "Mulva" and "Dolores").
Message
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR The characters are purposefully drawn as selfish and often amoral in order to develop funny situations. Some Jewish stereotyping. No main or recurring characters of color.
COMMERCIALISM Some mention of specific brands, especially candy. Jerry uses an Apple computer and is a breakfast cereal fiend.
ALCOHOL Occasional wine drinking in restaurant or party scenes. Cigarettes appear in some episodes, though usually for comic effect (Kramer smokes and drinks at the same time in one episode). Speculation about drug use, but none shown. Common Sense Review: SEINFELD, the smart, immensely popular '90s sitcom (available on DVD and airing in syndication), follows the lives of four single urbanites living in New York City. While most sitcoms that came before it revolved around families or workplaces, Seinfeld was one of the first to deal with the relationship between friends and was, famously, a show about "nothing."
The show was created by comedy writer Larry David and stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and the show's characters are based on the two men and their close associates. Seinfeld plays an approximation of himself: a comedian with a cleanliness obsession whose love life rarely gets off the ground due to his tendency to turn tiny issues into huge disasters.
Jerry's best friend is George Costanza (Jason Alexander), described by another character as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man." George is neurotic, whiny, and cheap and has terrible luck in relationships, partly due to his own reluctance to commit. Elaine Benes (Julia Louis- Dreyfus) is Jerry's ex-girlfriend, a self-involved, occasionally bitter writer/editor who, much like Jerry, is in constant pursuit of good-looking dates.
And, finally, Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) is Jerry's wacky neighbor, whose wild hair and bugged-out eyes match his broad physical comedy style -- most frequently demonstrated when he flies spastically into Jerry's apartment unannounced.
The four main characters spend much of their time in Jerry's apartment or at the corner diner complaining, obsessing, and over-analyzing others' behavior. While each character pursues and dates others, the group has a way of unintentionally warding off interlopers and keeping their foursome intact.
And somehow, despite each of the four's unpleasant personality characteristics -- no one in the petty, selfish quartet is in any way an ideal role model -- their continuing follies are delightfully appealing.
Mature Seinfeld fans should check out David's HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Arrested Development is another quirky, mature, sitcom, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus has found another hit with The New Adventures of Old Christine.
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