Just saw The Stock Tip, where the first references to Superman were made. It's amazing to compare how the four were portrayed then and how they behave now. In that show:
Jerry pulls out of the stock market before his shares rise. He takes a woman on a weekend trip and they have a lousy time. Jerry is a loser!
George was the first with the inside stock information and he holds out until he reaps the rewards, celebrating at the end with a stogie. George is confident and lucky!
Elaine is dumped by a great guy who favors his cats. Looks like she quietly accepts this, because she's at Monk's blowing her nose and commiserating with the guys. Compare this with how she treats Puddy and the germophobe co-worker (Angel then, demonic banshee now).
They didn't use Kramer much in that one, and actually I think that was a better formula. Nowadays, Cosmo's eccentricities are shoved down our throat throughout the show whereas back then, he would only talk about his crazy ideas. The make-your-own-pizza shop and tie dispenser were only figments in his weird imagination and we never got to see them. The 12/11/97 episode would've been better if we didn't see Kramer in the shower and only at the end of the show he mentions he cooked the food with him in the tub.