The show has changed

Ever since the departure of Larry David, the show has taken a surreal turn that has lost the magic that made "Seinfeld" great.

Remember how the old episodes focused on conversations and the characters' obsession with the most insignifigant details of daily life? The episodes used to have similarities to our own lives and relationships . . . and now we have Kramer cooking in the shower, Neuman attempting to EAT Kramer, the backwards episode, etc. Many of these episodes were certainly funny, but do they touch things that happen every day in OUR lives? David's scripts focused on things that we can identify with, like:

      - Elaine's boyfriend who doesn't quite . . . do . . . EVERYTHING
      - double-dipping, re-gifting, refunding
      - "conversion" (of a homosexual), the roommate switch
      - parking in the handicap spot
      - "breaking up" with a friend
      - boxers vs. briefs
      - real breasts vs. fake breasts
      - the close-talker/low-talker/high-talker
      - breaking up with a girl before she breaks up with you to obtain "hand"
      - keeping secrets (the vault/the poker face)

The Peurto-Rican Day episode illustrates the differences. Remember similar Larry David episodes like the Chinese Restaurant and the Parking Garage? Remember how well these episodes worked within a single set and within the 4 core characters? That we can identify with. Those were the episodes that we not only talked about on Friday morning, but that we incorporated into our way of thinking and interacting with one another.

I have great hope in the last episode, written by Jerry with Larry David (whose last episode was the death of Susan). I hope that this will remind us of what drew us to the show and kept us watching.

You are right, Seinfeld had changed after Larry left. But not necessarily in a bad way. Yes, there are a few episodes in the "post-Larry" era that have crashed and burned, but has every episode been bad? Of course not. There have been a lot of very funny episodes, a lot of classics too. The show will always be associated for leaving out at the top of its game, not for having a few bad episodes while Larry did Sour Grapes.

BMDtn wrote:

<a lot of good points snipped>

I agree with you - If the past two years was all Seinfeld ever was it never would have amassed the audience that it did. Of course some people still found those episodes funny but they were nowhere near the quality of interwoven plots, excellent dialogue, and pure brilliant characterizations of the great early years 3-7 or so.

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   I have to respectfully disagree. I think the last two years -- like
the first seven years -- have varied between the good, the great, the
mediocre and the poor (even though a poor Senfield is IMO better than a
the best Mad About You or Caroline in the City, etc).<
   The Frogger, The Voice and the Strike (This is the best Festivus
Ever!!) from this season and The Yada Yada, The Summer of George and The
Bizarro Jerry from last season are all among my favorite episodes ever.<
   It's all a matter of taste. I was just reading a columnist from the
Chicago Times that rated The Opposite as one of the five worst Seinfelds
ever ... yet I see from the recent fan vote that it was rated the No. 7
best ever!!<
   I'm sorry you haven't enjoyed the last two years of Seinfield.

[email] (BMDtn) wrote:

Well, the show started going downhill during David's last season anyway. He may not even be the reason the show fully crumbled. For all we know, the last episode could be awful.

Americans LOOOOVE silly, sitcom trash.

If the finale is the best Larry David could do--then I am glad he left Seinfeld 2 years ago. If you remember, the last episode he wrote was the not very popular episode of Susan's death. The finale had too much of the "dark" vision of Larry David, and too little of the short, faster-moving scenes, as well as charming ingredients we have been seeing these past 2 years. I'll take the much maligned Puerto Rican Day Parade episode over the Larry David-penned finale any day. alt showbiz gossip