I have to begin by saying that I've watched Seinfeld faithfully since the beginning. I've enjoyed it immensely, year after year, through good and through bad. Yes, I am a fan.
I have to preface my comments with this because, inevitably, some stupid schmuck will follow-up with a post about how I can't possibly be a fan of the show or how I shouldn't post anything negative about the show because it's a classic . . . or even how I'm so lame that I "just don't get" how the finale was supposed to be some searing insight into what the show was truly all about.
But the fact is, I DO get it . . . and I'm still not at all impressed with the finale. For me, it was an ill-conceived, poorly written, empty attempt at making a mockery of the show about mockery. Hell, I even understood that it was a stoogie poke-in-the-eyes for other television series in the past that had made such self-important spectacles of their own series finales. While that, in itself, isn't a bad thing . . . the Seinfeld finale fell far short of what it hoped to accomplish.
The first hint I had of this came soon after it began, as Kramer's car lurched to a stop beside Jerry and George. Kramer's passenger, Elaine, was thrown headfirst into the floorboard and then catapulted back against the seat. I love slapstick, pratfalls and all manner of physical comedy . . . but something just wasn't right. It just wasn't funny.
I began to get a sinking feeling, and somewhere an evil wind began to blow. Newman's prediction was right on target, in more ways than one.
The resurrection of the NBC pilot fell flat. It's been done before, and much better I might add. It was a painfully long, weak plot device that's only purpose was to explain how the group went from point A to point B. The same effect could have been achieved by one of the characters simply saying, "Hey, let's fly to such-and-such for the weekend.
The plane segment was an exercise in desperation. As with the NBC pilot storyline, it was nothing more than a plot device . . . the only difference being that, at least, the NBC pilot storyline had something of a plot to it, even if it was an uninspired rehash. The plane-is-going-to-crash story has itself been done before, and better. "Wings" comes to mind immediately.
If anything, the plane-is-going-to-crash segment clearly illustrated what was happening to the finale itself. A metaphor, if you will, for what the remainder of the show held in store for us. The cast's performances were listless and cold, and even though it was clear that it was making fun of other shows that had relied on the very same plot device, there was nothing funny about it. As the plane goes down, the group's faces are pained and panicked . . . but I can't help but wonder if that was only because they realized how horribly written this scene was.