Hello all, this is my first post to the group...
There's been a lot of talk about inconsistencies in Seinfeld, like whether Kramer or Paul Buchman were in the apartment when Jerry moved in; how George and Susan could have watched "Mad About You"; when Jerry and George became friends; whether Kramer takes showers or baths; for how long did Jerry call him Kessler, etc.
Lots of people have tried to come up with explanations (It was a different show called "Mad about you" or "Kramer and Paul were roomies" or "Jerry and George knew eachother in elementary school, but weren't 'close' until junior high")
I'd just like to say that it's really impossible to rationalize every inconsistency in the show. Lots of tv shows are inconsistent, and sometimes there is no easy way to explain them, you just have to accept them. For example, can anyone explain the strange disapperance of Richie's older brother Chuck on Happy Days? Or why Darrin Stevens' looks suddenly changed halfway through Bewitched? (of course, we know that it was because there was a different actor playing the part, but as far as the tv show goes, there's no way to explain this, unless you say that he had plastic surgery or something) Or can anyone explain why, in the opening credits to The Odd Couple, a narrator says they were childhood friends, yet in one episode we find out that they met on a jury in the 60s, while another episode says they met in the 50s, while still another implies that they knew eachother during WWII?
If you try to come up with explanations for all the inconsistencies on tv, you'd go nuts. The only explanation is this: the writers just used whatever facts they needed to enhance the storyline of that particular episode, and didn't really think it mattered if something was contradicted. The only thing you can really do is accept the fact that there are some inconsistencies, and not let it interfere with your enjoyment of the show.
Jaclyn