In defense of "The Soul Mate"

	Relax people!
	The show isn't sinking!

Let's not freak out just because every new episode isn't as hysterical as
our own personal favorites. Let's remember the 2nd episode of last season,
"The Postponement". Now *that* episode was a bad one. Remember? The boring as
all hell rabbi? the crying scene? Elaine getting depressed about not geting
married? That one was a stinker.
	By comparison this one wasn't half bad. I like that thew show has
returned to its old equilibrium: Jerry is single and selfish. George is
single and hopelessly neurotic, Elaine is crazy and cynical, and Kramer,
(although I think he's gotten a little more mellow) is still funny as hell. I
think it's a breath of fresh air that we finally don't have to worry about
whether or not George or Elaine will find employment, whether Jerry's pilot
will succeed, whether George will get married.
	As for the show experimenting with new styles, i.e. new camera angles,
less conventional humor (susan's death) and subplots that fail to converge at
the end (the premiere) I say, they've earned it! Let them experiment!
	Let them be as crazy as they want. Let them find a new pace.
	I love some of the new stuff:
		Jerry and Kramer stabbing each other in the back over a boring
		woman like Pam.
		A slightly-too-long pause while George's tape rewinds. (By the
                way, didn't that remind you of the pause when Kramer went to
                the bank in the season finale? when he sat at the manager's
                desk?)

	And FINALLY: The whole "I thought we were talking about me?" running
joke! It showcases PERFECTLY how self absorbed they all are! Bravo!
	-Matt

Yeah, actually I thought this ep was better than a few last season. I particularly liked when the postman stuff came up with Newman in the bookstore. I think I actually LOL. Can't say that for a lot of shows last season.

-Jen

	I agree that the "Cyrano" scene in the library was good.On the other hand
I found the "Jerry chasing Newman"  bit, absolutely painful to
watch...Also, you could see the punchline of the battered briefcase
scenario coming from across the continent...
					HF

Highflag wrote in article ...

hand

I agree. Did the past two shows make anyone else think of "The Simpsons"? Or am I just insane? :)

The Simpsons? Mmmm ... no. How so? -Jen

This season could turn out to be similar to the 4th season of MASH, which was considered to be the worst, when the creative genius for that show, Larry Gelbart left and the series also had to endure McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers leaving. Of course that series ran for another 7 seasons but the emphasis changed more to the inter-personal relationships between the characters rather than the comedy itself.

If I had to bet, Seinfeld will run another season or two at most. It seems like Jerry, Julia, Jason and Michael are staying around more for the money due to the show being at its highest point in the ratings last season then it ever was. The latter 3, in particular, would grow a lot more as actors, if they moved on to other things. If the ratings drop significantly during the course of this season, (and they might given that the majority of posts so far did not like the first 2 episodes) - they'll call it quits.

If Seinfeld does have much more of a run - it will certainly be a different series from what it was during the first 7 seasons, perhaps even if Larry David agrees to return.