(c) 2000 .. Herbie J Pilato Sein-ed In
Thank God for Kramer, Jerry, Elaine and George
November 2000 I shudder to think what we, the hipsters of the self-effacing new millennium, would be, had it not been for the Seinfeld chronicles of on-screen comedian Jerry Seinfeld (played by the real-life word-wit, also named Jerry Seinfeld) and his erratic band of pals: the cynical Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the manic Kramer (Michael Richards), and the cheap, but lovable George (Jason Alexander).
More than likely, we would be substantially less hip and self-effacing.
The "show-about-nothing" frequently landed in the Number One spot of the Nielsen's during its first-run on NBC from 1989 to 1998. And the "non-sitcom" continues to topple the competition in syndicated reruns. Polls indicate the majority of viewers are affluent young adults who normally do not stay at home and watch television - the eighteen-to-thirty-year-olds whom advertisers are trying hardest to reach (each half-minute commercial spot for the show's original network run cost approximately $300,000).
When it debuted as a regular series in the summer of 1990 (after an early pilot-airing in 1989), Seinfeld rang in a freshly cool decade of TV parody with class and distinction, initiating a new Golden Era for the small screen. The show allows a great number of people to laugh at themselves; to not feel isolated with whatever distinctive traits they may possess; to realize that it's okay to be a goofball once in a while. Even in the controversial (read: not as funny) episodes of its last few seasons, the show detached itself from the rules of typical humor, subtracted the situation from situation comedy, and brought to the living-room viewer an extraordinary sense of humor, truth and dare.
Nary a syrupy moral lesson to deliver in a tidy 30 minutes, Seinfeld helps us laugh through subway muggings, missing rent-car reservations, rude waiters, bad dates, and just plain bad luck.
According to the TV-Jerry, even sneezing became a good thing and a substantial reason to receive a compliment ("You're sooooo good lookin'"), instead of an uncomfortable reminder of what might he might term as a human heart haltence (pressing others to say, "God Bless You"). It refused to ignore touchy subjects and, instead, hit them straight-on.
The series was the first comedy to address and hire the handicap and various minorities in honest roles, minus the usual preachy television storylines. It chose not to mangle social issues or ills, and injected a well-needed breath of fresh-laugh into topics, such as dwarfism, death, mental illness, contraception, and personal hygiene. In each instance, even years after the show's initial debut, intolerance and ignorance stick out like sore thumbs.
Various interest groups commended the series for its frank perspective on life; a perspective, which they believed, had contributed to the mainstream acceptance of their organizations - and their members.
In an episode from 1995, entitled, The Lip Reader, Jerry became friends with a woman who just so happens to be deaf, a character played by the Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin (Children of A Lesser God), who also just happens to be deaf. Upon their first meeting, he thought she was continually ignoring him. He became frustrated, and finally belted out, "What are you, deaf?" To which she replied, "Bingo!" with forthright, unaffected confidence. In the end, it was Jerry who was shown to be impaired, with a severe lack of sensitivity (a personality quirk for which each regular cast member of Seinfeld was frequently taken to task).
We should address legitimately horrific programming on television (comedy or otherwise) that ignores innovation and displays negative images, in either the sex, violence, or stereotype category.
We should embrace artistically joyful programming like Seinfeld, which not only allows us to recognize and amend our imperfections, but also to rise above them with sophistication, style, and sincere, non-debasing merriment.
With its unequaled comic home-delivery, Seinfeld prescribes a perspicacious memorandum: Laughter is the best medicine. With its satiric dose of reality, the show appropriately needles us; refuses to insult our viewer intelligence; permits us to actuate the positive (We all like to laugh, don't we?); and gives diversity on television a healthy shot in the funny bone.
Suffice it to say, when it comes to the creative, joyful, entertaining, and educational contributions of classic television programs like Seinfeld - a show once described as being about "nothing" - we the viewers have indeed "everything" to be grateful for, not only in this miraculous month designated for giving thanks, but each time we tune into Jerry and his grin-folk.