Someone mentioned here that the Seinfeld show never was particularly popular in France. Could that be because many French are not very used to the English language?
Was Seinfeld popular in Britain? In Germany?
I am sometimes surpised to hear some fellow Swedes say that they think Seinfeld is overrated etc. But I do realise now that they are the ones that are not very comfortable with English. I think it would be hard to grasp the show if you depend on the subtitling.
Has Seinfeld been dubbed somewhere? How did that go?
Actually seinfeld was dubbed when it was aired in France on cable and on national TV. But despite that it never picked up. I don't see any reason why in particular.
it was dubbed in Germany and I think they did a great job! I really enjoyed the show and it is still my favorite comedy TV-show. Unfortunately it wasn't really successful here in Germany. When it started in German TV they put it in a pre-evening slot (I think something around 6.30 pm), but after one or two seasons they put it into an evening or even late-night slot, because it wasn't watched by enough people. In addition they changed the opening credits in that sense that they cut the standup-part - a fact I really hate them for.
I recently watched some shows in English and I think they are even more funny. But as I said before, then German version worked great.
I think Seinfeld (the dubbed German version) was also not very popular here in Germany, since the people did never understand why there is a show about nothing. In German nobody ever explained the deeper sense (is there one?) to the viewers. When I watched it in German the first time, I did like it a lot since I had just returned from a long stay in the US. But then when I got all the episodes in English I really understood it. You also have to know who Jerry Seinfeld is and you have to know his stand up comedy.... These are things that never got aired in Germany.... I think that's the main reason why it never got that popular, even though I have lots of friends in my age group who like it!
Anything dubbed is bad. But I don�t agree that is necesary to know Jerry or what he does to like the show. I just loved it from the first moment, without knowing anything else.
It wasn�t very successful in Europe, maby because it was to unusual compared to the common sitcoms which do well here. Maybe the initial criticism that it was "too New York" and "too jewish" was valid here and hindered the success overseas.
Seinfeld has a cult following in the UK I suppose. It was shown on a mainstream terrestrial channel, but was put on very late and suffered at the hands of shedulers. Friends and Will & Grace et al got primetime slots, but I think theres something about Seinfeld that wouldn't really appeal to the Great British Public as a whole. Apparently it has attracted new advocates now its on the Paramount Comedy cable channel daily, but its too late for it to crossover to being a mainstream hit. I on the other hand love it, and am very pleased that we'll be getting the DVDs on November 1st! Hahaha.
Re. the rest of Europe, they're a helluva a lot more comfortable with English than the UK and US are with other languages, and are educated in foreign languages far more thoroughly.
Interesting. I would have thought that Seinfeld was a big hit with the British. They produce a lot of terrific comedy themselves. Much of which is very very popular in Sweden. Swedish comedy, by the way, is totally pathetic.
Maybe so, but there is a major difference between getting by somewhat as a tourist and being able to appreciate comedy in a foreign language.
Cable TV here generally include some quite foreign channels, like Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek etc. Occasionally when I zap through the range of stuff I chance on something that looks like it is supposed to be funny. It is invariably on the level of kindergarten, or at best suited for a nine year old. Not that I understand any of those languages, thank God, but I can see nevertheless that it is rock bottom rubbish.
Woody Allen has been extremely popular here with New York based jewish type of humour.
The major TV network here is Swedish Television. It has two channels, non commercial, quite good, with ambitions to inform, entertain and educate, and widen horizons . 60% of all it shows is in the English language. We are used to having New Yorkers on TV every day.
Haven�t most West Europeans been fed that sort of TV diet since years?
i can tell you this. i'm from romania and the show is VERY loved here. and it's not just me:) most of my friends love it. as for myself, Seinfeld is my all-time favorite show and that's why i'm trying to collect all the episodes:)
JERRY: Hey, guess what? Remember that woman you saw me with the other day? You know, she used to be an Olympic gymnast? KRAMER: A gymnast! JERRY: Yeah, she's Romanian, she won a silver at the '84 Olympics. KRAMER: A gymnast, Jerry. Think of the flexibility. Mmm, that sex'll melt your face. JERRY: Yeah, well, I think I'm bailing. KRAMER: (shuts door) "Bailing"? JERRY: Yeah, you know, Kramer, there's always a price to pay for just a sexual dalliance. KRAMER: Jerry, you should pay that price. JERRY: She's Romanian. What am I gonna talk to her about, Ceausescu? KRAMER: Ch- oo-... what?
Once when he was at a party, he put his plate on someone's piano. I assure you, if he had not been a dictator, he would not have been able to get away with that one.
The french dub is awful (bad choice of voices and all the humor is lost). French dubs are *generally* wonderful for drama series and pitiful for comedies.
But today, in France, only few american shows are broadcasted on big stations (TF1, France 2) : Columbo, E.R., C.S.I... and almost no sitcoms except Friends (the only one to have good critics and good ratings).
Seinfeld or Dream On have the status of "s�ries cultes", because they have their fans but they are well less known of Friends, Buffy ou Ally McBeal... (Dream On or Seinfeld are shown on Canal+, an HBO-like station). Even in that perspective, Just Shoot Me, Mad about You or Dharma & Greg are more famous, I think (with the only experience of my friends).
But Seinfeld has its devoted fans, and although it is still undererstimated by the french critics (like Frasier also) it finished 3rd in a classement of the greatest sitcoms ever made by french magazine 'E�isode' (7) :
1/ Friends 2/ The Simpsons 3/ SEINFELD 4 Absolutely Fabulous 5 Father Ted 6 Dream On 7 Larry Sanders Show 8 3rd Planet after sun 9 Mad about you 10 Spin City 11 Frasier 12 Sports Night 13 Fawlty Tower 14 Married with children 15 Golden Girls 16 Malcolm 17 Dharma & Greg 18 I love Lucy 19 Drew Carrey 20 Be-wiched
Here in Norway, Seinfeld seems to be well liked. It is on two of the nation's 5 TV stations and you can see it every day of the week on both stations. Norwegians prefer to see the original version with Norsk subtitles on all movies and TV shows. No dubbing here except on cartoons because kids don't know English yet and they don't know how to read.