Seinfeld Decline: My Interpretation

Nov 2, 19976 posts by 6 posters
🙁 Disliked it🔥 Controversial
6 posts
Rodney E.

Just as many "experts" proclaim that early-Elvis and early-Beatles were the best work that they ever produced, I think we're going to have to accept that new episodes of "Seinfeld" will never match up to its predecessors. We can individually enjoy these new shows for whatever humor strikes a chord within each of us, but Seinfeld-fans as a whole can no longer agree and say, "Yeah, that was funny!" I try to keep the belief that becoming popular to the mass audience has no bearing in keeping the "edge" of one's act, but now I realize that being a #1 hit for your network carries a burden that somewhat curtails the creativity and biting wit that produced got you attention in the first place. So if we were to put past Seinfeld episodes into historical classification, I'd go along these lines:

1989 - 1990 Dawn of a new era: fresh concept for a sitcom, with a lot of experimenting, hits and misses of course.

1991 - 1993 The Golden Age: the peak of the "Seinfeld", breaking barriers and setting standards.

1994 - 1995 Complacency: after finally achieving mass recognition, storylines begin to stagnate, memorable shows get far and few between.

1996 - ? Fall of Rome: drunken with success, the original premise and spirit of the show is completely forgotten.

On 2 Nov 1997 05:20:49 GMT, [email] (LCOLUMBO) wrote, in part:

<snipped> Well this is off topic but IMHO, as a longtime fan of the Beatles, I always thought they peaked in 1966. As for this seasons episodes of Seinfeld, I think there have been a couple of poor ones but I think the others were good. There are still plenty to go - let's see, maybe there will be a brand new *classic* episode soon.

Rob

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with your assessment of this season. Season #6 is full of memorable shows. To wit:

The Chinese Woman: "I thought I was getting advice from a Chinese woman!"

The Couch: "Poppi peed on my couch!"

The Soup: "Soups not a meal."

The Secretary: "It's definitely do-able!"

The Scofflaw: Newman as 'The White Whale'.

The Doorman : A very underrated ep. "You think you're better than me."

The Jimmy: "Jimmy holds grudges!"

The Fusilli Jerry: "I'm Cosmo Kramer, the ASSMAN!"

I don't know, maybe my standards are lower than yours. Just my humble opinion.

Jeff

DETROIT RED WINGS! STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!

I always assumed the show's decline was directly attributed to the departure of Larry David and his writing.

Charlie Budman [email] The Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Laboratory "You can't really dust for vomit" - Nigel Tufnel
SloRodney E.

I think the show is about not stagnating. The show has clearly gotten fantastic, if not surreal, in the last few years but I think many of these shows have had great comic payoffs. Watching last seasons' episodes in current syndication backs me up on this. The episode where George is a bad seed, Elaine does her goofy dance, and Jerry and Kramer become film bootleggers is about as funny as any single Seinfeld episode. This boils down to opinion but, frankly, I trust mine. In fact I don't know where I'd be without it.

The following is pointless as the poster doesn't back up his opinions with examples:

slowhandSlo

[email] (WT Pfefferle, Ph.D.) wrote:

Ever notice that for some reason Kramer's music tapes always end up with that spooky voice saying "Turn music off"? It also happened in "The Muffin Tops." It's kind on a odd running gag, as I've never heard a tape like that, but it's funny.

-Kenny

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