Do you notice that for a show that is supposed to be about nothing, how many of them we actually remember with distinct themes?
Other shows that are about family/work place etc. blend into one story line repeated over and over...
That's what makes Seinfeld so special. I think it is past its prime though <sigh>
...Sam
Sammurthy wrote in article ...
It's not a show about nothing. It's a show about anything.
(I'm in no way taking credit for these two sentences. They're good - but they're not mine.)
This whole "show about nothing" cliche has been lofted as a standard so many times in reference to SEINFELD that I think it is time again to understand the concept.
The "nothing" they refer to is everyday human interaction. Quite simply, nothing is about "nothing," everything is about something (J.P. Sarte notwithstanding). I think the original meaning of this phrase was that SEINFELD did not deal with "standard sitcom plots" that are familiar to us. (In fact, I often think that there is this huge reference tome in Hollywood studios called "The Big Book Of Standard Sitcom Plots" that every writer and writing team refers to.)
I also believe that, before SEINFELD, there was another classic sitcom about "nothing" called THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. Think about it: it involved the everyday life of an awkward comic/writer in television with a group of funny friends. Many of the greatest epiodes were about nothing. (I mean, how much more about nothing could a show be than one that revolves entirely around an unwitting revelation that one of the characters wears a toupee...yet it is revered as one of the all-time classic TV comedy episodes from ANY series). The only difference is that it took place in the suburbs and the main character was married (which was the fashion in those days, to quote Grandpa Simpson).
"The Big Book of Standard Sitcom Plots" was developed after "I Love Lucy" went off the air. Did you ever notice how many shows featuring 2 male leads and 2 female leads, degenerate into an "I Love Lucy" copy as they age? Examples-Laverne and Shirley, Perfect Strangers, etc ad nauseum. They MUST be using the book!
No matter what situation I'm in, no matter what the subject matter of my day, I can always find a reference to "Seinfeld" in there without even trying. My theory is that everything in real life comes back to "Seinfeld" because everything in "Seinfeld" comes back to real life. And those are my own words, you can quote me. :)
Michael Alexander
My grandfather is past his prime.
It doesn't mean I'm gonna kill him.
Long live Jerry!!!