I love these television stars who pull this crap. You spend years trying to make it and get a show. Then you get the show and struggle so hard to make it a hit. If you survive the 90's TV ax ( where if you are not instantly successful you are gone) you try and keep your show entertaining. Then when you have a gem you let it go. I do not understand; is it fear? Fear of trying to maintain an entertaining show? Lets see, Ted Danson is now a huge movie star, Tom Selleck is on Friends, we have all heard of Alan Alda since Mash, and we know what a success David Caruso has become. Compared to what is good on t.v. today, Seinfeld is miles above. If I see another imitation "Friends" or another episode of Mad About You or there kid it will be too soon. HEY JERRY EAT LIGHT BECAUSE ITS GOING TO BE A LONG DESCENT DOWN!!! I'll bet I'll see you bring back your show$$$ .
after
Gee I wonder who will worry more about money.........JS or what's his name?
What it really is, is a classic case of a man having enough respect for his audience, and enough artistic integrity, to realize when to say "farewell" and not try to hang on just for the sake of money after the cre- ativity has begun to dry up. This man is literally going to give up $110 million from NBC just in order to make sure that all we get from him is his best. And he's made it clear in recent interviews that he has already made the money he needs and achieved more fame and success than he ever expected...so all he wants to do now, is good, fresh work for an appreciative audience in some other venue. Seems to me that deserves praise rather than criticism.
If only every other successful entertainer would show that much respect for his work and for his audience, in- stead of showing us contempt by trying to keep milking the money from us after the creativity has gone. Wouldn't it have been nice if the Rolling Stones (my favorite all-time rock band, but clearly past it by now) had made "Steel Wheels" their fare- well album and final tour 8 years ago, instead of trying to hang on? Wouldn't we think differently about their whole body of work now, respecting them for what they did rather than laugh- ing at them for what they're doing now? Surely you can't blame Jerry for making sure he and his castmates never have to face that fate. As it is, he'll leave a consistently good body of work that will keep entertaining us, and probably win new generations of fans, for decades to come, just like Burns and Allen, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. They all cared about their audiences, each of them had a network that wanted them to stay on longer, but quit maybe a bit too soon rather than too late specifically because they wanted to leave nothing but quality work for us to see.
Bob Smith, afternoons WXXI-AM 1370, Rochester NY
Bob, I've never mentioned it before but, in general, yours are among the most well thought out, finely crafted posts ever to grace this ng. Thanks for being a part of it.