I understand some of the criticism of the show this year. We all think back to the Stakeout. It was a wonderful show about wanting to meet a girl and waiting for her to go to lunch. Other episodes involved looking for their car or waiting for a table in a Chinese restaurant.
Last week's episode had a basic premise that could have made it a great show. It could have concentrated and dealt with the Bris. Then it could have exploded the absurdities of the ceremony. But instead it didn't deal with the Bris, but rather it dealt with eccentric personalities. Seinfeld used to be funny because it put people in regular situations and showed just how absurd reality could be. But this episode tried to make the Bris funny by using an odd Bris doctor. Yet this only detracted from the natural humor of the ceremony and Jerry and Elaine's apprehension about it.
I don't think we should condemn the show though. It is clearly the funniest show on tv, even with the changes. And it is also one of the most clever... no matter how you feel about the recent shows, you have to admit that some of the thought process that creates them is fairly clever. The writers manage to take two or three basic stories and weave them together in a way that makes the story whole. No other television show seems to take so much care with the scripts.
One scene in last week's episode struck me as particularly bad, though. When George talked with the hospital administrator, I couldn't help but feel the scene really hurt the show. When she said, "splat" and the laugh track laughed, I wanted to cry. Seinfeld doesn't need scenes like this.
I don't mind the absurd shows; I'll still watch and I'll still laugh. But it would be nice if they did another episode where not much happended. Just to remind us that they know the value of nothing.
Jeff Miller