Seinfeld

[Troy]

As I am watching more episodes, they just started showing them from the start again, I am finding more and more instances of how it fits my life. Watched the episode with Jerry having to deal with a friend that won't go away "Male Unbonding" and Jerry struggles to get rid of him. Have had the same issue before where I never call this one friend, he always calls me and I just can't say no and break off the friendship.

Watching the early episodes and there isn't enough weird Kramer in them. He is more of an outsider early on rather than just one of the group. Pilot episode was also quite hit and miss.

 

[Keith]

As I am watching more episodes, they just started showing them from the start again, I am finding more and more instances of how it fits my life. Watched the episode with Jerry having to deal with a friend that won't go away "Male Unbonding" and Jerry struggles to get rid of him. Have had the same issue before where I never call this one friend, he always calls me and I just can't say no and break off the friendship.

Watching the early episodes and there isn't enough weird Kramer in them. He is more of an outsider early on rather than just one of the group. Pilot episode was also quite hit and miss.

Male Unbonding is possibly my favourite episode of the first season which I found hit and miss on the whole. The show did take three or four seasons to really get going but in a way thats a good thing because it gave it more longivity.

 

[Troy]

The first episode was very hit and miss, it was like they threw as many things as possible into the first episode and saw what stuck, didn't have the best flow to it. It is good to watch it from the start though so that I can see how they develop over time and I can hopefully catch all the big moments and episodes that everyone talks about.

 

[Keith]

Don't know quite liked the first episode thought it set up the theme of them critiqing the modare quite well and found Jerry's key issue of the show to be quite a strong one to open the series, just think the season dragged a bit overall.

 

[MizMasta4000]

My favorite show of all time (even more than Good Times). My mother tragically compares me to George.

 

[Keith]

Just start rewatching this and have completed the first season and started on the second.

The Seinfeld Chronicles **
Male - Un Bonding ***
The Stake Out **
The Robbery ** 1/2
The Stock Tip **

Season Two
The Ex-Girlfriend ****
The Pony Remark ***
The Busboy ** 1/2

Male un Bonding is easily the best episode of the first season, agree with Troy about it, also Kevin Dunn is very good in it. A lot of season one is set up, character driven stuff which may make more sense when you see the later shows, still a modest first series.

The Ex-Girlfriend is a favourite of mine, Jerry at his sarcastic best, more of a role for George and I love the gags about people placing value on books and women needing to like the man's job to be with him.

The Pony Remark is a good episode because it shows how the show does really interesting things with small every day things. The humour is very black too which is another thing which become a bigger part of Seinfeld later.

The Busboy has funny moments, but the story is a little too weak.

 

[Troy]

Watched The Parking Garage the other day and it blew me away that they somehow managed to make an episode situated only in a parking garage funny. Kramer carrying the box, or attempting to carry it, is just hilarious. He is great at physical comedy. Also love the fact that they finally get a stranger to drive them around the parking garage that within seconds George manages to offend her with a joke about Scientology.

 

[Keith]

Watched The Parking Garage the other day and it blew me away that they somehow managed to make an episode situated only in a parking garage funny. Kramer carrying the box, or attempting to carry it, is just hilarious. He is great at physical comedy. Also love the fact that they finally get a stranger to drive them around the parking garage that within seconds George manages to offend her with a joke about Scientology.

That episode is gold, very relatable too.

 

[Keith]

The Baby Shower ***1/2
The Jacket **1/2
The Chinese Restaurant **1/2
The Phone Massage ***1/2
The Apartment ****
The Stranded ***
The Statue ****
The Heart Attack ***
The Revenge ****
The Deal ***

Season 3
The Note ***
The Truth ***
The Dog ***1/2
The Library *****
The Pen **1/2
The Parking Garage ****
The Café ****
The Tape *****
The Nose Job ****
The Alternate Side ****
The Red Dot *****

An episode like the Baby Shower is where you first see the show start to experiment with the format with that odd action dream sequence, also at the end you see the characters at their lowest, yet you route for them.

The Statue is another favourite of mine in the second season pretty much non-stop laughs and each character are given a strong story, with good supporting characters. The Revenge another strong episode and I think should have ended the season with George's plight a good way to end.

Philip Baker Hall's turn as Bookman in the Library is fantastic, its an episode I return to a lot, good dark humour, but plenty of silly gags too.

In the Pen we see the appeal of the George characters as he does something really superfincial in getting Elaine to take the IQ test for him but because its for love we kind of feel sorry for him when it back fires, like he is the ultimate underdog.

The battle of Penis vs. Brain in the game of chess is one of my top Seinfeld scenes ever.

This is around the time where the show was really getting hot, with the characters really changing and with the support characters who start to come in it just gets bettler.

 

[Keith]

The Suicide ***
The Subway ***1/2

The introduction of Mr Newman a legend is born! Him and Cliff from Cheers should team up for their own sitcom.

 

[Keith]

The Pez Dispenser ****
The Boyfriend Part 1&2 *****
The Fix-Up ***
The Limo ***
The Good Samaritan ***1/2
The Letter ***
The Parking Space ***
The Keys ***

Season 4
The Trip part 1
The Trip part 2 **1/2
The Pitch/The Ticket ***
The Wallet **
The Watch **
The Bubble Boy ****
The Cheever Letters ***
The Opera **
The Virgin ****
The Contest *****
The Airport ****
The Pick ***
The Visa ****
The Movie ****
The Outing ***1/2

The Boyfriend 2-parter is for me one of the best near-hour of comedy ever. It neatly weaves the tension of the Jerry/Elaine relationship into an amusing tale of Jerry trying to impress a guy just because he is a sporting idle of his which then leads to Keith Hernandez sending up celebrity is priceless. Add to that Elaine dumping Keith because he smokes, the awesome parody of the Kennedy shooting and George's desperate measures to keep his benefits going (again something very relatable) then you have a pure classic!

The ending of season three and start of four is very hit and miss, but you do start to get more Newman which is a very good thing, the feud with him and Jerry is one high points of the show.

The contest is another one like the Boyfirend which I just never got teird of watching, again they take such a weird yet everyday thing and turn it into something just so funny and interesting. My favourite scene is maybe when Jerry is watching Tinny Toons and is cheerfully singing along while Kramer is watching the naked girl across the street and using the song for something quite different... Also love the scenes in the hospital with George and his mother.

Am now coming up to the debut of Jerry Stiller and one of my favourite ever characters!

 

[Keith]

The Shoes **1/2
The Old Man ****
The Implant *****
The Handicap Spot ****
The Junior Mint *****
The Smelly Mint ****
The Pilot (parts 1&2) **1/2

The physical humour in the Old Man is really mind blowing also get a more in depth look at the Kramer/Newman pairing. I love the line from Jerry's old man "I wasn't born yesterday, may drop dead tomorrow, but wasn't born yesterday!"

Again the Junior Mint and Implant episodes are two of my all time favourites, great stories, very dark and with great payoffs "Their real and their spectular!"

The development of the Susan character is a very interesting one and important for the George character moving forward.

The best is still to come!

 

[Keith]

The Mango ***1/2
The Glasses ***
The Puffy Shirt ***
The Sniffing Accountant ****
The Bris **1/2
The Lip Reader ****
The Non-fat Yogurt ****
The Barber ***1/2
The Masseuse ****
The Cigar Store Indian ****
The Conversion ****
The Stall ****
The Marine Biologist ****
The Dinner Party ****
The Pie ***

Only just noticed that it is Anna Gunn of Breaking Bad fame as Jerry's girlfriend in the Glasses episode and she is stunning!

It is something how they deals with riskey areas such as Jerry and George explioting a lip reader and still keeping it funny and making them look the idiots.

The Dinner Party is always watchable as its a very simple and common set up but is expanded to make for some silly and colourful humour.

 

[Keith]

The Stand-in ***1/2
The Wife ***1/2
The Fire ***1/2
The Raincoats (Part 1&2) ****
The Hamptons ****
The Opposite ***1/2

Season 6
The Chaperone ****
The Big Salad ****
The Pledge Drive ***
The Chinese Woman ***1/2
The Couch *****
The Gymnast ****
The Mom & Pop Store ****
The Soup ***1/2
The Secretary ****
The Switch *****
The Race ****
The Label Maker *****
The Scofflaw ***1/2
The Highlights of 100 (parts 1&2) - Clips show no rating.
The Beard *****
The Kiss Hello ****
The Doorman ***1/2
The Jimmy **
The Doodle ****
The Fusilli Jerry *****
The Diplomat's Club ***
The Face Painter *****
The Understudy ****

Season 7
The Engagement ***/12
The Postponement ****
The Maestro ****

Season six is maybe my favourite ever season, it is out of that three or five.

The film noir riffing in The Switch is a hoot and Jerry's speech on why he can't go with the three way is comedy gold!

The Beard might be my favourite ever episode, and the scene where Jerry is asked questions about Melrose Place on the Lie Dictator and finally explodes is sorts of awesomeness!

A interesting part of the show in the later seasons is how we get more a sense of George and Elaine's ambition not to screw up in life both in employment and personally realtionships, and Elaine has some killer bosses such as Mr Pitt, and Mr Peterman who would go on to steal many episodes in season seven. By contrast Jerry and Kramer seem content to wonder aimlessly.

One more season of greatness before the decline starts to set in.

 

[Ryan]

As an American, I'm always astonished when I meet anyone (who's from the States, of course) who either doesn't like this show or even more surprisingly, has never even watched it. I absolutely love Seinfeld. It's up there with I Love Lucy as a cornerstone of American pop culture.