A while ago, my best friend and I ended up in a crazy real life situation that felt like it was right out the show "Seinfeld." In fact, we noticed that we frequently end up in crazy situations or having conversations that are like "Seinfeld" episodes.
I actually never knew that "Seinfeld" was considered a show about nothing until I was much older. It seemed like any other sitcom that was on at the time it ran — only funnier. I couldn't tell you the main theme or main plot to any sitcom in the 1990s if you paid me. Maybe if I came across them now maybe, but when they were on the air, they all ran the same.
I personally found the show extremely relatable and over the top and hilarious. I found Jerry Seinfeld's routines funny. If anything, I thought the show was based on his life since the show frequently either began or ended or centered around his acts. His friendship with Elaine seemed to mirror my friendship with my best male friend, while I couldn't understand why the man was friends with a guy like George. And I saw one of my other friends who was a frequent get rich quick, lucky, and always throwing around names of the multitudes of people he knew in Kramer.
I wasn't quite sure if I liked the last episode of "Seinfeld," but it was what it was. "Seinfeld" was one of those gems in the 1990s that make me miss that era so very much. It was like a nine season, one hit wonder of television. It paved the way for shows like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Parks and Recreation," and "Scrubs," but if "Seinfeld" came out today? There's no way it'd fly. Even with "The Bee Movie" success, wouldn't Jerry Seinfeld be able to put out his title show now and last past a season.
Be that as it may, I still wanted to highlight what I loved about this series. I sum up my love of "Seinfeld" in three categories: episodes, physical humor, and characters.
I'm not sure I can rank the episodes I loved, but just put them in the category because I love them so. There's the double dipping episode where I learned what double dipping actually is. George double dips a chip at a funeral reception and is caught by one of the attendees. He proceeds to do it anyway which makes a hilarious fight happen.
Then there's “The Contest" episode where the four friends bet which one can go the longest without masturbating. The episode (or was it episodes?) where the show seems to finally address the sexual tension between the exes but now good friends, Jerry and Elaine, by having them add sex to their friendship.
“The Outing" episode where Elaine acts like Jerry and George are in a homosexual relationship together and they play along cause it was funny, and it shocked those around them — only to find out that the person they thought they were tricking was a local college newspaper writer and she ran with it.
Famous physical humor I enjoyed on the show was Elaine's shoving everyone and shouting "Get Out!" whenever they said something she found shocking. Then there was Kramer's constantly falling somewhere or being set on fire. Finally, there was the endless people punching George in the face for the constantly offensive stuff he always blurted out.
Outside of the four main characters, the show had a few other memorable characters for me. The Soup Nazi's "No Soup For You!" is a phrase my friends and I still randomly say when the occasion (or when the occasion doesn't) calls for it. I found it fascinating that the New York city folk, in general, seemed to be as crazy and over the top as the main cast.
It was too funny to see two sets of crazy trying to outdo each other in each episode where one or more of the main cast was pit against the general public. And the ENDLESS stream of dates then exes of all the main cast was enough to rival the cast of "Friends!" A lot of them were all crazy and over the top as well.
Well, thanks for taking this funny walk down television history with me. Till next time!