Rating:  - Quality of the set exceeds the early chemistry of cast
I love this show, for its simplicity and for the chemistry that developed between the characters and the writing. This first set is perhaps the one that suffers the most from the eventual brilliant cast chemistry as the early versions of George are more "woody Allen-esque" than the more fully neurotic and scheming character he became, and Kramer is still a bit awkward at this stage and at times seems a bit forced.
The picture quality is outstanding. In fact, at times it is too good, as watching the show on the DVD's gives the appearance of a staged play, while the television medium captures a grainier, and therefore more real, feel to it.
I think the overall packaging is excellent. The seasons have individual DVD's in separate cases, which allows you to take a few episodes easily on the road in a briefcase to watch on the laptop. Other sets have such bulky cases it is not possible to do this. The extras are nice curiosities, but I have to agree that with the exception of the script (which is wonderful - I got the "Big Salad" show) they are not worth the extra money. Thankfully the boxed set is not too much more than buying them in two pieces.
Overall, this is a great set that should be in the collection of every Seinfeld fan. I can't wait for future releases when the show got richer and the characters more developed. Highly recommended!
Rating:  - Not as much meat on this animal as I had hoped
Great series but to be honest I am a little disappointed with the bonus features.
Seinfeld is the Lord of the Rings of sitcoms. Therefore the dvd set should be on a par with the LOTR box. There should be commentaries upon commentaries. There should be hours of deleted scenes and bloopers. There should be a pretty booklet noting the details of every show. Instead there are only a handful of half-hearted commentaries, a couple of outtakes per disc and nothing to read but the brief synopsis on the back of each disc case.
The "Inside Looks", Tonight Show footage and documentary are very entertaining...I just would have liked to have seen more of them.
The commentaries were the real disappointment I guess. There are moments of greatness but really, each episode should have had at least one commentary. Look at the Simpsons or Freaks & Geeks box sets. Now THOSE are commentaries! I'm sure there are dozens of behind-the-scenes anecdotes that could be told by cast & crew. Why aren't these included??
While I'm at it I must mention that the text commentary is a real drag. Anybody else get a headache trying to keep up with the show and read at the same time?
What saves this set is the show itself. It's a great series, even this early in the game. Having the first 3 seasons on disc finally and being able to watch them in order allows you to see the actors grow into their characters, which is very interesting.
Overall, the shows are brilliant and the Extras range from "ok" to excellent. The box is a "Must Have" for Seinfeld fans although I'd skip this Gift edition. The script is interesting for a few seconds, the salt&pepper shakers are cute but the card set is garbage. Save your cash and get the individual sets.
BTW, for a television series box set done right look at Freaks & Geeks. Wow! The Limited Yearbook Edition is even more Wow! Seinfeld pales by comparison.
Rating:  - Great content, poor "gifts"
I couldn't resist the ReGift set, they were the cherry atop the cake, the greatest cake ever, if you will.
However, when I opened the box I was very disappointed. The script was good, the rest was very poor. The cheap tin napkin holder and the ceramic sauce bottle salt and pepper are the worst quality imaginable. The salt and pepper set fall out of the holders at the merest brush of a hand. The playing cards only have the cast on the picture cards, but they are just the faces clumsily placed over the standard picture card faces.
The cardboard packaging I'm used to, American dvd releases seem to suffer from using the cheapest materials possible, no Amaray cases here!
I wish I'd saved my money. The European version of the box set doesn't have the gifts and is therefore cheaper. I should have got that instead rather than importing the US one JUST for the gifts. After all, the content of the dvds is marvellous. There are notes for every episode, the deleted scenes and behind the scenes stuff is riveting, and the whole menuing system is excellent, with various paths to get to all the extras, which are also placed in context to each episode.
Rating: - If you don't like Seinfeld... don't buy the DVD. Duh!
In the wise words of Don Imus... "I've never met a smart person who didn't have a sense of humor." I say amen to that and quite honestly reckon that what we witnessed on our TV screens for what now seems like 9 very short seasons was a sort of pure, "whipped up out there somewhere in the stars" kind of entertainment genius that TV in it's current apocalyptic preoccupation with reality dribble and cookie cutter sit-coms may sadly never capture again. But thank the almighty we can now unleash this comedic lightning in a bottle whenever we need a crack like fix of "nothing" by just dropping a DVD into a tray, dimming the lights and pretending it's Thursday night in 1991 all over again. You know honestly I'm a bit suspicious as to the motives of people who would waste their time writing a review about something they obviously don't get and know very little about, I know "nothing" and subtlety are hard concepts to grasp sometimes but if you let yourself go and quit waiting for someone to lead you to the "one-liners" to drink you might just appreciate the fact that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David figured that the audience was smart enough to get "it" without "it" being shoved down their collective throats. They understood that the laughs and loyalty they would earn by not dumbing the whole process down by resorting to pathetic ratings period tricks like offering viewers "an emotional Seinfeld we'd never forget" or having Elaine and George get married in the season finale' to find out next season it was all just some twisted dream sequence would be much more rewarding in the end. I guess it's sort of like when they say you should never talk about politics or religion at a dinner party, I think I'll ad Seinfeld to that list, bottom line is, if people don't get it, they never will so why argue the facts? It's just a dirty shame they find themselves prisoners of such a bleak humorless little rock of a planet. Now as far as the DVD goes, even without the fantastic extra's (which go to 11) it's Seinfeld on DVD... `nough said! Heck I would have been satisfied if they'd released it dubbed in Bulgarian and had packaged the whole thing in smelly old mildew ravaged newspaper! And that thing about smart people having a sense of humor... I guess the fact that I love this DVD and can't get enough Seinfeld makes me a freaking genius, a genius that can't spell mind you, but a genius that knows how to laugh!
Rating: - 3 seasons of pure seinfeld classics and then some...........
this cost me a few xmas gifts for others, but i could not resist(and i really tried) from purchasing these hours upon hours of classic seinfeld! only viewing a tv showing here and there, i fell totally in love with the show! now, at last, i will be able to view over 40 episodes, plus such a bounty of extras, it will take a few weeks to go thru every thing included in this superlative package! the hi definition transfers are awesome-the sound is not! no matter, to finally own this classic package is pure enjoyment. laughs galore is an understatement! i cannot wait till spring for the next set, culminating next november with the concluding seasons. rest assured, i will stash the cash to own the entire complete seasons all on dvd. yada yada yada, this writer is totally thrilled and excited. bravos and kudos to everyone involved to bring this painstaking package of fun, laughs, and love to dvd.
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