Rating:  - get it!
I saw reruns of "The Cigar Store Indian" and "The Marine Biologist" again the other day and they're still hilarious. Michael Richards and Kramer aren't the same person (although Jason Alexander as George was always the funniest character, especially in these episodes - his speech at the end of "Biologist" is classic!). I may think Alec Baldwin is a blowhard in real life, but I never miss him on SNL. Don't deny yourself what is probably the strongest overall season of this classic TV comedy.
Rating: - Just seat and enjoy
I must confess that I am not a big gan of Seinfeld but still these is a very funny show. I recommend it!
Rating:  - Yet another great season for Seinfeld (4.5 stars)
Seinfeld-Season 5 would be the first season where the sitcom would be among the most popular shows on TV. Filling the void left behind by the end of the very successful sitcom, Cheers, Seinfeld would finish #3 in the Nielsen ratings during Season 5, thus continuing NBC's dominance on Thursday nights. The writing was still creative and continued to push the envelope of what could be shown on network television. This was also the first season to prominently Frank and Estelle Costanza as well as the season where Jerry actually held on to a girlfriend for a whopping 3 episodes. Disc 1 is very good with the best episodes being "The Mango", "The Sniffing Accountant", which features one of Kramer's most memorable scenes, and "The Puffy Shirt", one of several classic episodes from the season. And as with Seasons 3 & 4, Disc 2 is another winner as all of the episodes are very strong, the best being "The Non Fat Yogurt", which is featured in two different versions, "The Barber", and "The Cigar Store Indian." Disc 3 is also very good with the underrated episode, "The Conversion", and two classics in "The Stall", which gave us Elaine's most famous catchphrase, `I can't spare a square', and the season's best episode, "The Marine Biologist." Disc 4 ends the season on a high note with the excellent episodes, "The Fire", also known as "The Pinky Toe", "The Raincoats", which features a memorable appearance from Judge Reinhold as the close talker, and the finale, "The Opposite", probably the only episode in the entire series where things actually work out for George in the end. As with the other volumes, the special features are awesome. In addition to bloopers, inside looks, deleted scenes, and the notes about nothing, there is also a great segment on the evolution of the George character. Also worth noting is that for the first time since Season 2, not every show is top notch as noted in the mediocre episodes "The Dinner Party" and "The Bris." All told, Season 5 continued Seinfeld's winning streak which would ultimately lead to the sitcom becoming the #1 show on television in Season 6. Highly recommended.
Rating: - Very Strong Season, but still no Curb Your Enthusiasm
This was my first foray into the world of "Seinfeld," and I have to say I was greatly impressed. Of course my expectations were high as this show is revered as no other sit-com in my lifetime is. It may be too soon to call it the greatest sit-com of all time, but there is a case to be made. Despite that, my heart still lies with "Curb Your Enthusiasm," the spin off of this show that follows around the nothingness of a producer as opposed to the nothingness of a comedian. "Seinfeld" is a more populist show. It goes easier on humanity and because of that the humor doesn't cut as deep.
One thing "Curb Your Enthusiasm" certainly does not have is the splendid physical humor of Kramer. I got more laughs out of watching him than any other aspect of this show. Whether he was auctioning himself off or trying to save a baby he could squeeze a laugh out of me just with a simple contortion of his body, and that takes a lot of skill. The other characters all play their parts perfectly. Jason Alexander as George, the born loser who is angry at the world and wants the world to know it was the one I identified with the most. He is obviously playing the Larry David character. The bald head, hatred of humanity, and complete lack of luck . . . all the pieces are there. Much of the joy of the show comes from figuring out how fate will boomerang around on there characters and smack them on their behinds. Everything you see on screen is possible exposition for the cruel twists the writers have in mind. And like great comedy often does, it will have you cringing for the predicaments that Jerry and Co. find themselves in. The guest characters are nothing more than a parade of New York neurotics. This one talks to close, that one has an unhealthy dependence on TV Guide, etc. You'll laugh because it's true and not true at the same time.
This show, like most sit-coms, has a memory problem. The only sign of continuity is in the last episodes when the greatest hits of this season make cameo appearances. All of the beautifully crafted episodes have at least a few laughs. The Puffy Shirt will probably be the legacy of this season and rightfully so. Still, I watch that scene and wonder how they pulled it off. I just know that if "Two and a Half Men" were to try that stunt it would be botched terribly. The opening comedy bits by Jerry Seinfeld are also entertaining. I felt especially vindicated when he called out people for their hypocrisy on water. The fact that people love water unless it's falling from the sky is a point I have been making for years. And I have also heard people make the point that you have to be a New Yorker to enjoy this show, but it's just not true. Sure, we're a little weird, but none of the humor is New York based. It could take place anywhere with fruit vendors and thrift shops. The eccentrics may have been a little harder to come by had it taken place in Minnesota, but that is beside the point. I may lament the fact that this show went for the biggest audience ever but the fact remains: This show was a huge hit with fans and critics alike, and that is the rarest breed of TV show.
Rating: - Maybe one season too late ...
The fifth season of Seinfeld has arrived, and as someone who saw Seinfeld for the first time last year, I'm more convinced than ever that the genius of this series is still unparalleled.
Season 5 was a significant year for Seinfeld, for many reasons. First of all, of course, it was the first season that would have to withstand the critical eyes of a huge audience all over several countries. The big question was: would Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld be able to carry over the pure Seinfeld humor of the almost abnormally perfect season 4, and present Seinfeld as the ingenius idea it originally was, the show about nothing?
It would be very easy to say "yes, they were" because obviously the show became a huge phenomenon, and needless to say, season 5 is indeed brilliant again.
But I still think this season was not the best year for Seinfeld to "catch on", and maybe the remaining seasons would have taken a different route, had the show become successful one year earlier.
Now don't get me all wrong; there's nothing wrong with the episodes per se, they just don't carry on the spirit of Seinfeld as properly as they could have.
It's not a decline in quality, it's a change in style.
For one, the show has now a larger scale with more sets and bigger settings. Again, this is not bad, but Seinfeld is always at its best on small- scale things.
Then, there were some changes made in the writing. Tom Gamill and Max Pross have now entered the show, along with Carol Leifer. I believe the turning point of Seinfeld came with "The Glasses", written by Gamill and Pross, when George, due the loss of his glasses, mistakes Jerry's cousin Jeffrey with a horse. That's the point where Seinfeld became a little like a parody of itself. Gamill and Pross often talk on the DVD about taking funny bits out of their own lives and turning those into episodes. This is all very good and fitting, but what they failed to realise is that Seinfeld goes beyond "my high school friend used to eat his Snickers bar with a knife and fork". Starting with season 5, Seinfeld relied more on actual jokes and over-the-top plot twists. Remember, this is all perfectly fine, as it is really funny, but it ain't Seinfeld.
The first 4 seasons didn't need actual jokes, the characters were so strong and dynamic and complemented each other so well that they weren't needed. Seinfeld was always at its best in lengthy face-to-face scenes or coversations.
Why? Because the essential Seinfeld humor is something you can neither construct nor describe; it's a humor that only exists because of social dynamics; and because of a humor and cynicism that society created itself.
Like Larry David said, it's based on the "absurd profanity of life", and the setups in season 5 onwards are anything but profane.
Season 5 does have some great face-to-face scenes, but unfortunately, because the writers came up with more and more complex stories, scenes often change too quickly.
Now, not everything's different. There are a couple of things that are superior to season 4. For instance, the characters of the show are now so well established that they could do a little thing or a small gesture, and you know what's going on. Jerry Seinfeld himself says that in a commentary track. The writers could give a line to a character and just know how it would play out. That's great, to know your characters, knowing how a weapon can cause the most damage.
Now, this may all sound negative, but it isn't meant to be. Jerry Seinfeld said they had to change the show somehow because they knew they couldn't sustain the level of the first four seasons, and I think he's right. I just regret that it had to happen in this important year.
Season 5 has enough of seasons 1-4 to make the new audience "get" Seinfeld, but it has also a couple of things that water the original idea down.
The extras are excellent, as usual, with 20 minutes of bloopers, roughly 8 minutes of exclusive stand-up material, a great featurette, deleted scenes, and audio commentaries and inside looks galore.
|
