An influential comedy about lifes many blunders.
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A show about nothing, well maybe not nothing but, is it about nothing in particular? No its about the misadventures of stand up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his quirky but clever friends. I think Seinfeld started out around the time there wasnt a whole ot of spotlight on your average stand up comdian, so there was almost a mysticism about what life must be like for a professional comdedian, and just a general impression,unlike today where standup comedy is so very mainstream.
The idea behind this show is that, comdey happens every day, and almost every moment, its the way you choose to perceive, and relay it to others that makes it uniquely funny. Jerry Seinfeld is not what makes the show funny at all, instead its the awkward social situations that each character gets themselves in. Jerry's charater ( which you have to wonder how close is it to his real life self ) is very straight forward, A-type, boring, and basic, he does everything normal, and comes off as your typical nice guy, maybe even the average joe. Jerry always gets the date with the prety girl, Jerry always gets the opportunity, Jerry has plenty of friends and people that value him. All of these things seem to remain constant,and with that alone you wouldnt have a show at all, but when you surround him with a couple oddballs, like his best friend and con artist George Castanza, a total wild card next door neighbor Kosmo Kramer, and the female perspective Elaine Benise,and all of a sudden its , let the games begin.
Suddenly normal everyday issues like, tipping the waitress or, picking out a loaf of bread at the bakery, become much more interesting and humorous, through witty, distinctive dialouge filled with personal perspective and misguided viewpoints. Exaggeration, sarcasm, and even irony are used frequently to capitalize on each moment. Seinfeld is really a story of 3 distinct characters each caught up in their own world, struggling to achieve what they cannot alone, and it is because of this they all depend on one another for help, and Jerry gets pulled along for the ride, each and every time George comes up with a new scheme, or Kramer sets off on a wild goose chase. In many ways they attribute to each other developing more quirks, instead of becoming more balanced and independent. Seinfeld episodes cover such a wide variety of topics ,exploiting each one to the fullest, exposing the ridiculousness of public opinion and social expectations, without regret. Character development isnt really an issue because they are all so well defined and as soon as you know'em they consistently enetrtain you with their antics. Seinfeld has given us some very memorable moments, but the epsisodes skip around, and although they might follow a main idea or theme, they arent focused enough to prevent them from blending together. Sadly, continuity becomes an issues and a few plot holes seem too inexcusable. One of the most frequent and prominent topics of the show, is dating. The track record of Jerry and Elaine is quite absurd and their instability is a little disturbing, always bouncing from partner to partner with little to no reason. Meanwhile George and Kramer's characters are so over the top, its a wonder how anyone could coexist with them. Everyones favorite character seems to be Kramer, and he is after all the most peculiar of the bunch. George is the underdog al the way through, you see him through his highs and lows, and yet he never gives up, hes always reinventing himself,and you have to give him credit for his effort. Elaine, alot like George is pretty selfish and needy, but unlike George, she has almost no gameplan. She just seems to take whatever she can get away with. Its hard to categorize this show as anything,which unfortunately makes it more difficult to recoomend. Although its focus is comedy it doesnt really have any other themes. I guess you could say friendship and I would have to agree.
Its more or less a hit or miss comedy, your not going to laugh at every sngle episode or character
but its worth a watch anyway, just because you never know, what will strike you as funny.
Overall I'd say Seinfeld was a trendsetter, and a standard for which shows now a days are judged upon. Unforgettaby a good show for the lot.
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