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Seinfeld

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Seinfeld
File:Seinfeld Logo.jpg
Created byLarry David
Jerry Seinfeld
StarringJerry Seinfeld
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Michael Richards
Jason Alexander
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes180 (including two-part episodes)
Production
Executive producersFred Barron
Larry David
Howard West
George Shapiro
Andrew Scheinman
Jerry Seinfeld
Running time21 Minutes (syndication),
22 Minutes (original)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJuly 5, 1989 –
May 14, 1998

Seinfeld is an Emmy Award-winning sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, running a total of 9 seasons. Many of its catchphrases have entered into the pop culture lexicon. The show was the most popular sitcom of the 1990s[citation needed], leading the Nielsen Ratings in its sixth and ninth seasons. Geographically, it took place on the Upper West Side— a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.

The series was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, with the latter starring as an eponymous, fictionalized version of himself. Set predominantly in an apartment block on New York City's Upper West Side, the show features a host of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, including George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). Seinfeld was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, (which Warner Bros. owns), and distributed by Columbia Pictures Television and Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television). Seinfeld was largely co-written by David and Seinfeld, with later input from numerous script writers, including Larry Charles, Peter Mehlman, Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin, Carol Leifer, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer, Steve Koren, Jennifer Crittenden, Tom Gammill & Max Pross, Alec Berg and Spike Feresten.

Overview

Seinfeld stood out from the typically family- or coworker-driven TV sitcoms of its time. None of the Seinfeld characters were related by blood or employed by the same organization; in fact, many were unemployed. Like the self-parodying "show within a show" episodes of season four, Seinfeld was a "show about nothing." Unlike most sitcoms, its episodes didn't revolve around huge events or contrived comic situations; instead, the plots focused on real life minutiae, such as waiting in line at the movies, going to eat, or buying a suit.

 
Tom's Restaurant, a diner at 112th St. and Broadway in Manhattan, referred to as Monk's Cafe in the show. Google Street View

The show featured clips of Jerry Seinfeld delivering a stand-up comedy routine in a club (in reality, the studio); the theme of his act always related to the plot. This device deliberately blurred the distinction between the actor and his character. It also revealed where Jerry (the fictional comedian) got his material. Originally, the clips bookended the episodes, as well as functioning as cutscenes during the show. After season three, the cutscenes in the middle of the episodes became less common; after season five, the clips that ended the shows became less common; and after season seven, the clips were discontinued. The show's main characters, and many secondary or one-shot characters, were modeled after Seinfeld's and David's real-life acquaintances. Other recurring characters were based on well-known real-life counterparts, such as the Soup Nazi (based on Soup Kitchen International manager Al Yegenah), Jacopo Peterman of the J. Peterman catalogue (nominally based on John Peterman), and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

In most Seinfeld episodes, one story thread is presented at the beginning, involving the characters in separate and unrelated situations. Rapid scene shifts between story lines move the action forward. Eventually, some or all of the separate story lines converge—often unexpectedly. Despite the separate plot strands, the narratives reveal "consistent efforts to maintain [the] intimacy" between the small cast of characters.[This quote needs a citation]

The show kept a strong sense of continuity—characters and plots from past episodes were frequently referenced or expanded upon. Occasionally, storylines would span multiple episodes and even entire seasons. Larry David, the show's head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons, was celebrated for keeping a close eye on minor details and making sure the main characters' lives remained consistent and believable. He would later make use of season-long story arcs in his next series, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The show stood out from other sitcoms for other reasons. It was strictly a comedy, without any serious or dramatic moments. The characters learned no lessons. They never grew as human beings

Main Characters

  • Jerry Seinfeld (played by Jerry Seinfeld)—Jerry is the show's "passive central player." He's a figure who is "able to observe the chaos around him but not always be a part of it." In the show, Jerry makes a living as a stand-up comedian. Plot lines often involve Jerry's romantic relationships—he typically finds "stupid reasons to break up" with women. According to Elaine, this happens "every week." While seemingly the normal one, his character's neurosis shines through in his obsessive cleanliness and steadfast immaturity.
  • Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus)—Intelligent and assertive, but superficial and short-tempered, Elaine is frequently fate's victim. She gets caught up in her boyfriends' machinations, her eccentric employers' arbitrary demands, and the unkindness of total strangers. She used to date Jerry, and remains his close friend. One of Elaine's trademark maneuvers is her forceful shove when she gets good or shocking news.
  • Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards)—Kramer is the archetypal "wacky neighbor" and Jerry's friend. His trademarks include: his humorous upright bouffant hairstyle and vintage wardrobe; his energetic sliding bursts through Jerry's apartment door; his assortment of comic pratfalls; and his penchant for nonsensical, percussive outbursts of noise to indicate alarm, skepticism, agreement, or annoyance. A former girlfriend summed him up as a 'hipster doofus.' Although Kramer is one of the show's more fascinating characters, he's the only one who never gets an internal monologue. Perhaps it's because he always speaks his mind.
  • George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander)—Once succinctly described by Elaine as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man", George is neurotic and self-loathing. Paranoid, selfish, abrasive, frugal, a flagrant coward and an expert liar, George is arguably the show's most amoral character. He's been best friends with Jerry since middle school. George's character was loosely based on Larry David.

Minor characters

Main article: Minor characters in Seinfeld

There were numerous recurring minor characters in Seinfeld. The most prominent were:

  • Newman (played by Wayne Knight)—An overweight postal worker who served as Kramer accomplice and Jerry's nemesis, Newman was a neighbor of both (Apartment 5E) and noted for his excessive overeating. In a running parody of two, bitter, film noir adversaries, when Jerry and Newman met, Jerry typically scowled and quipped, "Hello, Newman"—and Newman responded with a devilish smirk and "Hello, Jerry." In some episodes, Newman went out of his way to make Jerry's life miserable. He was the most frequently recurring male character from seasons 3 to 9.
  • Susan Ross (played by Heidi Swedberg)—she's George's (late) fiancée and a former NBC executive. She also briefly experimented with lesbianism. She tried to fit in with Elaine and her friends but couldn't deal with their overbearing chatter. She constantly questioned George and Elaine about whether they had had an affair. She died from envelope glue poisoning. She was the most frequently recurring female character in Seasons 4 and 7, and has a cameo in season 9's "The Betrayal," the backwards episode.
  • Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) and Estelle Costanza (played by Estelle Harris)—George's eccentric parents. George credited them with his current mental state and failure to succeed in life.
  • Morty Seinfeld (originally played by Phil Bruns, but most commonly played by Barney Martin) and Helen Seinfeld (played by Liz Sheridan)—Jerry's parents. Morty was famous for obstinately sticking to his convictions; Helen couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't like her son Jerry. She was convinced of Jerry's poverty and never let him pay for anything. (She once forced Morty to try to pay for Jerry's dinner when he didn't have his wallet.) These two characters are thought to be based on Jerry Seinfeld's parents.
  • Uncle Leo (played by Len Lesser)—Jerry's uncle and Helen's brother. He personified the eccentric old man and frequently belittled Jerry with comparisons to his own purportedly successful son. He usually greeted Jerry by saying, "Jerry! Hellooo!", while Jerry responded awkwardly, "Hello Uncle Leo..."
  • David Puddy (played by Patrick Warburton)—Elaine's on-again-off-again boyfriend. He was a competent auto mechanic, but also an airhead with numerous quirks.
  • Jacopo Peterman J. Peterman (played by John O'Hurley)—Elaine's eccentric boss. He owned the J. Peterman apparel company, whose catalog Elaine worked on. Using the florid style of a treasure hunter, he typically rambled about his journeys to exotic locations in search of unique clothing.
  • George Steinbrenner (voiced by Larry David in a non-stop, machine-gun fire delivery)—George's boss and owner of the New York Yankees. Steinbrenner's face was never shown. He was parodied for his arrogance and lack of touch with the realities of running of a baseball team. In edited scenes, the real George Steinbrenner made a cameo appearance and went out with Elaine. The scenes were cut due to time and can be seen in the 7th season DVD.
  • Jackie Chiles (played by Phil Morris)—Kramer's lawyer. He had a secretary named Suzy and set up appointments for his clients with an unseen "Dr. Bison." He also spoke with a rapid fire delivery and tended to overuse adjectives like 'preposterous' and 'outrageous'. Chiles was a caricature of real-world (now deceased) lawyer Johnnie Cochran.

"Plot"

Seinfeld violated several of the conventions of mainstream television. The show, which (correctly or not) is often described as "about nothing",[1][2][3] became the first television series widely described as postmodern.[4] Several elements of Seinfeld fit in with a postmodern interpretation. The show typically is driven humorously by dispersed superficial conflict and characters with strange dispositions.

The characters were "thirty-something singles ... with no roots, vague identities, and conscious indifference to morals."[This quote needs a citation] Usual conventions, such as isolating the characters from the actors playing them and separating the characters' world from that of the actors and audience, were broken. One example is the story arc in which the characters promote a television sitcom series named Jerry: Jerry was much like Seinfeld in that Seinfeld played himself, and that the show was "about nothing." Jerry was launched in the 1993 season four finale, though unlike Seinfeld, it was not picked up into a series.

"No hugging, no learning"

On the set this was expressed as the "no hugging, no learning" rule, which held that the characters should not develop or improve throughout the series.

This quote is almost referenced in an episode ("The Secret Code") where Kramer says to Jerry "Well the point is, you learned something" to which Jerry replies "No, I didn't."

Theologian Stanley Grenz maintains that another factor in, or further proof of, spectators' and characters' participation in a larger Seinfeld community is the large amount of in-slang, "a lexicon of Seinfeldian code words and recurring phrases that go unnoticed by the infrequent or 'unknowing' viewer." [4] Only the cognoscenti would understand the concepts of "double dipping" or "close-talking", or appreciate the addition of "not that there's anything wrong with that" by someone trying to take the edge off a politically incorrect remark.

Change over time

Seasons 1–3: The early years

The show premiered as The Seinfeld Chronicles on Thursday, May 31, 1990 on NBC. The show was not an immediate success. After the pilot was shown, on July 5, 1989, a pickup by the NBC network did not seem likely and the show was actually offered to Fox, which declined to pick it up. However, Rick Ludwin, head of late night and special events for NBC, diverted money from his budget, and the next four episodes: "Male-Unbonding," "The Stakeout," "The Robbery," and "The Stock Tip" were filmed.

Seinfeld was championed by television critics in its early seasons, even as it had yet to cultivate a substantial audience. The series was generally seen as steadily improving over the course of its first four seasons. Although the first three seasons weren't popular during their original airings, through syndication and DVD releases they contain arguably some of the most popular episodes, such as "The Chinese Restaurant", "The Revenge", "The Phone Message", "The Pony Remark", "The Parking Garage", "The Tape", "The Red Dot", "The Stranded", "The Deal" and "The Pez Dispenser".

Seasons 4–6: The greatest hits

Season 4 marked the sitcom's entrance into the Nielsen ratings Top 30, coinciding with a handful of high-profile episodes, such as "The Bubble Boy", "The Outing", and "The Junior Mint". This was also the first season to use a story arc, which was Jerry and George creating their own sitcom, Jerry.

Much publicity followed the controversial "The Contest," an Emmy Award-winning episode written by co-creator Larry David, whose subject matter (masturbation) was considered very risque. Nevertheless, the word "masturbation" was never used in the script itself, instead substituted by a variety of oblique references. Midway through that season Seinfeld was moved from its original 9pm timeslot on Wednesdays to 9:30pm on Thursdays, following Cheers, which gave the show even more popularity. The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993.

Season 5 was also a hit season as it contained many popular episodes such as "The Mango", "The Puffy Shirt", "The Marine Biologist", "The Hamptons", "The Opposite" and many more, making it the show's most successful season. Another story arc was used where George returns to live with his parents for the entire season. This was also the first season to be shown on the 9pm timeslot on Thursdays, replacing Cheers. The show was again nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to the Cheers spin-off Frasier, which was only in its first season. Seinfeld was nominated for the same award every year for the rest of its run, but would keep losing to Frasier.

Season 6 found the show changing directors (Andy Ackerman replacing Tom Cherones) and quickening its pace, to the displeasure of some. Even so, the series remained well-regarded and produced some of its most famous shows, such as "The Fusilli Jerry", "The Jimmy" and "The Switch" which finally revealed Kramer's first name, Cosmo. A story arc for this season was Elaine working for the eccentric Mr. Justin Pitt. This was also the first season in which Seinfeld landed at #1 on the Nielsen ratings.


Seasons 7–9: The departure

According to the cast, crew and many critics, the series fully returned to form in its seventh season. Another story arc was introduced in which George became engaged to former girlfriend Susan Ross, whose life he had derailed a few seasons back. He spends most of the season regretting the engagement and trying to get out of it. Garnering its highest ratings yet, Seinfeld went on to produce some of its most famous episodes—namely "The Soup Nazi," in which Elaine gets revenge on a draconian owner of a soup restaurant, "The Sponge" and "The Marble Rye."

The show continued to dominate the Nielsen ratings in its final two seasons (8 and 9), but its critical standing suffered. This coincided with the departure of Larry David, the series co-creator, longtime writer and executive producer.

In David's absence, Seinfeld assummed David's duties as showrunner and under the direction of a new writing staff, Seinfeld became more of a fast-paced, absurdist show. The humor began to rely heavily on slapstick, and storylines occasionally delved into pure fantasy—such as a thread in which birthday wishes are shown to come true, or where a night club magically transforms into a meat-packing plant by morning. This was a dramatic shift from the character and dialog-based humor of past seasons, and one lamented by many critics while coinciding with increasingly stronger ratings.[5] Many popular episodes, such as "The Bizarro Jerry" and "The Strike", hail from this period; the latter being responsible for introducing Festivus into the pop culture lexicon.

The New York Post went so far as to conduct a poll early in the ninth season, asking readers whether or not the most recent episodes were as strong as the classic reruns, then ubiquitous in syndication. More than half of those polled felt that Seinfeld was not up to its previous standards. Jerry Seinfeld responded with a letter to the paper, thanking them for considering his show to be worthy of such a survey. [citation needed]

Ending

Main article: The Finale (Seinfeld episode)
File:JseinfeldTIME.JPG
Jerry Seinfeld on the cover of TIME magazine in 1998.

Hype

After nine years on the air, Jerry Seinfeld announced on December 26, 1997, that the series would end production the following spring. The announcement made the front page of all the major New York newspapers, including the New York Times. Jerry Seinfeld was even featured on the cover of Time magazine's first issue of 1998.[6]

The series ended with a 75-minute episode (cut down to 60 minutes in syndication, in two parts) written by returning co-creator and former executive producer Larry David, which aired on May 14, 1998. Before the finale a one-hour retrospective and clip show aired which included memorable scenes from the show's past nine seasons.

It also was the first episode since the seventh season to feature opening and closing stand-up acts by Jerry Seinfeld. The finale was filmed in front of an audience of NBC executives and additional friends of the show. The press and the public were shut out of the filming for the sake of keeping its plot secret, and all who attended the finale signed written "vows of silence."[7] The secrecy only seemed to increase speculation on how the series would end. Some suggested Jerry and Elaine would marry, and more cynical fans favored Julia Louis-Dreyfus's suggestion that the foursome die in a car accident after all their wishes come true. The producers of the show tweaked the media about the hype, spreading a false rumor about Newman ending up in the hospital and Jerry and Elaine sitting in a chapel, presumably to marry.[8]

Since the episode aired on the same day that Frank Sinatra died, the episode's airing was largely overshadowed by this event, but it still enjoyed a huge audience, estimated at 76 million viewers. This makes the episode the third most watched finale in television history[citation needed], but received mixed reviews from both critics and fans of the show. The actual finale poked fun at the many rumors that were circulating, seeming to move into several supposed plots before settling on its true storyline—a lengthy trial in which Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are prosecuted for lack of humanity. The last conversation in this final episode repeats the very first conversation from the pilot episode, discussing the positioning of a button on George's shirt. In the finale, the characters vaguely recollect having the conversation before.

Jerry Seinfeld holds both the record for the "most money refused" according to the Guinness Book of World Records by refusing an offer to continue the show for $5 million per episode, and another record for the Highest Ever Annual Earnings For A TV Actor.[citation needed] while the show itself held the record for the Highest Television Advertising Rates until 2004, when the final episode of Friends aired.[citation needed]

Awards

The show topped TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002, was #2 in Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest TV Shows of all Time, and placed two characters in TV Guide's List of the 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time (George at #10, Kramer at #35) in 1999. The four members of the main cast shared the #6 position on A&E's all-time TV character list. It was so influential in the '90s popular culture, it came in first in E!'s 2004 countdown of 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled. For its impact, the show won countless awards throughout the decade, winning 10 Emmy Awards and being nominated every year of its run. In January 2006 Britain's Channel 4 polled British comedians, TV critics, comedy actors and sitcom writers to find the 'Ultimate Sitcom'. Seinfeld came in 3rd, showing its high regard overseas.

DVD releases

Main article: Seinfeld DVD releases

In 2004, a deal was negotiated to make Seinfeld available on DVD for the first time. Due to legal problems with the cast involving episode commentaries and other DVD extras, the release was pushed back. The first three seasons were released on November 23, 2004, and Season 4 was released on May 17, 2005. Season 5 and Season 6 were released on November 22, 2005. Season 7 was released in the U.S. on November 21, 2006 and Season 8 was released in the U.S. on June 5, 2007. Season 9 is going to be released in the U.S. in November 2007. Sony has yet to confirm the official release date.

Life after Seinfeld

The "Seinfeld curse"

Alexander and Richards have attempted unsuccessfully to launch new sitcoms as title-role characters. Despite decent acclaim and even some respectable ratings, almost every show was canceled quickly, usually within the first season. This has given rise to the term "Seinfeld curse" to describe sitcom failure by an actor following massive success on an ensemble show. Shows specifically cited regarding the Seinfeld curse are Jason Alexander's Bob Patterson (TV series) and Listen Up!, Michael Richards' The Michael Richards Show, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Watching Ellie.

Since the end of the program, Alexander has acted in film, theater and television, including guest appearances on Larry David's HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Louis-Dreyfus also appeared on "Curb" and has received on-screen and voice credits in television (such as Arrested Development) and animated film. Louis-Dreyfus is starring in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, which debuted in March 2006 to strong ratings and has been consistent ever since. The show was also renewed for a second season. Its 35 episodes make it the longest running show starring a Seinfeld alumnus since Seinfeld ended. Louis-Dreyfus also received an Emmy Award for lead actress in a comedy series for her role as Christine. In her acceptance speech, Louis-Dreyfus held up her award and exclaimed, "I’m not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!"[9] The "Seinfeld curse" was discussed in the opening of Saturday Night Live episode on May 13, 2006, hosted by Louis-Dreyfus. The show was also renewed for its third season, and will return as a midseason replacement, through the 2007-08 season. Alexander and Seinfeld also appeared in this episode of SNL. Richards continues to appear in new film and television work as well. In November 2006, controversy arose concerning racial epithets Richards shouted at black hecklers during a live comedy show.[10] He willingly apologized for his statements a few days after the show by means of a telecast on David Letterman's talkshow as a request of Jerry Seinfeld .

"It's so completely idiotic.... It's very hard to have a successful sitcom," Larry David once said of the curse.[11] Most new sitcoms do not enjoy the success of hits like Seinfeld, though David's Curb Your Enthusiasm went on to win Emmy Awards; the series relied on his signature humor, embodied in the Seinfeld character of George.

Patrick Warburton, who played David Puddy, was also hit by the curse when his superhero-themed show, The Tick, was canceled after just one season. However, he has found success in voice acting. His repertoire includes the voice of Joe Swanson in Family Guy, the title character of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Steve Barkin in Kim Possible, the Wolf in Hoodwinked, and Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove, Kronk's New Groove, and the The Emperor's New School. Lately, he can be seen on ABC's show Less Than Perfect as Jeb Denton, and on Adult Swim's The Venture Brothers as Brock Samson. Since February 5, 2007 he stars in a new series, Rules of Engagement.

Successes

Alexander was also the voice of Duckman, a series whose 1994 until 1997 run coincided with Seinfeld as well as guest starring as "Leonard" on Malcolm in the Middle. Wayne Knight has since had roles of similar importance to Newman,as the underhanded computer programmer in the very successful "Jurassic Park", as in the not-so-successful The Edge, and as a police officer in 3rd Rock from the Sun. He has also done some voice acting, notably as the dragon Dojo in Xiaolin Showdown, and later on, as Mr. Blik in the Nickelodeon cartoon Catscratch. The actor who really broke "the curse" was Jerry Stiller, who was cast successfully as Arthur, Doug Heffernan's annoying father-in-law in The King of Queens. Bryan Cranston, who had a semi-recurring role on Seinfeld as Dr. Tim Whatley, was cast as Hal in the successful FOX sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. He also had a recurring role as Doug Heffernan's annoying neighbor Tim Sacksky on The King of Queens.

In the summer of 2005, John O'Hurley, who played J. Peterman in a recurring role on the final seasons of Seinfeld, received extensive publicity when he finished as the runner-up on the highly rated American ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars. He was topped in this effort by Kelly Monaco, but won the subsequent "rematch". O'Hurley has gone on to make cameo appearances in many other programs, including SpongeBob SquarePants and Drake & Josh, and has done numerous television commercials for GCI, an Alaskan phone and Internet communications company. In addition, he appeared in a commercial for Progressive Insurance, in which he portrayed a character very similar to the Peterman character. On September 11, 2006, O'Hurley began hosting Family Feud, replacing Richard Karn. Also, in a case of life imitating art, O'Hurley became a major investor in the real-life J. Peterman catalog company, and sits on the company's board of directors. O'Hurley is also currently being seriously considered to replace Bob Barker as the host of the long-time running popular Emmy Award-winning game show The Price is Right.

Consumer products

A recurring feature of Seinfeld was its use of specific products, especially candy, as plot points. These might be a central feature of a plot (e.g. Junior Mints, Twix, Jujyfruits, Snickers, Nestlé Chunky, Oh Henry! and Pez), or an association of a candy with a guest character (e.g. Oh Henry! bars), or simply a conversational aside (e.g. Chuckles). Non-candy products featured in Seinfeld include Rold Gold pretzels (whose advertisements at the time featured Jason Alexander), Kenny Rogers Roasters (a chicken restaurant chain), Oreo Cookies, Ben & Jerry's, H&H Bagels, Drake's Coffee Cakes, Pepsi, Bosco Chocolate Syrup, Cadillac, Saab, Ford Escort, Specialized Bicycles, BMW, Volvo, Tupperware, Calvin Klein, Klein Bicycles, Ovaltine, Arby's, TV Guide, Trump Tower, the board games Risk, Boggle, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, and Battleship, Entenmann's and the J. Peterman clothing catalog. The computers in Jerry's apartment are always Apple Macintosh; the featured model changed every few seasons to reflect Apple's latest offerings. Also seen throughout the show's run were many different brands of cereal.

One product placement, for Snapple, was inserted as a parody of product placement; when offered some by Elaine in the middle of a conversation, the character Babu Bhatt's brother declines, calling the drink "too fruity."

The show's creators claim that they were not engaging in a product placement strategy for commercial gain. One of the motivations for the use of real-world products, quite unrelated to commercial considerations, is the comedy value of funny-sounding phrases and words. "I knew I wanted Kramer to think of watching the operation like going to see a movie," explained Seinfeld writer/producer Andy Robin in an interview published in the Hollywood Reporter. "At first, I thought maybe a piece of popcorn falls into the patient. I ran that by my brother, and he said, 'No, Junior Mints are just funnier.'"

Nevertheless, Seinfeld is widely credited by marketers and advertisers with effecting a change in attitude toward product placement in US primetime TV shows. Product placement became more common in TV shows after Seinfeld demonstrated that a successful show could work specific products into its plots and dialogue.[citation needed]

Although not exactly product placements but of a fanboyism as Jerry, himself a real life collector, several episodes feature a Porsche-themed painting (depicting a 904 GTS race car competing in the 1964 Targa Florio race in Italy, which it won) on a wall in Seinfeld's apartment. An issue of Excellence magazine, a Porsche-centered publication, is also featured prominently on an outdoor magazine rack. Similarly, the episode The Pledge Drive takes place at the real-life public television station WNET.

Two other types of advertising also capitalized on Seinfeld. One is a "Webisode," a reverse form of product placement. In this form, instead of inserting its product into an episode, American Express "inserted" Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman (voiced by Patrick Warburton, who also acted on the show, playing the role of David Puddy) into its commercial. The second type is the commercial use of the show's actors, such as Jason Alexander in a Chrysler commercial. In this type, which ran after the series ended, Alexander behaves much like his character George, and his relationship with Lee Iacocca plays on his George's relationship with George Steinbrenner. Similarly, Michael Richards was the focus of a series of advertisements for Vodafone which ran in Australia where he dressed and behaved exactly like Kramer, including the trademark bumbling pratfalls.

In addition to placement of actual products, repeated mention and use of the fictional Hennigan's whiskey was inserted throughout the series. With the exception a few notable episodes (and then usually relating to Elaine or her current beau), alcohol was typically absent from consumption or mention.

Music

A signature of Seinfeld is its theme music: distinct solo sampled bass guitar riffs which open the show and connect the scenes.

These short riffs were composed by Jonathan Wolff and are considered groundbreaking in their use as sitcom music.[citation needed] They vary throughout each episode and are played in an improvised funk style with slap bass. An additional musical theme with an ensemble, led by a synthesized mid-range brass instrument, ends each episode.

In the first episode of Season Three, the bumper music also featured a scatting female jazz vocalist. However, this was featured for only that one show. In the final two seasons, the bits were tweaked slightly to give them more frenetic rhythms and the occasional hint of guitar.

Rumors have speculated that Les Claypool originally was going to actually do the recordings for the opening theme, or that he actually had recorded it, but these have proven false.

Non-original music featured in the show:

Trivia

  • A popular myth is that Superman is referenced in every episode of the show, either during discussions or as picture or a figurine. The most common appearance is the statue of Superman on the second shelf of the bookcase in Jerry's apartment.
  • All Seinfeld episode titles start with the word 'The', with the exception of "Male Unbonding" (episode 4 from season 1), and the original title for the pilot episode "The Seinfeld Chronicles" (Good News, Bad News).[14]
  • The show's original name was Stand-Up then The Seinfeld Chronicles before they finally settled on Seinfeld.
  • The following episodes doesn't contain Jerry's apartment and or an hour episodes DVD version: "The Chinese Restaraunt", "The Pen", "The Parking Garage", "The Subway", "The Boyfriend", "The Limo", "The Pitch/The Ticket", "The Airport", "The Movie", "The Pilot", "The Raincoats", "The Hamptons", "The Highlights of 100", "The Cadillac", "The Bottle Deposit", "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Dealership", "The Clip Show" and "The Finale".
  • "The Trip" part 1 and 2, "The Watch" and "The Wallet" on the DVD is separated into two parts instead of connecting together.


References

  1. ^ Miller, Patrick D. (July 1998). "Editorial: Good-bye Seinfeld". Theology Today. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Seinfeld: Overview". All Movie Guide. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  3. ^ "Seinfeld". BBC. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  4. ^ a b Grenz, Stanley J. (February 1996). A Primer on Postmodernism. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. ISBN 0-8028-0864-6.
  5. ^ O'Conner, John J (1996-10-31). "'Seinfeld,' a Short Kvetch From Bizarre to Bizarro". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "TIME Magazine Cover: Jerry Seinfeld". 1998-01-12. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "The 'Seinfeld' e-mail for April 8, 1998". CNN.com. 1998-04-08. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Ryan, Joal (1998-03-27). "Clues to "Seinfeld" Sign Off". E! News. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Hall, Sarah (2006-08-27). "Emmys Clock into "24," "Office"". E! News. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ ""Kramer's" Racist Tirade -- Caught on Tape". TMZ.com. 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Baerg, Greg (2002-03-05). "'Curb's' Larry David: 'Seinfeld' Curse 'Idiotic'". Zap2it.com. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text ",00.html" ignored (help); Text "1" ignored (help); Text "74345" ignored (help)
  12. ^ "The Greatest American Hero".
  13. ^ "The Susie".
  14. ^ "Episode list for "Seinfeld"". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  • Fretts, Bruce. The Entertainment Weekly Seinfeld Companion. New York: Warner Books. 1993. ISBN 0-446-67036-7.
  • Dawson, Ryan (2006). "Seinfeld: a show about something" Cambridge University.
  • William Irwin (Ed.). Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing. Peru, Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company. 1999. ISBN 0-8126-9409-0.
  • Gantz, Katherine. "Not That There's Anything Wrong with That": Reading the Queer in Seinfeld. In Calvin Thomas (Ed.). Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality. Champaign. Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06813-0.
  • Gattuso, Greg. The Seinfeld Universe: The Entire Domain. New York: Citadel Press. 1996. ISBN 0-8065-2001-9.
  • Robin, Andy (April 28, 2005). 'Junior Mints are just funnier'
  • Rosenthal, Phil (November 18, 2004). Gold, Jerry! Gold! Chicago Sun Times.
  • Seinfeld, Jerry. Sein Language. Bantam. 1993. ISBN 0-553-09606-0.
  • Weaver, D.T. & Oliver, M.B. (2000) Summary of the paper,"Television Programs and Advertising: Measuring the Effectiveness of Product Placement Within Seinfeld".

See also

 
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