Myers was excellent, Hartman was from the prior group, Chris Rock was wasted on SNL, a damn shame in every way as he is awesome. Farley & Spade were funny at times and painful at others and Jan Hooks was good. So it was a pretty good run from 86 to 94 maybe. The news made the show really strong though under Miller so I would give the 86-90 run as the closest rival to the original cast.
It was one of the very few appointment shows I’ve ever had, and also the only sitcom I’ve ever liked.
Two of my favorite episodes are: The contest and The Sponge.
It’s right up there for me, too. What is your #1?
Frasier, Friends, Roseanne and Seinfeld were quite different, but I enjoyed them all.
Utterly unappealing on every level. I tried a sample here and there over the years, could hardly wait to change the channel.
That it ran for 'leventy-five years and absolutely all fan adoration seems to be about five episodes says a lot.
Loved it. My favorite comedy to this day, even watching repeats I bust out laughing. It was a really well done modern comedy of manners - a lot of the little things that the characters blew out of proportion was things that someone else should have done (and then you had hilarious discussions of what the proper action or manner was in that situation).
FWIW, George Constanza is my favorite character, as he and Jerry seemed the most concerned with the proper social codes (and he blows up in anger quite amusingly).
Huh?
The episodes were often complex sitcom masterpieces with things that people refer to in their day to day life when things remind them. Sometimes one episode had 5 things in it like that. The show was not skimpy.
Huh? I’ve barely seen it in the past decade and I could rattle off five “classic” moments for each of the four main characters.
This I agree with. Those episodes I will seek out and rewatch. The rest of the show was pretty meh to me. I’d watch it if there is nothing else on, but I won’t seek it out.
Absolutely loved it, second only to the Simpsons. My favorite was the marine biologist episode, the way all the subplots pulled together in the final line:
Titleist?
George the marine biologist
Vandelay Industries
Shrinkage!
“The Moops”
George quitting his job then pretending that he didn’t
“The jerk store called…”
George getting fired for having sex with the cleaning lady in his office (“Was that against the rules? Because, had I known…”)
People can like it or hate it or feel indifferent but it’s silly to say there’s only a handful of episodes people remember or praise.
Castanza!
AKA Buck Naked. And Coco.
I love it far more than is reasonable; it’s probably in my top 3 TV shows of all time. I wasn’t even born when it ended (don’t you feel old?), so as a person who didn’t experience the 90s, I think it’s aged very well.
Although I don’t think the finale was as bad as some make it out to be, that moment when they were all laughing at the fat guy - aka what started off the whole trial - seemed entirely out of character to me, and probably fuels the whole “those people were awful jerks!” idea. They were jerks, yes, but relatable jerks, jerks who pointed out the gaps in our societal conduct code and stood around talking about them for hours.
#1 is Fawlty Towers. The best sitcom ever produced. But they only had to maintain that quality for 12 episodes.
I would put All in the Family up there too but it is a completely different type of show. The drama was just as important as the comedy.
Love Seinfeld, still watch it twice a day. What I’ve found is that its so relatable. Every week I can find a situation where it reminds me of the episode and I’ll start quoting the show as if its happening to me
Loved it, watched every season live back then. A random episode on TBS doesn’t quite hold up as it used to be because it was funny the first time but not the third, although if I get one like Jerry’s dad being resented by Uncle Leo for having a Cadillac, I will crack up.
George Costanza was the real draw for me, and both his parents, and Jerry’s parents could make me cry with laughter. Jerry was just playing himself, and he’s not likable, but he played off his friends and family well.
As far as people disputing it’s uniqueness, the show was very up front about being a show about “nothing”- it just featured every day things blown up (like getting caught picking your nose in a car at a red light). It wasn’t just another comedy.
As far as “edginess”, well that is overrated anyway. In the 1990s that was on cable TV, not NBC. But the show did have episodes about masturbation, premarital sex, homophobia, ethnic stereotypes, female birth control, and interracial dating.
That said, the show had its critics back then, even if it was the #1 show.
Funny. I was wondering what your number one was, as well, and my guess was Fawlty Towers, partly due to the “English language” phrasing (so I assumed probably not American.) Good choice, as that’s what would have been mine, too.
“The sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.”
Just remembered: Blackadder might be my favorite. Also it was contemp with Seinfeld. I don’t think anything else came close then. Now: Gawwwd. We are plumbing the depths. (Well Weeds was great)
“Serenity Now!!!”
Kramer: What is that, a Titleist?
(George Nods)
Kramer: A hole in one, huh?
