Seinfeld – CliqueClack Flashback

I had a friend growing up who was completely enamored with Seinfeld. He was one of those guys who drank in everything that their older brother had to offer, and so he picked up on the show, one that wasn’t really meant for those of us in junior high. Yet, even with his constant chatter about Seinfeld, his random quoting from Seinlanguage, even his dressing up as Kramer when the occasion called for it, I wasn’t interested.

In fact, none of us were. Sure, we all watched the series finale of the acclaimed sitcom, but that was just because it was something that you did. People talk about the unprecedented audience for the M*A*S*H finale, but part of that unbelievable number lay in the fact that that’s what you did: you watched the swan song of a legend. Of course, with no frame of reference for the series, I was left with a rather unsatisfied feeling when Seinfeld drew to a close. But, the show was over, and would surely drift into the night.

A few years later, as a college freshman, I knew a guy who was very into the whole Internet thingy. He would scour the web, capturing and burning all manner of shows that both were, and weren’t, on the air anymore. With nothing to keep me occupied during my time in college, I started to borrow random CDs from him, catching myself up on hundreds of hours of television that I’d never before seen. Among those discoveries? Seinfeld. And that’s where the love affair began.

Honestly, I was a bit stumped as to how to attack this project that I assigned myself. What do I say about a show so monumental, so groundbreaking, as Seinfeld? On the other hand, how do I fit all there is to say into one post? It may seem ridiculous, but this is not an easy task.

You see, for all the people who still don’t get Seinfeld today, there are hundreds, upon thousands, upon millions of us, who simply can’t get enough. Why do you think it’s constantly on television? I’ve seen the entire series at least a dozen times, and I keep on coming back for more.

I think it’s pointless to discuss the greater meaning of the series. For those in the know, there are ten opinions for every person, as to what made it so great. And for everyone who keeps refusing to take joy in the simple pleasure of comedy done right? If Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards couldn’t convince you otherwise, I certainly won’t be able to articulate an argument here that’ll make you tune in. So let’s stick to our reminiscing.

Where to begin? Let’s start with the big four, and expand outward from there.

Jerry Seinfeld: Played by Seinfeld himself, Jerry was the epicenter of this phenomenal masterpiece. Granted, Jerry never fully turned himself into an actor, but his growth in the field was an impressive effort, made by a man who never wanted to be one in the first place. Seinfeld was, and is, a comedian extraordinaire, and the brilliance of the show owes a lot to his writing, his humor, and his mind.

There’s a progression in the series that begins with Jerry as the lead and the ensemble as support, and culminates in an intricately interwoven set of four storylines that are all interrelated. And the amazing thing is that you couldn’t really see it coming. While the formula was in place for the latter six seasons, or so, each and every episode led us to believe that the main four characters were heading down solitary roads, only to discover at different points of the half hour that all of the paths naturally converged.

There’s a lacking today in sitcoms. No, I’m not simply referring to the quality, which is a given. More than that, is shows’ inability to really maintain an ensemble feel throughout the life of a single arc, let alone an entire series run. While many succeed on a one-off basis, none have managed to maintain the high level of writing and planning necessary to do so for the long haul. Jerry Seinfeld succeeded at many things on his show, and the biggest one of all was how he managed and nurtured it.

It puzzles me to this day how Jerry the character managed to date as many beautiful women as he did. I realize that it was television, but my guess is that Jerry the real person led this exact life. Even as a lowly standup. While I fully believe the legend that he’s not the nicest of people, his character clearly had a certain charm that made his life of leisure not only possible, but probable. I know that he struggled to find his footing (I’ve read Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, numerous times), but Jerry really did find success in nightclubs and on talk shows. He is one of the few who managed to break out of the pack, and really become a headliner.

Which is why, in real life, he blazed the path for comedians to television. Ray Romano, and Paul Reiser, to name but two, owe a large debt to the man known as Seinfeld. And he left behind another legacy that can’t be minimized: today, we constantly refer back to Seinfeld as a prime example of a show that would have never survived in the current environment of series turnover. Seinfeld bounced around the week, taking a few years to finds its audience … can anyone argue with the results?

I realize that I haven’t said much about Jerry Seinfeld the character, but the truth is that there isn’t a considerable amount that stands out about him from the show. Not to minimize how great he was, but rather to applaud the series on successfully utilizing Jerry as the center that the rest of the series’ crazy rotated around. As neurotic, and out-of-his-mind, as Jerry was, he was generally the voice of reason when it came to most matters. Which is exactly what he was supposed to be.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jun 24, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT