(The TV show, not the guy)
I am probably the only Jewish person aged between 18 and 50 who cannot stand Jerry Seinfeld’s sitcom. All the various Jews I’ve lived with over the years subjugate me to this painful, painful show that is shown in syndication about 379 times daily, give or take a few. To explain my hatred, I have compiled a list:
1.) Jerry Seinfeld cannot act.
He cannot spell act. He couldn’t find Acts in the Bible (probably because it’s in the New Testament, but that’s neither here nor there). He’s playing himself and he’s not believable. It’s like he wants to behave like Woody Allen in Annie Hall, but fails to live up to that standard.
2.) The Wardrobe
Jerry looks like he should be selling paper towels. Let’s try another one.
Yeah, that about sums it up.
Ok, I cheated, they never wore that on the show. That would’ve constituted something beyond the bounds of its plotlines.
There are some parts of the ‘90s that I don’t want to remember. I mean, Seinfeld’s ‘90s-style mullet? I don’t know if he should be acting or singing in a Mr. Big cover band.
3.) Long setups for bad jokes
This is the biggest reason for me. The show will spend twenty minutes (and nine minutes of commercial) setting up thirty seconds of punch line. And it’s always a dumb punch line you saw coming like the queasiness that comes with eating hot dogs from a New Orleans street vendor.* Whoa, you mean to say George spent the entire episode trying to get the Frogger machine home only not get it home? I never saw that coming! What great irony!
*Mmm. Lucky Dog.
Sometimes the irony is so heavy-handed, and so predictable, that I feel like I’m watching a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie. They’re in modern times all along? He’s the supervillain?
4.) It feels like an inside joke, and I’m on the outside.
Boy, living in New York in the 1990s sure is amusing! The bathrooms in Grand Central Station are dirty. Traffic is so bad you recognize your neighbors by the cars they drive while you’re stuck behind them.
By the way, these are all the same reasons why I can’t stand “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” 
25 comments:
Youre an idiot
Yes i whole heartedly agree!! If I'm in another room and I hear that stupid bass line being played I can't run fast enough to change the station!
My goodness. I thought I am the only one. This is show is not funny and is basically very stupid. I don't know why this was so popular.
You're a moron
I can´t even stand the stupid bass cords every 5 seconds!
I can't stand the show either! Elaine bugs me the most I think. And then Seinfeld, who can not act at all. It sounds like he's on the stage doing his act at a comedy club. Can't stand it...they play reruns incessantly.
I can't agree more. Totally unrealistic situations; the day I believe several story lines are based on the true life incidents of the creator's life will never happen. That they were conflated, twisted, skewed, then further fabricated delivering ultimately contrived crap from Hollywood (imagine that) is tenable. Any person hating Moe, Larry, and Curly and endearing Seinfeld is displaying schizoid traits'; this show's humor is clearly slap stick derived from the masters sans pies and water bottles. Only Ashton Kutcher gives Jerry a run for the money for the cardboard box acting award. Sly Stallone outshines him in front of the camera, ouch!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Why no psychologist has not studied or minimally cited this show being the paragon of mass mania is bewildering. So much this mania began at work sites, the boss seeking ass kissers proclaiming his love for this show, soon metastasizing corporate-wide. The cool kids at school, the club president, etc., and voila, instant mass mania. Alphas are usually seduced by such simple constructs and tacitly suggest to their minions that supporting such simple constructs is in their best interest.
I can't believe I just read this ancient post! I absolutely cannot stand Seinfeld. I've watched a few minutes of it and I get major panic attacks and depression in the tenth degree. Woody Allen is my all time favorite so as an Irishman, I feel vindicated.
Thank you for this blog and although not many have commented, I can sleep better tonight.
BMCMANUS
I hate the show, and my writers' group was dumbfounded. You missed the sexism, shallowness, lack of moral compass in any of the characters.
Fiction, art, etc., should sometimes be about who we OUGHT to be, not always as bad as we can be.
You don't get Seinfeld. Either you don't get it, you don't get the humor, or you're not smart. Seinfeld is required viewing for anyone who appreciates intelligence and comedy.
@Jake Pitsenbarger
No, that's the kind of shit that people who think they're smart think. Seinfeld is poorly written, self-congratulatory bullshit disguised as self-deprecating "humor". 90% of the episodes contain the following scene: Person one says something not funny. Person two repeats it back ask a question. Person one and three say it together as an exclamation. Just face the fact that you're average and want to not be.
Mr. Lovesmasher, some people will never get it. I've never watched more than a minute of Seinfeld and I'll go to my deathbed trying to figure what people see in his humor. It's a tough subject when talking to the majority who love the guy. Thanks again for making me realize I'm not the only one.
When I scroll through the channels and Seinfield pops up I immediately keep clicking the remote. I CAN'T watch it. I have no idea what it's about because I just cannot watch it. Every character just makes my skin crawl. And, to the above poster several posts up, even as a very little girl I'd walj out if the room if The Three Stooges came on. I see shows like those two and cant help but think whoever likes that crap is stupid and shallow. I feel the same way about Mike and Molly. Thankfully the universe gave me a brain to see crap when crap's in front of me. Just say NO to Seinfield!
Intelligence? Really? Typical condescending hateful remarks!
Seinfeld is an amazing show! You guys are all nuts! There's a reason why it is the most popular sitcom of all time.. because a lot of
People like it. I'm interested to know which shows you people enjoy?
Anyone who doesn't like Seinfeld is a fucking moron.
Anyone who enjoys Seinfeld is a fucking moron.
Fixed that for you.
seinfeld has got to be the worst show i ever saw
Friends? A real sit com
How many times have you been asked, “What’s your favorite TV show?”. We all have shows that are near and dear to our hearts, but no other TV experience comes close to being as funny as Seinfeld. With Jerry Seinfeld himself as the star, they weren’t afraid to try something new with each episode, making each a treasure trove of belly-busting delights. Inserting four friends into New York City in Seinfeld, the writers use stereotypes, dark humor, and dialogue/delivery in order to develop one of the funniest television shows of all time that has a significant impact on today’s society.
The humorous styles and techniques utilized by this show simply put it above and beyond other shows. Often times, they address stereotypes and aren’t afraid to break them down(and build them up), which many shows even today stray away from. Adding this element makes the characters feel real and relatable, which builds up the “cake” of the show. Now, every episode has famous lines caked thick in humorous frosting; often time coming in flavors of racism, dark, and troubling. The weird and enigmatic problems that face Jerry and co. are easily abated by their sarcastic remarks and quirks. This also sets us up for the sprinkles on top, the delivery of the dialogue(and the writing itself). The delivery is simply powerful at times, the purely smug aura of george is overwhelming and only pushes jokes into legendary status. For all these reasons Seinfeld is one of the most delicious and well crafted cakes, one oozing in humor and reality.
Now every once in a while, you find out a friend hates your favorite TV show. Then you have to get a new friend. Sadly, my show is one of the most highly criticized sitcoms of all time, with many reasons simply being unfounded. Often times, I’m told that the show gets ruined for them by Jerry’s inability to act(and most of the other cast members). This reason for disliking Seinfeld is ridiculous, the zany and quirky deliveries of early episodes set them apart, and the late seasons have a more refined humor and are equally enjoyable. I’ve seen/heard most stories from the show feel like and inside joke, something that you’d only get if you lived in NY during the 90’s. However, the stories this show tells are written to tell about something that you’d experience if you lived there, so by making this criticism you miss the whole point of the show. Lastly, many people despise the long setups for a bad joke. These are the best part! In the episode about the Soup-Nazi, right before the ending, he threatens to move to Argentina. They have you endure the hilarious criss-cross of their lives, and then converge upon one last “edgy” joke. In conclusion most criticisms of Seinfeld were deliberately written into the show and are meant to be enjoyed.
Seinfeld’s ability to address stereotypes using dark humor and dialogue delivery is what sets it apart from other TV shows, and makes it the funniest of all time. Their impact on other shows up until even today is incredible. Not only were they one of the last “before a live audience” shows, but they also used a multi-camera setup. This allowed them to make the show feel more like a play, instead of the more modern single-shot camera such as in Modern Family which creates a theatrical feel. To summarise, this show pioneered the idea that a character’s flaws are what defines them, and that your own flaws can be the same.
I have never liked the show. Because it was so popular, I gave it many chances, but I never warmed to the cast - not one of them. Jerry's non-actor status seemed to set a low bar for the cast, so the show always looks and feels to me like a college comedy skit. And this phrase that gets repeated over and over: "Seinfeld is about nothing" is someone's very clever way of turning a negative into a positive about the show. On the one hand - I get it ... perhaps life is really about nothing (as many in the thread have poined out - Jerry and the writing are not Early Woody Allen enough, not even close, to support that kind of philosophical thinking). Don't get me wrong, MANY sitcoms are about "a family, living day to day ... and all the little obstacles that can be fodder for humor" - essentially about nothing but the characters and their relationships. But, pinning a medal on this show as if it's brilliant BECAUSE it's about nothing is just ... nothing. And with very few exceptions in this thread, those who champion the show cannot come up with more than just "you don't get it, it's brilliant" or "you're a moron." Really? You love this show so much, but you can't find just a few sentences to say WHY you love it. The thing is ... I think the show IS about something. It's about average people, with average lives, and below-average ambitions. Now, I'm not much different than that, BUT I like a little more out of my entertainment than a mirror of my average life. That doesn't mean everything needs to sophisticated writing/plots or a vision of some kind. Take for example something like THE HONEYMOONERS - obviously early television, kind of "sketch like" writing a la Seinfeld, definitely average characters/average lives/below average ambitions. But, WAY above average performances - Jackie Gleason was extraordinary, Audrey Meadows nailed the role of the long-suffering wife, AND Art Carney was inspired and hilarious as Ed Norton. I don't see any greatness in any aspect of SEINFIELD. Put another way, I believe the very large audience for the show is like the very large group of people who love McDonalds ... not really good, not high quality, but "darn, I enjoy it." That is fine - it's more than fine. There are shows I've watched and enjoyed that are silly, ridiculous, just plain bad. But, I don't label them "brilliant. Just as I wouldn't label going to McDonalds (and yes I do sometimes) eating at a top notch Italian bistro. And, yes, that bass playing popping up every three minutes is truly hellish, because so many shows adopted that type of thing after the show's success. Again, to me that is lazy. "We'll write the show in two and three minute scenes" - no need to flesh anything out, have any dramatic tension, really work at the writing ... why bother? The show holds up better to me if I think about it as a comic strip. Just bits of light amusement that I don't need to devote more than 2-3 minutes to. But, nine seasons of Ziggy? I'll pass.
POSTING THIS TWICE BECAUSE ALTHOUGH I DID POST WITH MY NAME, IT STILL GOT POSTED AS "UNKNOWN". I have never liked the show. Because it was so popular, I gave it many chances, but I never warmed to the cast - not one of them. Jerry's non-actor status seemed to set a low bar for the cast, so the show always looks and feels to me like a college comedy skit. And this phrase that gets repeated over and over: "Seinfeld is about nothing" is someone's very clever way of turning a negative into a positive about the show. On the one hand - I get it ... perhaps life is really about nothing (as many in the thread have poined out - Jerry and the writing are not Early Woody Allen enough, not even close, to support that kind of philosophical thinking). Don't get me wrong, MANY sitcoms are about "a family, living day to day ... and all the little obstacles that can be fodder for humor" - essentially about nothing but the characters and their relationships. But, pinning a medal on this show as if it's brilliant BECAUSE it's about nothing is just ... nothing. And with very few exceptions in this thread, those who champion the show cannot come up with more than just "you don't get it, it's brilliant" or "you're a moron." Really? You love this show so much, but you can't find just a few sentences to say WHY you love it. The thing is ... I think the show IS about something. It's about average people, with average lives, and below-average ambitions. Now, I'm not much different than that, BUT I like a little more out of my entertainment than a mirror of my average life. That doesn't mean everything needs to sophisticated writing/plots or a vision of some kind. Take for example something like THE HONEYMOONERS - obviously early television, kind of "sketch like" writing a la Seinfeld, definitely average characters/average lives/below average ambitions. But, WAY above average performances - Jackie Gleason was extraordinary, Audrey Meadows nailed the role of the long-suffering wife, AND Art Carney was inspired and hilarious as Ed Norton. I don't see any greatness in any aspect of SEINFIELD. Put another way, I believe the very large audience for the show is like the very large group of people who love McDonalds ... not really good, not high quality, but "darn, I enjoy it." That is fine - it's more than fine. There are shows I've watched and enjoyed that are silly, ridiculous, just plain bad. But, I don't label them "brilliant. Just as I wouldn't label going to McDonalds (and yes I do sometimes) eating at a top notch Italian bistro. And, yes, that bass playing popping up every three minutes is truly hellish, because so many shows adopted that type of thing after the show's success. Again, to me that is lazy. "We'll write the show in two and three minute scenes" - no need to flesh anything out, have any dramatic tension, really work at the writing ... why bother? The show holds up better to me if I think about it as a comic strip. Just bits of light amusement that I don't need to devote more than 2-3 minutes to. But, nine seasons of Ziggy? I'll pass. Gary Jaffe, NY, NY
I'm with all those in camp "Down with Seinfeld". I won't belabor the points raised by others, I agree on all fronts. Perhaps my biggest umbrage is the premise that yelling is funny. Idiots yell when they have no information, it's the verbal equivalent of puffing themselves up, or trying to somehow intimidate with aggressive volume. Nope - just makes me want to break their necks.
Post a Comment