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Seinfeld Revisited: Quotes, Funny Videos, T-shirts, Collectibles, Board Games

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Why Do People Love Seinfeld?

I inherited this Seinfeld fan lens (i.e.) site from its original owner in July 2010, on the premise that I nurture and develop it. I knew that would be a big task - the Seinfeld TV show meant (and still means) an awful lot to a great many folks but what I needed, though, was an angle.

Sure, I could load it with some of the many funny quotes from the show, perhaps use some of the Seinfeld segments (illegally ?) posted on Youtube but I knew that if I was to make it special, something memorable, that I'd have to assemble something that was worthy of fans' attention. After a couple of days of reading and cross-referencing, I distilled the major points into:

  1. Seinfeld is mostly loved
  2. but its hated with a passion by a few
  3. no other sit-com since has close to it in global popularity since its demise
  4. its only "cult" rival since, might, arguably, be South Park &
  5. while most successes breed imitators - there were and have been no Seinfeld clones - which, to me, signifies the show's utter originality
In the process, I've had to expand the original single page into something quite detailed, looking at the show in its historical perspective and then going to the different series as it mutated over its life. I hope you'll tag along until the end - it will be fun!

N.B.: Due to a family misfortune, this lens remains unfinished. My apologies. I hope to have it ready by October 2010.

Table of Contents

  1. What Did Seinfield Mean? - Part 1
  2. "Yada, Yada, Yada" Added To The Oxford English Dictionary
  3. What Did Seinfeld Mean? Part 2
  4. Not Everybody Likes Seinfeld!
  5. Seinfeld: Series 1 - 3
  6. Seinfeld: Series 4 - 6
  7. Seinfeld: Series 7 - 9
  8. The Seinfeld Stars After Seinfeld
  9. The 15 Point Jerry Seinfeld Bio
  10. Seinfeld In The News
  12. My Collections Of Amusing Ads
  13. Some More Of My Squidoo Pages
  14. Yada, yada, yada

What Did Seinfield Mean? - Part 1

peeking under the duvet of the Seinfeld boudoir

Seinfeld wasn't just great comedy - let's face it, Seinfeld WAS 90s comedy for many of us, the water-cooler back-drop to our generation's lives It was also far more than just the comedic depiction of the lives of four self-centered, shamefully believable New Yorkers - the show was a paradigm shift for us, both as a culture and as a nation.

However, while Seinfeld's co-creators, Jerry Seinfeld & Larry David, both insisted that the show was about "nothing" - and the fans enthusiastically agreed - I don't. How could so much "nothing" have amounted amount to such a great "something"?

It doesn't make sense!

No, there's a lot more going on in Seinfeld, culturally, than "nothing"!

Secondly, the scripts were comedy of the highest order, tight - often with inter-woven story lines and uncompromising about its banal subject matter e.g. Season 5 Episode 17, The Wife, in which George pees in the shower at his health club and worries that he may be reported to its management:

Jerry: "Do the medical journals say anything about standing in a pool of someone else's urine?"

The shows were also frequently peppered with genuinely memorable catch-phrases and lines that - while they weren't particularly funny per se - fast-tracked their way into everyday language e.g.:

Jerry's I'm still the master of my domain" & "Not that there's anything wrong with that"

George's It's not a lie - if you b-e-l-i-e-v-e it!

Kramer's "Giddy up"

Elaine's "Sponge-worthy"

The Soup Nazi's "No soup for you!"

and, of course, the all-time favorite, a phrase that has now even entered the Oxford English Dictionary...

"Yada, Yada, Yada" Added To The Oxford English Dictionary

ABC News, 2006

N.B.: Though the phrase "yada, yada, yada" did not originate on Seinfeld - the first known usage was by legendary American 1960s comedian, Lenny Bruce - it may as well have, as it is almost always believed to be a Seinfeld-ism. There's no doubt, however, that Seinfeld was completely responsible for its sudden popularity and current usage.
yada yada yada
by loudscreamer | video info

1 rating | 5,713 views
curated content from YouTube

What Did Seinfeld Mean? Part 2

an historical perspective

When we look at the Seinfeld DVDs - all 9 seasons of them,180 programs in all - the meaning becomes clearer but first we have to look at its historical perspective:

  1. in internal politics, America was living through the Reagan / Bush relatively scandal-free years (1980 - 92)
  2. in external politics, America was involved in no wars other than covert operations - in, let's face it - a few parts of the world, including Nicaragua! + by the end of the decade, the Iron Curtain had fallen and America had no major enemies
  3. in the economy, Reagan brought in massive tax cuts but the money flowed mainly to the rich, while social services were slashed [yes, Ronald Reagan inadvertently created rap music] and their budgets given to boost military spending (at a time of no perceived threat - huh?)
  4. In pop music - MTV arrived and with it, often aesthetically vulgar music videos but more importantly, MTV brought a glib, disposable superficiality which had not been part of American culture before &
  5. In TV comedy - family fare such as:

    The Cosby Show (1984 - 92) & Family Ties (1982 - 89) upheld conservative American values (even though the Cosbys were black) and at best, tacitly, often overtly - approved of Reagan's America

    Cheers (1982 - 93) with consistently good writing and a strong ensemble cast did, at times, veer towards harder issues (e.g. adultery & alcoholism) but in the end was really just a pleasant drunk - somewhere in the middle - mumbling about romance and class tensions, hoping he was a microcosm of America

    Then, towards the end of the decade, the working classes eventually found some representation on TV through the grotesque, dysfunctional comic book misogyny of Married With Children (1987 - 97) & the obese, gritty real-world (sex, domestic violence, abortion, homosexuality etc.) strugglers of Rosanne (1988 - 97)

It's from this world that Seinfeld emerged and as affluence finally trickled down to the urban middle classes, it was the call of their apolitical yearnings, superficiality, Hedonism and unrepentant Existentialism that it answered.

Yes, it was as if the great, middle class guru of America had broken free from the shackles of the 80s, found a quiet spot for some New York navel-gazing and had found...

...fluff!

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Though Seinfeld Was Obviously The Master Of His Own Domain -

and though I'm not meaning to be sexist, let's leave Elaine out of this but -

Who was the real star of the show?

Loading Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

George Kastanza

kiwisoutback says:

Cosmo is bizarre and entertaining, but George was the real star of the show. The selfishness, overconfidence, and abrasive New York style was perfect for television, and hadn't really been done yet (to that degree anyway).

Posted August 19, 2010

Cosmo Kramer

pheonix76 says:

Cosmo Kramer!! "Fiber from shirt on left shoulder, I'm gonna have to keep my eye on that."

Posted April 23, 2011

Fignewton37 says:

It's a toss up, but I guess I lean a little bit toward Kramer. But if you think you can take me, it's go time! Remember the episode with Lloyd Bridges? It was hiliarious with the father, the son and the grandfather all in a hospital room ostensibly put there by Jerry. Love the lens.

Posted November 23, 2010

ZOLTAR69 says:

I even named my dogs after.. Cosmo and Kramer!

Posted November 21, 2010

For_Fun says:

I've gone back on forth on this and I'm still pretty dead even on it. George was a powerhouse but I think Kramer made it more memorable in people's mind. Where he slips off of the wall in his underwear. Where he smokes and drinks at the same time in the bar. "I don't even really work here." Just his complete focus on absurdity. I better stop typing now, though, or I'm going to go choose George again. It's too hard. It's like trying to pick your favorite child!

Posted August 26, 2010

Tipi says:

I always go for the off beat wackO guys on shows. Kramer was a gem of an act, and stole the show.

Posted July 25, 2010

the777group says:

It has to be Kramer - he's so bizarre and George is just so one-of-a-kind loathsome - not that there's anything wrong with that!

Posted July 18, 2010

 

Not Everybody Likes Seinfeld!

Some folks think it's about:

"A comedian that isn't funny
A psycho clown (Kramer)
An ugly, fat, bald, lazy liar (George) &
A beautiful, normal woman who wastes her life hanging out with them"

Jack Swift - a comment on
Dr. Weird's post
"[Watching] Seinfeld While Stoned"

Ah well,
you win some, you lose some!

Seinfeld: Series 1 - 3

presently under construction. I expect it to be ready by late July.

Books That Every Seinfeld Fan Should Have

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Seinfeld: Series 4 - 6

presently under construction. I expect it to be ready by late July.

Seinfeld Board Games

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Seinfeld: Series 7 - 9

presently under construction. I expect it to be ready by late July.

The Seinfeld Stars After Seinfeld

In August 2010 I shall be creating pages updating on the Seinfield stars since the end of the show.

Jerry
George
Kramer
Elaine &
main writer & co-creator Larry David

see you then.

The 15 Point Jerry Seinfeld Bio

makes earning a billion look easy!


  1. Jerome Seinfeld, born April 29, 1954
  2. Jerry is raised in Massapequa, Long Island
  3. Graduates with a Bachelor of Communications, Queens College, 1976
  4. Spurns gainful employment and becomes a comedian. Quickly becomes successful in New York, rising to be M.C. at the famed Comic Strip, where he becomes known as "Dr. Comedy"
  5. Moves to Los Angeles to find work in television, 1980
  6. Lasts only 3 weeks as a gag writer on TV-sitcom "Benson" - decides to stick to stand-up
  7. Debuts on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show", May 1981 & soon becomes a regular
  8. records Jerry Seinfeld, Stand-Up Confidential for HBO, 1987
  9. wins an American Comedy Award for Male Stand-up Comic, 1988
  10. NBC approaches him to develop a sitcom vehicle for himself. Seinfeld contacts acquaintance & fellow New York comedian, Larry David and the two come up with "The Seinfeld Chronicles" (with Jerry, George & Kramer) - NBC hate it! FOX don't want it!
  11. Rick Ludwin, NBC's head of Late Night & Special Events breaks protocol and diverts part of his budget to the show and 4 more episodes (with Elaine from then on) are produced and aired May 1990, straight after Cheers. After strong approval from the 18 - 49 demographic, 6 more episodes are subsequently ordered, then another 13
  12. Renamed as "Seinfeld", the show begins a steady, uniform climb to the top (hampered by scheduling problems during the Persian Gulf War). It's championed by critics but the public only warm slowly
  13. wins Emmy for Outstanding Comedy series, 1993 (nominated 1992 - 1998)
  14. co-creator Larry David departs amicably,1996
  15. final Seinfeld episode aired, May1998

Seinfeld In The News

gathered on a less-than-need-to-know basis

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  • Reply
    pheonix76 Apr 23, 2011 @ 11:32 pm | delete
    Nice lens. Seinfeld is a show I can watch over and over again and STILL laugh. Kramer aka Dr. Van Nostrand (Kramer: "From the clinic." Nurse: "what clinic is that again?" Kramer: "uh, that's correct."), LOL!!!!!
  • Reply
    JeremiahStanghini Jan 17, 2011 @ 8:50 pm | delete
    I've read Seinfeld's biography, but I didn't remember it not being picked up and then picked up again. I suppose I should have realized that this is how it played out in the actual show, so... oops. :-)

    With Love and Gratitude,

    Jeremiah
  • Reply
    For_Fun Aug 26, 2010 @ 11:19 pm | delete
    When they were running, I just couldn't wait for the new episodes, especially the later seasons. My father and brothers would gather around and shout "It's on, it's on!" I have never since and likely never will be so excited about a t.v. show. I also remember the empty feeling I had after the last episode. Strange how a show about nothing can do that (and I'm fairly unsentimental).
  • Reply
    kiwisoutback Aug 19, 2010 @ 7:21 am | delete
    I keep waiting to get tired of Seinfeld, but every time a rerun comes on, it pulls me in for an obligatory 30 minutes of couch time. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

    Excellent writing!
  • Reply
    the777group Aug 21, 2010 @ 5:33 pm | delete
    Why thank you. And yes, I'm with you. those re-runs seem just as funny as the first time.
    N.B.: I hope to really develop this Seinfeld lens in the next week or two.
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Seinfeld: The George Kastanza T Shirt Collection

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Egghead Books On Seinfeld

for those who are serious about their comedy

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Seinfeld Festivus T-Shirt

Series 9 Episode 10 - The Strike

Festivus is a holiday invented by George Castanza's father, Frank, who worked out that "there had to be another way" to have a seasonal holiday that wasn't over-commercialized.

So, at the Festivus dinner, you tell your your family all the ways they have that they have let you down during the past year.

Favorite Line:

FRANK KASTANZA: "A festivus - for the rest of us!"

Seinfeld: The Cosmo Kramer T Shirt Collection

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Seinfeld Magazine Cover As Posters

Time & Rolling Stone

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Seinfeld Autographed Pictures

wouldn't you like Kramer on your bedside dresser?

All Seinfield autographed pictures come with a The REAL DEAL Memorabilia authenticity sticker on the photo and a Certificate of Authenticity.
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Seinfeld: The Jerry Seinfeld T Shirt Collection

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Seinfeld: The No Soup For You Shop

from series 6, episode 7

Kramer discovers a fantastic soup restaurant and invites Jerry, George and Elaine there. However, there is a catch: the belligerent chef who makes this soup seems to decide upon whim just who he will serve his magnificent soup to - dismissing the unsuccessful would-be patrons with the phrase:

SOUP CHEF: "No soup for you!".

Wikipedia reports that the script was actually based upon a real restaurant and chef, which Seinfeld & co.visited for inspiration. When they returned during the filming of Season 8, the owner apparently threw them out, shouting "No soup for you!".
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Seinfeld: The Elaine Benes T Shirt Collection

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Seinfeld Magnets

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Though it wasn't the first show to assert the rudeness of Gotham's citizens, its characters [were] selfish to a fault - not that there's anything wrong with that!"

This 32 DVD set - containing all 180 shows - Limited Edition collection includes:
an exclusive bonus packaging replica of Jerry's infamous fridge
+ magnets based on some of the show's funniest moments
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