How Larry David ALMOST Broke Seinfeld
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- Опубликовано: 16 янв 2022
- Seinfeld will forever be considered one of the best sitcoms to ever appear on television. The shows creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David were a perfect team, keeping the balance of their personalities drives the shows success. But when Larry David left Seinfeld, it almost broke the entire show. Jerry held it together, but after Larry David left Seinfeld was never the same.
#Seinfeld #LarryDavid #Nerdstalgic
Written by Dave Baker
Edited by David Sadvari 
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Season 1 doesn't get enough love. The balls it takes to start a series talking about a shirt button is nothing short of phenomenal.
Season one was a show with potential, and had its moments, but it didn't realize it until the second season.
@@wvu05 thats pretty much every show ever made though
@@hkiller57 Some really jumped out of the gates. I'd say _Arrrested Development_ was almost fully formed from the pilot.
Considering the premise of the show, I'd say it wasn't too ballsy, as Jerry was getting plenty of confirmation on his material in the standup scene.
@@wvu05 Arrested Development was a masterpiece from the get go
Kruger trying the door to his office and saying, "Oh damn, I've locked myself out of my office again. Oh well, I'm going home," always has me in stitches. All of the writers for that show were very good.
That's a good example. It's so simple but it really is hilarious.
You mean Ka-OOga!
I didn't even know what you were talking about. I had to look it up. That's definitely a cut scene that doesn't play in the syndicated episodes on TV. Only in the Netflix version.
I've always liked both aspects of Seinfield, with and after Larry David. I don't think one is better than the other, but you see a noticeable change in tone after David left, with stories becoming a bit goofier but still harnessing that Seinfield essence. I think that once Seinfield became "mainstream", Jerry and his writters were indeed more or less forced to tone down some of the dark humor that David had.
I think maybe the goofier stuff was bolstered by a foundation of all the crazy stuff that came in the seasons before it.
It's a good thing Larry was able to channel all of that instead into Curb.
The writing staff changed actually after LD left. The writing staff were in their 20s in the last two seasons, before that, the writers were older (30s, 40s).
In my own opinion, the first 4 seasons of Sein. are , to me, not very funny. It took a long time for Jason to find his character. In general I don't watch those episodes anymore.
@esp ele I suspected that, now you've confirmed it.
I wouldn’t say it “broke” the show. It was just a change in tone.
I do miss the darker tone David brought though. It lost a bit of an edge in the last 2 seasons.
Honestly if no one told me larry left then I wouldn't have noticed. Usually when popular shows overstay their welcome or are on long enough then it becomes goofier or toned down
It's so weird he says it became a cultural phenomenon in the last two seasons, then says "it's safe to say Larry leaving broke the show". How is that safe to say? It was a great show that continued to be great. Where is the evidence of it "breaking"?
@@bigstunna2049 same. Actually it kind of felt like the natural progression (minus Steinbrenner’s atrocious dialogue post-David)
@@britanderson8715 Yeah... I mean, I was there in the 90's. The show was a sensation starting roughly season 4 or 5-ish. I mean, it was season 7 that had the Soup Nazi in it and that is probably the biggest thing still remembered - even surpassing "Yada yada yada" and "Man hands" and such...
The Kenny Roger's chicken episode is one of my favorites, up there with the marine biologist. So nah I don't think anything broken after Larry left, may have been slightly different but the show was still fantastic
kenny
Indeed. My favorites of the post-Larry David era were "The Bizarro Jerry," "The Pothole," "The Merv Griffin Show," and anything involving K-uger.
EASY BIG FELLA
"may have been slightly different"
"May have been" and "slightly" different? Yea right.
that episode was great...as was the talk show
The characters became caricatures of themselves toward the end.
That being said, I loved it all.
Yeah, like with The Simpsons! I love it all, too, but I find myself rewatching the "Larry era" episodes a lot more than the "post-Larry" ones. I think one show ended after Susan's death, and another one began the next season.
Having said that...
seinfeld's flanderization of its characters thankfully wasn't as egregious as other, more recent shows. imo george slipped the most, but nothing about it made the show unwatchable
@@billscannell93no, the Simpsons case is more ridiculous, You SEE the Simpsons now and it's sad
Agreed show was not as good after Larry
Craziest part is season 9 ended at the peak of it's popularity. Only got to see 2 seasons of Jerry running the show. Could've had a lot more before the downswing.
Good call by Jerry to be honest
Better to leave on a high note 😉
@@2WinorNt 😄😉
More is not always better, look at the simpsons
It could have, but it might not have been the best idea.
I always wondered how George was based on Larry but until my father bing watched the show and some BTS documentaries, Larry said how one day he decided to literally walk away from the show and then the season 8 began filming he decided to visit the set and a guard told him to leave because, "he recalled Larry David quitted" and then I realized that moment was so George Costanza.
When reading the script for the pilot, Jason Alexander originally thought that George was a Woody Allen character, but then when doing a season two episode, Jason said, "This would never happen, and no one would ever react in this way," and Larry said, "What do you mean? This did happen to me, and I responded exactly the same way."
I read somewhere this did happen, but it wasn't just a visit, he was still involved with the show because he still played Steinbrenner.
It was based on Larry doing that at saturday night live.
@@Elcapitaan5 Only turned up to 11, because Lorne Michaels actually did let him chalk it up to blowing off steam.
There's an interview where Jason Alexander does an incredible character diagnosis of George vs Larry's Curb Your Enthusiasm character. What Jason says is essentially this: both characters embody Larry's distinctive mixture of self-righteuos ego and total self-abasement. But the Larry character leans more on the self-righteous side while George leans more on the self-abasement side.
As good as the early seasons were, I also love the loopy nature of the final two seasons.
In "The Serenity Now," Kramer takes the screen door from Frank Costanza's house (where it faced outdoors) and inexplicably puts it in front of his apartment (where it faced an interior hallway and serves no purpose). Soon enough, Kramer has taken on the persona of a retiree from flyover country being pranked by neighborhood kids.
In "The Butter Shave," Kramer accidentally sautes himself in butter. Newman's hunger gets the better of him, and he pictures Kramer as a turkey.
In "The Frogger," George pushes the "Frogger" arcade game across a street that is set up with an overhead shot to look just like the frog crossing the street in the game.
In "The Bizarro Jerry," Elaine meets three nice guys who are mirror images of Jerry, George, and Kramer. She ditches the real Jerry, George, and Kramer for these nicer guys but soon finds out that she isn't nice enough to fit in with them.
And, of course, one of the strangest episodes was "The Merv Griffin Show" in which Kramer finds pieces of the old set from "The Merv Griffin Show" and sets up a fake talk show in his apartment. Animal expert and frequent talk show guest Jim Fowler drops by and asks, "Where are the cameras?" It's brilliant!
Serenity now, insanity later!
😌😘😘😌
yeah I like the earlier mundane seasons but the later more absurd ones were a nice change too
I honestly had no idea Larry David left the show. I hardly think he "almost broke" Seinfeld.
Yeah. This video is BS.
Many of most iconic episodes came after Larry left.
I knew Larry David left after s7, but I really didn't notice any difference.
@@SaintMecha and some of the worse ones i.e The Butter Shave and The Reverse Peephole with George's wallet. Both were silly and over the top
Besides the stand up intros being lost, the show was the same after he left
Agree 100% All this guys vids are clickbaity in my opinion.. never really makes any valid points not to mention I've seen every episode sooooooooooooo yea there's that.. pssshhhhh.. bogus
And until this day Larry David’s comedic writing makes almost every other comedy sitcom on tv look like crap because he set a high standard for most viewers.
Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond are fantastic and are surely not crap
@Moon Shine Yep, except season 11 was horrible.
@@spe3173 Definitely the earlier seasons are stronger and you'd say you could easily pinpoint memorable moments from them as opposed to Season 10 and 11 especially
I agree that Curb is a superior show in the long run. But it really should have ended at season 7.
The Office was great ( until Steve Carrell left anyway) Seinfeld definitely was a game changer though 👍
Larry David was frequently still on Seinfeld as the voice of Steinbrenner, George's boss at the Yankees, and he adlibbed a lot of that, too...and he infamously wrote and produced the final episode of the show! Which received very mixed reviews LOL. I thought this video should mention that. But I love both eras of the show for different reasons, and it is interesting the territory that was explored in seasons 8 and 9 without Larry David aboard as co-writer and producer, a different approach to the same characters, which is actually what the show might have needed most after 100+ episodes on air. Still, my favorite seasons are 4 and 5 (1993-94). I think that was the classic period where David and Seinfeld really hit a stride.
Spot on! 🏆
He just did the voice, he had zero input on the scripts, and they eventually write Steinbrenner out of the show...about the finale, Larry himself admits he dropped the ball.
The finale was horrible done.
The first couple of times I watched Seinfeld, i didn’t notice a change in quality between seasons 1-7 and 8/9. if anything, i think i actually laughed even more during the last 2 seasons. the writers that replaced LD may not have had his distinct biting, ironic style but it seems like they understood the show, the characters and all their dynamics VERY well.
seinfeld’s definitely one of the very few shows that managed to function well after a lead writer/cast member left (compare to community s4, the office, etc)
It definitely didn’t break Seinfeld, I thought it was very funny right up to the end and I’m sure most would agree. A better example of breaking a show would be Steve Carell leaving the office.
The last two seasons of The Office were still fantastic. As much as Steve as a cornerstone of the show, it still continued on fine, with its high spots being just as funny as when Steve was around.
Right up to and excluding the end.
@@ThisIsNotYourFriend you have to be lobotomized to call Office last 2 seasons high level. They lost all creative element and recycled previous seasons in a retarded fashion while butchering the characters.
The funniest thing is Carrell wanted to actually stay doing the Office but he said the new regime at NBC just didn't offer him a new deal or must have forgot
It did break the show though because the style went from relatable to cartoonish nonsense and jerry had to give up after just two years doing it, also name me one person who loves the finale...
Really all the writers were very talented. Schaffer went on to create The League, and has been the showrunner for a couple seasons of Curb.
I will always hold "The League" close to my heart and the fact that Schaffer worked on certain projects gives me the interest to give them a check
He's the only one?
Larry was the soul of the show. The seasons without him, while still better than anything else on TV, had started to show signs of decline remarkably similar to what happened with The Simpsons. I think this video hits the nail on the head in some ways: George's personality started changing, the tone and plots of the show became a little TOO silly somehow, etc. I don't think anything good came from Larry leaving. There are indeed some classic episodes from the post-Larry period, but it was wise of them to end it when they did.
The show got far far too silly without Larry David. I lost interest after he left.
The only times the silliness worked was when they went with a more bizarre, surreal direction instead of normal early-90's wackiness. Kramer trying to replicate Americana or the Merv Griffin show were when that tone worked, mainly because of how bizarre his character's existance was even in the Larry David-years. For the other characters it felt off. Especially Jerry. Seinfeld barely had enough acting chops to make quips and light jokes during the early years feel natural, no way in hell he was going to nail goofy sitcom bullshit lol.
@@Kagemusha08 Exactly right. It seemed EVERY character become a little too "wacky" after Larry's exit. Wacky was Kramer's forte, so that did work.
@@Kagemusha08 The show ended in the late 90s just FYI (last season ended in 1998).
Respectfully to the absolute brilliance of Larry David, I didn't even realize he left.
Seinfeld was always Seinfeld to me.
I didn’t know it until this video was in my recommended videos cause I like episodes from the last 2 seasons like the merv griffin show episode having Kramer setting up the merv griffin set in his apartment sounds like something Kramer would actually do after finding the set
I had never watched the show in order growing up, only watching the episodes syndicated on FOX, the final episode is the only one I watched when it originally aired. That said, I've been rewatching the show on Netflix, in order, and I just *knew* something was off from between seasons 7/8 (i'm several episodes into s8 at the moment) and this video has confirmed what changed. The show is still great, but it definitely feels like it was playing to the bigger audience it was getting. Still, who knows what would have happened if he had stayed, it's hard for any sitcom to stay funny and be able to come up with new things after around 5 or 6 seasons.
Agreed. Larry is a comic/writing genius, but seriously - only the coked up insiders in the entertainment (or a really nerdy Seinfeld fan boy) biz even knew knew this.
Best sitcom out there.
They created the show because they realized it was hilarious hearing words Larry David written coming out of Seinfeld's mouth.
Seasons 4, 5 and 6 are the best where the whole machine was working perfectly. Seasons 3 and 7 also have a lot of great stuff but are either not quite there yet (season 3) or start pushing too far (season 7). And although they are still really good, seasons 1 and 2 feel like a completely different show from seasons 8 and 9. I think those middle three seasons were the peak and the glue that helped connect the earliest and latest seasons together.
I think season 7 almost captures the silliness/crazy nature of season 8 and 9 while at the same time having the darker and smarter traits of seasons 4-6. I also love the engagement storyline throughout the whole season. “The Rye” from season 7 is a perfect Seinfeld episode and perhaps top 5 best.
This right here! What I was thinking!!!
Agree totally this. Seasons 4-6 are where it's at. It started to get silly even with Larry still there in season 7, but seasons 8 and 9 just amplified that to a point where the show almost feels like a parody of itself. I still enjoy them, but those earlier seasons are where they peaked.
I think the peak is 3-5. Season 2 is them getting there and 6 starts the descent. 7 is uneven and precursor of things to come. 1 is good. 8 and 9 are unwatchable in my opinion.
Sounds like most sitcoms honestly lol. Best in the middle seasons
Think you have that title backwards. Larry David was killing himself to make the seasons he worked on as intricately plotted as they were and needed to step away for his own sanity (which Jerry proved himself by leaving after only two additional seasons)
Kenny Rogers roasters is one of my favorite episodes of all time. I still laugh hysterically at Kramer pouring tomato juice in the cereal
I’ve never been a big fan of Larry David. Jorge is a much more watered down version and much palatable
Oh i'm stressed!
So weird that this appeared in my subscriptions today, been watching a ton of Curb Your Enthusiasm recently lol
nerdstalgic videos do that lmao
@@durawya No, confirmation bias does that. I've been watching Seinfeld and because someone is always watching it somewhere that obviously wasn't a big deal.
same actually! lol i just started curb
My wife and I literally just got done bingeing it yesterday. Binging? Nah that looks weird.
Ya no shit, the algorithm feeds you videos
I think the show got better as the seasons went on. It may have been a little different after Larry left but not for the worse.
I would say that the last 2 season became a cultural phenomenon because that is when reruns went into syndication. It was more of a cult following in the early years, so much of the nation rediscovered the greatness of Seinfeld before the show went off the air and started tuning in even though it had drastically changed.
I love every episode of Seinfeld. Didnt matter who was writing on it, still gold, Jerry, gold.
Season 4--Jerry and George develop a pilot for NBC while George first dates Susan, is the show at it's absolute best. So many classic stories and the perfect balance of silliness, minutiae, and nihilism.
You can really tell the difference in dialogue quality once larry left.
Quality went down?
I'm watching season 8 right now, and the dialogue in The Soul Mate was just as witty and sharp as ever.
You absolutely can.
Season 8 and season 9 really cracks me up just like the other ones... seriously, the festivus episode might be one of the funniest in the entire show, I have a lot of lot love for the last seasons too
So many classic episodes in the final seasons. You can’t call that broken.
S8/S9 gave us such gems Festivus, Bizarro Jerry, Elaine dancing, Betrayal (the "reverse" episode), Frank Costanza's "you wanna piece of me?" and K-uger. Sure, it was not as "realistic" as previous seasons. But... exactly the same can be said about the recent seasons of Curb which transformed from "mockumentary" and "subtlety" to "old man yells at cloud" and "contrived plots". Only difference is that in case of Curb Larry never left :P
People forget that there were "loopy" (as this guy puts it) episodes in earlier seasons as well. The 3 parter where Kramer goes to L.A.... The one where Jerry and George scam someone else's limo at the airport, etc....
Agree this happened to Curb as well. But actually the last couple of seasons of Curb went back to being great again
The Elaine/Suzie episode is gold!
I literally finished Seinfeld yesterday. What a great show. Amazing writing!
You refer to "season 3" being the season wherein Jerry and George pitch a pilot to NBC -> this is season 4, not 3.
Edit: Removed the plural from "seasons".
This comment needs to be one of the first.
Yeah, came looking for this! What a major cock up. This video lost all credibility
Yup, stopped the video midway to see if someone pointed this out. Thank you!
I know! This irked me
As much as I love Larry David and his humour and writing, I don't think him leaving Seinfeld broke the show at all. In fact, I found some of the best episodes were in the final two seasons.
Interesting how Seinfeld became crazier after Larry David left. This absurdity would also be seen in Jerry's later solo work: Bee Movie.
Wasn’t the Nazi episode before LD left? Besides the finale I’d consider the Nazi episode to be the craziest one imo.
@@dylanf3108 no. Soup Nazi was post-David.
@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 I’m talking about the nazi episode not the soup nazi episode. The one where Jerry and George take on fake names for a limousine ride that one.
@@dylanf3108 The Nazi episode with the limo and the Soup Nazi episode were both while Larry David was still on the show.
Last two seasons are definitely different - more over the top, less driven by stories, more by situational comedy, exaggerated acting, less subtle - feels almost like an extended stand-up played by actors. Cannot be compared, though - both are amazingly great.
As much as I love Larry David and all of Seinfeld, I'm part of a small group of people who prefer season 8 and 9 over some of the earlier seasons. I especially like how George's character changed. He became more cunning and vindictive. I think you have the popular opinion, but you make it seem like season 8 and 9 didn't have some of the best moments of the show, when it did.
We share the same opinion.. we might be the minority but idk season 8 and 9 has some of my favorite movements in the entire show
With or without Larry David, I love how Seinfeld throughout its run underwent this beautiful metamorphosis. Earlier seasons (1 through 3) were more simplistic. They were not bad whatsoever (some of my favorite episodes can be found here), but the storylines were just everyday things with a Seinfeld spin to it. Starting with Season 4 and its super meta story telling, Seinfeld turned into this highly conceptual surreal "sitcom". I don't think you can even call it a sitcom in its later years because it does not resemble your usual sitcom. With all that in mind, it's amazing to think how Jerry, Larry and everyone involved with the writing of the show were able to do this whole shift, and do so effortlessly.
It's not a standard American sitcom no but the Brits had been doing surrealist sitcoms all through the 70s and 80s, seinfeld was far from the first it's just that Americans were busy doing boring sentimentality in their 70s and 80s sitcoms so seinfeld was quite a change.
Love your analysis on sitcoms
The best thing about Larry leaving is that we had less of Jerry's stand up at the beginning
The seemingly never ending success of David's Curb show just goes to show that he was the X Factor that prevented Seinfeld from becoming just another 80's/90's style muti-cam sitcom.
Curb is getting tired though, it's been 20 years.
I noticed George and Elaine's characters changed after Larry left. Elaine took on a darker personality and George became more grumpy. It definitely felt different but it was just as funny as before. Just funny in a more simple and direct way.
And Jerry became a psycopath.
Some of the funniest episodes of Seinfeld came in the last two seasons. The show had more goofy energy in those last two years, but I actually enjoyed the shift in tone,.
Larry and Jerry having a conversation.. about anything...
that's it, that's the show.
I actually like every season of seinfeld and i think the growth is iconic. I hate when it becomes unrealistic BUT it still is realistic to a certain extent because the characters are so well known by me that i can believe they do these incredible things.
Was waiting for this one! :D
One of the Greatest shows!
No doubt.
Jerry’s seasons are the most memorable for me
The most Jewish of Jewish humor and I must admit its great. Larry David is a genius.
I just did a full rewatch. It gets really bad during the time without David. Still worth watching, but I couldn't believe the drop in quality.
GOAT. ''If you don't have anything good to say about a relationship, then you shouldn't say anything at all...''. G. Costanza.
It was always funny to me that Jerry was the straight-man lead in his own comedy show. George and Kramer were the true comedy stars of the show.
I watched the fiancée death episode at a car dealership I was working at. Without customers we just watched tv in groups of 4 to 6 people. I laughed all the way through the episode at every gag. My coworkers didn’t even crack a smile. That clued me in to the divisiveness of that episode but for me it was the absolute funniest. I can imagine the disappointment of Larry David having his best work result in tremendous pressure for him to change into something milder.
WOW, what a wonderful show. Thank you to all the actors in that show for entertaining us and helping us to laugh.
The best seasons of Seinfeld are it's last few, so I would definitely disagree the show was broken by him leaving.
Seasons 4-7 are by far the best. That being said, Seasons 8 and 9 have some of the most memorable moments ever. Kenny Roasters, Yada Yada, Serenity Now, Merv Griffin, ect. "Where are the cameras?" makes me cry laughing every time 😂
Most of my favorite episodes are post-Larry David. The show never came close to breaking
Season 4 is when the meta sitcom storyline happens, not season 3. That said, really like season 8 and 9 (more so season 8) and appreciate their unique approach. Can't really beat the consistency of the writing in 8 and some of the wild stabs in 9 really pan out. Agree that the George character is more reactive and generally less interesting post-David (Jason Alexander has said as much), but saying that it "broke Seinfeld" seems histrionic and not super well substantiated. I think a more thorough analysis of why seasons 8 and 9 aren't so bad would be more of an intervention, where repeating that claim (like this video does) is pretty widely agreed upon.
Had to scroll through these to see if anyone else caught that. Season FOUR is the one where they pitched the show.
I had honestly never noticed the change in tone after David's leaving. But now put in this way, yeaahhh. You can definitely see a much more abstract and over-the-top attitude in the last two seasons. Mind you, I friggen love the last two seasons just as much as I love the darkness of the first 7.
I think honestly Larry David had left an intense mark on the writing of the show that never actually died all the way through. The writers still knew what he would've wanted and probably learned a hell of a lot from his style. So it still ended up turning out great.
Amazing like always
I loved them all, didn't even notice a major writer left. I loved season 8 and 9.
My dad was the only one in my family that liked Seinfeld. We all dreaded Thursdays.
Yeah, I think Larry David leaving did irreputable damage to The Simpsons, it was never the same
Personally I found after season 3, the show stayed constantly funny till the end. I would say I prefer seasons 7, 8, and 9, to 4, 5, and 6. That being said while the last few seasons have some of my favourite episodes, they also contained some of the worst episodes (The Cartoon is horrible). Overall though, it’s a fantastic show.
Love seeing Seinfeld content on this channel!
I've watched Seinfeld so much over the last 20 years that I can tell the conversation they're having in each little clip you show even without the sound. Lol
As a young man watching, I never knew Larry David left the show but I could FEEL and SEE a drastic difference in the show. It just was never as funny and memorable after Larry David left. The show needed BOTH to excel!
Thank you for this! I’ve always known when a significant influence has left a show by the way the humor changes. I saw this with Friends, the second season of Ted Lasso. The first season was funny and endearing. The second season they became caricatures of themselves. Same with Friends. It’s a shame.
Good video, thanks 👍
Thinking about it now, I realize that I love the earlier episodes of Seinfeld better than the later ones.
Such a duplicitous video.
ill save you 9 mins because larry has said this 1000 times, he never wanted to work a real job and hated the pressure of working so much
I've seen all seasons at least 10 times and I've never even noticed any difference after season 7. They're all good imo with or without Larry.
This makes so much more sense now! I remember Kramer distinctly changing in the final seasons of the show. I could never put my finger on it, but I could tell something was different. This finally confirms it!
he took the normal TV show character arc those last two seasons. He was kookie before but still semi-grounded in reality, and then he got more and more over the top nudging towards being a complete caricature. Still very funny, but not quite the same.
I think seasons 2-4 are pure GOLD.
The last two seasons of Seinfeld are just like the last two seasons of the Office… they both lose a very key part and then loose grasp of what made them so great to begin with.
While the last two seasons of Seinfeld are leagues ahead of the last two seasons of The Office they lose a lot of that grounded reality that made Seinfeld relatable.
A lot of great episodes ins 8&9, but it really feels like a completely different series
The Merv Griffin Show episode is absolutely HILARIOUS. That's a last season episode, but one of the ones I ALWAYS go back to.
As a Larry David fan I really admired how he tied all the stories together at the end of every episode. The dark humor and pointing out the funny flaws in society is remarkable. Still to this day I choose to watch only season 1 through 7… only because I really can dissect the difference of writing.
I watch the entire series once a year since 1998...and every year I have to force myself to watch seasons 8 and 9, the drop in quality is too big, and the older I get, the More chidlish I find those two seasons.
@@Jose-se9puni te habrías dado cuenta que se habría ido solo porque el del vídeo te lo dijo
I never noticed a change before. But I’ll look out for it when I get to it on my rewatch.
I think after Larry left it did become goofier sometimes, but at the same time it remained extremely funny. Some of the most iconic moments happened in season 8 in my opinion. I think the show changed but yet managed to maintain its essence.
It was Season 4, not Season 3, when Jerry and George had the idea of the pilot for the "Jerry" show.
I actually really love Season 3, especially "The Boyfriend" in which Kramer and Newman recount the story of the "magic loogie" from (they thought) Keith Hernandez with their own version of the Zapruder film.
Especially funny as Wayne Knight, Newman, played the same role in JFK.
They also spoof his part in the interrogation scene from Basic Instinct.
I guess as he was the only regular cast member to have a simultaneous career in movies, it was a kind of friendly ribbing.
I honestly never noticed. But 8-9 had some of the funniest episodes: Kenny Rogers' Roosters is a classic. "Who's there? Mr. Chuckles?"
@5:28 Lol... ARGUABLY? ARGUABLY?! He ABSOLUTELY 100% was as important to the show's success as Jerry. And Jerry would tell you that himself.
And the show was at its peak when it ended. Nothing broke it. Not even close.
I'd say that the marine biologist is the best episode in the series just based on the ending monologue.
"is that a Titleist?"
Per Jason Alexander - it was written that day too! The pre-taped location-shoot ending wasn't getting a big enough laugh from the audience, so Larry said something like "Keep them here" and went off to write. He came back and asked Jason "How quickly can you memorize a monologue?"; they took a few minutes for the main 4 to do so, and then shot it - everything in the dinner is first-take live!
When you say things like the Contest was “the most controversial” are you just trying to be controversial? That statement can’t be further from the truth, even looking back with “today’s eyes”. This channel does stuff like this way too often, giving a weird slant or revisionist history. In fact, The Contest is considered one of Seinfeld’s best episodes, winning several awards (including an Emmy), and was noted for having little criticism at the time, despite the subject matter.
Except from the adult virgin community.
Was noted for having little criticism at the time? Source?
@@television1088 the production team has talked about it over the years, NBC received something like 30 complaints, which is nothing. I think it’s referenced in the DVD box set too. I also watched the show live and there was zero backlash at the time.
I never felt a big change after Larry. With all programs, there will be great episodes and not so great. I am a diehard, and have to watch at least 2 shows before bed.
I remember even when I first watched the show on BBC2 reruns for the first time without a break between seasons (I started at s7, perhaps the reason I saw that as the show's high watermark) I noticed a distinct change after the Susan/envelopes episode - wackier, dafter, higher-energy, more surreal, more inconsistent. The show felt almost as if Kramer was writing it! Having said that there are still great moments - Chicken Roaster, Frogger, etc, and the end of the show, whilst not the funniest episode in itself, was uniquely appropriately. Good analysis.
The Chicken Roaster and The Merv Griffin Show set were so funny.
i had no idea that Larry had left the show. when I re-watch the show, I will keep this info in mind.
That Roasters Episode is an all time favorite!!!
Jerry years were wackier but great. My favorite seasons are 8 and 9.
LD is in the Marine Biologist episode, he is the guy at the beach yelling “is anyone here a Marine Biologist?”
Think of all the ground breaking, legendary shows we never got because executives passed on them
I'm sorry but that episode when George wants to keep the arcade machine with his high score is funny af
With or without Larry, the later seasons of the show held some of my favorite episodes and bits.
the arc where they create the pilot for NBC is season 4
I love every episode, there 4 very distinct phases to the series and I have favourite episode from throughout still the best thing ever filmed
I always had this debate in my head whenever I'd watch the show over the years... they both had their low points and high points....the last 2 seasons were just different...not bad just different...the frogger episode was a miss for me but the Kenny chicken episode was genius... But it's also not fair to compare them especially when Larry David still had the first 2 seasons of the show to find his real footing with the characters and stories... After killing off Susan they had to find a new way to show that these characters can be more mature but also be the same...
I'd love to find a way to remove the "prerecorded" laugh track sections from the show's audio while leaving in the "live audience" laughter sections (from what I understand, this would be limited to Jerry's apartment parts of the show).
According to Jason Alexander, it was all "live" - the only edited they did was to mold certain laugh tracks into other takes if they didn't get as big of a laugh in one take or another; the other exception would be a pre-recorded bit they played in front of the live audience, like location shoots.
Been rewatching this since it hit Netflix and I can say - the show felt like it lost a bit in these last 2 seasons. It was never "Bad" but it felt like it had a few more episodes I could just skim rather than watch.
In addition to Larry David leaving, right around the same time, there was friction between Seinfeld and the other 3 cast members. As the show was being sold into syndication, Seinfeld (and David) were enjoying a mega-financial-reward that was not extended to Alexander-Richards-Louis Dreyfus. They were able to negotiate a huge per-episode salary for acting, but, at that point you get the feeling that they were extending the series primarily for the money. Not that I blame them!
There was no rift or friction.
@@DPMusicStudio Jason Alexander would disagree.
The Kenny Rogers chicken is 1 of my favorite episodes ever lol.