Lambe Seinfeld Seasons 1 -5

An Episode Guide
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-78952-391-1
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 144 Seiten

Reihe: On Screen

When the final episode of aired on 14 May 1998, an amazing 76.3 million Americans tuned in, making it the most popular situation comedy is US television history. Co-created by Larry David, this 'comedy about nothing' made celebrities of its four stars: stand up comedian Jerry Seinfeld; comedian and actor Michael Richards who played eccentric neighbour Kramer; Julia Louis-Dreyfus who played Jerry's former girlfriend, Elaine and Jason Alexander as his volatile, insecure best friend George. Unique in its outlook and execution, the success of the series lay in its early years, able to develop its own style below the radar as a minor network hit, before reaching a mass public with its fourth season in 1992. Classic episodes discussed here include: 'The Junior Mint', 'The Chinese Restaurant', 'The Puffy Shirt' and the ground-breaking 'The Contest'.

Much analyzed during its time on screen, the show has not been re-evaluated for many years. Now, over twenty years since the series finished, Stephen Lambe's timely and superbly-crafted new book examines Seinfeld's first five seasons episode by episode, tracing the development of every character, catchphrase and quirk, from the series' embryonic pilot episode in 1989, to its status as an Emmy award-winning show by the time that season five wrapped in 1994. While the series was a huge success in the USA, it was also a cult hit across the globe, and its legacy continues into the new millennium.

Stephen Lambe is an author and publisher. He first became addicted to watching late-night re-runs on British television in the 1990s. An American Studies graduate, he has since seen every episode many times. His books include an analysis of the British 'Carry On' series published by Sonicbond in 2019. He lives in Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, UK.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lambe, Stephen

Leseproben

Chapter 2

Season One – 1990

Main Cast: Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine, Michael Richards as Kramer, Jason Alexander as George

Regular Director and Producer: Tom Cherones

Producer: Larry David

Producer: Fred Barron

Story supervisor: Jerry Seinfeld

Programme Consultant: Matt Goldman

Director of Photography: Bon Berry

Music: Jonathan Wolff

Executive Producers: George Shapiro and Howard West Associate

Producer: Tim Kaiser

Executive Producer: Jeffrey Stott

Edited by Bob Souders

Casting by Marc Hirschfeld

Production design by David Sackeroff

As mentioned, having tested badly in 1989, the show was axed. The cast and crew went back to their normal lives. Glenn Padnick at Castle Rock even pitched the show to Fox, who passed. It was, seemingly, over. But the show had a big fan in NBC executive Rick Ludwin, and in the end, he decided to commit two hours of his ‘specials’ budget to four (count em!) shows to be broadcast in the late spring of 1990 on a Wednesday night, between repeats of Cheers and LA Law. The shows that finally aired were very different from the pilot. First

of all, the garish clothes and sets had gone to be replaced by a pastel – indeed

more realistic – color palate. While Jason Alexander and Michael Richards returned – albeit in subtle variations on the characters that had appeared in the pilot – Lee Garlington was replaced by a far more central and important female character, one who could be placed in the same situations as the men, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus joined the cast as Elaine. Julia had appeared on Saturday Night Live for four years, including the one year that Larry David was on the writing staff, which certainly helped in her casting. She could be attractive, while still staying ‘one of the boys.’

Seinfeld was still not quite the show that the public came to love. There were only hints at the quality that was to arrive as early as season two. The shows are slow-paced, and far too reliant on the stand-up segments that the acted sequences were meant to illustrate. Better was certainly to come. Yet ratings were decent and the new team gelled. This including director/ producer Tom Cherones, a safe pair of hands who took a while to ‘get’ thetone of the show, but gave it his all anyway. Composer Jonathan Wolff brought his quirky, percussive slap bass theme – although the bass line was played via a sample on a keyboard. Having brought in veteran producer Fred Barron to act as showrunner, and to ‘look after’ David and Seinfeld, it quickly became apparent to the relieved executives at Castle Rock that Larry David, despite his inexperience, would make a perfectly decent showrunner, and he was offered the job should the show be picked up for a second season. It was, although as the fall 1990 schedule had already been decided, season two could only come in as a mid-season replacement. But the show was on its way...

‘Male Un-bonding’

Writers: Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David

Original airdate: 14 June 1990

Guests: Kevin Dunn as Joel

Review

As this was the first episode of season one proper to be shot, there’s a ‘second pilot’ feeling about this show. It’s all almost there. If there was any reaching to be done to find his character, then Jason Alexander has completed his task. This is ‘loser’ George in all his glory, although his scene in the bank – when he tries to cash in a jar of pennies – feels unrealistic. Not even George would be that dumb. Kramer is much better developed. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine has only one, albeit lengthy, scene. Her characterization, in her debut, is

not quite established, despite her first piece of dialog being very edgy – very ‘Elaine.’ The performance is a little too perky, too smiley. It didn’t take long to come together, though. The episode still has a lot of stand-up, although these segments are, wisely, shorter than in the Pilot, but the story seems very slight, and it is left to TV veteran Kevin Dunn – later to star with Julia in Veep – to win the acting honors, with a terrific turn as the monstrous Joel.

The Story

George is nervous. He has told a girl he likes her, due to a floss-related error which was a big mistake. Kramer is on the phone to Joel, an old friend of Jerry’s with whom Jerry used to play ping-pong when he was ten. Jerry is trying to avoid Joel, but they arrange to meet as Jerry doesn’t know how to ‘break

up’ with him. At Monk’s, Joel only talks about himself, not listening to Jerry’s attempts at conversation and is rude to a waitress. Jerry does try to ‘break up’, but Joel doesn’t take it well, so Jerry backs off, inviting Joel to see the NY Nicks with him the following Wednesday, using George’s ticket. At the bank,

George reports that he’s been dumped by the floss-hater. Jerry tells him that he has given Joel his ticket, which George grudgingly accepts. Nonetheless, Jerry attempts to call Joel and lies that he has another commitment and can’t go to the game.

Meanwhile, Kramer says that he has an idea to run a business that lets people make their own pizza pies. Later, Elaine spots a list of excuses for Joel that Jerry is working on. Kramer is now going to the Nicks game with Joel, and neither George or Jerry are going. It is revealed that Jerry and Elaine used to go out, as Joel arrives at Jerry’s apartment. They both give a series of far -fetched excuses

in response to Joel inviting them both to another game, but there is no escape – they are stuck with him.

Trivia, history and other notes

The show was not listed by Variety as a picked up Pilot, since it’s budget had been found via the Late Night and Specials department, meaning that Seinfeld was not formally classed as a sitcom at this stage. This was the first show to be shot of this four-episode season, even though it was shown third. There was an experiment with a different style set for the stand-up sequences, a brightly-lit ‘church’ set before the now-customary ‘club’ set was decided upon. Note that Jerry is now wearing the same suit in each of the stand-up sequences. This is the only episode not to have ‘The...’ as a title, as the idea to do that was not decided upon until after the episode was shot. George Ewing is mentioned – he played for the NY Nicks from 1985 until 2000. Kramer’s pizza idea finally came to fruition in the season six episode, ‘the Couch.’ Elaine doesn’t appear until almost seventeen minutes into the episode. An alternative ending to the show has Jerry finally breaking up successfully with Joel, and can be seen on the DVD boxed set.

‘The Stakeout’

Writers: Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David

Original airdate: 31 May 1990

Recurring Cast: Liz Sheridan as Helen

Guests: Phil Bruns as Morty Seinfeld, Lynn Clark as Vanessa, Maud Winchester as Pamela, William Fair as Roger, Ron Steelman as Artie, Joe George as Uncle Mac, Ellen Gerstein as Carol

Review

Though not the first episode to shoot, it’s understandable that this should be the first broadcast, as it deals with the direct aftermath of Jerry’s break up with Elaine, as they both adjust to the new dynamic of being friends. This subject is handled with uncharacteristic gentleness, again understandable for a show that was yet quite to find its tone. The main core of the story – Jerry’s is interested in a woman, but knows only where she works, meaning that he needs a pretense to visit her building – was something that had happened to Larry David. Rather more extreme situations from David’s life would be harvested for later episodes and later seasons.

Nonetheless, the ‘show about nothing’ tone was beginning to be established, via Jerry and Elaine’s opening dialog in the video store (about porn – quite racy for 1990), then the conversation between Jerry and George at the lawyer’s offices, when George reveals his ambition to be an architect and invents his infamous ‘importer/exporter’ alter ego Art Vandelay. Finally, we get a gentle introduction to Kramer’s oblique take on life, via his insistence that ‘quone’ is a real word during a game of scrabble. We also have the first ‘voice over’ in which we hear Jerry’s inner thoughts during the dinner scene, an occasional and effective Seinfeld device. Overall, this is a decent early episode, even if it does feel a little incomplete, mainly due to its lack of pace. The other principles Elaine, George, and Kramer – have their own scenes rather than being intimately involved in the action. In the commentary on the DVD, Jerry Seinfeld somewhat harshly – refers to it as being like a ‘school play.’ He’s wrong – all great TV has to start somewhere – but you take his point. The ‘stakeout’ scene, with George, is fabulous, though, one of the earliest indications of how the show would...