SEINFELD - A Show About Nothing Was SOMETHING

Over the years, there have been many standout, successful television sitcoms - I Love Lucy, Cheers and Taxi, to name a few. They were all unique; each had its own style and elements that contributed to its inimitable, iconic charisma. In the 90s, the iconic TV sitcom would have to be Larry David’s Seinfeld. A “show about nothing,” it was certainly an iconic and unique show. What made it so special? What was it about this program, which did not follow a clear-cut template, which made it such a one-of-a-kind phenomenon? In short, the superior writing for a brilliant cast, and phenomenal producing and directing styles made this show the standout hit that it was, and continues to be.

All right, let us start with the writing. With a crew of about ten, head writer/co-creator/executive producer, Larry David had established a unique formula for Seinfeld scripts. That formula was, basically, that there was no formula. This was one of the most innovative elements of the show; there was no set structure that broke the show down into five acts. Every episode’s construction was unique and so created that extra reward for the audience – surprise. Most shows set a predictable composition for the setup to the storyline, and how the conflict is to be resolved. There is usually a recognizable form and pace to a show. Seinfeld, on the other hand, was more freeform, building unique structures for each show.

One great example of this was The Betrayal episode in which each scene was shown in reverse chronological order. In this episode, Elaine (Julia Lois-Dreyfus) is invited to be the maid of honor for a friend whose fiancé she, Elaine, once slept with. To add to the conflict, the wedding is to be in India. Of course, George (Jason Alexander) and Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) are invited and go along. Back in New York, Kramer’s (Michael Richards) storyline involves a snowball-throwing incident with a friend/rival. The beauty of this episode is that as the scenes run their course backwards, we discover the inception of the jokes in the previously viewed scenes. The audience gets a unique experience of discovery as “the light bulb goes on” when it finds the basis for a later payoff. This was truly a distinctive format for a sitcom.

What really set this show apart from the others, however, is when it really hit its stride between seasons four and seven, when the scripts created strong tie-ins. This was the period when the writing was at its best, when multiple story points converged and got together at the end of the episode. The Yada Yada episode, guest starring Bryan Cranston and Robert Wagner, is a wonderful example of this innovative story structure. Dentist Tim Whatley (Cranston) converts to Judaism and begins spouting Jewish jokes to an offended Jerry. Meanwhile, George’s current girlfriend, Beth, fills in the middle of sentences with “yada yada” which could mean just about anything. The third storyline entails Kramer and little person, Mickey, dating two girls but cannot decide which girl each of them wants. The episode ends with Mickey at the altar with the wrong girl, some great “yada yada” jokes and Mickey’s dentist father calling Jerry an “anti-dentite bastard.” This was truly when the writing was its best! As show writer, Andy Robin, recalls, “You really needed three or four stories to service everybody and you wanted to interweave them in clever ways, so a lot of writing for ‘Seinfeld’ was just, like, putting together a complicated jigsaw puzzle and shoehorning stories into other stories, and that helped us a lot here” (“Former ‘Seinfeld’ Writers,” 2006).

It truly was the wide-open, unpredictable nature of the script construction that made this such a one-of-a-kind winner. The no holds barred approach to the scriptwriting gave the show an unbelievably fresh presentation every week. Its longevity can be attributed to the fact that it never got into a rut of predictability and the ensuing ennui, which occurs in many other sitcoms.

Of course, good writing can only go so far. A show must also have well-written characters, and superior actors to play them out. Seinfeld succeeded on both counts. These characters were by no means your usual goody-two-shoes protagonists with a heart of gold. They were frequently self-centered and unsympathetic. Examples: George Costanza fakes a physical handicap to gain sole access to handicap-only washroom. At work at J. Peterman’s, Elaine fabricates a nonexistent employee, Suzie, to avoid confrontation with a co-worker. The final two-part episode, in fact, centered on the fact that these characters had no moral compunction. How refreshing to have characters who were all blatant “bad boys!”

It is said that casting is ninety per cent of a sitcom’s success. Well Seinfeld producers certainly hit it out of the park with theirs -- four primary characters and each actor perfectly selected for his or her particular role. If you look up quirky in the dictionary, you will find a photo of Cosmo Kramer. Michael Richards’ Kramer was certainly a one-of-a-kind “spazz.” He was all over the place. Boundaries did not exist for him – what was yours was his and vice versa. He helped himself to Jerry (Seinfeld)’s cereal, television, space, clothes, bed, etc. because if asked, he would gladly share whatever he owned. Of course, no one was asking. He was always up for anything and no was just not in his vocabulary – swimming for hours in the cold and dirty East River; modeling in his undies for Calvin Klein. Richards’ over-the-top physicality just bumped this lovable character up one more notch.

Of all the characters, the comedian, Jerry Seinfeld as the character, Jerry Seinfeld, probably changed the least throughout the years; and that was all right. The show was created as his vehicle, so all he had to do was be himself. The writing and producing centered on his style of comedy and delivery. Unfortunately, Seinfeld the comedian was no actor, and it showed. Though, of course, he had excellent timing, he had terrible skills when it came to performing in a sitcom structure. He blatantly ignored the precept that an actor never drops out of character. How many times did we see him laughing at a punch line from one of the other actors (usually Richards)?! He was doing it in season one and he was doing it in season nine.

What can be said about Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes other than, Perfection!”? Right out of the gate, there was something special about Elaine. An alluring, petite brunette, she was still “one of the boys.” That was probably her best quality; there was nothing “girlie” about Elaine. Talking about “shrinkage” with her was fine because, hey, she was one of them. Look at her signature “Get out of here!” and shove. Was it not terrific to see her drop “Bizarro Kramer” with that shove in the Bizarro Jerry episode in season eight?

Finally, Jason Alexander created one of the most pitiful representations of humanity ever seen on the small screen. Often returning to live with his outrageously eccentric and often obnoxious parents, he epitomizes “loser;” and the best part is that George knows and acknowledges it. A whiny and duplicitous sidekick to Jerry, George carries a black cloud over himself that is almost tangible. His motivations are always self-serving and often sordid. George just has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. How sublime!!!

Seinfeld thrived for nine seasons, quite a coup considering the average longevity for a sitcom is probably half that. The show would have continued, had Jerry Seinfeld not decided to pull the plug when he did. This “show about nothing” was something to the American TV-viewing public. As unique, quirky and rule-breaking as it was, its top-quality writing and a tremendous cast of characters played by terrific performers sky-rocketed the show to the top of the charts where it remained for many a year. It just goes to show you that “different” can be good – no, great!


References

Former ‘Seinfeld’ writers win film prize: ‘Live Free or Die’ is quirky comedy set in New Hampshire [Newsgroup message]. (2006, March 16). Retrieved September 8, 2010 from Associated Press: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/11861336