I like Seinfeld. The show, not the person. I feel that's an important distinction to make. My parents lived in New York in the 90's and would watch the show as it aired. Growing up they would play reruns constantly, and my sense of humor was irrevocably damaged as a result.
My feelings towards the show have transcended "love" and "hate". Nearly every episode both has a moment that makes (or has made) me cry laughing and a moment to remind me that it was made in the 90s. These are not my favorite episodes, they are just the ones I think about a lot.
S5 E7 The Non-Fat Yogurt (1993)
I remember watching this when I was little and being very confused about the comments about Jerry and Elaine gaining weight. I thought they both looked completely normal. Elaine gains five pounds and it's played as if she became some undateable monster.
This episode also has an appearance from Rudy Giuliani! Back when he was normal(?) and not the C-tier cartoon supervillain he has morphed into in recent years.
Kramer also dates a lab tech and wonders if frozen yogurt changes it's chemical makeup when it melts. His mind is so empty I love him.
S5 E14 The Marine Biologist (1993)
It's very endearing to me that George constantly refers to whales as
fish. Through the entire episode. He poses as a Marine Biologist to woo a woman and spews nonsense sentences with works like "plankton", "kelp", "algae". It's so stupid I find it charming. I do, unfortunately, think this would work on me. Jerry loses his favorite shirt to the wash and is given another stark reminder that all we love in this world will weather to dust. Kramer hits golf balls into the ocean.
S6 E12 The Label Maker (1995)
A lot to think about here. Kramer and Newman playing risk reminds me of a running camp I went to in High School where all the boys played a game of risk over the entire week long camp. It was extremely high stakes, there were a lot of arguments, and more than one friendship did not survive the crucible of global conflict simulated by the board game. I don't know who won or if there was a conclusion to the game beyond the camp ending and everyone going back home. I've seen physical fights that were less intense than that game of risk.
Kramer's game of risk ends on the subway when an older Ukrainian man smashes the game after hearing Kramer refer to Ukraine as "weak". It's weird to hear people refer to Ukraine as "The Ukraine", but the USSR had just fallen so I guess it was new to everyone.
Also in this episode is a plot about re-gifting that I love. Jerry gets a label maker from Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston!!!) and learns that the label maker was initially a gift from Elaine. Personally I think re-gifting is fine under specific circumstances. If someone I know handcrafts something for me I will never give it away and cherish it forever, but I think mass market products are fair game to re-gift (but not back to that same person!!!).
Jerry also tries to "un-gift" a set of super bowl tickets, which I always thought was insane. Gifts are not something to give and take at a whim, I believe Jerry is being unreasonable.
S9 E2 The Voice (1997)
Part 2 of a subplot where George pretends to be handicapped because the company that hired him is nice to him (it's actually more insane than that but lets not worry about it now). I actually only think about it because of George's private "handicapped" bathroom at the company.
 |
| awful netflix screen grab im sorry |
It's just so beautiful, the golf clubs, the flowers, radio, magazines. What are you doing with all this George? It's a bathroom.
The rest of this episode is a plot about another woman being humiliated by Jerry for no reason other than his own petty childishness and Kramer committing fraud.
That's it for now, I would 100% recommend you watch Seinfeld if you haven't. The humor in it holds up (*for cis-straight-white people disclaimer) and it has that 90's listlessness that I find somewhat cozy in 2026. There is really nothing happening in these characters minds. They are simple people doing silly things and getting into trouble for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment