It feels like Seinfeld was a demarcation point in time, where a flag was planted and people said "this show has permanently elevated sitcoms from here on out." I'm 40 years old and I just can't imagine wanting to sit down and watch episodes of Cheers or some other 80's sitcom.
Cheers was a staple show in my house while growing up. I actually watched about a third of the episodes in order not too long ago. I was a nice walk down memory lane but also a good contrast to see how much the sitcom has evolved since then. Seinfeld is definitely an inflection point in breaking the mold of what is considered funny. Full disclosure, one of my fantasy football teams usually has a Seinfeld-themed name. This year it's Team Beef-a-Reeno. Others in the past have been Marissa Tomei Fan Club, Vandelay Industries, Sponge-Worthy, etc
Never was there a more appropriate ending to a series, yet it completely caught me by surprise since I had learned to accept their behavior as some kind of normal. Kinda like the last 6 years and trump.
As an under-35 Seinfeld watcher, the appeal to me is both nostalgia and decompression. My earliest TV memory was watching the final with my parents. I also regularly watched the show in syndication growing up (same goes with my little brother who is only 21). It remains my go to had a bad day at work need something to cheer myself up show. As for those under 35 who didn’t watch it in syndication and are watching it for the first time on Netflix, anecdotally, I know people who watched it for the first time to understand the memes better. Seinfeld is just one of those shows that memes well, so it stays part of the internet conversation even though it’s old. It’s like the sopranos or breaking bad which also have meme-staying power.
I get Hallmark through my cable company ( I have an actual a la carte plan...where I got to pick 15 channels plus I get all the major networks and it dropped the price significantly and I don't have to worry about the other thousand I never watched...lol)
I never got into Seinfeld..maybe because they never saw it when it was on?
This was a great and interesting episode on the psyche of viewership. We like to decompress after watching a drama show. So we usually pick something like Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, etc. - the list goes on. I wonder what age group is like this, I'm not sure I caught that.
I think the decompression is something across all ages, but more in the 35-and-up set. Or maybe I just think that because that's how I watch the sitcoms and which age group I fall into.
I could never get around the fact that they were self centered, self absorbed people, so I didn't like them...lol..( though I get it was satire, I just never find content that praises or amplifies our worst behaviors entertaining).
I love Seinfeld's stand-up material, so I could never understand why I wasn't particularly into the show. Maybe it's because I was too slow to catch on to the "self-centered, self-absorbed" angle. They all just seemed like typical New Yorkers to me, no different than anyone else and, hence, in a show about nothing, I didn't find much of it especially funny. Except for the whole Festivus thing, the Airing of Grievances, etc. That cracked me up. Maybe I should start fresh at the beginning and give it another try.
In a way it's classic anitheroism. They're terrible people but we root for them anyway because, deep down, there is a little bit of awfulness in most of us that are willing to admit it. Seinfeld was just ground-breaking because it was done in a comic setting. When describing "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" to non-viewers I say, "It's kinda like Seinfeld but the characters are actually
It feels like Seinfeld was a demarcation point in time, where a flag was planted and people said "this show has permanently elevated sitcoms from here on out." I'm 40 years old and I just can't imagine wanting to sit down and watch episodes of Cheers or some other 80's sitcom.
Cheers was a staple show in my house while growing up. I actually watched about a third of the episodes in order not too long ago. I was a nice walk down memory lane but also a good contrast to see how much the sitcom has evolved since then. Seinfeld is definitely an inflection point in breaking the mold of what is considered funny. Full disclosure, one of my fantasy football teams usually has a Seinfeld-themed name. This year it's Team Beef-a-Reeno. Others in the past have been Marissa Tomei Fan Club, Vandelay Industries, Sponge-Worthy, etc
Never was there a more appropriate ending to a series, yet it completely caught me by surprise since I had learned to accept their behavior as some kind of normal. Kinda like the last 6 years and trump.
Awesome awesome conversation
As an under-35 Seinfeld watcher, the appeal to me is both nostalgia and decompression. My earliest TV memory was watching the final with my parents. I also regularly watched the show in syndication growing up (same goes with my little brother who is only 21). It remains my go to had a bad day at work need something to cheer myself up show. As for those under 35 who didn’t watch it in syndication and are watching it for the first time on Netflix, anecdotally, I know people who watched it for the first time to understand the memes better. Seinfeld is just one of those shows that memes well, so it stays part of the internet conversation even though it’s old. It’s like the sopranos or breaking bad which also have meme-staying power.
Ok, what specifically is a "vertical"?
I get Hallmark through my cable company ( I have an actual a la carte plan...where I got to pick 15 channels plus I get all the major networks and it dropped the price significantly and I don't have to worry about the other thousand I never watched...lol)
I never got into Seinfeld..maybe because they never saw it when it was on?
Basically: If you go to a streaming app, it's one of the things they highlight. So, like, Disney+ has a Pixar vertical, a Star Wars vertical, etc.
AH..thanks...
This was a great and interesting episode on the psyche of viewership. We like to decompress after watching a drama show. So we usually pick something like Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, etc. - the list goes on. I wonder what age group is like this, I'm not sure I caught that.
I think the decompression is something across all ages, but more in the 35-and-up set. Or maybe I just think that because that's how I watch the sitcoms and which age group I fall into.
I never watched Seinfeld--it was a show about nothing.
I could never get around the fact that they were self centered, self absorbed people, so I didn't like them...lol..( though I get it was satire, I just never find content that praises or amplifies our worst behaviors entertaining).
I love Seinfeld's stand-up material, so I could never understand why I wasn't particularly into the show. Maybe it's because I was too slow to catch on to the "self-centered, self-absorbed" angle. They all just seemed like typical New Yorkers to me, no different than anyone else and, hence, in a show about nothing, I didn't find much of it especially funny. Except for the whole Festivus thing, the Airing of Grievances, etc. That cracked me up. Maybe I should start fresh at the beginning and give it another try.
Maybe you should ...it might make a difference
This is understandable, though some of us can certainly relate to that mindset.
In a way it's classic anitheroism. They're terrible people but we root for them anyway because, deep down, there is a little bit of awfulness in most of us that are willing to admit it. Seinfeld was just ground-breaking because it was done in a comic setting. When describing "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" to non-viewers I say, "It's kinda like Seinfeld but the characters are actually
even worse human beings." It works.