Seinfeld

We were talking at lunch today about the influence this show has had on our society, how often it is referenced in everyday conversation. Yada-yada, low- and high-talkers, even close talkers. There was the Soup Nazi -- "No soup for you!" There's "re-gifter," "mimbo," and "man-hands." Wikipedia says that "the Seinfeld community can draw upon a whole lexicon of Seinfeldian code words and recurring phrases."

There are so many times that everyday conversation reminds me of an episode or a character or a situation from the show. I'm not sure I really understand exactly what the appeal of the show is for me, actually. It's not that I have a single thing in common with any of the characters, or can actually relate to them in any way. Also, it's not like any of the characters are one bit admirable. It's funny, too, because usually I don't enjoy sitcoms; there isn't one single sitcom that I regularly watch this season, or for the last decade of seasons, actually. I just really enjoyed this one, and still do; it seems that the more often I watch it, the more I laugh. Sometimes when I'm doing mindless chores, I put it on in the background, and I even enjoy it that way. I know it so well I don't have to really pay attention, but I always know the great lines coming up, and I'll stop and watch them.

One appeal the show had for me, when I stop to think about it (as I'm doing now), is the continuity of storylines within shows and between shows throughout the seasons. Often characters or situations from past episodes are referenced, and you must know the connection to fully enjoy the joke. That might be why watching it over and over again continues to appeal, because I am reminded of those connections. Sometimes I'm surprised by how many of these little seemingly unrelated "in jokes" are included in a single episode. I think this is why, too, people who try to pick up a random episode here and there will often say, "I don't get it." They mean, of course, that it doesn't seem funny to them, or they don't understand why the show was so popular. It might be one of those "you had to be there" things. Often, individual situations are admittedly not funny. When Newman appears at Jerry's door, you know way before he says it that Jerry's reaction is going to be to spit out the words "Hello, Newman!" as though they have a particularly disgusting taste in his mouth. Elaine says, "GET OUT!" in response to great news, as she knocks the person delivering the news to the floor. On their own, these things would not be funny; it's the whole history of the relationships and behaviors that somehow makes it so.

When the finale aired in 1998, there was lots of discussion that it couldn't possibly live up to the hype that preceded it. I remember people talking about being disappointed by the finale. But whenever I watch the final episodes in reruns, I find them quite satisfying; it does in two shows what all the previous seasons did, but in a concentrated format. It brings back many, many of the characters and brings to mind all of the situations they were involved in. You just have to laugh. At least I do.