Seinfeld(NBC, 1989-1998)

Comedy“Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.”—Horace Walpoole (18th Century)

Comedy as a tale that ends happily.

Comedy as a means for producing laughter.

The ambiguous nature of comedy (comedy as enantiodromia).

Theories of comedy.

Comedy as a weapon.

The SitcomA comedic television genre (originating in radio), ordinarily 30 minutes in length, in which a group of characters, related by family, a workplace, or as friends, exhibiting little or no development as individuals, encounters and seeks to resolve on a weekly basis a situation (or situations) in which they find themselves embroiled. Sitcoms on American television are often accompanied by laugh tracks.

Seinfeld and the Sitcom

•Originally rejected by NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff as “too New York, too Jewish”

•A show about nothing

•Sought to always override normal sitcom conventions

•Governed by the motto: “no hugging, no learning”

“Seinfeld was not really about how evil humanity is, though it's about that to some extent. The show is really about the joy of charting, in exquisite, unrelenting, almost celebratory detail, the infinitely variegated human interactions that, closely watched, will ultimately tell the story of the disintegration of our species.”--Bill Wyman, Salon.com

“What relief to encounter comedy which does not mistake itself for anything else. Its characters are free to start from zero each time, free to indulge the marvelous shallowness which is the privilege of the creatures of farce. Nothing counts here, nothing has consequences: as one of the show’s writers (Larry Charles in Entertainment Weekly) has observed, the crucial guideline is that the characters do not learn from experience and never move beyond what they intrinsically and eternally are.”--Geoffrey O’Brien, “The Republic of Seinfeld”

The Creators: Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld

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Kramer, Elaine, George, Jerry

Kramer, George, Elaine, and Jerry

George, Jerry, Kramer, Elaine

Jerry Seinfeld

George Costanza

Elaine Benes

Cosmo Kramer (“Hipster Doofus”)

Unforgettable Minor Characters

The Soup Nazi

Unforgettable Minor Characters

•Kenny Bania•Babu Bhatt•Lt. Bookman•The Bubble Boy•Jackie Chiles•Estelle Costanza•Frank Costanza•Crazy Joe Davola•Jack Klompus•The Maestro•Sue Ellen Mischke

•Newman•J. Peterman•Mr. Pitt•Poppi•David Putty•The Soup Nazi•Stan the Caddy•Uncle Leo•Dr. Tim Whatley

Some Seinfeldisms•Anti-Dentite•Baldist•Bizarro•BBO•Bombable•Break-up by Association•Bro•Bump Into•Call Waiting Face-Off•Cell-Phone Walk and Talk•Changing Teams•Close Talker•Consolation Guy•Dating Decathlon•Degifting•Double Dipper

Some Seinfeldisms•Excuse Rolodex•Festivus•Hand•High Talker•Home Bed Advantage•“Hoochie Mama:” •I love you Return •“It’s Not You, It’s Me”•Kiss Hello•Long Talker•Low Talker•Make-Up Sex•Mansierre•Master of My Domain•Mimbo

Some Seinfeldisms•Nonvite•Pop-In•Regifting•Sentence Finisher•“Serenity Now”•Schmoopy•Shiksappeal•Shrinkage Factor•Shusher/Shushee•Spongeworthy•Spare a Square•Tap, The•Undateable•Unshushables•Unvitation•Yada, Yada, Yada•“You’re so Good Looking”

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

B.O.: abbr., Body Odor. As a compound word, B.O. refers to the unpleasant odor emitted by a human body. The components can be referred to as separate entities, however - as the Body and the Odor, thus allowing for examination of the odor outside of its bodily context, for example: “when somebody has B.O., the "O" usually stays with the "B". Once the "B" leaves, the "O" goes with it.” (The Smelly Car)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Break-up by Association: the assumed dissociation of mutual friends brought forth by the end of a romantic relationship. Thus, if lover A initiates a break-up with lover B, the friends of lover A are automatically subject to a break-up of their friendship with lover B. (The Deal)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Bro: An undergarment designed to support the weight of adipose tissue in the male breast, a symptom of obesity or gerontological processes. Also known as Mansierre. (The Doorman)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Double Dipper: An inconsiderate slob. An incogitant unsanitarian. One who contaminates a shared supply of chip-dip, via the following process: (1) the chip is dipped into the chip-dip. (2) the dipped portion of the chip is consumed; (3) the remaining portion is, possibly, polluted by the saliva and other oral slimes of the chip-dipper; (4) The now-contaminated portion of the chip is then redipped, causing a transference of contaminants into the chip-dip. (The Implant)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

“It’s Not You, It’s Me” Routine: A generic script for ending a romantic relationship, which is intended to be as minimally offensive as possible. (The Lip Reader)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Shrinkage Factor: The phenomenon by which the size of the male genitalia decreases upon prolonged exposure to cold water. An inaccurate appraisal of the affected organ results, when the observer is a female who is unaware of the shrinkage factor. (The Hamptons)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Spongeworthy: A male of a sexual caliber that merits the use of a contraceptive device (sponge), that is of a rare and limited supply. (The Sponge)

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Yada, Yada, Yada: equivalent to, “and so on,” “etc., etc.,” “blah, blah, blah,” but used in a molested context, in which the abbreviated meaning cannot be clearly implied. For example: “I apologize for being late. I was in an accident, almost died, yada, yada, yada.” The listener is left, usually, with a sense of confusion, curiosity, and dissatisfaction. (The Yada Yada)

“No Exit: The Seinfeld Finale

David Lavery and Sara Lewis Dunne (Middle Tennessee State University), Preface. "Part of Popular Culture": The Legacy of Seinfeld [1]“Giddy-Up!”: IntroductoryAlbert Auster (Fordham University): Much Ado About Nothing: Some Final Thoughts on Seinfeld [13]David Marc (Syracuse University): Seinfeld: A Show (Almost) About Nothing [23]Reflections on Seinfeld [28]Bill Wyman: Seinfeld [36]II. “Maybe the dingoes ate your baby”: Genre, Humor, IntertextualityMichael Dunne (Middle Tennessee State University): Seinfeld as Intertextual Comedy [49]Barbara Ching (University of Memphis): They Laughed Unhappily Ever After: Seinfeld, Situation Comedy, and the Encounter with Nothingness [58]Dennis Hall (University of Louisville): Jane Austen, Meet Jerry Seinfeld [70]Amy McWilliams (Texas A & M): Genre Expectation and Narrative Innovation in Seinfeld [77]

III. "If I like their race, how can that be racist?”: Gender, Generations, and EthnicityJoanna L. Di Mattia (Monash University): Male Anxiety and the Buddy System in Seinfeld [89]Matthew Bond: “Are they having babies just so people will visit them?”: Parents and Children on Seinfeld [108]Jon Stratton (Curtin University of Technology): Seinfeld is a Jewish Sitcom, Isn’t It: Ethnicity and Assimilation on 1990s American Television [117]IV. “It is so sad, all your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons”: Cultural, Pop Cultural, and Media MattersGeoffrey O’Brien: The Republic of Seinfeld [139]Sara Lewis Dunne (Middle Tennessee State University): Seinfood: Purity, Danger, and Food Codes on Seinfeld [148]Eleanor Hersey (Fresno Pacific University): "It’ll Always Be Burma to Me": J. Peterman on Seinfeld [159]Elke van Cassel (Radboud University Nijmegen): Getting the Joke: Seinfeld from a European Perspective [169]

Michael Epstein (Southwestern University College of Law), Mark C. Rogers (Walsh University), and Jimmie L. Reeves (Texas Tech University): From Must See TV to Counter Programming: Seinfeld and Syndication [186]V. AfterwordDavid Lavery (Middle Tennessee State University) and Marc Leverette (Colorado State University): Re-Reading Seinfeld after Curb Your Enthusiasm [203]VI. “Get Out!”: Back PagesBetty Lee: Seinfeld Lexicon [223]Seinfeld Episode (and Situation) Guide (by David Lavery) [231]Seinfeld Intertexts and Allusions [255]

Seinfeld Afterlife

“But I don’t want to be a pirate!”: The Puffy Shirt

The Puffy Shirt in the SmithsonianSeinfeld Afterlife

It was recently announced that the Fab Four would reunite in Season Seven of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Seinfeld Afterlife