Seinfeld Boned the Fish When... [Archive] - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC

03-06-2014, 07:19 PM

https://web.archive.org/web/20070225141752/http://jumptheshark.com/

Other Thoughts:

The Master Of the Domain episode for setting the trend that every episode had to incorporate a buzz phrase.
George kills his fiancée with the envelopes. I admired the guts of it, but they've forgone funny in favor of bizarre.
WHEN THEY TRIED TO MAKE EVERY STORYLINE CONNECT, NO MATTER HOW ARTIFICIAL THE PREMISE.
I would peg it when George and Susan got together
When people started watching...It was brilliant when no one knew it was on.
I love Putty!
In the case of "Seinfeld", I must vote that this show NEVER jumped the shark. Case closed!
Sometime around '94-'95 it became verboten to not feature each character equally on every show. So we had four frantically plotted mini-shows competing for 22 minutes of air time. What a shame. But thank God for Frank Costanza.
First, when they applauded Kramer's entrance, but the producers were wise enough to realize this and halted it. Then when Larry David left -- notice how suddenly everything seemed so typically sitcom-ish, and the cast suddenly started over acting? It reminded me of the latter years of MASH. Everyone says Seinfeld ended at it's peak, but in reality, that would have been three years ago.
Seinfeld , although it's atmosphere and humor style changed when Larry David left , never got un-funny . It was classic to the end . Even when the show changed , it was still genius . And the unpopular last episode was hysterical . And the death of Susan was classic .
(the final show) It was just not funny. I think I'll watch some tapes from earlier seasons.
The season when Seinfeld stopped doing his standup at the show's intro.
you know why the last episode was when seinfeld
because it (the last episode)was something. i mean, sure, all the characters coming back to haunt them, that was all good. but the end had no gag, it wasn't funny. they were in jail. what kind of seinfeld spirit is that?
Was fantastic around the "writing a sitcom" era. Gradually declined from there, but was still very funny until Larry David left, then it just died. It's obvious now where the real laughs came from.
The show jumped when Elaine's hair changed from the classic, half up, four inch high poof on top. The day I clicked on Seinfeld and saw her with straight hair, I knew I'd never watch again.
When I realized that all the characters were total *******s.
The final episode...Twice the length! Half the laughs! (Not that there's anything *wrong* with that...)
Jumped the shark when susan died. Even though she herself sucked, it just seemed to happen around that time!
The reaction of everyone to her death was just so damn cold I could have seen George (and maybe Jerry reacting like that but I expected a little better out of Elaine and Kramer. It was a lame way to get George out of the marriage.
From the very start of the last episode, there wasn't a Seinfeld feeling to it. Still, I remained undaunted and kept watching. They jumped the shark though, when they were in Monk's deciding where to go on the NBC jet before George and Jerry go to L.A. When Jerry suggests Paris, Kramer does this deranged, tottaly mental impression of a French person talking. Not only was this incredibly stupid and not funny, GEORGE AND ELAINE LAUGHED!!! The other characters never laugh at Kramer's crazy antics, so why would they laugh at this one when they didn't laugh at hilarious ones? From then on I knew the end was near.
Thats easy..the final show! It would be very difficult to live up to all the hype for the last show anyway, then they tried to fit in an appearance by nearly everyone that was ever on the show.. plus try to come up with a plot line even more outrageous then their normally outrageous plot lines. They reached too high and failed.
This show never should have been on the air in the first place.
That last show sucked! I think they were trying to hard to make a great finale and ruined it.
Seinfeld jumped the shark when George's soon to be wife died from licking the envelopes for their wedding. It was never as funny after that.
This show lost a lot of its ability to be clever when they lost their head writer Larry David in the 7th season of the show. Afterwards, Seinfeld tried to finish up the series by creating predictable episodes. Although the show did see some substantial success, and Jerry made $98 million in the last 2 years, the substance of the show was not what it once was.
The show was awesome until the last show. It was crappy, I mean its the last show and all they show us are a bunch of damn clips?
The second Jerry Seinfeld appeared an the television. He is the one actor that I really can't stand.
The episode where Kramer rubs butter all over his body and then gets severely sunburned. Newman is so taken with his baked in buttery pal and actually tries to eat him. I felt like I was watching a Scooby Doo episode. Seinfeld jumped the Shark when the made Kramer a real character - instead of a quirky drop in - no real point, type of role.
Listen to this interpretation of the final episode of Seinfeld and then tell me the show jumped. They all die on the airplane and the whole court case is just them being judged between heaven and hell. The jail sentence obviously being hell. Dark humor, brilliant ending never jumped.
When the cast was on the cover of "Entertainment Weekly." Whenever a show gets 'hip,' it goes downhill.
I don't think that anybody, except those that watched Full House every week, can deny the brilliance of Seinfeld. Surely there were some bad episodes, even awful ones, but there was always that great Seinfeld edge that has never been, nor do I think will ever be, duplicated on television. But as hard as I may try to justify it, there is no doubt that the final episode was a complete let-down. And because that was the end of the Seinfeld era, most fans like myself feel that a piece is missing.
Jerry gets a contract to do a sitcom for NBC, creates the "show about nothing." The self-satirization was funny for a couple of minutes, but it dragged on through several episodes. The one joke stretched so long that it turned Seinfeld from "the show about nothing" to "the show with no jokes." Despite some funny seasons later on, this is the point where it ceased to be innovative or interesting.
When Kramer buttered himself up.
Few people remember that "Seinfeld" was originally NBC's reaction to (and knock-off of) Showtime's then-hot "It's Garry Shandling's Show", featuring another (superior?) stand-up comic as the lead..."Seinfeld" has a lot going for it: a fine creative team, a top-notch cast...but it is all negated by a huge gaping maw at the center: Jerry Seinfeld. Let's get it straight, folks: he's not an actor, he never was, he never will be, and he deserves to be an object of parody and scorn (as he was, brilliantly, in some sketches with Tom Hanks and cast members of Saturday Night Live in the '80's), and he certainly does not deserve a multi-million dollar (I'm sure) American Express Card contract.
When George turned from whiny and insecure George to angry, screaming George. Every episode there after, George's character was very unfunny and annoying.
The entire last season sucked!
Why couldn't the second last show have been the finale????
Seinfeld was a great show but, i noticed a downhill slide when the pudgy postman freind of kramers we all know him as newman started making fewer apperances on the show. maybe it was because of his roll on third rock or maybe there were other problems but every time he came on it was hilarious like the jfk's golf club episode and the hatred between him and jerry always made for great laughs, newman making fewer apperiances skrewed the show.
The second to last season was seeming forced but still delivered. The last season was, with very few exceptions, a suckfest. The last episode must never be shown again!!!
This show never jumped! Sure, the last episode was bad, but what did you expect? You can't close a truly genius show like Seinfeld. This show was the Master of their domain. Serenity NOW! Frank Costanza's quote "Then who's having sex with the chicken?" The best Jerry-the best!
Seinfeld never jumped the shark! Even the last episode was extremely funny! What a brilliant way to bring back all of our favorite characters. And going to jail? A level of self-awareness perhaps not previously attained by TV? And one of the funniest moments is still the last one -- with Jerry doing stand-up in jail and Kramer is the only one cracking up -- I LOVE IT!!!!
"The Contest". When Elaine gave up... I miss that show...
NEVER, NEVER JUMPED. This show always took some mundane stuff and really ran with it. Jerry even closed with a winner. If all shows were as consistent with their concept none would jump.
Show never jumped it was all the smaller chatacters that made the show like the Frank Costanza, Putty, and Newman. And Kramer drinking the sour milk was a classic!!!!
CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! They knew they were ending it for 4 months and this is the best they could do? What a bunch of garbage. The absolute lousiest finale in TV history. Jerry and the gang better come back sometime next year and make it up to all of us. The retrospective was great, but the rest was ****!
I know a whole lot of you may hate me for saying this, but I actually think that Seinfeld got better as time went on, and all the best episodes were in the last few seasons. Sure, the final episode wasn't great, but it was still better than most of the other crap that passes as legitimate TV these days (case in point: That 70's Show). I've decided that my most favorite episode of all time is the one where George and Jerry end up trapped in a limo with Nazis. That was brilliant.
This show never really jumped the shark-Elaine did when she jumped Putty, the worse character ever introduced to TV.
The show they ran backwards. What was that all about ? God awful.
The Contest. While this was a great episode, once it aired, the show was never the same. The characters got wackier, and the show "about nothing" started having really wacky plots, everything from developing the pilot, to George working for the Yankees, to that final mistake of an episode. Jerry and the writers started going overboard to show how witty and innovative they felt they were. Bad idea. It really is a They Did It episode.
When George proposed to Susan. That's really when the show fell off precipitously. Either that, or when every stinking person in the country who didn't watch the show when it wasn't on Thursday night started watching it and talking about it. Pre-ratings monster "Seinfeld" was like having your own secret treasure. Then, it gets spoiled when everyone finds out about it and wants a piece of that treasure. The bandwagon effect has hurt a lot of programs like that. Current example: "Everybody Loves Raymond".
The only thing I found hilarious in the series finale was when the infamous Soup Nazi walked into the court room. Other than that, all that brilliant writing and acting went completely to waste. In short, what a downer!
Just before the finale, which totally sucked.
This show never jumped shark. yes there were plenty of really bad ones in there, but as a huge fan, give me a break...what show doesnt have a flop once in a while? as for the final episode, i thought it was great!! they all got what was coming to them after the crap they put everyone through all these years. who would have suspected they would actually go to jail!!!!! it was great!!!!! and it also left an opening for a reunion show if they ever wanted to get back together. (for all you fans out there you should understand my use of explanation points!)
This show jumped the shark with Susan's death. There are so many funnier ways they could have written her out. Then, Larry David left and the last couple of seasons became a pointless waste of time. What's so funny about George or Elaine or Kramer falling down?
Never Jumped--When Kramer & Newman lusted for Kenny Roger's Roasters I laughed until gravy spilled from my insides.
When they killed the Susan character. All of sudden the show went from chronicalling the non-adventures of four idiosyncratic people trying to figure out the rules of life as they went along, to a show about four strange and often mean people trying to get in strange situations or do strange things. I missed the charm. It never returned.
Seinfeld was a terrific show pretty much throughout its entire run. However, one true jump the shark moment was when Kramer's buddy the midget would show up. The midget, or dwarf, or whatever, was spectacularly unfunny. I really don't know what the producers were thinking inserting him in like that. The joke, obviously, was that no one ever commented on the fact that he was minature. Like when he and Kramer are dressed in the same shirts, are on a double date together, etc. Whenver that little guy showed up, you generally knew that the show was going to suck.
"Seinfeld" jumped the shark when Kramer burned a Puerto Rican flag. Fortunately the show had a nice long approach before hitting the take off ramp. Unfortunately, it crashed and burned on the landing ramp. It's too bad that one of the best shows ever had to die such a gruesome death.
The cockfighting episode. The writers must have been so proud to come up with the idea of naming the bird (wink-wink) "Little Jerry," that they didn't bother trying to write for the characters. And none of the cast must have cared at that point. Everyone was so out of character in that episode- it must have been a script Larry David left behind as a practical joke.
Also, I agree w/previous comment re having to tie up all of the plot lines. Stupid move. Re previous comment concerning "Elaine's" hair: I think she looks much hotter with straight hair. Dreyfus very underrated comedian, too. I put her talent as almost equal to Lucy. Also, they won't air the Puerto Rican parade/flag burning episode here in NY. Ridiculous. No one has a sense of humour anymore.
It jumped when George became the "jerk store's" all-time best seller. "GIDDY-UP!!!"
Elaine is not a lesbian. So why do they say she had a dream about a sexual encounter with an Asian woman? Plus, the entire "Cat Fight" episode was pure bunk. Elaine is not going to screw that wacko! Come on Kramer! That's not your style. This is just another example of "sex sells" from the Hollywood F*** Factory. This crap is getting widespread - movies, TV - straight women do not have sex with other women. Get over it!
The rare and wise decision to quit while you're ahead and on top. Though the last episode disappointed, the show sizzled until it's unnatural, sudden, and painless death.
Seinfeld is the first sitcom that did not have a formula. Television shows such as Seinfeld can stay on the air as long as they want to. It brought something fresh with characters like Kramer, Cedric And Bob, Poppie, Uncle Leo, Jack Clompus, Frank Costanza, Izzy Mandlebaum, Newman, Jackie Chiles, Sidra, Banya, The Soup Nazi, Lily (God Rest Her Soul), The Bubble Boy, Susan's Gay Father, Mr. Dowlripple, Peterman, Putty, George Steinbrenner, Those Bastards from the Astros, Jean-Paul Jean-Paul, Lomez, Bob Sackamano, Kenny Rogers, Jon Voight, Lippman, Marla the Virgin, Oh yeah, Jerry, George, and Elaine. Giddy-Up
I can't believe someone else also said it was when Elaine straightened her hair because that's when I soured on "Seinfeld" as well. As soon as her "do" became glamorous, it was a constant reminder that the members of the cast were major celebrities, and I think that this detracted from their characters' quirkiness. I've also wondered if Ms. Louis Dreyfuss also had a little plastic surgery on her chin around that time, too, because her face changed as well, and I've never been convinced that it was either the hairdo or weight loss.
Dreyfuss is much hotter with straight hair. Her do has nothing to do with the show's quality-- that's an NYC girl thing.. I've dated tons of NYC women and few would spend less than $100 on their do's.
As soon as David left the show, the writing took on a feel of "trying too hard". The character of Elaine deteriorated quickly to a bitch, conniving, one-dimensional bitch. The humanity of the characters was sacrificed for comedic invention, which proved not to be so inventive.
This show DEFINITELY jumped for the last time (although it had done so previously as well) when George's fiancee died (how morbid to die because of a lame cheap wedding invitation). That episode was so disturbing and NOT FUNNY, that it made me sick!!
It wasn't Susan's death per se that did it. It was their reaction--or non-reaction--to it. You always knew they were somewhat self-absorbed, but that was the first time I really disliked them.
I was a huge Seinfeld fan the entire length of it's run. It was without any doubt the best show to air in my lifetime. No other show has ever become so ingrained in the American conscience. Just about every show was outstanding. Sure there were some that were not as good as the best. Of course when you set the bar so high, if you don't get close to clearing it next time it may look like you did a bad show. My question to all those who think it jumped is "What show passed it up as far as quality?" Just about every show on t.v. is crap now. For all of those people who are complaining how the show jumped the shark years ago or the last episode stunk, I hope you are enjoying all that fantastic comedy on UPN or Suddenly Susan or any of the other crappy sitcoms that stink up the airwaves.
Even if the last season sucked, Kramer, Elaine, George, and Jerry were still very interesting characters. The finale was very stupid though. They should have made it a regular half hour episode. That sounds more like the Seinfeld spirit. The finale was very weak. It felt like I was watching an episode of Friends. Yes it was that bad. But how can a show jump after the finale? It can't go downhill because it's going off!
Seinfeld was a fantastic show. There probably never will be a show that matches the same level of innovation when it comes to the sitcom. Having said that shooting stars usually come and go quickly - Seinfeld hung around for way too long. Remember at the end of the 5th Season - The episode where George decided to do the opposite of everything his instincts and upbringing tell him to do, he suddenly becomes confident, successful and happy. It was brilliant - one of the series best episodes. It would have made a fantastic finale because everything since has been a downhill slide. Season 6 was only redeemed by a champion effort towards the end with those Threesome episodes and The Jimmy. Season Seven was well focused with Georges wedding being the theme but the episodes were overloaded and the finale with Susan's death seems like Larry David giving the finger to the show which made him rich. David had always said that he only ever wanted to do the show for 5 years... it shows.
VERDICT 1st 5 seasons - excellent
Last 4 seasons - Jumped the Shark
Oh and the Final episode absolutely sucks! And I've been a fan since the beginning!!!
I'm sorry--"Seinfeld" was an absolutely amazing show, true, but something did go inexplicably wrong when Elaine's hair changed. She got all glamorous and snotty and around the same time George started yelling all the time. Definitely Elaine's hair.
I couldn't even tell you why this show jumped the shark, but it did. It went from the most interesting and hilarious show on the air to the most formulaic malaise over the course of maybe two seasons. I think it just became inconsistent and predictable, perhaps because the writers were becoming bored, perhaps due to the overwhelming fame that the actors enjoyed in its later years. At any rate, this show stands as one of the greatest shows ever produced in the history of television.
Although the final episode sucked, every show up to that point was amazing. I can't understand how people think that as the characters got more selfish and mean as the series went on, especially George, that that made the show worse. Seinfeld was not a show about nothing, it was a show about life in New York City and NYC is NOT a nice place. I don't think anyone who hasn't lived in NYC for a period of time can ever fully appreciate Seinfeld. George got noticeably more deviant and perverted as the show went on and I found myself cheering him on, hoping he'd sink to new levels of depravity. The episode when he was trying to eat and watch t.v. while in bed having sex was genius. I think it fit his character too. A meek, fat, balding, middle aged man is only going to stay meek for so long until he turns bitter. The way he treated women like objects was his revenge for being rejected his whole life because of HIS looks. Susans death was perfection. If the characters HAD felt any sympathy for her it would've been, well, out of character. All the uproar over Kramer burning a Puerto Rican flag was ridiculous. It was painfully obvious that the fire started by accident, AND he got beat up by a mob for doing so anyway, so the act did not go unpunished. Again, if you've never been stuck in the middle f one of those parades, you could never fully understand that episode. I would've voted for "never jumped" because as lame as the finale was, a show as great as Seinfeld deserves a little slack. But that horrible Green Day song at the end of the retrospective made want to puke. It jumped right when that song started.
I peg it at Susan dying. This was the end of Season 8 , and it ran for 10 seasons. It's not necessarily because they killed her -- it's just that when Season 9 started, it seemed like they ran out of laughs. Like they were bored or something.
when they stopped being loud and jewish. Is that when larry david left? why didn't they ever do a show where someone farted in a lift?
The only shark jump I can recall is the season 9 opener where Jerry's engagement was blown off in the first 5 minutes. I thought it would have been interesting to see Jerry trying to get out of the engagement as George had throughout season 8. Someone above interpreted the final episode as judgement day, heaven or hell. That's the most sensible explanation of the episode I've ever heard.
when Susan died after licking the poison envelopes.
The episode about "shrinkage" was my absolute favorite. Also the collage of episodes before the finale was great. It was better than the last episode.
It Jumped when they tried to pass off the actress who played George's fiance as a WASPY, old money, Upper East Sider. I don't know her name, but I will bet you the deed to my house that she is Jewish. That was about as believeable as the string of George's supermodel girlfriends. Also, if you have never lived in NYC, I can understand why this show might suck now and then. But, compared to what's on now, it was a fabulous run. Also, if you live in NYC, you already know that Elaine's hair style change inevitable.
I think Seinfeld jumped around the '96 season when Elaine changed her hair and that seemed to coincide with her changing into an evil satanic bitch. Who's idea was that? I know the show was about nothing and the characters were supposed to be uncaring and cold-hearted but I think they took it way too far in the last two or three seasons. I remember Seinfeld saying he would stop doing the show after about five seasons. And that's just about the time it went bad, about the fifth or sixth season. He should have listened to himself.
When Weird Al Yankovic was on in like the 5th season as newman's partner or something like that. Weird Al is hilarious, but he didn't fit the show at all. Other than that, I loved the show, I wish it could have gone on for a 7th season.
OH MY GOD! ELAINE'S HAIR! I can't believe I found people who share my theory. The show just changed from that point on, it went to a brilliant show to a pretty good show. It never jumped and to think so, you'd have to be an ANTI-SEMITE. I'm just kidding. Elaine's hair. Who care if she looked hotter, it changed her whole image? But Seinfeld still is the best right behind the Simpsons.
The show never peaked, proof of this is no won can agreee when it happened there is a bunch of suggestions but none of them are true the show stayed constant.
OK, the show had better seasons and worse ones, and a couple eps were just annoying. (Say, the one where the two women refuse to break up with George. JUST STOP CALLING THEM, IMBECILE!) But overall it was consistently funny and entertaining. And they get bonus points for never EVER succumbing to the Very Special Episode, or the current Topical Meaningful Issue of the month. Is it just me, or does it seem the Ghost of the ABC After School Special haunts the airwaves, and is occasionally 'channelled' into a still-living show?
Never jumped! Had to watch it every week. Great character driven show!
This Show never jumped the shark, it was always funny.
The Final Episode. I'm not sure if anyone else read any of those "decoy" scripts circulated on the web and in magazines shortly before the final episode aired. I read about 4 or 5 of them. They were all better than this disappointing final episode to (probably) the best sitcom of the last twenty years. C'mon Jerry. Say it ain't so.
Oy, what a godawful show. All I heard for years and years was how super and wonderful and innovative and blah blah blah this show was, and every time I tried to watch it, it was utter crap. I was so glad when this show ended. I did watch the final episode, and it confirmed all my beliefs once and for all.
Seinfeld started doing pre-jump test runs around the time of Susan's death, when the characters began morphing from amusingly self-absorbed to dislikeably mean-spirited, and George had to be always laugh-at instead of occasionally laugh-with ("what kind of hello do you expect at a funeral? `hey, you look fabulous!'?") But there were still many funny episodes afterward, even if the batting average dropped a bit. And yes, the abysmal final episode saw the show lifting off from the ramp, but by definition you're not going downhill if there's nothing afterward. All in all, one of the best ever and belongs in the "never jumped" list.
When Susan died from licking envelopes. Talk about your deus ex machina. The method they chose to kill her off reeks of desperation. It bothered me because it was a cop out, not because it was implausible. Because let me tell you, I licked an envelope 4 hours ago and I still can't feel the end of my tongue.
Seinfeld became more tasteless and cruel (and less funny and artful) about halfway into the series, when director Tom Cherones left (he went on to direct Newsradio) and Andy Ackerman took the helm.
When Kramer's first name is revealed to be "Cosmo". After building anticipation for a few episodes, the writers were apparently setting us up for something hilarious. However, "Cosmo", as a "funny name" is usually used by nasal-voiced, pubescent nerds(think of Homer Simpson's college roommates); and its selection for Kramer's first name helped to destroy the illusion of this hipper-than-thou downtown Noo Yawk show.
Hands down, it was when Larry David left the show. I knew it would happen when I heard it was his last season. Jerry can write stand up, but he isn't the master of his domain when it comes to sitcoms. They just got stupid & trite. You never felt like kind of an insider when you watched after Larry David's departure. His writing gave it that sort of insiderness.
Jerry Seinfeld was a cheesy, unfunny stand up comic in comedy clubs, and he was a cheesy, unfunny stand up comic on TV. He was a parody of himself. He's like the kid that was never funny growing up, so he memorized a bunch of lame jokes and expressions and has been trying to convince the world he's funny. He's also a pervert, going out with that 16 year old. Send him to France with Jerry Lewis!
This show's creative peak was just before George's engagement to Susan. Seinfeld had a few more brilliantly hilarious episodes. Then George became less a lovable eccentric and more overtly psychotic. Towards the end, he was kissing a pillow while fantasizing it was Marissa Tomei, for goodness sake! Jerry and Kramer were grave robbing pet cemetaries, unable to find a 24 hr. locksmith in the heart of Manhattan. The actual JTS episode occurred with the very unfunny death of Susan. Aside from being very flat and humorless, it was a cheat by the writers. As a viewer, I felt ripped off that George would not find some wacky excuse to leave Susan at the altar, or before that. Why else watch him squirm for a whole season within that relationship? That episode destroyed what little suspension of disbelief I had left for the show. I went from a habitual watcher to an occasional viewer. It was disappointing after that episode.
Seinfeld stopped being funny as soon as Elaine decided she was chic instead of cute. About the time she went curly, the characters changed and became caricatures of themselves. George was TOO hyper and neurotic. Kramer was TOO Kramerish.etc.
When Larry David, one of the original writers, left the show
Great show from beginning to end. But I have something to say to a previous poster, the one who said this: Seinfeld was a terrific show pretty much throughout its entire run. However, one true jump the shark moment was when Kramer's buddy the midget would show up. The midget, or dwarf, or whatever, was spectacularly unfunny. I really don't know what the producers were thinking inserting him in like that. The joke, obviously, was that no one ever commented on the fact that he was minature. Like when he and Kramer are dressed in the same shirts, are on a double date together, etc. Whenver that little guy showed up, you generally knew that the show was going to suck. I don't care for you. Mickey was the greatest of the occasional characters, behind Kramer, Frank, George, the fourth best character this show ever saw. MICKEY RULES!!!!
Sorry, but there is no chance in hell that Seinfeld could possibly jump the shark. In fact, the dumbest thing they ever did was end the show. And the last episode did not suck! Announcing Yef Kassem, and then having the doors open and having the soup nazi standing there?! Pure brilliance. And the Vandelea industries episode had the greatest ending in TV history!.
Cosmo, now that is lame. They couldn't come up with something better?? The idea of finding out Kramer's first name is humorous (or it could have been) but Cosmo?!? Come on. It was apparent that Alexander, Dreyfuss, & Seinfeld were less than amused with the name because of their fake laughing when the name was revealed. It was horrible acting, it should have been on the bloopers footage.
Whenever the audience applauded (a la Fonzie) whenever Kramer appeared.
It never really jumped! The major characters are gems, but it was the inclusion of the minor characters which I most enjoyed. Who will forget the bubble-boy,The Pakistani restaurateur "you verry bad man"), the TV executive who joins Greenpeace, the "maestro", Tim,the dentist(and his kinky exploits),the Soup Nazi,the weird guy on the train obsessed with Elaine (the one who designs store mannequins that look just like her), the little old lady from Florida whose bread Jerry steals, Jack Klompas,the soft-talking puffy shirt designer,the close-talking Aaron... the list is endless. I miss the show so much and never tire of the re-runs.
Seinfeld jumped the shark many times. The writing got more and more unbelievable as the show went on. Occasionally the show "dove back under the shark" and got good for an episode or two but still even the good episodes had parts of the storyline that were way off the deep end. I'm going to point out some reallly stupid moments in the show when it was way gone.... how about the time Elaine took Kramer's advice and started swimming in the extremely polluted East River. Yeah, like that's believable. Kramer basting himself with butter and Newman being so deranged that he wants to eat him. Come on! I will say the classic episode was the Soup Nazi original episode. Very funny. Although Kramer should have had a spine and stood up to those two tinker-bell "want to be tough guys" when they took the armoire. Kramer can be pretty tough in the do-jo with the kids but can't kick the ass of two flamers? Come on! Writing started to get really bad when Larry left the show. And "what's with Jerry always smiling as he delivers his lines?" Always that stupid smirk on his face as he "Tries" to act. The show was brilliant in the first two or three seasons but really got bad. I know I got tired of the "angry" George. Like he could ever hold down a job in a sports franchise. Writing got real bad. I used to really like the certain characters though. Some of the ones who made the show funny during the "bad writing" years were Putty, Peterman, and occasionally some one time characters like the woman who walked with her arms down by her side and then decided to ransack Elaine's desk and office. Some funny moments in the bad writing years but the show got way, way too far fetched. I still watch the reruns though and if it is a bad episode I simply click the potato. Oh, I have to point out that there is no way on earth that Jerry would ever have landed as many beautiful women as he did. He always messed it up though. That was good writing. Those women he dated were so phenominal. Sure in real life he went out with a hot chick (the young one), but he couldn't get some of those characters they brought in. Oh, and I have to point out that Sidra (Terri Hatcher) did not have "spectacular" breasts. I have seen them in the raw in a couple movies and they are anything but. Yes, they are "real" but man oh man, they aint spectacular. One of the funniest episodes though was the ugly baby out in Cape Cod, and George's "shrinkage". He just got out of the "pooooooooool!"
I realize this show is not reality, but at the same time, the thought that Uma Thurman would date any moron with her phone number is just more then I could handle. I don't remember why Jerry was supposed to date her, but when Jerry lost the phone number and Kramer found it, and of course Uma Thurman agrees to date him. That's too much for even me. Like a babe like Uma Thurman would date a loser like Kramer. And he's one helluva friend, isn't he? Your buddy is going out with a babe, and you horn in on the date. Sorry, we're talking Shark Sandwich here!!!
The Fast Speed Chase Scene with Jerry and Neuman. This was toward the end of the run, post-Larry David, where Jerry was chasing Neuman in high speed through the apartment complex. Gilligan's Island used to use this effect a lot, and it wasn't funny then. I'm sure the writers would call this an effective use of irony, but it was just sad and slapsticky
I can't see that the show jumped any shark. Yeah, the finale was lame, but there was no more after that twith which to judge any shark-jumping. If my life depended on picking a moment, it'd be Susan's death. Why? Glad you asked. Because George trying to arrange a date with Marissa Yome ("The funeral's tomorrow, but after that I'm wide open") was the funniest moment of the show ever.

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