The Seinfeld Episode Jason Alexander Thinks Is Responsible For The Show's Success

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/942204/the-se...shows-success/

The Contest won an Emmy and high ratings

Jason Alexander had believed while filming the pilot, titled "The Seinfeld Chronicles," that there was no way the show would be popular. The actor confessed to telling Jerry Seinfeld, "I think the number one show in America at the moment is 'ALF.' If that's the number one show in America, who's going to watch this?" as quoted by Den of Geek. But Alexander credits the cheeky Season 4 episode "The Contest" with turning the show's popularity around and proving him wrong.

"The Contest" centers around a bet between Jerry, George, Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) over how long they can go without masturbation. The episode unfolds masterfully as each character fails, whether because of John Kennedy Jr. or an exhibitionist neighbor.

The word "masturbate" is never used in the episode, as according to an official making-of video, NBC censors felt it wasn't appropriate, but this arguably made the episode much funnier. Alexander told Larry King in 2014 that the episode aired right when the show's new time slot behind "Cheers" was helping "Seinfeld" in the ratings. "That became national news the next day, and from that moment on, we were sailing sweet," he said. The script, which also helped popularize the expression "master of my domain," even won an Emmy award for the show.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

The actor confessed to telling Jerry Seinfeld, "I think the number one show in America at the moment is 'ALF.' If that's the number one show in America, who's going to watch this?

The Seinfeld pilot aired on July 5, 1989. ALF finished #15 for the 1988-89 TV season. The top 5 were The Cosby Show, Roseanne, A Different World, Cheers, and 60 Minutes.

[DJM77]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

The Seinfeld pilot aired on July 5, 1989. ALF finished #15 for the 1988-89 TV season. The top 5 were The Cosby Show, Roseanne, A Different World, Cheers, and 60 Minutes.

Yeah, I've heard Jason Alexander say that about ALF before.

ALF was past its prime by 1989 and I don't know that it was ever a number one show in America.