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TITLE: SEINFELD - SEASON 3
Info:
DVD Release Date: November 23, 2004 (Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment)
Color/MSRP: $49.95
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: Approx. 505 Minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: Approx. 13 hours
Languages: English (Stereo), French, Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Special Features:
• Kramer vs. Kramer: Kenny to Cosmo (meet the REAL
Kramer)
• Notes about Nothing (Behind the Scenes/Production
Notes)
• Inside Looks (Cast talk about behind the scenes for
that episode)
• In the Vault (Deleted Scenes)
• Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That
(Outtakes/Bloopers)
• Yada, Yada, Yada (Commentary by Larry David and cast
on x episodes)
• Master of His Domain (Never-used standup by Jerry
Seinfeld)
• Sponsored by Vandelay Industries (NBC Promos)
Introduction:
The show about nothing has finally arrived on DVD.
Seinfeld, which aired on NBC for nine years from
1989-1998 for 180 episodes, focused on four single
friends living in New York. There was Jerry, the
comedian, plus his friends Elaine (Julia
Louis-Dreyfuss), George (Jason Alexander), and nutty
neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). The show
started slowly – only a 4 episode pickup in 1990. It
would not really pick up a large amount of viewers
until it was moved to Thursday nights at 9:30PM after
Cheers. The show changed the landscape of TV forever,
leaving the air in 1998 as the number one
Nielsen-rated show -- a rare feat for a comedy in its
waning years. Seinfeld was nominated for a grand total
of 68 Emmy Awards, winning a total of 10. TV Guide,
in May 2002, named it the #1 show of all time in its
list of "50 Greatest Shows of All Time" list.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
Season three is where the show really starts to hit
its stride. There’s really no weak episode in the
season. The Parking Garage is definitely one of the
funniest episodes. The gang gets lost trying to find
their car inside a mammoth parking garage and
wackiness occurs. Michael Richards was actually
lugging around an actual air conditioner inside the
box! Also, an accidentally misfiring car causes
everyone to lose it at the end. Also, the 60 minute
episode, The Boyfriend, in which Jerry becomes friends
with his idol, baseball player Keith Hernandez, while
Elaine actually starts going out with him – much to
the chagrin of Newman and Kramer, who claim to have
been literally spat upon by Hernandez back in the day
-- but was there a second splitter? The Red Dot is
fairly good, as there’s a red dot on a discounted
sweater George buys Elaine as a thank you for getting
him a job. Elaine winds up giving it back to George,
who gives it to the cleaning lady as a hush payment
for staying quiet about them, was having sex on
George’s desk. The season finale – where Kramer
leaves for Los Angeles and winds up on Murphy Brown,
is also quite good, but there’s really no bad episode
this season. As mentioned earlier, Keith Hernandez
is a guest star in the 60 minute show The Boyfriend,
while Candice Bergen appears AS Murphy Brown in a
scene of Murphy Brown filmed just for this episode, in
which Kramer is the secretary. Other than that,
there’s really no BIG “Special Guest Stars” this
season.
Packaging:
The release itself is rather nice. The outer box is
blue, with the Seinfeld logo over a cast photo of the
gang on the front cover, while a list of special
features takes up the entire reverse side of the outer
box. The inner box is white, with a larger version of
the same cast photo on the front. Reverse side is,
again, the long list of special features, with a small
photo of Jerry and Kramer on the left, some text for
the release in the center, and a photo of George and
Elaine on the right.
The discs themselves are held in 4 individual slimcases. A photo of Jerry is on the disc one cover,
Elaine is the cover of the second disc, George is on
the third and Kramer is on the 4th. The disc art
features different individual photos of the cast
members, in the same order as the discs: Jerry – 1,
Elaine – 2, George – 3, Kramer – 4. A small booklet
is also included that lists the episode title
breakdown by disc with the main actor and writing
credits. Episodes 1-5 are on the first disc. 6-10
can be found on the 2nd. Episodes 11-16 are on the
third, while the final six episodes are on disc four.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menus are wildly creative – each discs’ menu’s
theme designed to resemble a location from the show.
During all 4 main menus, the full theme plays in the
background, on a loop in case you stay there for a
while. During the first few seconds, clips from the
season will play, relative to their location in that
menu. The clips only play the first time you load the
main menu per-session. If you go to another menu then
return, the clips don’t play.
On the first disc the theme is Jerry’s apartment. The
episode menu is a cereal box on the counter – the
episode lists replaces the standard nutritional
information panel. The audio & subtitles setup menu
is Jerry’s CD collection. The Special features menu
is the contents of Jerry’s refrigerator. Extras is a
bottle of orange juice, Inside Looks is a bottle of
fruit juice, and the In the Vault and Notes About
Nothing options are Chinese take-out. Disc 2 is
Monk’s Café. The episode menu is the cash register.
The different episodes are listed in the cash
register’s LED display. The audio & subtitles setup
menu is the specials card holder on a table in the
restaurant. The extras menu is the panel beside the
main door. Disc three is a subway car. The episodes
menu for the third disc is an ad board and location
display near the top of the subway car. The audio &
subtitles menu is a side panel next to the doors. The
route menu of the car has been converted into the
extras menu. Finally, there’s disc 4 – the parking
garage. Episodes is a package sitting in a vacant
parking space, the setup menu for audio and subtitles
is a caution sign on the wall, and the extras menu is
the board beneath the “Reserved For” sign. One of the
best sets of menus I’ve ever seen, and easy to
navigate too.
Video and Audio Quality:
This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best
Seinfeld has ever looked. All 22 episodes have been
remastered in High Definition – though obviously they
still retain their original 4:3 aspect ratio. Castle
Rock Entertainment, which produced the show, returned
to the original film elements and spent months
digitally remastering the video of the episodes of the
first three seasons. The original analog audio tracks
underwent a conversion into full Dolby Digital stereo.
Also of note, the episodes ARE the full NBC versions,
rather than the heavily edited syndicated cuts. The
shows are presented in their original production
order, meaning some episodes may appear out of
sequence compared to various episode guides, which
list the series in its original airing order. You
also, in addition to the obvious English audio track,
have the option of listening to the show in Spanish or
French. There are also subtitles available for the
three languages already listed, plus Portuguese.
Special Features:
I honestly believe that one of the ultimate signs a
set is well put-together is when there’s more hours of
special features content than actual show. Most fans
of the show would have been happy with just episodes,
but the 4-disc season 3 set as special features--on
top of special features. Approximately 13 hours
total. The features are evenly spread out between
discs, and are varied in their content. Notes About
Nothing are little factoids with behind the scenes
scoop and production notes that scroll on the screen
as you watch the episodes. There are notes for every
episode. Inside Look is information from the cast and
creators about what was happening behind the scenes
with each episode. In the Vault are deleted scenes,
never seen before, for various episodes. Below is an
episode-by-episode breakdown of the in-show features.
The episode nonspecific features are all on Disc 4,
and are listed at the end.
3-1. The Note. Inside Look, the behind the scenes
info featurette for each episode, kicks off the
season’s special features. Co-Creator Larry David,
Jason Alexander, Composer Johnathan Wolff are
commenting (5:05). Larry talks about conversations
with network censors about what was acceptable leading
to him having erotic fantasies ABOUT the censors.
Johnathan Wolff talks about the switch to the weird
scat version of the theme for the first show, and how
it was originally on the first three, but they managed
to get to the other two before air, due to negative
viewer reaction. There’s also 1 deleted scene at
0:42.
3-2. The Truth. Notes About Nothing is the only
special feature.
3-3. The Dog. Only 1 special feature besides Notes
About Nothing. One deleted scene, approximately 2:30.
3-4. The Library. Inside Look features Writer Larry
Charles in an interview, talking about how he’d like
to see a Jack-Webb/Dragnet-style police monologue, in
a sitcom format…which led to this (1:45) . Larry also
does the commentary track for this episode.
3-5. The Pen. Inside Look features Jerry Seinfeld,
Co-creator Larry David, George Shapiro & Howard West
(executive producers), Casting Director Mark
Hirschfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Liz Sheridan, Barney
Martin, Director Tom Cherones, Jason Alexander, Castle
Rock Exec Glenn Padnick are ALL interviewed (6:19).
Jason mentions that he told Larry that he didn’t even
want to be there if he wasn’t going to be in the
episodes (this was the only show he wasn’t in). He
said that “if you don’t need me here for every damn
episode you write, you don’t need me here at all.”
There’s also a commentary track by Jerry Seinfeld and
Larry David.
3-6. The Parking Garage. Inside Look for this
episode consists of interviews with Jerry Seinfeld,
Larry David, Tom Cherones, Tom Azzari, Tim Kaiser,
Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, and Julia
Louis-Dreyfuss (6:36). Michael really had an AC in the
box. Also is commentary by Tom Cherones and Tom
Azzari. There’s also a deleted scene (0:36).
3-7. The Café. This episode is sort of light on
features. Inside Look only: Writer Tom Leopold, Brian
George, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Michael Richards, Jerry
Seinfeld give interviews (4:48).
3-8. The Tape. Notes About Nothing is the only
special feature.
3-9. The Nose Job. Writer Peter Mehlman, Michael
Richards, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss are interviewed.
(3:06). There’s also a 1-minute deleted scene at the
newsstand.
3-10. The Alternate Side. The only extras for this
episode are (as always) Notes About Nothing, as well
as 2 deleted scenes (1:50).
3-11. The Red Dot. Inside Look: Co-Creator Larry
David, Jason Alexander, Castle Rock Executive Glenn
Padnick are interviewed (3:01). One deleted scene
(0:27) finds Dick pulling Elaine into the cubicle at
the office party for a little making out.
3-12. The Suicide. Inside Look: Co-Creator Larry
David, Wayne Knight, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards
are interviewed (4:10).
3-13. The Subway: Inside Look: Writer Larry Charles,
Director Tom Cherones, Production Designer Tom Azzari,
Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (2:59). Julia
(Elaine) mentions how she was fighting back nausea the
entire show. The original subway car set was
destroyed by a low overpass. Also included is a
commentary track with Michael Richards, Jason
Alexander, and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss.
3-14. The Pez Dispenser. Inside Look: Composer
Johnathan Wolff, Jason Alexander are interviewed
(1:53). Pez really took off in the 90s right after
this episode aired. There’s also commentary by Larry
David and Jerry Seinfeld.
3-15/3-16. The Boyfriend. This is the biggie of the
set in the special features. First is the option to
play the episode with a special 30-second introduction
from Jerry, from a previous NBC airing of the episode.
Inside Look for the episode is Larry David, Jerry
Seinfeld, Keith Hernandez, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Tom
Cherones, Wayne Knight, NBC Executive Rick Ludwin,
Producer Tom Kaiser, Jason Alexander, Jerry had idol
worship before, and while, Keith was on the show.
Supposedly, The New Friend, is an alternate title to
the episode, as they referred to it as that on several
occasions (10:05). But wait, there’s more! There’s
also a deleted scene, and then an alternate version of
the ending. Time for that is 1:19. There’s ALSO a
commentary track by Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Michael
Richards, and Jason Alexander. The episode also airs
in its full, undivided by part, form.
3-17. The Fix-Up. Inside Look: Writer Larry Charles,
Jason Alexander are interviewed. Clips are shown from
the Emmy win for this episode (3:51). There are also
two deleted scenes from the episode (1:46).
3-18. The Limo. Inside Look: Writer Larry Charles,
Director Tom Cherones, Jason Alexander are interviewed
(2:06). There’s also a commentary track with Larry
Charles.
3-19. The Good Samaritan. Inside Look: Jason
Alexander, Michael Richards are interviewed (1:41).
There are also two deleted scenes totaling 2:45.
Where we see George talking to Jerry and Elaine about
whether he should commit the affair, and then it about
George in bed after the affair.
3-20: The Letter. Inside Look: Executive Producers
George Shapiro & Howard West, Co-creator Larry David,
Michael Richards are interviewed (1:52). X deleted
scenes. Two art fans are critiquing the portrait of
Kramer, while Jerry is arguing about Elaine having
worn the Orioles cap. Also is a scene of Jerry
talking to his girlfriend – and of the art fans buying
the Kramer, set near the end of the show (3:51).
3-21: The Parking Space. Inside Look: Larry David,
Director Tom Cherones, Production Designer Tom Azzari
are interviewed (2:09). Also included with the
episode is a commentary track by Tom Cherones and Tom
Azzari.
3-22: The Keys. Inside Look is the only feature on
this episode. Larry Charles, Michael Richards, Tom
Cherones, Jerry Seinfeld, Castle Rock Executive Glenn
Padnick are all interviewed (5:52). NBC suits
originally wanted Kramer on an NBC show, finally gave
in to allow Murphy Brown. The people at the Murphy set
were really accommodating.
Other Special Features:
Kramer vs. Kramer: Kenny to Cosmo. Rob Reiner, Larry
David, Michael Richards, Kenny Kramer, Julia-Louis
Dreyfuss, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Tom Azzari,
Jerry Stiller, Andy Ackerman, Estelle Harris, Tom
Cherones, Wayne Knight, Danny Woodburn, talk about how
Michael Richards got the part, how the two Kramers
differ. Michael talks about how his “sounds” came
based from a sitcom from the 1950s “My Little Margie.”
Clip of Michael Richards’ Emmy win, and some clips of
Michael Richards on Fridays from the 80s are included
(22:35).
Not That there’s Anything Wrong with That: Bloopers!
15:16 worth of bloopers, just from Season 3! Funny
stuff here!
Master of His Domain: 10 minutes and 12 seconds
worth of unused filmed Jerry Seinfeld stand-up. Some
of these jokes are funnier than what WAS used in the
series!
Sponsored by Vandelay Industries: These are six promos
used on NBC at various points during the season.
This runs 2 minutes. Several of the promos use the
original pilot theme.
Photo Gallery: A Slideshow of Third season photos
(Publicity, Taken on the set, etc.)…Runs 4:00, the
FULL Seinfeld theme plays in the background (looped)
the entire time. There are Dozens of Photos.
There’s also a trailer for Spider-Man 2. This IS a
Columbia Tri-Star release; I guess they HAD to promote
something else, as they always like to do.
Final Comments:
My thoughts of this set can best be summed up with one
word. Wow. I’ve NEVER seen a TV DVD set done this
well. I’ve never even seen most MOVIE releases done
this well. The first two releases (1/2 and 3) are
truly a work of pride by all-involved, and it shows.
My only gripe is a really minor nitpick, but the only
two sets of promos we saw were for the move to
Wednesdays at 9, and the promos for the 60-minute The
Boyfriend episode. Perhaps they could have included
a few others, but, it’s still great.
Future releases? Oh, do I hope they’re as good as
these first two have been. They are the absolute
pinnacle of the TV DVD genre. Even if Seinfeld isn’t
your game, you HAVE to admire all the work that
Columbia Tri-star put into this release. PLEASE make
sure that the future sets are this good – anything
inferior to this, even if it still blows away the rest
of the TV DVD competition, would be considered a
letdown. Honestly, the only things I’d do would be
to make Inside Looks at EVERY episode, and throw in a
few more promos, otherwise… wow!!
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Video Quality: 5/5
Audio Quality: 5/5
Special Features: 5/5
Menu Navigation/Design: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher on 12/19/2004
To order the Season 3 (Volume 2) DVD click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002UE1WQ/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20
You might also be interested in the Seasons 1-2 (Volume 1) set:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JLEX/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20
or the Seinfeld Gift Set which features Seasons 1-3 with a limited edition script with
handwritten notes from Larry David, exclusive "Monk's Diner" salt & pepper shakers and
collectible playing cards.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002UE1X0/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20
Please e-mail me with your sitcom related questions, sitcoms to add, and suggestions for additional links.
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