How long was seinfeld on tv

Elaine was not originally part of the series. During development, NBC expressed concern that the series would be too male-centric, and became insistent on including a regular female character. The network was also said to make the casting request as a condition for picking up the series.

The original script was called "Stand Up". It was to be a ninety-minute mockumentary about how a stand-up comedian writes his jokes based on his everyday life. It was to air in place of Saturday Night Live for one night. NBC liked the script so much that they decided to develop it into a pilot instead.

In the episode where George thinks someone stole his glasses from the gym locker room season five, episode three, "The Glasses" , he is eating a bag of Rold Gold pretzels. At the time, Jason Alexander was a spokesman for the product. Kramer's wardrobe of mostly s and s clothing was not intended to make him into retro fashions, so much as to suggest that he hadn't bought clothes in several years. The pants, in particular, were always about an inch too short in order to stress this.

In later seasons, appropriate clothing became increasingly difficult for producers to find, due to the combination of it getting older and older, as well as the extreme popularity of Kramer as a character, forcing them to have tailors personally make Kramer's clothing out of retro fabrics. Often, they created numerous back-up copies of the clothing in case it was damaged during the physical comedy. While they are waiting in the Chinese restaurant in season two, episode eleven, "The Chinese Restaurant", Jerry lists the many people that will be getting phone calls as a result of him being seen there.

One of the included people was his sister. His sister never appeared on the show, nor is she ever referred to again. Larry David based George Costanza on himself. Many of the situations into which George gets himself are based on David's real-life experiences. George was named after Jerry Seinfeld's friend Michael Costanza.

George's middle name, Louis, was an homage to Lou Costello of The Abbott and Costello Show , which was a major influence on this series. The first episode, "Good News, Bad News", was watched by nearly eleven percent of American households, and received generally favorable reviews from critics, who reacted with disappointment that NBC did not order a first season.

Convinced that the show had potential, and supported by the positive reviews, NBC executive Rick Ludwin managed to convince his superiors to order a four-episode first season by offering a part of his personal budget in return.

In retrospect, most critics and fans agree that season two, episode eleven, "The Chinese Restaurant", is the first episode to truly embody the concept of "a show about nothing". Interestingly, the NBC executives overseeing the series hated the episode exactly because nothing happened and held it back to broadcast towards the end of the season believing that the episode was weak.

Martin Van Nostrand" and "H. Lee Garlington was originally supposed to be a member of the cast, as Claire, the coffee shop waitress who gave Jerry and George friendly advice. She appeared in the pilot episode, "Good News, Bad News". But when the show was picked up, her character was dropped. Throughout the series, there were numerous references to Kramer's friend Bob Saccamano, but the character was never seen. In real life, Jason Alexander does not wear eye glasses, and the ones he wore as George were props.

The restaurant exterior belongs to Tom's Restaurant, which is the same restaurant that was immortalized in the Suzanne Vega song "Tom's Diner". Voted the number one top television series of all time, beating out number two, I Love Lucy , and number three, The Honeymooners , in the list of fifty shows chosen by TV Guide editors, April The first time Elaine's catchphrase of "get out" was introduced was in season two, episode five, "The Apartment". Julia Louis-Dreyfus actually did that shove in real life, and the moment was not in the original script.

Steinbrenner III was filmed playing himself for use in an episode. However, the scene was never shown on the series. Hankin played Kramer in the show within the show in season four, episode twenty-three, "The Pilot". In one of the episodes, Jerry is walking down the street with one of his buddies, and in the background, there's a building with a sign on it that reads "Kal's Signs".

Jerry Seinfeld's real-life dad's name is Kal, and he made signs for a living. Jerry's girlfriend's infamous "man hands" in season eight, episode three, "The Bizarro Jerry", were actually those of James Rekart. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, and Jerry Seinfeld had a superstitious ritual they completed before the taping of every episode.

They gathered in the set of Jerry' bathroom and placed their hands on top of each others and as they released them they would all make a quick, very loud yelping sound. The group called this "The Circle of Power". This gesture made it into a couple of episodes, including season four, episode eleven, "The Contest".

Seinfeld writer Spike Feresten started his career as a receptionist at Saturday Night Live and has said that at a Saturday Night Live after-party, he saw Michaels dance "as if he'd never seen another human being dance before" and that he "heaved and gyrated to a rhythm only he could feel.

Jerry Jerry Seinfeld is the only character to appear in every episode. Kramer Michael Richards did not appear in season two, episode eleven, Seinfeld: The Chinese Restaurant and season three, episode three, Seinfeld: The Pen , and George Jason Alexander also did not appear in season three, episode three, Seinfeld: The Pen Patrick Warburton was unable to play his recurring role of David Puddy in the seventh and eighth seasons, due to his commitment to Dave's World Tony Shalhoub auditioned for the role of Cosmo Kramer, and many years later, Michael Richards was considered for the title role on Monk Richards passed and Shalhoub took the role.

Kramer's first name was originally going to be "Conrad". This was planned to be revealed in a season two episode titled "The Bet", written by Larry Charles.

But the episode was scrapped due to its controversial storyline, in which Elaine buys a gun. Kramer's first name was finally revealed to be "Cosmo" in season six, episode eleven, "The Switch". In early versions of the pilot script, George was originally written as a fellow stand-up comedian named "Bennett".

Larry David was the original voice of Newman in season two, episode seven, "The Revenge", but Wayne Knight re-dubbed the voice for syndication. Jerry and George mentioned having siblings in seasons two and three, but neither are ever seen nor mentioned again. Over the course of the entire series, Cosmo Kramer entered Jerry's apartment almost four hundred times. Elaine Benes was loosely based on Carol Leifer, a friend of Jerry Seinfeld's, whom he also used to date.

Initially there was a plan to turn Cosmo Kramer into a millionaire, but this was discarded. Had it gone ahead, it would've explained how he was able to live so comfortably without having steady employment. ABC Entertainment executive Lloyd Braun lent his name to a character appearing in three episodes, season five, episode seven, "The Non-Fat Yogurt", season seven, episode ten, "The Gum", and season nine, episode three, "The Serenity Now", and is an old childhood neighbor and nemesis of George Costanza.

Jerry was heard saying Kessler exactly the same way as he does Kramer. This was because Kenny Kramer would not allow his name to be used on the show, unless he was allowed to play Kramer. Eventually Kenny Kramer's list of demands were met, and the name Kramer was used. We learn Kramer is a military veteran in season nine, episode fourteen, "The Strongbox".

Michael Richards is also a veteran, having been drafted in and serving for two years in Vietnam. In a season three episode, George can be seen wearing a baseball shirt that says "Broadway Bound". Morty Seinfeld Jerry's father was originally played by Philip Bruns for one episode, then by Barney Martin for the rest of the series run. The character of Lloyd Braun George's childhood neighbor, and rival was played by two different actors, first Peter Keleghan then, four years later, Matt McCoy.

Michael Richards auditioned three times for the role of Cosmo Kramer. Balaban also played Littlefield in The Late Shift Heidi Swedberg Susan initially thought she was going to be playing Cosmo Kramer's love interest. It wasn't until midway through the fourth season that she realized it would be George Costanza, not Kramer.

In his autobiography, Paul Shaffer claimed to have turned down the role of George Costanza. He was offered the part due to his resemblance to Larry David, upon whom the character was based. With the exception of the pilot episode, "Good News, Bad News", season one, episode three, "Male Unbonding", and season six, episode fourteen, "Highlights of a Hundred", every episode started with the word "The". Sir Paul McCartney was a massive fan of this show and wanted to appear in an episode.

For unknown reasons, the writers didn't make it happen. For awhile, NBC stunted with having an interconnected storyline, or character crossover between their New York City set sitcom block which aired on Thursday nights. Seinfeld was the only one of the shows which refused to take part.

During the sixth season, NBC executives shared the original test results for the pilot episode with the supporting cast for the first time. The reviews from test audiences in late October were less than encouraging. They thought George Costanza was a "loser" and a "wimp", that Jerry's everyday life was "boring" and his character "powerless", "dense", and "naive", and that Kessler Cosmo Kramer's original name , although sometimes "mildly amusing", was also underwhelming.

They found the storylines a distraction from the stand-up segments which was the only part those familiar with Jerry's brand of comedy liked. Their overall view of the performance of that first show: "weak". Beginning in the third season, the Seinfeld logo changed slightly each season.

Season eight had a black-and-white checker design around the title because Jerry Seinfeld believed this was going to be the final season of the series. It was meant to resemble the checkered flag at an auto racing event, which signifies the final lap. Although Jerry's cousin Jeffrey was mentioned several times throughout the series always by Uncle Leo Len Lesser , he never appeared on the show although he appeared in a deleted scene on the DVDs.

Bevilaqua, he was the wrestling coach there. In one of the episodes, Jerry had a race that was officiated by Mr.

Throughout the run of the series, Kramer rarely said "Yes". Nearly all of his positive responses are slang variations "Yup", "Yeah!

Six episodes where he does actually say "Yes" are: season three, episode thirteen, "The Subway", season four, episode five, "The Wallet: Part 1", season five, episode two, "The Puffy Shirt", season five, episode four, "The Sniffing Accountant", season eight, episode eleven, "The Little Jerry", and season eight, episode seventeen, "The English Patient". Jerry Seinfeld said that he credits the phrase "These pretzels are making me thirsty" from season three, episode eleven, "The Alternate Side", as the first of Seinfeld's many catchphrases.

As Jerry is a huge Superman fan, and in almost every Seinfeld episode, there is some reference to Superman. Sometimes it's just a sticker or statue in Jerry's apartment. Kramer's first name of Cosmo was not revealed until the show's sixth season. The revelation, and some promotional hype surrounding it, was criticized by some at the time for being too gimmicky, or unnecessary.

The famous Seinfeld fictions George's pseudo career as an architect, the fictional importer and exporter, and the fictional Art Vandelay were introduced in season one, episode two, "The Stakeout". William Thomas, Jr. Tim Russ also auditioned for the role. As Larry David states on the DVD, the character of Elaine's father, the gruff war vet and author Alton Benes, was based on the late writer Richard Yates, who was the father of his former girlfriend Monica Yates, and author of the novel "Revolutionary Road".

In season four, episode six, "The Watch", Elaine Benes Julia Louis-Dreyfus was asked by Joe Davola Peter Crombie if he knows her from somewhere, and she answers with a joke that he probably recognizes her because her face is sculptured on Mount Rushmore, alongside the U. Presidents, instead of Roosevelt's face. In , a poster was released for the fourth season of Veep that showed the face of Selina Meyer Julia Louis-Dreyfus sculptured on Mount Rushmore, but it appeared instead of Jefferson's face.

In Jerry's apartment, he has a picture on the wall of a black Porsche catching air going over a hill. In real life, Jerry Seinfeld is an avid Porsche fan and collector. In fact, Season 6 Episode 1 of Frasier opens with Frasier auditioning for a TV show after being fired from his radio show, and his opening speech is a reference to the acquisition of "Seinfeld"'s slot: "Before we begin, I'd like to say how honored I am to be taking over this slot.

Obviously, I have some rather big shoes to fill - my predecessor here was much beloved. But I have never been one to shrink from a challenge and I'm sure we'll enjoy many happy years here together in my new home. In season eight, episode eight, Kramer lies in Jerry's bed eating chicken and wiping his greasy hands on the sheets. Off-camera, there was a bucket next to Richards, and between takes he would spit out the chicken he was chewing.

In real life, Richards is a vegan. In addition to Jerry having a sister who was only mentioned once in season two, episode eleven, "The Chinese Restaurant" , George has a brother who was mentioned only twice in the series: season three, episode fifteen, "The Suicide", his brother impregnated a woman named Pauline and season three, episode six, "The Parking Garage" George's father, mother, and brother never pay for parking.

Elaine has a sister, Gail, who she visits in St. Louis, and who she calls after she sends Gail's son her exposed nipple Christmas card. Elaine also mentions a brother-in-law presumably Gail's husband in season two, episode four, "The Phone Message" he blurted out secret business information on an answering machine. Only one consistent trait of Cosmo Kramer remained after the pilot.

His constant appearances in Jerry's apartment. His dog mysteriously disappeared, he's no longer agoraphobic, his "Reverend Jim" mannerisms were dropped, and his hairstyle changed dramatically. Throughout the first eight seasons, the theme music played during Jerry's stand-up had to be re-recorded each week in order to match up with Jerry's set-ups and punchlines.

Barney Martin has said he heard from several fans of the series who were Jewish commenting on how his portrayal of Jerry's father Morty reminded them of their own father.

As the seventh season came to a close, TV Guide devoted a front page cover asking, "Is Seinfeld the best comedy ever? The renewed critical favor was spoiled somewhat with the season's final episode, " The Invitations ", in which Susan is killed as a result of George's buying very old, very cheap wedding invitations with a toxic glue on the envelopes.

All four characters reacted to news of her death with indifference, George even seeming slightly elated after about a minute, which many viewers found to be in exceedingly poor taste. The show didn't backpedal in the face of this mild uproar, even going so far as to mock the reaction in its eight-season premiere, in which Jerry and George briefly get sentimental as they reflect on the death of Spock in a Star Trek movie - right after nonchalantly coming home from a visit to Susan's grave with her parents.

The beginning of season 8 marked the departure of co-creator and executive producer Larry David. Jerry Seinfeld admitted to TV Guide that Seinfeld would be "a different show" as a result of David's absence, and many viewers noticed a distinct change in the series' tone from this point on.

Reality and continuity were largely abandoned in favor of more outlandish storylines; the humor was now rooted in slapstick, farce and occasionally pure fantasy. The opening stand-up comedy segments were also discarded, replaced by more conventional opening sketches at the beginning of each episode. Some of the earlier off-beat entries were greeted as weird but fun diversions, such as "The Bizarro Jerry", in which Elaine befriends exact opposites of Jerry, George and Kramer a play on 'The Bizarro World' in Superman comics.

As the season progressed however, and especially during Season 9, most critics felt the show had gotten too silly and cartoonish for its own good. The New York Post took a poll during the 9th season, asking readers whether or not the series was as strong as it used to be, based on that season's first four episodes.

More than half of those polled said that it was not up to its previous standards. Jerry Seinfeld responded with a letter to the Post thanking them for considering his show worthy enough for such a poll to be conducted. Some fans argue that even as Seinfeld changed its comedic approach in later years, it remained funny and watchable. During the episode, Kramer accidentally lights a Puerto Rican flag on fire, which offended activist groups and led to the episode being barred from repeat airings and syndication.

Here is a list of Seinfeld 's ratings per season throughout its nine-year run. On December 26, , Jerry Seinfeld announced that the series would end production the following spring. While he had been making casual pronouncements of the series' demise frequently since about the sixth season, this was the first time he actually turned down an offer from NBC to sign on for another year. The announcement made the front page of all the major New York newspapers, including the New York Times.

Seinfeld was featured on the cover of Time Magazine's first issue of The end of Seinfeld garnered media hype that hadn't been seen since the end of Cheers in , with many speculating how the series would end. Some suggested Jerry and Elaine would get married, and more cynical fans favored Julia Louis-Dreyfus's suggestion that the foursome die in a car accident after all their wishes come true.

The producers of the show tweaked the media about the hype, spreading a false rumor about Newman ending up in the hospital and Jerry and Elaine sitting in a chapel, presumably to get married [6]. The actual Finale poked fun at the many rumors that were circulating, with Elaine saying "I've always loved you" to Jerry and eventually correcting herself, explaining that she was going to say "I've always loved United Airlines.

The series ended with a minute episode cut down to 60 minutes in syndication, two parts in which the "New York Four" are sentenced to one year in prison in Latham County, Massachusetts. They are delayed in Latham County after engine trouble caused by Kramer hopping up and down, trying to get water out of his ears , and while killing time in town, they witness a fat man being robbed.

Instead of helping him, they make wisecracks about his weight while Kramer videotapes the robbery. The victim sees them doing this, and mentions it to the reporting officer.

All four are arrested for breaking a fictional Good Samaritan law that requires citizens to assist in such a situation. A lengthy trial ensues, bringing back many characters from past shows as character witnesses testifying against the group for their "selfish" acts from throughout the series. The Virgin, the low talker, the Bubble Boy, Babu Bhatt, the Soup Nazi, and Susan Ross' parents are called to the witness stand, among many more enemies and acquaintances.

The four are eventually found guilty, and sentenced to a year in prison, with Judge Arthur Vandelay proclaiming: "I can think of nothing more fitting than for the four of you to spend a year removed from society so that you can contemplate the manner in which you have conducted yourselves. In the final scene before the credits, the four main characters sit in a jail cell and begin a conversation about George's shirt buttons, using lines from the very first episode of the series "The second button is the key button.

It literally makes or breaks the shirt. In a last bit of comedy during the credits, Jerry is seen wearing an orange prison suit, doing a stand-up routine of prison-related jokes. I mean when I was a kid my mother wanted me to play in the yard. But of course she didn't have to worry about my next door neighbor Tommy sticking a shiv in my thigh. The final line of the series is Jerry, being yanked off stage, saying, "Hey, you've been great.

I'll see you in the cafeteria! The finale was not filmed in front of an audience, for the sake of keeping its plot secret, though a laugh track was later added. It was scripted by co-creator Larry David , who returned after a two-season hiatus. It also was the first episode since the 7th season to feature opening and closing stand-up acts by Jerry Seinfeld.

The final Seinfeld was criticized by many for being vindictive towards the characters - who are shown to be amoral, selfish misanthropes - and, by extension, towards the audience who tuned in to watch them every week. Some valued it for the perceived in-joke of the four characters being convicted and imprisoned on the charge that they did nothing, a play on the "show about nothing" mantra.

Seinfeld finished as the 1 most watched show of its final season. Louis-Dreyfus also appeared on Enthusiasm and has received on-screen and voice credits in television such as Arrested Development and animated film. Richards continues to appear in new film and television work as well. Alexander, Louis-Dreyfus and Richards have all attempted unsuccessfully to launch new sitcoms as title-role characters. Despite decent acclaim and even some respectable ratings each show was cancelled quickly, usually within the first season.

This has given rise to the term "Seinfeld Curse" to describe sitcom failure by an actor following massive success on an ensemble show, a phrase oft-used in reference to Matt LeBlanc's Friends spin-off Joey. It should be noted that Julia Louis-Dreyfus did find success and receive critical acclaim for her work in the HBO original series Veep , which she starred in and aired from until It's very hard to have a successful sitcom," Larry David once said of the curse.

Though most of the aforementioned shows did not last more than a season, Louis-Dreyfus' The New Adventures of Old Christine was her claim to having broken the Seinfeld curse; it lasted five seasons. However, it was cancelled by CBS in May Patrick Warburton , who played David Puddy , was also hit by the curse when his superhero-themed show, The Tick , was cancelled after just one season.

However, he has found success in voice acting. Alexander was also the voice of Duckman , which had a certain amount of success although this series ran from until , which coincided with the run of Seinfeld.

Wayne Knight has since had some roles with more or less the same importance of Newman, like the one in the not so successful The Edge , and one as a police officer in 3rd Rock from the Sun.

He also had a voice cameo as a minor demon from hell in Justice League Unlimited animated series, and achieved some success as the voice of the human villain Al in Toy Story 2 in , a year after Seinfeld's finale. However, the actor who really broke the curse, at least for recurring guest stars, was Jerry Stiller who was cast successfully as Doug Heffernan's annoying father-in-law Arthur, in The King of Queens.

A recurring feature of Seinfeld was its use of specific products as plot points, especially various candy products. These products might be a central feature of a plot narrative e.

Junior Mints, Twix and Pez , or associating the candy with a guest character e. Oh Henry! Peterman clothing catalog which actually went bankrupt while the show was still active. The computers in Jerry's apartment are always Apple Computers, which were changed every few seasons.

While the show's creators claim that they themselves were not engaging in a product placement strategy for commercial gain, Seinfeld is widely credited by marketers and advertisers with affecting a change in attitude toward product placement in US primetime TV shows.

For details of a study on the effectiveness of product placement without respect to whether it was paid for or intended to promote products , see "Television Programs and Advertising: Measuring the Effectiveness of Product Placement Within Seinfeld" by Dana T. Weaver of Penn State University. Two types of advertising, neither of which were actual product placement, also capitalized on the Seinfeld show.

One is described as a "Webisode," a reverse form of product placement. In this form, instead of inserting its product into an episode, American Express "inserted" Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman voiced by Patrick Warburton, who also acted on the show, playing the role of David Puddy into its commercial. The second type is the use of the show's actors, such as Jason Alexander in a Chrysler commercial.

In this type, which ran after the series ended, Alexander behaves much like his character George, and his relationship with Lee Iacocca is said to play on his relationship with George Steinbrenner in the show. A signature of Seinfeld is its theme music: distinct solo synthesized bass guitar "pickups" which open the show and connect the scenes. These short riffs were composed by Jonathan Wolff and are considered groundbreaking in their use as sitcom music.

They vary throughout each episode, and are played in an improvised blues-funk style. An additional musical theme with an ensemble, led by a synthesized mid-range brass instrument, ends each episode.

Seinfeld won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in ; it was nominated for the award every year from seasons WikiSein Explore. Policies and Guidelines Manual of Style. Recent Blogs Community Forums. Articles Quotes. User Rights. Netflix has also sat on the sidelines as major companies have merged left and right, scrambling to pool money, talent and IP.

Conservative outlets , on the other side, have jubilantly scorned these critiques. But for now, the situational hilariousness of Seinfeld endures. Contact us at letters time. By Andrew R. Related Stories.

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