After the pilot, Seinfeld’s four-episode season was viewed as a terrible sign for the show. It was still in its infancy stage. Jerry and Larry didn’t know what the show was really going to be or the true direction it was going.
The fact that, for its time, Seinfeld was such a different show was probably the best thing it had going for it. To that point, sitcoms were all about cheesy setups and punch lines, and a show’s success was determined by how funny it was based on those. Seinfeld took a very different approach to humor. Jerry has said before he’s never known people to have that perfect punch line the way they’re seamlessly delivered on all other shows. Instead, he tried to make comedy about the storylines: where they’d go, how they’d get there, how they’d tie in together, and how relatable they would be to the audience. Of course, he’d work in some funny lines, but they seemed authentic. That really became the identity that made the show stand out from the rest.
No other shows had continuing storylines. No other shows broke away to stand-up routines that connected to the show. There were a couple risqué topics of conversation throughout the first five episodes that weren’t really said on TV. But Seinfeld became a show that went where no other show had gone before (no, I’m talking about Star Trek). As the seasons wore on, more and more taboo subjects were discussed. But they were done so in a way that was harmless and non-offensive, which is surprising for a show about how a comedian gets his material. Jerry became the kind of comic that both a mass audience and another group of comedians would be able to listen to and enjoy. He translated that to the show very well.
No comments:
Post a Comment