Zach Loveall: Whenever I say I don’t like “Seinfeld,” I’m met with the exact same reaction: “What about this episode! What about this episode? What about this other episode!?” For a while I tried to watch all the episodes; eventually, I gave up about halfway through the show.
Laine Brotherton: That also happened to be my response. Talking to someone who doesn’t enjoy “Seinfeld” is like trying to tell someone you hate “The English Patient.”
ZL: I grew up with sitcoms constantly on the TV, surrounded by the noise of “The Simpsons” and “Parks and Recreation,” but never “Seinfeld.” My parents had a similar distaste toward “Seinfeld,” but I’ve never met someone else who felt the same way outside of them.
LB: Maybe that’s because you’re objectively wrong about disliking it. Let’s try “Seinfeld” therapy. Can we air these grievances? What about the show bothers you so much, despite its numerous feats of strength?
ZL: The short of it is that I can’t stand Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld, “Bee Movie”). I can’t stand his voice, I can’t stand his jokes and I can’t stand him as a human being. As a show titled “Seinfeld,” it’s impossible to escape the human turd that is Jerry Seinfeld. Whenever he’s on the screen, something inside me cries and begs for it to end.
LB: Okay, I can level with you there. Jerry Seinfeld is, has always been and will continue to be a massive tool. The only good thing to emerge from his post-“Seinfeld” career is “Bee Movie,” and even that’s a stretch. But your grievance isn’t valid here. I’ve got a lot of problems with that point of view. Now, you’re going to hear about them. “Seinfeld” is a show where four insane, narcissistic and objectively bad people escalate everyday situations into chaos. It’s completely amoral — that’s what makes it good.
ZL: The amoral sitcom aspect is always what draws me in and makes me reconsider my dislike for the show. I’m a big fan of shows inspired by “Seinfeld,” like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Arrested Development.” Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”) consistently makes me laugh most when she manipulates people to get what she wants — she is by far my favorite part of the show. But every laugh Louis-Dreyfus elicits with her killer pacing is ruined by Jerry doing bits to the audience and saying “waaohh” after something weird happens, leaving me right where I began: as the annoying asshat who hates the thing everyone else likes. How Seinfeld-esque. Now I just need George (Jason Alexander, “Young Sheldon”) to curse me behind my back.
LB: I’d like to let the reader know that, while writing this, Zach has struggled to remove his attention from “Seinfeld,” which has been playing on the TV. There really could be a “Seinfeld” episode about this: the guy who hates “Seinfeld” because of one person but can’t stop watching it because it’s funny.
ZL: I’ll admit, the show is full of magnetic characters. When it’s on, I can’t help but want to see what pit they’ll dig themselves into, but it’s never fun. It’s like watching a car crash. I can’t look away and there’s only one possible outcome: the same over-delivered bits, from Kramer’s (Michael Richards, “Fridays”) constant shaking to George’s whiney wallowing.
LB: There’s a reason why this show pulls people in. “Seinfeld” has no significant plot threads, no forced sentimental moments — it’s pure chaos. George’s self-loathing and Elaine’s outbursts of frustration are incredibly relatable. Have you seen those edits of George talking with Twin Peaks music playing? They embody the fine line between comedy and amoral absurdity that “Seinfeld” exists on. The show is disturbed, depressed, inadequate; “Seinfeld” has got it all. That’s why it seems to have such a hold on Gen Z — “Seinfeld” matches the aimlessness and absurdity of our generation’s popular humor. Maybe we’re sick of shows where there’s always a lesson to learn and a story to tell, where morality is stifling and sincerity is exhausting.
ZL: I will say, the trends, bits and cliches “Seinfeld” inspired are iconic — the best shows of our generation have taken the idea that not everyone needs to be a saint and run with it. Sitcoms are at their best when they get rid of their “Very Special” episodes and draw out the farce and insanity of everyday life. But while “Seinfeld” might have paved the way, it’s been one-upped by its successors. I’ll hear a bit written in the show and wish it could be done without the schticks of all of the characters. Any laugh elicited by the clever absurdity of an over-the-top joke will be crushed by my groaning at George gritting his teeth and whining. I know I’m not supposed to like the characters, but it goes beyond that for me; I just get annoyed watching them, instead of chuckling at their ridiculous behavior like I do for characters in shows of the same ilk. Even though I think every single one of my friends somehow loves “Seinfeld,” for some reason, there’s something in me that just can’t stand anyone in the show. Well, except for Elaine — she’s definitely my favorite.
LB: Okay. Different senses of humor, I guess. Maybe you don’t harbor the omnipresent angst that “Seinfeld” is built from. But you should give Larry David, showrunner of “Seinfeld” and creator/star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” a bit more credit for revolutionizing comedy. Maybe the jokes in “Seinfeld” don’t seem like much because you’ve been primed by “Always Sunny” and “Arrested Development,” but at the time, there had never been anything like “Seinfeld” on TV. Despite the talents of several stars from “Seinfeld,” what really shines is David’s writing.
ZL: Not to repeat a joke, like “Seinfeld” loves to do, but I feel like a hater of “The English Patient”: I’m unable to understand what everyone else sees. But maybe I just need to watch “The Non-Fat Yogurt” episode, right? In the meantime, I’m okay with having my friends yell at me for my supposedly “worst opinion ever.”
LB: Part of my love for “Seinfeld” is personal. I recently found out that my parents were “inspired” by Elaine when they named me. “Seinfeld” was a part of my childhood without me realizing it; before I watched the show, I thought my dad came up with the phrase “festivus for the rest of us” and that saying “yeah, that’s right” in the cadence of David Puddy (Patrick Warburton, “The Emperor’s New Groove”) was an original signature of his. My parents’ sense of humor, which is now my sense of humor, is one of the best things that we get to enjoy together — for that, I thank “Seinfeld.” I suspect that a lot of people my age have similar experiences with the shows that their parents loved. TV used to be a collective experience. It used to draw fixed attention from friends, families — and when TV was good, it could have a real impact (re: the influence of “Friends” on baby names). A good way to describe my personal appreciation for “Seinfeld” might be nostalgia for a time when I was not yet alive. Zach, I wish you could appreciate “Seinfeld” the way I and millions of others do. That’s a shame.
Daily Arts Writer Laine Brotherton can be reached at laineb@umich.edu and Daily Arts Writer Zach Loveall can be reached at zloveall@umich.edu.
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