Static Prevails - Seinfeld's Appeal

Seinfeld is regularly considered one of, if not the best sitcom or comedy on television. For those who have seen it, it's hard to argue against it. The show could be fast paced and wacky, or slow paced and subtle, and the jokes could be crude or surprisingly high brow. The show was billed to be 'the show about nothing', but it somehow seemed more relate-able to people than the shows about 'something'. So what is it that makes people still love this show over ten years since it's end?

The characters are all rather selfish, they never learn a thing, and can be rather petty or vindictive when need be. Yet, the characters are widely loved and still quoted to this day.

It might be that it is a very realistic interpretation of the real world we live in. While obviously exaggerated and a bit more cartoony, the characters are very real and not too dissimilar from the people you might meet in real life. The plots are often very similar with very petty concerns that we deal with in our everyday lives blown up in importance just like we tend to do ourselves.

My personal favorite episode is 'The Serenity Now" from the eighth season which follows how stress over the little things can greatly impact your life and effectively ruin it. Despite there never really being a lesson to learn in Seinfeld (they made it a point to keep mentioning that), it found ways of reinterpreting things you already know but maybe don't think about too often. This episode and the existence of the 'Lloyd Braun' character (that person your parents/family constantly compare you to, despite the fact their own problems are large enough to exceed your own) is an example of being highly relate-able to the common viewer, and to entertain over the absurdity of the whole situation.

Seinfeld generally makes light of life, something we all tend to take too seriously way too often. It blows up those quibbling problems we all stress over and let ruin our lives by making light of them to show us that it really isn't all that bad. To me, this is the core ideal I feel that unites the audience to the show, and while that might not be that big revelation to anybody, it should be something to keep in mind when watching this show or when dealing with your own petty problems.

In my view, there hasn't been a sitcom since that has come close to how Seinfeld approaches the world and western society. And in the end, that's what gives it it's appeal and why it is still remembered as the best sitcom of all time.

No matter how many shows (coughFriendscough) ripped it off with lesser results, Seinfeld will always remain unique.

(Photo from Wikipedia)