Watching "Seinfeld"...After All These Years

Over the past six months or so something's happened in our house that I find interesting. Our daughter has spent many of her evenings with my wife and I watching stuff. I suppose that's not unusual, but it's what we're watching that gives me pause.

We've been watching movies and TV shows my wife and I grew up with, the kinds of things we used to watch after we graduated from high school and were in college. We've gone through most of the John Hughes movies (okay...not all of them...), The Wedding Singer, and a ton of other romcoms. This past week we finished the entire Seinfeld series.

Not only has it been fun for us, it's brought back a ton of memories. Plus, we get to remember what an amazing show it was. Of course, it was different. But what I noticed watching it this time is how organic if feels. I think knowing Jerry was a comedian first, then an actor, adds to the charm. If I can make a comparison (and probably a bad one...), the show was like electing a politician not from one of the two major parties. They're not beholden to anyone and they can do whatever they want. That's what Seinfeld did for nine seasons.

And if they didn't, it sure felt that way.

Binge watching is something I could not envision, even a decade ago when we bought the Seinfeld box set. In a matter of days you can see the whole show--it's like we're messing with time. 

Our daughter will most likely be moving out in the next couple of years and she'll be starting a new life with new adventures. I'm glad we've been able to share with her those shows that help shape us. Plus, she now knows where we got some of the sayings we spout all the time around the house. So when I say, "Because people like to say _______," our daughter know why I'm saying that and where I got it.

I don't know what's next on the watching agenda. Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't--in many ways--hold a candle to the series we just ended. Seinfeld was one of a kind.

Rediscovering..."Seinfeld"

After random channel surfing this afternoon, I stopped on the TBS Network. It was showing a random episode of Seinfeld. 

Man, what a great show!

To say, "they don't make shows like that anymore," is only half the story. In reality, they never made shows like that--it was the only one. I remember watching the pilot. A friend, Clifton May, had just completed an internship in Washington D.C. and he heard about a comedian named Jerry Seinfeld. We ended up watching a bit he did on The Tonight Show. Seinfeld began the next season and so I watched it.

I continued watching for nine years.

We have the series, a box of DVDs that now seem so old fashioned. This afternoon my wife and I sat and watched two episodes and just loved them. The timing, the chemistry of the cast, the excellent writing--it's pure comedy gold.

We have a DVD player, but we hardly ever use it. We have some movies and TV shows--not too many--but we end up watching other stuff instead of getting up, opening up a case, opening up the DVD player, and putting in the show. It's just easier.

It's been probably a decade since we've watched them (when we did watch the series, we bing-watched...). I think it's about time to do it again. They're just so, so good.

The Comedians, The Car, The Conversation...Practically Perfect

I saw that my wife shared an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee a few days ago, but I didn't watch it until this afternoon. I watched it. It was the first time I ever watched the show even though it's been around for years. 

And now I'm face with a dilemma. 

I don't think I can ever watch another episode.

It's not because I didn't like it. The reason I may have to impose a self-ban on watching another video is because it was too good and I don't think anything will ever eclipse it. It was almost perfect.

I"m probably the last person on the planet to have watched one of these little gems, so I'm not telling you something you don't already know. Watching Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan chat over their careers, service at the restaurant, and other everyday topics was like they let us be a part of their inner circle, like we were hanging out with them.

And that van...a thing of beauty. "You'll love the car they drive," my wife said. I don't know much about Mr. Seinfeld's personal life, but I know he likes VWs and Porsches.  I thought they were going to drive around in an old Porsche. What they used was SO much better!

You can watch the episode: HERE. It you've got twenty minutes do yourself a favor and watch it, even if you've watched it before. I know I will since it will probably be the only one I'll ever see.

All screenshots were taken without permission from the episode