Althouse: Do these kids today accept "Seinfeld"?

November 30, 2018

Do these kids today accept "Seinfeld"?

139 comments:

J. Farmer said...: Triggered warning.; 11/30/18, 3:30 PM
jaydub said...: No, they’re all triggered.; 11/30/18, 3:32 PM
mockturtle said...: The only time I watched Seinfeld was at my brother's house once. I just never found it funny. My brother also thought The Office was funny.; 11/30/18, 3:36 PM
Lucid-Ideas said...: That was agonizing to watch. The kids I mean, not Seinfeld.; 11/30/18, 3:37 PM
Jim at said...: It's been more than 20 years since the Seinfeld finale aired. In fact, I just watched it again last night ... syndicated locally.

For one, I'm probably one of the few who actually liked the Finale. And other than most of the show's 'problems' being solved by use of today's cell phones, the show still holds up. Still watch multiple episodes each week.; 11/30/18, 3:40 PM
Darrell said...: I wouldn't hire those kids to clean out a septic tank.; 11/30/18, 3:42 PM
M Jordan said...: Talk about conflicted ... these young people and particularly the young womyn were forcing themselves not to laugh. They are living in a delusion. Seriously, they are mentally ill (except for two of the guys who actually laughed.); 11/30/18, 3:44 PM
M Jordan said...: Jim, I too liked the finale. It was full circle. Kind of reminded me of the “Extra” finale.; 11/30/18, 3:46 PM
M Jordan said...: *That should have been “Extras” finale. You know, the Ricky Gervais gem.; 11/30/18, 3:46 PM
Molly said...: (eaglebeak)

These kids seem kind of, um, unsophisticated. They probably don't get a lot of comedy from the past. Maybe that's why today's comedies are dullish.

However, if you want to watch a really low-key, dry, dark, but also hilarious movie, try Death of Stalin with Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, Michael Palin as Molotov, Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov. Kind of a niche movie, I suppose.

Also, I always found Seinfeld very funny, but then I lived for years in the West 80s in NYC, so it was like old home week.; 11/30/18, 3:47 PM
MadisonMan said...: Are there any sitcoms on TV now?

I wonder what these humorless kids think of I Love Lucy.

Or this scene -- what a long time to build to the punchline at the end but worth it.; 11/30/18, 3:51 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Seinfeld's cast of characters were much meaner people than generally thought. Jerry was an okay human being. Elaine was a close "spongeworthy" second. But the rest?! I mean, you could strangle George Costanza on 5th Ave & the crowd would cheer you on.

"30 Rock" had a similar cast of characters --- NYC urbanites who consider themselves "Better Than Thou" & "With It" & who are nothing of the sort.

You think "Seinfeld" doesn't work with the snowflakes? Go get a "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" comic or a copy of National Lampoon from the early 70s. Oy Gevalt! And that was what the Lefties were producing!; 11/30/18, 3:56 PM
RK said...: Some of the kids are cool. Some are dullards. Same as it ever was.; 11/30/18, 4:00 PM
Jim at said...: It was full circle.

Indeed. Including the subject of the last conversation between Jerry and George in the cell being the subject of the very first conversation they had in the coffee shop.; 11/30/18, 4:00 PM
Jim at said...: I don't know if I'd call the characters mean. Self-absorbed and clueless to those around them, sure.

Maybe my definition of mean is different.; 11/30/18, 4:02 PM
bleh said...: The Era of That's Not Funny.; 11/30/18, 4:03 PM
Robert Cook said...: "Indeed. Including the subject of the last conversation between Jerry and George in the cell being the subject of the very first conversation they had in the coffee shop."

Which was all meant to show that they never changed, never learned.; 11/30/18, 4:04 PM
tcrosse said...: Larry David made the show's unofficial motto "No hugging, no learning".; 11/30/18, 4:08 PM
Barry Dauphin said...: Very little comedy (especially in television) holds up over time. Younger generations rarely laugh at TV shows that their parents or grandparents thought was funny. It's interesting that many take it too literally to see the humor. The shaving cream pie in the face isn't that funny anymore, but today's kids would simply be triggered by it, rather than seeing it as lame.; 11/30/18, 4:11 PM
bleh said...: These kids are sooooooo PC. Most were judging the episodes based on whether they were too controversial or not sensitive enough, not whether they were funny.; 11/30/18, 4:12 PM
Darrell said...: "Talking like a kid with a paper asshole" comes to mind.; 11/30/18, 4:15 PM
tcrosse said...: It would be fun to remake Seinfeld with Susie Essman playing Elaine the way she played Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Of course, it would never fly on broadcast TV.; 11/30/18, 4:16 PM
Two-eyed Jack said...: The first season, at least, of "Great News" on Netflix is quite funny.
It is also well-crafted in a Seinfeldian way (it is a Tina Fey product). There are a collection of characters with human weaknesses, and others who are just chaos stirrers. They can bring in the chaos characters for short and punchy jokes. The laugh density is much higher with this approach.

I think all of the kids in this video feel the need to represent themselves as right-thinking members of their generation. The message they give is that, sure, Seinfeld was funny/edgy when it came out because of historic oppression, but now that everything goes, no one should laugh about these topics any more for fear of giving offense.; 11/30/18, 4:18 PM
Tank said...: Reminds me how funny the show was. I was a fan of Jerry before the show and watched right from the beginning when it was not that highly rated. Some of these youngsters seemed to be rejecting the episodes while they were laughing, I.e. they were afraid to like the humor.; 11/30/18, 4:18 PM
tcrosse said...: "Talking like a kid with a paper asshole" comes to mind.

Paper assholes is what we used to call those binder hole reinforcement rings; 11/30/18, 4:18 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: “To the moon Allice! To the moon!”

That used to be a real laugher. For you younger folks, that was how far she was going to fly after he hit her.; 11/30/18, 4:20 PM
Two-eyed Jack said...: Tim in Vermont: "To the moon Alice..." That used to be a real laugher.

Come on, if Ralph ever actually hit Alice, the joke would be over forever. Your comment is like saying that Barney Fife keeping a bullet in his pocket just shows the violence inherent in the system.; 11/30/18, 4:26 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I am enjoying the French TV shows on Netflix. I just started one that is about a secret agent in 1960 A Very Secret Service, it’s funny, and they aren’t all sucked into the gender politics or telling the viewers how to vote through little morality plays the way US TV is. You have to not mind subtitles or speak French though.; 11/30/18, 4:27 PM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/30/18, 4:28 PM
Jim at said...: I was a fan of Jerry before the show and watched right from the beginning when it was not that highly rated.

Saw him on Roy Firestone's Up Close on ESPN several times and caught his act at Bumbershoot back in the late '80s.

Then, like now, either people liked his stuff or they didn't.

Then again, we all have our flaws. Steven Wright still kills me.; 11/30/18, 4:29 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Come on, if Ralph ever actually hit Alice, the joke would be over forever.

You know that, and I know that, but these millennial influencers? Not so sure.; 11/30/18, 4:32 PM
Wince said...: Maybe it was the way the question was posed -- would Seinfeld "hold-up today" -- but in many instances it seemed these kids wouldn't/couldn't say what they as individuals thought was funny, but what they should think is funny based on what others think they should think is or is not funny.

A referential return to the hive mind before articulating one's supposed own opinion.

Earlier today I was thinking about all the art/entertainment/humor that would not exist if today's climate prevailed in earlier decades.

Free thought is actively being banished. They should have shown them scenes from 1984 and asked what they thought.; 11/30/18, 4:33 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Saw him on Roy Firestone's Up Close on ESPN several times and caught his act at Bumbershoot back in the late '80s.

I have a friend who went to Hebrew school with him in Massapequa. He tells me that Jerry never said a word.; 11/30/18, 4:34 PM
tcrosse said...: Come on, if Ralph ever actually hit Alice, the joke would be over forever.

Alice's attitude was always, "Just try it, Fat Boy."; 11/30/18, 4:35 PM
Robert Cook said...: To be a little fair, these young people are not seeing the show in context of its own time, or in context of itself. That is, they're being shown random episodes of a program they are not familiar with, about characters they do not know. The humor of Seinfeld, as with with any long-running show, comes partly from the resonances we get from what we have come to know about the characters over time.

For example we know that these characters are self-centered shmucks, and are not meant to be exemplars of virtue. These young people may assume that these characters are supposed be be sympathetic and "good" people. The things these kids are cringing at were meant to be cringe-worthy, as representative of the characters' shmuckiness. (This is the whole point of the series finale) In short, they're entirely typical people, shorn of the sentimentality typical of most comedic and dramatic programs, at least, up to that time.; 11/30/18, 4:35 PM
James K said...: For one, I'm probably one of the few who actually liked the Finale.

I liked the finale too. It really closed the loop in a lot of ways.

One problem with the exercise is that you can't just watch an episode or two cold. To appreciate it you have to get to know the characters through multiple episodes. But even so, today's snowflakes obviously can't handle adulthood, much less the material in the show.; 11/30/18, 4:38 PM
James K said...: One interesting thing is that a lot of Seinfeldisms have entered the language, yet some of these kids don't know the origin. Like "NTTAWWT." "Oh, that's where that came from?"; 11/30/18, 4:46 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: I wonder how many of them were just giving the answers that they thought were expected of them, rather than what they really thought. Except for Margot. She didn't think anything was funny. She could be the poster child for "that's not funny".; 11/30/18, 4:48 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Seinfeld sucked from the start, and all the way through. At least it did for the parts I could actually sit through, and that was usually only when someone else was watching it.

I suppose that bald guy was kind of funny, as was the woman, sometimes, but Michael Richards is a one-trick pony. The funniest thing about him is his hair. Jerry is such a bad actor he can't even convincing portray himself.; 11/30/18, 4:50 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Yeah, Seinfeld wasn’t funny, not a line of it, and those of us who somehow inexplicably laughed at every episode are suffering from a false consciousness.; 11/30/18, 4:52 PM
Bilwick said...: I'm a Baby Boomer and tend to think of "these kids" as the Dumbest Generation. I don't get at all the mentality that a show or a movie doesn't "hold up" once the technology depicted has been rendered obsolete.; 11/30/18, 4:53 PM
Wince said...: Sure, we're too old to change the world, but what about that kid, watching Seinfeld for the first time, sitting down with his iPhone and finding episodes full of pee-pees and wee-wees? Doesn't he deserve better?

Look. If you think this is about a "show about nothing" and dated humor, you'd better think again. This is about that kid's right to watch comedy without getting his mind warped!

Or maybe that turns you on, Seinfeld; maybe that's how you get your kicks. You and your good-time buddies. Well I got a flash for ya, joy-boy: Party time is over!; 11/30/18, 4:54 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: They should have shown the "wear the ribbon" episode. That one is even more relevant today that it was back then.; 11/30/18, 4:54 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: In fact the proof that a show isn’t funny or good is if it remains enduringly popular. Just because millions of people like a show is no reason for you to step back and say, “Maybe the show is good, but I just don’t get it myself, or think it’s funny myself...” Naah!; 11/30/18, 4:55 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "I was a fan of Jerry before the show..."

Actually, so was I. In fact, he was my favorite stand-up, which made the show all the more disappointing.

And his stand-up doesn't hold up, but that kind of thing almost never does.; 11/30/18, 4:57 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Tim/Char Char,

The Seinfelds vs Non-Seinfeldians are like the Wagner/Anti-Wagnerites --- there's just no way to bridge those differences.

It's not related to politics. It's not related to ethnicity or gender (I know NYC Jews on both sides of the question). I don't know what it is, but quite a few folks just think Seinfeld isn't funny.

Cats & dogs actually routinely get along with each other, but not The Seinfeld vs Non-Seinfeldians.; 11/30/18, 4:57 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: I would take Seinfeld over these kids, who, to me, seem unfunny and uninteresting.

They should show these kids episodes of the "Three Stooges" next.; 11/30/18, 4:57 PM
rcocean said...: Do kids find Seinfeld funny? Looks like no.

But guess what? 85% of the USA didn't watch Seinfeld when it was on TV.

I liked it. But Mr. and Mrs. Average USA - never liked it.

So, not surprised.; 11/30/18, 4:59 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @BAG,

They should show these kids episodes of the "Three Stooges" next.

Microphonies still holds up & is absolutely fucking hilarious. Probably insults the Transies in some way that the Snowflakes can't handle, though.....; 11/30/18, 5:00 PM
Hanoi Paris Hilton said...: ref:"if you want to watch a really low-key, dry, dark, but also hilarious movie, try Death of Stalin ..."

Yeah, I especially thought the part where Beria orders his NKVD apparatchik to arrest some guy at 2AM and then torture his wife in front of him, and then have them both shot was real barrel of laffs!; 11/30/18, 5:02 PM
rcocean said...: Had a co-worker who hated Seinfeld. It was 'too negative'. She liked "Friends".

It puzzled me, and then i realized she was right, in a way.

Jerry, Kramer, Eileen, and especially George are all self-absorbed jerks. Which the show admitted in several episodes.

But funny is funny.; 11/30/18, 5:02 PM
rcocean said...: BTW, is the fat guy with glasses supposed to be a "College Kid"?

He looks about 30.; 11/30/18, 5:04 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "Seinfeld wasn’t funny, not a line of it, and those of us who somehow inexplicably laughed at every episode are suffering from a false consciousness."

Maybe I should have clarified that Seinfeld wasn't funny IN MY OPINION. I thought that was a given, since I was giving my OPINION.; 11/30/18, 5:06 PM
Kelly said...: Someone needs to show them I Dream of Jeannie. That came out in like, the 40’s right (joking)? They’d love how Jeannie called Major Nelson master.; 11/30/18, 5:09 PM
gspencer said...: "Serenity now, kids, serenity now."

Until Festivus and the Airing of Grievances.; 11/30/18, 5:11 PM
The Godfather said...: I was really pleased that most of these kids did laugh at some of the comedy, even if they were ashamed of doing so. Maybe "That's not funny" hasn't triumphed completely. I think that at least one of them understood "Not that there's anything wrong with that", even though our (officially sanctioned) attitudes about homosexuality have changed so that now "there's nothing wrong with that" is mandatory.

Comedy is often time-bound (how many people these days really yuck it up over Much Ado About Nothing?). When I was a kid, I laughed myself silly at I Love Lucy, but when I see it today in re-runs it's mostly a snooze.; 11/30/18, 5:12 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: When I was a kid, on Sundays, we watched old re-runs of The Little Rascals and The Three Stooges.

Very high mirth factor, those early days.; 11/30/18, 5:17 PM
James K said...: I don't get at all the mentality that a show or a movie doesn't "hold up" once the technology depicted has been rendered obsolete.

True, that would render everything written before 2003 or so obsolete. "OMG, why didn't Juliet just text Romeo about the plan?!"; 11/30/18, 5:20 PM
Biff said...: I'm curious about the kids' socio-economic backgrounds (I presume affluent urban) and whether there is much daylight between their attitudes and the broader attitudes of kids across the whole country (I dunno).; 11/30/18, 5:22 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "Friends" barely qualified as a comedy. Don't make me choose between the two, because I choose neither.

I guess I'm picky about comedies. The only nineties sitcoms that I liked, that I can think of offhand, were "The Simpsons", "Malcolm in the Middle", and "That 70's Show".; 11/30/18, 5:23 PM
Jim at said...: Until Festivus and the Airing of Grievances.

Solstice on the 21st and Festivus on the 23rd get me through the rest of the Holiday season.; 11/30/18, 5:24 PM
gilbar said...: those kids seemed REALLY Naive, not that there's anything wrong with that

The girl with the funny eyes said:
"even if I weren't gay, that's totally unacceptable because i have friends that are gay"
[ some of my best friends ]

The girl in the scarf said:
"Back then being gay wasn't for prevalent"
[Says WHO?] {also, back in the '90's we didn't throw gays out of windows}

The good lucking girl said:
"people now require structure in their shows, and this show seems to be about nothing"
[it WAS a show about nothing!]; 11/30/18, 5:25 PM
tcrosse said...: Until Festivus and the Airing of Grievances.

Meanwhile, strive to be Master of Your Domain.; 11/30/18, 5:27 PM
Fernandinande said...: I just never found it funny.

I sought out the supposed four best episodes of Seinfeld, and derived some amusement, perhaps, but never actually laughed at anything. At all.

My brother also thought The Office was funny.

That was a weird show, I usually thought "in the real world all these assholes would've been fired a long time ago". Now that one guy is in some adventure/terrorist shoot-em-up but he still looks like an assistant office manager for a paper company.; 11/30/18, 5:34 PM
Crypto said...: I can't decide which is the best comedy of all time: Seinfeld, The Simpsons, or Fawlty Towers (John Cleese show from the 70s). Having sad that, the Seinfeld Finale was awful--essentially a clip show. Just as lazy as could be.

Based on the kids' reaction, we are f*cked, as a society.; 11/30/18, 5:36 PM
Fernandinande said...: After a slow start, Disorder in the Court is probably the funniest thing ever put to film.; 11/30/18, 5:40 PM
wildswan said...: I also noticed the kids were laughing at it and then they'd turn around and say "That's not funny." But they were asked: "Would this stand up?" which is a little ambiguous - are you asking "would others find it funny" or are you asking "do you find it funny?" Gotta admit that I can't understand not finding it funny. But based on comments here some people never liked Seinfeld. Maybe they should also ask people who watched the show in the Nineties - does this stand up? I think it gets better.; 11/30/18, 5:44 PM
William said...: I'm trying to make my way through the Shakespeare comedies that are on Amazon. The comedy doesn't hold up very well. Too much fat shaming for Falstaff. Way overdone. If Shakespeare doesn't hold up, what chance does Seinfeld have?......Seinfeld still holds up for me, but Mary Tyler Moore isn't super great anymore........There's an English comedy called Sick Note that's very good. It features Lindsay Lohan, so right away you know it's funny. I highly recommend it........New episodes of Mrs.Maisel in the near future. The show is not that funny, but it is very engrossing. I find some of the political correctness irritating. Lenny Bruce and the lesbian manager are presented as altruistic types who would never make a move on Mrs. Maisel. Lenny's great ambition is to achieve the perfect set. He's a little troubled, but he's a true artist. I'm not sure if that's historically accurate.; 11/30/18, 5:50 PM
Gulistan said...: Are you a Seinfeld fan, Ann?; 11/30/18, 5:57 PM
cacimbo said...: Everyone except Jeannie liked the shrinkage joke. No way they would have given the same thumbs up to a joke about women's breast size. Would have liked to see their reaction to the "Dolores rhymes with" episode. Agree that they were judging if jokes were acceptable not if they were funny.; 11/30/18, 6:00 PM
bagoh20 said...: I always found the show very funny.

Those kids are just sad. What a depressing world we have left for them. I guess it's not surprising that they are highly tuned into what is offensive by today's standards. It seems to be the over arching control to everythig they say, and think. Pretty hard to even have humor in that kind of world. Who would have thought that "1984"'s opression would be self-inflicted at the individual level. I wonder if there are any rebels in this generation. It must be harder than ever to be one. It's just sad. I think I was born just in time to be in the last generation to live a fun, open, and tolerant life.; 11/30/18, 6:01 PM
mockturtle said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/30/18, 6:16 PM
mockturtle said...: I laughed at Monty Python.; 11/30/18, 6:16 PM
mockturtle said...: I can't decide which is the best comedy of all time: Seinfeld, The Simpsons, or Fawlty Towers (John Cleese show from the 70s).

Fawlty Towers, hands down. BTW, it was both my husband's and my father's favorite sitcom. Much like I Love Lucy, some episodes--in fact, quite a few of them--are classics.; 11/30/18, 6:21 PM
Unknown said...: The irony is that Larry David is an activist liberal.; 11/30/18, 6:25 PM
Rory said...: Choosing people unacquainted with the show leads to a biased sample, because the show is freely available. If you like broad, sarcastic humor, you could have found Seinfeld at any time.; 11/30/18, 6:25 PM
BuckIV said...: I made it about 2 minutes in then had to leave.; 11/30/18, 6:43 PM
Unknown said...: Much prefer ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ for crazy lib and/or political correctness. Skewers it every time even 20 years on.; 11/30/18, 7:17 PM
n.n said...: The black and white cookie in perfect harmony. Today, it's diversity or color judgments, classes and quotas, affirmative racism.

Maybe the dingo ate your baby. Today, we know it was Planned, selected or recycled, for social progress, as in the original.

No soup for you. Next! Today, it's still the progressive (i.e. monotonic) leftists (e.g. Antifa, KKK) running people out of restaurants.

Jackie Chiles is played by Avenatti et al.

Are those real? is politically incongruent, heteronormative, and transphobic.

The Rainbow is lackluster and exclusive.

Newmania!; 11/30/18, 7:20 PM
Browndog said...: Not lost is the fact most of the good sitcoms, tv, even film, have actors that started in stand-up.

Drew Carry (Price is Right), Roseanne, Bill Maher, Tom Hanks...just a quick off the top of my head.

How many realize these people started out in stand-up? Stand-up is dead; comedy is dead. It seems cruelty to "others" gets the laughs today...

...and that's not funny.; 11/30/18, 7:22 PM
n.n said...: David is an activist liberal

From yester-year, yester-generation, conservative, really.; 11/30/18, 7:25 PM
n.n said...: Disclosure: The following contains crossover controversy.

Today's shows are great, but they're missing something. They need more cowbell.; 11/30/18, 7:30 PM
Marcus said...: Enjoyed Seinfield but it took a while to grow on me. I watched the premiere episode and thought, "oh, well....". But it became a can't miss with me, someone who watched very few shows and almost none now. Agree about The Simpsons and Fawlty Towers. P.S. Didn't watch the clip. Have zero interest in what those people like or don't like.

I have TRIED to like The Office. I am four episodes into the first season. Does it get any better?

THEOLDMAN; 11/30/18, 7:32 PM
Mark said...: I'm a minute and a half into the video and have no desire to watch the rest, these losers are so lame. So I won't.; 11/30/18, 7:33 PM
Mark said...: Very little comedy (especially in television) holds up over time. Younger generations rarely laugh at TV shows that their parents or grandparents thought was funny.

Whenever Burns and Allen is on, it is laugh out loud. Same with Leave it to Beaver. Or Beverly Hillbillies. Of Green Acres. Or Andy Griffith Show.; 11/30/18, 7:37 PM
Mark said...: The Lucy shows were never all that funny. Neither was The Honeymooners.; 11/30/18, 7:38 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Oh, please. This must be satire. My 22 and 19 year-old love Seinfeld and their riffs and those of their hip friends are frequently larded with Seinfeld references. A swallow does not a season make. Or something.; 11/30/18, 7:39 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Millennials grew up watching Seinfeld reruns with their parents. It would be like me bagging on Ben Cartwright for showing insufficient cultural sensitivity to Hop Sing.; 11/30/18, 7:42 PM
Mark said...: First year of Seinfeld was really bad. But was excellent after that. Same with The Office.

Both of them absurdist humor.; 11/30/18, 7:44 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Who hires a Chinese guy to make flapjacks and biscuits, anyway?; 11/30/18, 7:45 PM
Mark said...: All in the Family does not hold up.

And what would the kids today say about #MeToo serial sexual harassment on MASH?; 11/30/18, 7:45 PM
Mark said...: Who hires a Chinese guy to make flapjacks and biscuits, anyway?

The restaurant guy who kept calling George "Cartwright".; 11/30/18, 7:47 PM
traditionalguy said...: I don't care what your age is, if you cannot appreciate the amazing personality of Julia Louis Dreyfus you are a sad excuse for a human. She is truly the best of the best.; 11/30/18, 7:55 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Modern sitcoms are much meaner than Seinfeld.; 11/30/18, 8:27 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/30/18, 8:30 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: @ Tim in Vermont

"I am enjoying the French TV shows on Netflix. I just started one that is about a secret agent in 1960 A Very Secret Service, it’s funny, and they aren’t all sucked into the gender politics or telling the viewers how to vote through little morality plays the way US TV is. You have to not mind subtitles or speak French though."

hmm thanks for the recommendation.
Just about everything in the Trump era is a lecture, or a trigger, an outrage!, a guilt trip, or an over-the top assessment of a non-crime turned into a faux-crime. It's all so tedious.; 11/30/18, 8:31 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Loved Seinfeld. never got into The Office.; 11/30/18, 8:32 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: That Seventies Show was just something I wouldn’t allow to play in the house when I had teenage daughters living at home. Every episode seemed to be about bagging some chick.; 11/30/18, 8:33 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: One of the young Asian girl says: "That made me feel a bit uncomfortable"

uh - watching a sit-com?

Sweetie - you have no idea what real discomfort is.; 11/30/18, 8:33 PM
Known Unknown said...: Do the kids watch Curb Your Enthusiasm? It's basically Seinfeld with f-bombs, and at times, even more problematic.

Show these kids All in the Family and watch them melt into puddles.; 11/30/18, 8:42 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: You think "Seinfeld" doesn't work with the snowflakes? Go get a "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" comic or a copy of National Lampoon from the early 70s. Oy Gevalt! And that was what the Lefties were producing!

11/30/18, 3:56 PM

Imagine them watching "Blazing Saddles."

I stayed up to watch Marx Brothers movies on late night TV when I was a teen. I'm very glad I didn't feel the need to judge every line based on 70's feminist standards, 'cause poor old Margaret Dumont sure caught hell from Groucho.; 11/30/18, 9:03 PM
The Godfather said...: I'll see your Marx Brothers and raise the 3 Stooges.

Nyuk Nyuk!; 11/30/18, 9:13 PM
sane_voter said...: Loved Seinfeld. Never liked the Office. Tried to be cringe-worthy but was so dumb I couldn't suspend belief to get into it.

Older comedies I like are Green Acres, Leave It to Beaver, I Love Lucy, and Andy Griffith Show.; 11/30/18, 9:26 PM
n.n said...: Who hires a Chinese guy to make flapjacks and biscuits, anyway?

Or hiring Dominicans to roll crepes, when what you really want are good Cubans.; 11/30/18, 9:27 PM
Ryan said...: Needs the "era of that's not funny" tag.; 11/30/18, 9:30 PM
J. Farmer said...: It also didn't help that of the 170 some odd Seinfeld episodes, they chose a handful that addressed so called PC topics (e.g. The Cigar Store Indian, The Outing). Most Seinfeld plots were about the banality and minutiae of daily living. The Cigar Store Indian, which aired 25 years ago, was satirizing PC sensibilities then. The Outing had been well received in the gay press and was acknowledged by GLAAD.; 11/30/18, 9:31 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: The Godfather said...

I'll see your Marx Brothers and raise the 3 Stooges.

Nyuk Nyuk!

11/30/18, 9:13 PM

I couldn't stand the 3 Stooges - but most guys I've known like them.; 11/30/18, 9:33 PM
Ryan said...: O MY GOD LIKE NO LIKE THAT'S FOR SURE LIKE NOT OK LIKE AT ALL....RIGHT?; 11/30/18, 9:42 PM
Zach said...: Wait, was 18-29 ever the target demographic for Seinfeld?

I loved the show despite being much younger than that, but it was a dialogue-heavy comedy of manners. That screams middle aged demographic to me.; 11/30/18, 9:45 PM
Zach said...: Even at the time, the humor wasn't for everybody. The whole premise is that these people keep running up against situations where their natural reactions come across as incredibly rude, so they have to scheme their way out of normal polite behavior while denying that they're doing anything of the kind. I think you enjoy it more if you've got a bit of a misanthropic streak.

It's also tough to watch just one episode, because so much depends on your knowledge of the characters. Take George's famous "Was that wrong?" speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB62oaOeqR0

It's a completely character based joke. George is constantly tempted to scheme and brazen his way through minor issues, and it never works out. Here he's in an impossible situation, and he goes for the home run: "Was that wrong? I gotta plead ignorance on that one, because I've worked in a lot of offices..." He's guaranteed to fail -- the humor is that he tries.

If you've never seen the show before, that scene is going to be a minor chuckle at most.; 11/30/18, 10:12 PM
Rob said...: Die, snowflakes. Watch the totally unfunny sketches on SNL and laugh your kishkas out.; 11/30/18, 10:31 PM
Will Cate said...: Needs the "nothing is funny" tag; 11/30/18, 10:41 PM
Will Cate said...: Zach said: "It's also tough to watch just one episode, because so much depends on your knowledge of the characters"

So true.... the writing constantly rewarded viewers for prior knowledge. If you don't watch the series from the beginning, you miss so much.; 11/30/18, 10:45 PM
Rory said...: Marcus said: "I have TRIED to like The Office. I am four episodes into the first season. Does it get any better?"

Yes. There are only six episodes in the first season. If you get 10 or 12 episodes into season 2 and don't like it, then it might not be for you. I think seasons 3 to 5 are probably when the show was best.; 11/30/18, 11:01 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: Well, not a huge surprise, but RIP George H.W. Bush.

Not always right, but not a bad guy.; 11/30/18, 11:30 PM
SweatBee said...: I predict that Morgan will not hold up.; 11/30/18, 11:56 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Simply hilarious how they thought you couldn't throw around the word "Nazi" today. Sheesh!; 12/1/18, 12:11 AM
Yancey Ward said...: And who didn't figure out Morgan was a lesbian right from the start?

Not that there is anything wrong with that!; 12/1/18, 12:25 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Yes, a few commenters have pointed out the problem with being dumped into a random episode- you really don't have the complete context for understanding the writing and the acting. Like Tank above, I was big fan of Seinfeld before he got his television show- I saw him first on Carson, and in person. I also watched the show from the very beginning, and you can see how the show evolved- the writers and the actors did a lot of trial and error figuring it all out those first two truncated seasons.; 12/1/18, 12:33 AM
Zach said...: The one where Jerry roofies his date with tryptophan so he can play with her toys while she's asleep came across as rapey even at the time, and was never a good example of the show's humor. Jerry's comic persona is that he has some hangup that nobody else would even notice, but he can't get over -- like the date with "man hands."

An out of character episode like that was evidence that the show was running out of steam. It's not a good representation of other episodes in the series.; 12/1/18, 2:19 AM
Aussie Pundit said...: They should have shown the "wear the ribbon" episode. That one is even more relevant today that it was back then.

"Wear the ribbon" would absolutely not go to air today. It wouldn't get made, and if it did, the studio would cancel the entire series in response.

And you absolutely could not make it required viewing for unsuspecting millenials who might be offended. I'm not being sarcastic. The same is true for a bunch of other Seinfeld episodes, including but not limited to "not that there's anything wrong with that", and the one with the line, "It's not racist if I like their race".
Also I seem to remember there was an episode about cirumcision, one about masturbation, boob jokes ("they're big and they're spectacular"), and many episodes in which women are evaluated on very superficial criteria.

I'm serious. In today's environment, it simply would not get made.; 12/1/18, 4:12 AM
Birkel said...: Yes, Minister.

Funny and timely.; 12/1/18, 5:06 AM
tim maguire said...: Interesting how the kids divided. If they could look at it as humor, it held up. But if they focused on whether it was woke, it didn’t hold up.

None of them seemed to get that the Seinfeld characters weren’t supposed to be good people. “Oh noooo! He shouldn’t have done that! DOESN’T HOLD UP!!!!”; 12/1/18, 5:17 AM
whitney said...: I love watching reruns of Seinfeld but sometimes they trigger me. I mean I've been infected by today's world also, not as bad as younger people but there's definitely an infection. Of course, I make efforts to cure it which young people don't. They just let themselves get sicker and sicker; 12/1/18, 6:41 AM
Sharc 65 said...: Hijabbed girl re George getting kicked out by the Soup Nazi: "He should have just stayed quiet."; 12/1/18, 7:20 AM
MadisonMan said...: "NTTAWWT." "Oh, that's where that came from?"

That stood out for me too. There are these phrases in our lexicon and they don't know their origin.

I would love a similar video with Monty Python. Would they like The Fish-Slapping Dance? Pet Bee Eric? (Or course, they'd be wondering, as I still do -- who is Cyril Connoly?) The Money Song? The Deadliest Joke?; 12/1/18, 7:46 AM
Roger Sweeny said...: The irony is that Larry David is an activist liberal.

In the not too distant past, many liberals believed in free speech, "pushing the envelope", etc. The irony (more like tragedy) is that a lot of that is no longer considered "liberal".; 12/1/18, 8:11 AM
Mr. Majestyk said...: You know what really is noteworthy today? MASH.; 12/1/18, 8:24 AM
Mr. Majestyk said...: Not noteworthy...cringeworthy. Dang autocorrect.; 12/1/18, 8:25 AM
Rory said...: Birkel said: "Yes, Minister....Funny and timely."

It's a wonderful show.; 12/1/18, 8:28 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I admit that I didn’t really get the three stooges after I turned about 12, but before that, I really liked them.; 12/1/18, 8:36 AM
Sam L. said...: I never cared for Seinfeld.; 12/1/18, 9:15 AM
JMW Turner said...: Fraser's better.; 12/1/18, 9:20 AM
Mr. Majestyk said...: I hated the Three Stooges as a child. Now I think they're hilarious. Clearly, I have matured.; 12/1/18, 9:31 AM
Todd Roberson said...: The episode where George is simultaneously having a deep serious relationship with a woman he can't stand and having a torrid love affair with a woman who won't have sex with him ...

Gold, Jerry, gold!; 12/1/18, 10:01 AM
Robert Cook said...: "You know what really is noteworthy today? MASH."

Yes, it's awful, so sanctimonious. So much virtue-signaling (before the term existed). Robert Altman's movie is superior in that it is pure anarchy...the surgeons are not particularly nice or admirable.; 12/1/18, 10:01 AM
Temujin said...: Morgan is a poster child for the 'That's not funny' generation. She seems like a lot of fun. Luis, on the other hand, gets it. I figure about 1/2 more generations to go and we'll have completely wiped out a sense of humor from our society.

I forget how many phrases from that show became iconic phrases that everyone uses- including those who never saw the show. Not that there's anything wrong with it.

I also loved the comment from one of them about the Soup Nazi: "So he's a Nazi just because he yells?"
In her generation you're a Nazi just because you disagree with them.; 12/1/18, 10:38 AM
Robin Goodfellow said...: I'd like to see them do the same think with All in the Family.; 12/1/18, 4:29 PM
Robin Goodfellow said...: tcrosse said...
"Talking like a kid with a paper asshole" comes to mind.

Paper assholes is what we used to call those binder hole reinforcement rings

I still call them that.; 12/1/18, 4:33 PM