Said Jerry Seinfeld, to the studio audience for the "Seinfeld" finale episode in 1998.
Nielsen estimated that 76.3 million viewers tuned in to the last episode of Seinfeld, making it the fourth most watched television finale since 1960. That’s an astronomically high number by any era’s standard, especially today’s. In a world where the NFL and almost nothing else consistently pulls in huge audiences, there are barely any truly widely watched scripted shows left....
The monoculture’s last gasp may have been in 2019, when 19.3 million people watched the Game of Thrones finale. Four years later, the Succession finale–the TV event of the year—drew only 2.9 million.
The last episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" becomes available for streaming — it doesn't "air"! — tomorrow. People are predicting that it will parallel the final "Seinfeld" episode. Presumably, there will be a trial. We've been headed toward that all season. And we've been told that since Larry did the act — he gave water to a lady who was waiting in line to vote (in Georgia) — the outcome will hinge on the jury's view of Larry's character. So how can it not be a review of all the bad things Larry's done, tracking the "Seinfeld" finale? But who really cares, a quarter century later, whether the "Seinfeld" finale was actually good? Maybe somehow the finale "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode will go meta and become an examination of Larry's longterm belief that he ended "Seinfeld" exactly the right way.
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"You’re at the Kennedy assassination and you’ve got your seats on the grassy knoll" ... And we've been told that since Larry did the act — he gave water to a lady who was waiting in line to vote (in Georgia) — the outcome will hinge on the jury's view of Larry's character. So how can it not be a review of all the bad things Larry's done, tracking the "Seinfeld" finale?
In other words, "Back... and to the Left"?
It's always prostitutes who are revealed as having a heart of gold. Not comedians.
I've never watched game of thrones - nor a single episode of curb your enthusiasm.
In the 1990's - Thursday night was Sienfeld night.
I didn’t find the Seinfeld final episode too bad. Its purpose was to remind the audience that Jerry, George, Elaine, a d Kramer were horrible people.
In a land that thrives on celebrating horrible people- see the celebrity culture or the two Presidential candidates - that is not a bad thing.
Even as late as 1998, if you wanted to see the finale without having to wait for a while, you had to tune it the hour or so it was broadcast or at least record it that night. Those days ended with streaming services in the 2000s.
"Larry did the act [crime] -- he gave water to a lady who was waiting in line to vote (in Georgia)." Yes, but did he say "Gay"?
GOT has got to hold the record for worst finale ever. That finale seemed not just bad in itself but to betray and curdle the narrative arc and all the previous episodes. There wasn't much of a narrative arc in Seinfeld. It wasn't the great episode that people were hoping for, but it didn't cause fans to feel betrayed and defrauded the way that the GOT fans felt.....Is the last episode of Curb some kind of dig at Georgia Republicans. Those Georgia Republicans just aren't up to the high levels of civic spirit that we see in the Democrats of that state. How could anyone make fun of Fani WIllis?
AMDG -
Seinfeld merely flipped the narrative. Yes - the gang of characters were self-centered jerks.
So what? That's what made it funny. that the jerks got some comeuppance at the end? - was funny.
Seinfeld had an edge. An Edge missing from most cookie cutter shows from that era.
Most sit coms from that era (Full House and crap like that) were always boring cliche moral tales.. with soppy cliche' messaging and endings.
Will we see a CGI Bob Einstein in the Curb finale?
Books, plays, movies and television shows never really end.
You can always re-read it (also see books with a circular structure), revive it (isn't every play a revival now?), re-watch/stream it, like "My Dinner with Andre".
The "ending of the Sopranos" like "the ending of Seinfeld" had one message; Rewatch it, to see what you might have missed.
The Seinfeld finale was too long- that is my main criticism (not the only one, though), but I don't look back on it with disgust the way I look at the finale of "Game of Thrones", for example, or "Lost".
Sopranos finale was worse than GOT. Also, the Seinfeld finale with George Steinbrenner on the stand being questioned by Jerry Stiller about Hideki Irabu was golden.
Succession had a finale?
I thought the final episode of Seinfeld was very good. It wrapped things up in a way that was true to the show. I don't know what the critics were expecting - that Jerry and Elaine would get married and live happily ever after?
IMO, Curbed has gone downhill the past couple of seasons. I used to enjoy the show but I now find it hard to watch a whole episode. The main problem for me is that LD has gotten too over the top agitated too often. He comes up with some good scenarios but doesn't really develop them. And "Pretty Good" has become a worn sitcom catch phrase.
Susie's cussing rants used to be funny but now they seem forced. They only one that seems fresh, funny and not forced is Leon.
Amazing that Seinfeld was over 25 years ago. Had a co=worker who didn't like Seinfeld because the people were so "nasty". He liked "Friends" better. I told him you're not supposed like George, Elaine, or Kramer. You're supposed to laugh at them. But humor is subjective.
I have Curb DVDs we bought at a book sale for 3 bucks a Season. Maybe Ill give those a rewatch.
'Curb' is mostly funny but it's just a formula...everyone can see the 'twist' coming a mile away. There are no surprise laughs because you can see the jokes coming down Ventura Boulevard. Leon has stolen the show for awhile now.
And he is obsessed with Trump. Not just a little. I think he actually dreams of The Donald. Like many who comment here who have no other life.
The Seinfeld ending was weird at the time but made some sense. They were all horrible people. Not a single redeeming quality among the four unless you gave Kramer credit for just being a low-IQ doofus caught up in the others' problems.
'I've never watched game of thrones - nor a single episode of curb your enthusiasm.'
I watched the first episode, and figured, after watching some guy fuck his sister, maybe it wasn't for me.
'Sopranos' was an OK ending. What else happens to a mob guy? The lights just go out.
A lot of people watch the Seinfeld finale because we thought it would be really really good. It turned out that we didn’t like it that much but by then we had already watched it. Viewership back, then was based on what we expected the show to be, and if we liked it, we would watch again next week.
And handing out water to the dehydrated, people in line is only illegal if you are an election worker. Random passerby may do it without fear of breaking any laws.
I curbed my enthusiasm for Larry David the first time I watched his show many years ago. I changed channels part way through the episode and never watched the show again.
The crime itself not so much, but Seinfeld had had memorable characters pass through who fans actually wanted to see one time. The trial was a good vehicle for that.
Though its audience was limited, How I Met Your Mother did a clinic on how not to do a finale. They filmed the end scene very early, when the child actors were young, and then stuck to that ending after allowing the story to meander for seven seasons.
Loved and still love Seinfeld.
Cannot make it through an episode of Curb your Enthusiasm. I find him too annoying and the show is all about him being annoying. It seems to work for millions. Not for me.
The best finale was “The Americans”. Elizabeth’s punishment was to lose her kids just as she came to the realization that she loved her kids. Philip’s punishment was to lose his kids that he always adored and the place that he had come to love.
I liked “The Sopranos” finale. For Tony life goes on, but, the audience got whacked.
List of people I'd like to see go away,
1. Larry David
You could get 77 million viewers for a seinfeld today- if you put it on a network and made it free but the industry only wants to up their social credit score. To draw that high you need normal whites…
Yes it is airing on HBO at 10 eastern.
I thought both the Sopranos and Succession had great finales. Sopranos for the artfulness and Succession for the kernel of self-knowledge behind the Prog hysterics.
I love Curb too. Speaking of self-knowledge, David clearly sees the absurdities and hypocrisy of the wealthy Left. That doesn’t mean he can stop himself from indulging in them, but credit for acknowledging them.
I'm bewildered by these people who say they love Seinfeld but hate Curb. It's practically a spinoff! George Costanza becomes a successful comedy writer and moves to LA. That's all it is! I can't help but wonder if y'all were laughing at different things in Seinfeld than I was?
I've never cared for Larry David's humor. Understand it, don't care for it.
The MASH finale got 84 million, but now I don’t remember what it was about.
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