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All Seinfeld, all the time

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Versatile, Jan 13, 2013.

  1. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Even better than Gene Parmesan himself was Lucille's reaction every time he revealed himself.

    Seinfeld is great, but the layers of comedy on Arrested Development were unbelievable. With Seinfeld you laughed at every joke the first time through. With Arrested Development you can watch an episode for the fifth time and still catch subtle gags you never noticed before.
     
  2. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    Did you really just suggest Seinfeld's brand of comedy was obvious and single-layered? That's absurd. I agree that Arrested Development was the most densely layered comedy ever, building on everything five times over. But Seinfeld had a hell of a lot of layers, too. The neuroses of the characters really built on themselves. It's also much more serialized than people give it credit for in the small ways. Sure, some back references are obvious. But there are a ton that are much less obvious, throwaway lines about episodes two and three seasons back. If you miss them, the show still is great. That's one thing I think makes Seinfeld better than Arrested Development. The show could be watched completely out of order and still be enjoyed. An Arrested Development newcomer would be completely thrown off starting anywhere but the first episode.
     
  3. Double Down

    Double Down Well-Known Member

    I don't understand the question, and I won't respond to it.
     
  4. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    The thing about season one of Arrested Development is that even that can be split into a good part and a bad part. I think the split is after roughly 6 or 10 episodes, when they clearly go from a really bad pilot-esque "on the cheap" level to an actual development level of a sitcom. If you watch the first couple episodes, it's especially noticeable on the voiceover for Ron Howard, which is way too low, as if FOX didn't want to spend the money to dub and balance it properly.

    Once you get past those first couple of rough episodes, it's all gravy. Oddly enough, Seinfeld has a similar rough arc in the beginning; "Top of the Rock" by Warren Littlefield talks about how at the time, the show only got like a four episode order, so the quality in those episodes is erratic, plus there was an episode without George and Kramer that caused George Alexander to give an ultimatum to Larry David and the network.
     
  5. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    'Seinfeld' is much better than 'Arrested Development.'
    Bringing 'Arrested Development' into a discussion about 'Seinfeld' is like bringing Stephen Baker into a discussion about Jerry Rice.
     
  6. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Versatile, I didn't say Seinfeld's comedy was obvious or single layered, just that it mostly can be digested in one viewing. The fact that it is still funny after 10 viewings is a testament to how great it is.


    sgreenwell, I see it a little differently. To me, Arrested Development was just about the most fully formed comedy pilot ever. There may have been some technical things like Howard's voiceover, but I can't think of many other shows, though Freaks and Geeks is one, that jumped right in at such a high level. I usually say you can't judge a series too much on its pilot, they are setting things up and feeling their way through, but Arrested Development was outstanding both story and comedy wise from the very beginning.
     
  7. dreunc1542

    dreunc1542 Active Member

    An argument can be made that Seinfeld is better. It is not much better and it's certainly not Baker vs. Rice.
     
  8. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Seinfield is Emmitt Smith. Arrested is Bo Jackson.
     
  9. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    If 'Seinfeld' is Emmitt Smith, then 'Arrested Development' is Joe Morris.
     
  10. dreunc1542

    dreunc1542 Active Member

    Seinfeld = Seaver and Arrested Development = Koufax
     
  11. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    Seinfeld = Seaver
    Arrested Development = Russ Ortiz
     
  12. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Jack Morris! Jack Morris!
     
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