All Seinfeld, all the time

[Double Down]

Oh yeah, yeah! I'll just go ahead and rub that balm right into my $5,000 suit. C'mon!

 

[casty33]

What, no love for The Trip To The Hamptons? It's still my favorite. Soup Nazi and Kramer's hansom cab ride are also hilarious.

 

[Small Town Guy]

DD, Your anti-Seinfeld slant comes through subtly (pops up on Cheers chats occasionally) but I'm not going to put stock into the Arrested > than Seinfeld argument unless you're willing to say Tiger's better than Jack (more dominant, did things not even Jack did, even if stuck on 14 majors, injuries robbing him of major opportunities).

 

[Double Down]

DD, Your anti-Seinfeld slant comes through subtly (pops up on Cheers chats occasionally) but I'm not going to put stock into the Arrested > than Seinfeld argument unless you're willing to say Tiger's better than Jack (more dominant, did things not even Jack did, even if stuck on 14 majors, injuries robbing him of major opportunities).

Hmmm ... seems like quite the pickle I've got myself in. In my defense, I've been on Temocil for several years, which can cause numbness to the extremities and short-term memory loss.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

You better have a spare bowl of candy beans with you if you're going to talk your eyebrows off spreading those kind of lies.

Also, randomly...

Gene Parmesean > Soup Nazi

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.

 

[Versatile]

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.

 

[Double Down]

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

 

[sgreenwell]

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.

 

[Buck]

'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.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

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.

 

[dreunc1542]

'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.

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

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Seinfield is Emmitt Smith. Arrested is Bo Jackson.

 

[Buck]

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

 

[dreunc1542]

Seinfeld = Seaver and Arrested Development = Koufax

 

[Buck]

Seinfeld = Seaver
Arrested Development = Russ Ortiz

 

[Riptide]

Jack Morris! Jack Morris!

 

[Flying Headbutt]

One of those first four episodes is about to come on TBS at 7 eastern.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

My mistake. The very first one.

 

[Songbird]

It's the Murphy and O'Brien episode where they take the limo.

Interesting, the woman they pick up in the limo also is Poppy's daughter.

 

[Buck]

Is the other guy in the limo Peter Krause, from 'The Lost Room'?