Smash Notes

Why Can You Watch Seinfeld in Any Order?

at 2:15:44

From the episode: Seinfeld

Answer

David Rosenthal calls Seinfeld the most perfect syndication show ever created. With no hugging, no learning, no character development, and no relationship development, a viewer can tune in anytime to any episode in any order and still get a full entertaining experience.

David Rosenthal says that right after the move to Thursday night, after the huge success, and after the internet starts to come online, Seinfeld hits syndication. Ben Gilbert reads Jerry Seinfeld's quote to the LA Times that the show will be in syndication next year, and that will probably help further the same way it helped Cheers. Most people are still just now discovering the show. Most of the audience watching on Thursdays have not seen the show before. There are 60-some-odd episodes they have not seen. David Rosenthal says that back then the unofficial magic number for TV shows was 100 episodes, the moment a show entered syndication. Ben Gilbert says that was because a large enough number of episodes demonstrated that people liked the show and there was familiarity with it.

Ben Gilbert says the characters are vessels whose storylines a viewer does not really need to invest in. They are mirrors of the worst part of ourselves, and the situations provide the comedy. Seinfeld is very internationally relatable in a way that not all comedy has.

Grokipedia·Seinfeld

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Seinfeld
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Ben Gilbert, David Rosenthal
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