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Someone should tell them to definitely stay away from Curb Your Enthusiasm (created and starring the co-creator of Seinfeld). It’s like a rated-R version of Seinfeld that has absolutely no boundaries. LOL
ok i think i might be gen x now.
We were the ones watching it when it was first airing. I don’t think there was anyone in my highschool that wasn’t watching it.
If you’re a boomer, the older half of Gen X are also boomers and everyone younger is a millennial.
Didn’t millennials watch it growing up? Someone’s not getting their generational terms right
It’s not like every millennial watched it growing up. It’s not inconceivable that there are millennials who are seeing it now for only the first time and find it offensive.
I mean, it was genuinely hard to avoid for a while there.
Gen Z, maybe.
My partner is a millennial and she had never seen Seinfeld until we first watched it together a few years ago. It’s not that inconceivable to imagine not everyone grew up watching the same things as you.
No, it’s definitely fine and possible. A thriving industry of Youtube reaction channels hinges on that plausibility. It’s just the concept of the OP’s headline implying it’s a generational thing when it definitely isn’t.
To boomers and idiots, millennials just means “younger than me”
Same goes for younger generations. Everyone old is a boomer.
The years for Millennials go up to 94-96, Seinfeld finished in 98. I doubt many that young would have seen it. I was born in 86 and I barely watched Seinfeld re-runs.
Seinfeld was hugely syndicated. I was born in the 90s and watched tons of reruns of it. I think they played it after or before the Simpsons which my family always watched.
Yeah same I watched reruns of Seinfeld every weeknight growing up from '98-05 at least if not later
The years for Millennials go up to 94-96
?? What do you think millennials were doing after 1996? Did they just phase out of existence?
I was born in 86 and I barely watched Seinfeld re-runs.
People had Seinfeld on in my college dorm during the mid-00s. It was one of the most syndicated shows of its era. If you remember 9/11, you remember Seinfeld.
I commented on someone who seemed to think that millennials wasn’t the correct generation because millennials must have grown up watching Seinfeld. Many did, but many didn’t. I know many people around my age that didn’t watch it so it’s fairly safe to assume that people who were 2-4 years old when the show ended might not have seen it, even re-runs. Remembering it and watching it enough to have an opinion on it are two different things.
I was born in 84 and have seen every episode multiple times. Except the clip shows, because once you figure out that’s what’s happening you know better next time around and skip them.
I was born in 92 and have probably seen almost every episode. Idk if it’s generational or if it’s just person to person.
Generational labels tend to divide by arbitrary boundaries more than actually give you insightful information about something exclusive to the group.
Sounds like someone’s born on a cusp. Or right in the middle.
Hell, I was even old enough when it was airing to think it was overrated then.
I didn’t necessarily mind it, but Jerry’s awful standup shoved in there on the other hand…
Seinfeld is one of the best sitcoms of all time.
Ok, maybe I just don’t like sitcoms.
See, that’s the real issue. I don’t have a problem with acknowledging it’s high concept, ocassionally funny and mostly easy watching.
But everybody insisting it’s endless comedic, best-sitcom-ever brilliance is overrating it. It’s overrated.
It’s not overrated. It set the standard. It’s easy to call it overrated when you live in world influenced by it. It’s like calling the Model T overrated as a car. There’s even a TVTrope for this concept. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny
Exactly. Seinfeld isn’t funny now because all the shows after it copied it. When Seinfeld came out, it was revolutionary. No one was doing that humor. They invented it. Now, everyone and their mother has copied them, so it’s played out. And since all these newer sitcoms had time and previous examples to improve on, they do it better, so Seinfeld looks lame by comparison. However, when I as a millennial was watching Seinfeld when it was being originally aired, I thought it was great.
Underrated comment
Oh, hell, no. It’s not like Seinfeld invented sitcoms, or even modern sitcoms. It’s not the Model T, it’s the Ford Escort. Maybe.
And I’m not saying it’s unfunny, I’m saying it’s a solid 90s sitcom that for some reason people are out here saying is the Model T of sitcoms. I feel like the level of hyperbole puts the burden of proof elsewhere.
And it’s also not a case of it now being standard, because I assure you I’ve had this opinion since it was airing. I very much was of the batch of people who flip-flopped on Family Guy, but I was in the “Seinfeld was mid” camp before anybody ever called anything “mid”.
Agree to disagree then
Been agreeing to disagree on this one for like 35 years, I’m good with that.
An extremely 90s take.
Real heads will know the genre peaked with Cheers.
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Millenial here, I always just thought it was shit!
Even when it aired, it was walking the line of generally offensive. That line didn’t have to move far to tip the show out of favour on average. Seinfeld himself addressed it, initially being upset that his brand of comedy was falling out of favour, but eventually coming to terms with the fact that he himself was out of touch and would benefit from adapting.
Has he? Last I heard he was still complaining that “yOu CoUlDnT dO sEiNfElD tOdAy BeCaUsE wOkE” with Rob McElhenney begging to differ.
Hopefully that link isn’t broken or bad. But yeah, he basically said he was wrong and out of touch. And that he could stand to make an effort to get with the times.
His style of comedy has always been about finding where the current edge is and seeing how far you can cross it and still be funny. But the drawback is that the edge moves. So you have to keep seeing where it is, and what you said 10 years ago probably isn’t funny anymore. It’s normal to get frustrated when something you put effort and work into is no longer seen as a good thing even though it was liked well enough at the time. But he really should have expected that result. And I think he knew that when he made it, but had since got caught up in the false validation that can come from being out of touch.
Gosh. I am unironically impressed, it’s rare for people to actually take stuff back and say they were wrong. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Aside:
Representatives for Seinfeld did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Weird how it’s impossible for celebrities to just be taken at their word without a representative being contacted for clarification.
I watched the first episode and found it dull and boring. Is it representative for the whole show?
The past decade of tv has spoiled people with quality TV shows.
Back in the old days of tv, we didn’t have story arcs. First seasons of shows were still rough. Networks often gave shows a lot longer of a lifeline to prove themselves. For example: Parks and Rec didn’t hit their stride into mid-Season 2.
For 90s shows, I recommend finding a Top 10 episodes list and seeing if you enjoy it.
This, there’s a LOT of shows before streaming services where I just beg people to skip the first season.
Always Sunny is definitely one that suffers from a lot of Early Installment Weirdness, it’s clear they had no idea what the hell they wanted the show to be at the start… Also Danny DeVito improves anything he touches.
Funny story, Season 1 was so bad the network said they would cancel them unless they could get an A-List Actor to guest star in an episode for a ratings’ boost, which went so well that said guest star wound up being a permanent mainstay.
You’d be correct, the first episode is indeed very dull and boring. I’d recommend to start from Season 4.
Bla bla blaSome episodes are legendarily funny, but a lot are very forgettable. It’s more of a cultural bellwether.
Seinfeld was one of those shows that talked about certain issues that weren’t broached on network tv. I think the masturbation episode was the first time it was even alluded to on any mainstream tv.
But at the end of the day it’s a sitcom with laugh tracks, so it doesn’t age super well.
Elaine was part of the masturbation episode and lost, which further speaks to the progressiveness of the show because a woman was portrayed as having sexuality that was outside of acceptable limits at the time (for love only, preferably in marriage). They also presented being gay as acceptable, which was quite progressive at the time where people were calling each other “gay” and the f-word as a terrible insult.
I’m working my way through now, in season 4. Later seasons get better, but there’s a lot more bad than good imo. I’m not sure I’ve seen an episode that’s consistently funny, just the occasional good joke.
It’s not a formula I find enjoyable, always sunny follows the same pattern.
Honestly, Seinfeld paved the way for a lot of quality cringe comedy.
It’s like watching the Matrix and being bored with the beats/effects, because it’s now the norm everywhere.
God, Matrix is such a trip, it’s a real showcase of how society actively learns.
When it came out, I was a kid who was considered intelligent by peers simply because I was capable of understanding the film whereas even a lot of grown-ups found it hard to grok.
Nowadays the idea of our entire world being fabricated is so basic and so often the butt of jokes that you can’t ever tell if someone’s kidding or not when they talk about Simulation Theory.
And this is one of many reasons why The Matrix Resurrected was doomed to fail.
Relevant Youtube Video - https://youtu.be/7WqVXT5ofDs
You aren’t alone. Not liking the show has its own tvtropes page
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny
It’s wild to think that it never occurred to me that Bugs Bunny calmly standing next to Elmer Fudd and simply asking what he’s doing was a bit in and of itself, simply because it just seemed so normal and expected for Bugs to do that.
Yet if you showed it to a world that doesn’t know who Bugs is, yeah that would seem odd
“What the fuck? The rabbit’s just calmly approaching and casually observing the hunter? He’s not running away or begging for his life? Well this is wacky.”
Oh looney tunes had a lot of stuff like that. Like did you know it accidentally coined the meaning of nimrod as an idiot? Before bugs called Elmer it it was just the name of a great hunter in the Bible
It’s sort of like it’s always sunny, but with less to no storyline. There are some funny episodes, but there are also a lot of episodes. Seinfeld was a big celebrity at the time and that carried it more often than not.
Id say The best 10 episodes are some of the greatest prime time comedy ever made. Theres probably another 20 or 30 episodes with jokes, arcs or bits that are also comedy gold with a fair bit of filler. But theres 172 episodes…
But I also defend Big Bang Theory as “6 seasons of a good and funny show, dragged out over 12” so maybe I’m just easily amused.
Not really, the pilot is the weakest episode I can think of. Not that it turns into an action thriller or anything, but the plotlines and characters certainly get zanier and (arguably) funnier.
No. Some of them aren’t good, and some of them are hilarious. Some of them are a little offensive based on today’s standards. But the show overall is pretty great. There are a lot of references used by older people that you’ll start understanding if you watch the show. Popular TV shows used to be social glue, everyone watched them, so themes from the shows worked their way into our social vocabularies.
Must be the youngest millennials then, this was airing live when I was a kid and apparently I’m a millennial.
What‽ I grew up on it and I’m as young as we get. No it’s his current stand up that’s in poor taste and one night of Kramer’s stand-up that’s actually offensive
Yeah as another one of the youngest millennial (or the oldest gen Z depending on which year you classify the generational turn-over) I’ve never really understood the whole millennials are offended trope.
I grew up watching south park, family guy, ATHF, honestly pretty much everything on adult swim or comedy Central. There isn’t much that offends me except glorifying ultra wealth, and that isn’t offensive, it pisses me off personally.
All of my friends are the same way, honestly they are mostly more offensive than me even.
There has been exactly 1 millennial I know of that has shit takes like this and he’s 2-3 years older than me. That’s it 1 even though college, of course these articles aren’t written to be accurate, it’s just rage bait.
I got a few laughs with Kramer’s stand-up. Not at the racist non-jokes themselves, but when those lines were remixed with out-of-context scenes from Seinfeld.
George: “He’s black? I thought he looked Irish… What’s his last name?”
Kramer: yells the N-word
George: calmly…That’s not Irish
☝️; this.
For the first time? We grew up with this show.
Ya know how growing up, our parents called every system a “Nintendo”, even if it was clearly a Playstation or a Sega Genesis?
Yeah that’s what boomers do with age groups. Anyone younger than them is a “Millenial Zoomer on Youtube’s TikTok app”
Ya know how growing up, our parents called every system a “Nintendo”, even if it was clearly a Playstation or a Sega Genesis?
My parents called everything an Atari
Millennials are like 40 years old now. Does this article writer think Millennial just means “kid”?
I’m a millennial and watched the Seinfeld finale live…
Millennials are like 40 years old now.
PS. I’m not actually 40 but I’m getting there before I even realise it.
I just turned 40. It’s fine. Same joints ache as when I turned 30, less heartburn (because I’ve figured out my triggers).
It’s worded like we’re all still in our early 20s.
It’s just hot clickbait garbage for boomers
Never got into that show despite a lot of the episodes making it into pop culture. I still encounter people that offer some level of surprise that I didn’t watch it.
It’s weird that “this group of people don’t like that show that you like” is supposed to create some sort of negative reaction. My enjoyment of a thing does not depend on a certain number of other people liking it.
I must be numb to “outrage is the best way to engage people” that everyone uses these days.
To be fair, Outrage Marketing does work, but it usually isn’t this obvious.
Like when Disney announced that the Snow White remake would have Seven Multicolored Normal Sized Human People? And later it turned out the final movie will indeed have dwarves?
That was just done to get bigots talking about the flick. Wouldn’t be surprised to learn Aerial being black in the newer Mermaid movie was the same thing. I mean it worked, people were too busy defending Disney from criticism for this move that they didn’t notice the movie is, like most Live Action Remakes of Non-Live Action media, shit.
Hey Disney, bring back your 2D Animation, have them do another Lion King, then dub it over with the audio for the Mufasa film. I guarantee I’ll actually consider watching the damn thing if you do that. (These Live Action remakes have got to be a Money Laundering scheme or something)
Before The Little Mermaid Disney made live-action remakes of Pinnochio and Peter Pan. Neither of them had a substantial outrage associated with them and I didn’t hear about either of them until they’d already released and flopped.
Hey Disney, bring back your 2D Animation
Disney used to churn out plenty of entertaining live action shows without issue.
The problem isn’t with the medium, it’s with the company. They’ve fired too many writers, put too much stock in CGI, and devolved too much of the editing process to the marketing department.
But the idea that the folks who brought you Tron, The Mighty Ducks, and Pirates of the Caribbean can’t make good live action cinema is crazy.
I fucking hate Gossip Girl.
I’m also a 40yo man… so… that tracks.
To be fair I am pretty offended that this show is trying and failing to make me laugh, but I say that about a lot of sitcoms.
Actually I think the only sitcoms I find funny are Red Dwarf and It’s Always Sunny… Which in terms of suggestive or non-politically correct content are quite up there. And I’m not even talking about the shit that didn’t age well like Lister having a freak-out over the idea that his parallel universe self is gay or proclaiming some dude with acne has “More blackheads than a fried chicken establishment.” (To be fair these both happen in one of the more poorly received seasons)
Hey remember? When Craig Charles was the announcer for the UK version of Takeshi’s Castle and referred to the contestants as “Kamikaze cousins” and “Happy clappy Jappy chappies”… Haha…that did NOT age well… oh ho ho… to be fair, England had a lot of anti-asian sentiment going on in the 80’s for some reason… Still, that’s a lot that didn’t age well.
But for real, love Red Dwarf, one of those shows I rewatch in full twice a year. I wish I could make myself forget the whole series so I can watch it again, it’s THAT good.
I mean I watched it years ago? I didn’t clock it as offensive just not really as funny as my parents found it.
