Seinfeld: Season Five
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Movie Reviews of Seinfeld: Season Five
Movie Review: It keeps getting better
Summary: 5 Stars
Essentially this is a repeat of my Season 4 review but with different favorite episodes. I will add though that this is the best seasons so far, the writers, producers, actors and directors are all in a groove. They know the characters, the story arcs, and the desired comedy experience all combining to a synergistic Seinfeld experience.
Seinfeld is network television comedy at its best. 10 years later as I watch these episodes, despite seeing them countless times on syndication, I laugh out loud. Each show is original, tightly written, well acted and of course freaking hysterical. Even better they have memory...or in more technical terms a long story arc which intermittently continues themes across episodes and seasons. This adds to the richness of the humor and the fullness of characters, it allows the characters to develop and even though they are frequently reprehensible, we also see ourselves in there behaviors and they become very likable. Most television comedy consists of static episodes with contrived jokes and pratfalls where the only laughing you hear is the laugh track. Not Seinfeld!
Some of my favorite episodes from Season 5 include:
The Hampton's
The Puffy Shirt
The Sniffing Accountant
The Marine Biologist
The Stand In
The bonus material is generally excellent:
- The deleted scenes are interesting, you get to see more of the show, but they generally are unfunny jokes or extraneous/redundant material, (its obvious to see why they were deleted). It helped me appreciate the creative process of comedy
- I have not watched all the commentaries but the few I did watch were not very stimulating. The commentators are too busy watching the show, such that there are long pauses between comments and when they do comment, it something like...that was funny, how did we get away with that...over and over again. Stuff you want to know they don't tell you, for example, what was it like working with Bette Midler.
- The Inside Look featurettes are very insightful as we see and hear about the creative process and the inspiration for the stories. An added bonus is the actors' anecdotes, especially Michael Richards. During the show I thought he was the weakest actor, present to just add some `low brow'. Now I how good an actor he really is; In the featurette we se a so soft spoken, relaxed, and well mannered Michael Richards (almost bordering on shy and reticent) vs. his hyperkinetic spastic Cosmo Kramer. The contrast is illuminating; he really created and made the most of that character. The other actors you can easily see inhabiting the characters but Richards was the biggest surprise.
- The menus are creative and unique per each disk, mimicking a well known local from the show. While they are interesting to watch, occasionally its hard to find the specific menu you want.
- The packaging is good as well but I disliked the packet photos which are cheesy artificial actor promo shots.
- The bloopers are hysterical, you'll be begging for more.
- Jerry Seinfeld's stand up is top notch as well.
In review this is the best network comedy out there; if you want to laugh, buy it.
Movie Review: One of the best years for Seinfeld!
Summary: 5 Stars
This season includes what I think is my all-time favorite episode of Seinfeld: The Opposite. Everything that George has done in his life has turned out to be wrong, and so he decides to do the opposite for what he would normally do. The scene where the woman pushes the chair out to him after he comes on to her is arguably the best scene of any Seinfeld episode.
"The Pie" episode includes the look alike mannequin of Elaine, truly hilarious in that the store-owner puts the mannequin in a compromising position, presumably after Elaine had an altercation in the store. Who can forget the line when Jerry helps Elaine steal the mannequin and is in the car: "I don't know about you, but I'm getting a hankering for some Doublemint gum." Another Classic.
The Fire, when George pushes everyone out of the way(even elderly women) at a kid's birthday party and claims to be leading the way out.....Eric the Clown(which was a foolish name to George), was the one who put out the fire.
The Hamptons have the gang go to the Hamptons for a weekend. And during this time when George is out shopping, the gang sees George's girlfriend topless before he does. After this, Jerry's girlfriend sees George with his swimming trunks down after he was in the pool......and there was shrinkage.
The Cigar Store Indian episode has a female Native American that Jerry likes becomes offended when Jerry gives Elaine a "Cigar Store Indian" as a gift. This episode also has George breaking his parent's coffee table while his parents are away, and when they get back they discover a condom in their bed.
In The Conversion, George falls in love with a girl whose religion is Latvian Orthodox, and then attempts to convert to the religion so that he can be with her. The episode also has Jerry learning about the girl he is dating apparently taking fungicide.
The Wife- Jerry and his girlfriend pose as husband/wife so that they can get a marriage discount at the local dry cleaners. The plan backfires as the dry cleaner discovers the plan and Jerry's female friend thinks she is being used just for the discount, when Jerry takes in other clothes. This is also the episode in which George pees in the shower at the gym and is worried about being discovered.
Best quotes:
(to George) "Rock climbing? Where do you come off going rock climbing....rock climbing? You need a boost to climb into your bed." - Elaine in "The Stall"
"My name is George. I am unemployed and I live with my parents."
"I'm Victoria, hi!"
- George and Victoria in "The Opposite"
This season could possibly be the best out of all of them.
Episode List from Season 5:
The Mango
The Puffy Shirt
The Glasses
The Sniffing Accountant
The Bris
The Lip Reader
The Non-Fat Yogurt
The Barber
The Masseuse
The Cigar Store Indian
The Conversion
The Stall
The Dinner Party
The Marine Biologist
The Pie
The Stand-In
The Wife
The Raincoats (1)
The Raincoats (2)
The Fire
The Hamptons
The Opposite
Movie Review: More Than Just a Comedy Series
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're a T.V. Seinfeld fan you will absolutely love the DVD's. The scenes that are cut to insert commercials by syndicators are restored on the high quality DVD versions. I grew up in the United States and had always liked the series from television. I was married while living/working/studying in China in 2002 and bought the DVD's for my wife on our coming to the United States in 2005. She had never seen Seinfeld before and had never been exposed to this style of humor or the slice of American life that the series presents. We have watched the DVD's over and over again and they never fail to make us laugh and lift our spirits when we've had a bad day. We utilize the closed captioning option and it has been a great help for my wife in acquiring an understanding of casual English usage including slang, and idiom. On a more serious note, owning so many seasons and watching the episodes regularly makes you realize the sad truth that much of American life really is focused on the themes of myopic self-interest presented and ridiculed in this series. I sometimes worry that individuals may actually see the series as a validation of their lack of ethics, morals, and connection with the Creator instead of as a revelation and jabbing at today's inappropriate social dynamics; just as the Archie Bunker/All In the Family series did in the 1970's.
The DVD sets include great special features from "How It Began" to "Making a Seinfeld Episode", deleted scenes, behind the scenes commentary from cast and creators, never-before-seen standup footage of Jerry, original NBC promotional ads and trailers, outtakes and bloopers, and much, much more. It's obvious that a lot of thought and work went into producing the DVD sets and I can't wait until the remaining seasons come out for sale at Amazon. After all; "Who wouldn't love Jerry?"
Episodes included in this set are:
Season 5 - The Mango, The Glasses, The Puffy Shirt, The Sniffing Accountant, The Bris, The Lip Reader, The Non-Fat Yogurt, The Barber, The Masseuse, The Cigar Store Indian, The Conversation, The Stall, The Marine Biologist, The Dinner Party, The Pie, The Stand-In, The Wife, The Fire, The Raincoats, The Hamptons, The Opposite.
Movie Review: Another Brilliant Year
Summary: 5 Stars
Thanks to a very strong fourth season, Seinfeld's fifth season saw the show go from a cult phenomenon into an entertainment juggernaut. This year represented the direct middle of the show's 9-year run, and by and large it was excellent. Not quite the equivalent of season 4, but still more than passable.
There's no doubt that the fifth season of Seinfeld ended strong. Three classic episodes close it out: The Fire (with George's hysterical reaction to a fire), The Hamptons (with an ugly baby), and The Opposite, which I think is the show's all-time best episode. What a way to end the season: George in the throes of success, with a new job, apartment and love interest, and Elaine losing all that. The scene where George screams at the thugs in the movie theater is hilarious, although people who have only seen later episodes might wonder what the big deal about George screaming at other people is. At this point, Larry David's onscreen surrogate was known for his inability to let out his anger, which made him more angry. There are great moments all throughout this season: The Puffy Shirt deals with the ramifications of Jerry's decision to wear the titular garment on the Today show, The Marine Biologist has George pretending to be of that profession, and there's the operatic The Barber, which focuses on the much-overlooked relationship between a man and his barber. Any trace of previous insecurity or hesitancy was eliminated: the show went boldly on, carving out an immortal place in pop culture.
Although this was the first season that Seinfeld enjoyed massive popularity, we can now look back historically to see that it was not the show's best (nor its worst). My particular gripe is the episode The Mango. Don't get me wrong, I like the taboo-busting, but I found myself cringing far too often during this episode at things that were supposed to be funny. Your mileage might vary, though. In short, it's worth buying.
Movie Review: There's Something about Seinfeld
Summary: 5 Stars
The laughs just keep coming with "Seinfeld: The Complete Fifth Season". "Seinfeld" follows the mad-cap misadventures of stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld (Himself) and his close group of eccentric friends going through everyday life in New York City. In this season, Jerry becomes the unsuspected spokesperson for a new clothing trend. George (Jason Alexander) uses his marine biologist skills to save the day. Elaine (Julia Louise Dreyfus) discovers a store mannequin that looks like her. Kramer's (Michael Richards) bungling has a profound effect in the mayoral elections of New York City. Created by producer Larry David and star Jerry Seinfeld, "Seinfeld" is the breakthrough award-winning comedy series that became one of the most popular television sitcoms. The fifth season is certainly one of the comedy series' best and features some well developed storylines with clever subplots and hilarious comic situations. The season also includes guest appearances by Courteney Cox, Jon Favreau, Jami Gertz, Al Roker and Rudolph Guiliani. This great box set includes such fun episodes as "The Puffy Shirt", "The Non-Fat Yogurt", "The Dinner Party", "The Hamptons" and "The Opposite".
There is so much to see in "Seinfeld: The Complete Fifth Season" Box Set. All 22 episodes are presented in their original full screen format. The box set contains a carefully detailed picture quality and a clear 2.0 Dolby Digital sound. This 4-Disc collection includes 13 hours of supplemental extras like informative audio commentaries by cast members and crew on selected episodes, "Jason + Larry = George" featurette, deleted scenes, fun outtakes, series promos and exclusive stand-up comedy footage. Overall, "Seinfeld: The Complete Fifth Season" earns an "A".