Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Seinfeld is my favorite TV show next to 24. Its far and away the best comedy I have ever seen. However, after watching some Jerry Seinfeld standup and watching Curb Your Enthusiasm I think all of the comedic genius should go 100% to Larry David.

Without Curb Your Enthusiasm I wouldn't have understood that all Seinfeld's ideas and jokes were part of David's incredible sense of humor and writing.

We can all attest that Curb Your Enthusiasm is Seinfeld taken to the mature.

If you notice in Seinfeld Jerry is the worst of the regular actors. He has a hard time keeping a straight face through his jokes.

I am not trying to say that Jerry is not funny but he seems to have raked in tons of money and tons of fame for Seinfeld whereas I think Larry David has done all the work.

Agree or disagree?

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Don't be a dumb ass.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Disagree.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

You really think it was Seinfeld's ideas for the show and not David's? How can you think that based off of Curb your Enthusiasm?

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I disagree. I've seen some of Jerry Seinfeld's stand up routines and they are as funny if not funnier than the show itself. Most of the shows are based off ideas that Jerry used in his routines.

Jerry chose to work with Larry David on the Seifeld show, which must mean that he had a great deal of respect for Larry and that Larry obviously had a lot to contribute to the writing.

I don't think anyone could argue that he pulled more of the weight than Jerry did on Seinfeld. I think you get the best of both writers and it shows in the quality of the characters and the show overall.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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You really think it was Seinfeld's ideas for the show and not David's? How can you think that based off of Curb your Enthusiasm?

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Jerry's stand up. And how can you claim that Larry influenced Seinfeld based on a show that came out over a decade after Seinfeld's creation? How do you know that Jerry didn't influence Larry? (although I'm not saying he did)

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Seinfeld was never considered a good actor.

that doesn't take away from how great the show was

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Just IMDB'd Seinfeld to see if it listed how much he got for the show's syndication. 225 million. INSANE.

It also had this awesome quote: "A recent survey stated that the average person's greatest fear is having to give a speech in public. Somehow this ranked even higher than death which was third on the list. So, you're telling me that at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy."

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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Don't be a dumb ass.

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lolol

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

FGators,

Your handle sucks but let me address the question.

The problem with the way it's phrased is you're naturally gonna get a bunch of super defensive people. ZOMG SEINFELD IS MY FAVORITE SHOW EVAH AND YOU'RE A RETARTED MORAN EL OH EL!!!!!ELEVENTYONEONEONE!!1! I agree with your synopsis and also CYI is one of my all-time favorite shows, but good luck convincing a bunch of people who habitually quote Seinfeld that they're a bunch of censoreds with poor taste. Maybe you need to outsource future questions so they are axed less confrontationally.

I'm just saying mang...

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Jerry's not overated IMO, but you are certainly right that Larry David is the brain behind much of Seinfeld the sitcom.

George's character was loosely based on Larry. He also played Steinbrenner. Jerry said something like 90% of the show should be credited to Larry. The show was never as good after he left.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

The thing that never made sense to me about Seinfeld was that the segments of standup at the start and end of every episode were just not funny. His stand up act is hilariously funny, so why were the intro and outros so horrible?

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Actually, I hated Seinfeld.

It got too redundant, and they whined too damned much.

So do I think Seinfeld is overrated? Absofuckinglutely.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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The thing that never made sense to me about Seinfeld was that the segments of standup at the start and end of every episode were just not funny. His stand up act is hilariously funny, so why were the intro and outros so horrible?

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I didn't think they were horrible, but they were usually having to do with the episode's plot. Perhaps they weren't always his real routines?

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I agree.

Look at the Seinfeld episodes in which Larry David wrote vs. the one's in which he wasn't involved. The last few years were funny, but not nearly as funny as the Larry David years.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Well i mean "horrible" as in i don't think i ever laughed out loud once at them, and generally i don't think they really added anything to the episodes.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I think Seinfeld's standup is very good. That being said, yes, I think Larry David was the driving force behind the success of the show, and I'm pretty sure Seinfeld has said this himself. As others have mentioned, George is more or less based on David. Also, Kenny Kramer (the person Kramer is based on) was actually David's neighbor, not Seinfeld's.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

The problem with the mall garage is that everything looks the same. They try to differentiate between levels. They put up different colors, different numbers, different letters. What they need to do is name the levels like, "Your mother's a whore." You would remember that. Your would go, "No, we're not. We're in 'My father's an abusive alcoholic'."

On my block, a lot of people walk their dogs and I always see them walking along with their little poop bags. This, to me, is the lowest activity in human life. Following a dog with a little pooper scooper. Waiting for him to go so you can walk down the street with it in your bag. If aliens are watching this through telescopes, they're going to think the dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them is making a poop, the other one's carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge?

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Larry David floundered for his entire career until he met up with Jerry and the show just worked. Larry says that the luckiest day of his life is the day he met Jerry.

Obviously, Larry D. is brilliant enough to continue making fresh, original and hilarious broad based comedy with the same formula, but I wouldn't be selling Jerry short.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I'm not sure about "overrated," because I think most people recognize that Seinfeld the show was made from a lot more than the mind of JS. I think his stand up is good, but not consistently bowl-you-over good.

One thing that hasn't been discussed a lot is the cast. JS was not an actor, and no one ever claimed otherwise, least of all himself. Michael Richards was really special. Yeah, some of his gags tried a little too hard, but still he was a great actor. He was able to use facial expression and just his eyes to make his part. Contrast Alexander and Dreyfus, who whenever having to keep still in front of the camera for more than 2 seconds would degenerate into _miming_ their lines! (though they did a lot fairly well). And a lot of really excellent small parts: Knight, Warburton, and esp Stiller.

At what point did LD leave anyway? Did he work through the entire Susan plot line? No doubt that was great. But while some people have knocked the later episodes, I really liked the over-the-top surreal plots in the last season, like the Kramer home talk show.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

The OP's position is just as wrong as someone saying that JS provided 100% of the comedic inspiration. It's pretty clear to anyone who has watched the show that it derives its entertainment value from both JS and LD, in roughly equal proportions.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Does Curb get dramatically better after the first 2 episodes or something? Seinfeld and Arrested Development are my two favorite shows, so I was expecting to love CYI - but after watching the first several episodes I never felt the need to watch the rest. Everything Larry did just seemed forced, there was only one real plot per episode, and the whole thing moved so slow.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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If you notice in Seinfeld Jerry is the worst of the regular actors. He has a hard time keeping a straight face through his jokes.

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This is a big part of what made some Seinfeld moments amazing, in my opinion.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

CYE > Seinfeld. I'm a huge Larry David fan but I can see why people love Jerry or would disagree with me. I think he's overrated especially in his stand up material.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Seinfeld's stand-up is fairly mediocre - he's like an excellent hack. A really, really, really good hack, and his style has been imitated by lots of people.

As someone who mildly enjoys Curb Your Enthusiasm but often finds it too uncomfortable to sit through, I feel that Seinfeld kept the show more light-hearted. A lot of the one-liners the writers gave Jerry weren't very good, but he does have some great acting moments ('what is this salty discharge?') ('I'm on no sleep... NO SLEEP!'), and he's staying in character by smiling when he delivers his lines - he's a comedian for a living and he's kind of the impartial observer of a lot of the hijinks.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Jerry Seinfeld is responsible for all the wars of the world.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I will say this. Although I enjoyed Seinfeld, I prefer Curb to a larger degree. It stands to reason that my favorite charcater on Seinfeld was George - the George character was based on Larry David. It is a different kind of humor. Seinfeld is more middle of the road observational. Larry David / Curb is more weird, off center type of humor.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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If you notice in Seinfeld Jerry is the worst of the regular actors. He has a hard time keeping a straight face through his jokes.

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This is a big part of what made some Seinfeld moments amazing, in my opinion.

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agree

"Now let's go watch them slice this fat bastard up.."

EDIT: I wouldn't go so far as to say that 100% of the greatness of the show could be attributed to Larry David..I'd say it was a pretty even split between them..and let's not forget that Jerry, Jason, Julia, and Michael are also a big part of what makes the show so great..

..not to mention all the other great performances

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

He's overrated. But only because he's rated so highly.

-Al

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

i always thought that the point of seinfelds character was that he was supposed to be a sucky comedian.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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i always thought that the point of seinfelds character was that he was supposed to be a sucky comedian.

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no way

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

it was anti-Jew sentiments like these that got the politics forum closed down, Gators. watch your step.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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Jerry Seinfeld is responsible for all the wars of the world.

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Jerry: Oh, wait a second, I believe we have a heckler ladies and gentlemen. Hey Mel, I don't know what your problem is. It's not my fault you're back on the wagon.

Mel: It's off the wagon.

Jerry: In the old days how do you think they got the alcohol from town to town?

Mel: I don't know.

Jerry: On the wagon. Don't you think they broke into a couple of those bottles along the way?

Mel: You can't drink on a wagon it would be too bumpy.

Jerry: They had smooth trails. What about the Cumberland Gap?

Mel: What the hell do you know about wagons?

Jerry: I know enough not to get on them.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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i always thought that the point of seinfelds character was that he was supposed to be a sucky comedian.

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Sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't. I think Kenny Banya was created to fill this role. Seinfeld certainly does poke fun at his own material in the show (when George says, 'Hey, don't you do a lot of 'did you ever notice...?' kind of stuff?'). I think Seinfeld's aware that he's not exactly Richard Pryor, but even though he was often the least funny character on the show, he holds it together by letting the others act crazy.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I forgot where I heard this, but there was a proposal for a Kramer show after Seinfeld ended, and guess what? Jerry Seinfeld refused to let it happen!

Can you believe that? having Richards in his own show (being Cosmo Kramer) that would have been awesome but Jerry Seinfeld refused to let it happen.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

I'm a huge Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry David fan and agree with others in this thread that that show is better than the old Seinfeld series.

However, CYE is on HBO where Seinfeld was a network TV show. Big obvious differences on what you can do on HBO which is one of the reasons they have the best shows.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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Jerry Seinfeld is responsible for all the wars of the world.

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George: --Astroturf? You know who's responsible for that, don't you?! The Jews! Ah, the Jews hate grass. They always have, they always will.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

A Kramer show would've been terrible. I don't blame Jerry for not wanting to ruin his show with the legacy of some horrible spinoff - it's pretty obvious that the wacky characters who make up Kramer's life on the show wouldn't be enough to make a show around.

CYE is basically 'the Costanza show', but not quite.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

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Jerry Seinfeld is responsible for all the wars of the world.

[/ QUOTE ]

not that there's anything wrong with that.

Re: Anybody think Jerry Seinfeld is overrated?
 

Yes, I think Seinfeld (and everything else on TV) is overrated.

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Jerry Seinfeld is responsible for all the wars of the world.

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not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Jerry should work harder as these minor conflicts do nothing for the overpopulation.

NP: COC - Albatross