Seinfeld: Season 3 [DVD] [2004]

One of the most popular sitcoms of all time, "Seinfeld" probably would not have lasted had it aired today. However, NBC was able to see a small cult audience gathering around the show when the pilot first aired in 1989, and although the first couple of seasons didn't exactly light up the ratings, or were they the best moments of the series, the sitcom eventually began to gather some serious steam.

Of course, as we all know, "Seinfeld" became one of the most influential series ever beamed over the airwaves. Running nine seasons, it pushed all the boundaries, from how the stories were told to testing the strength of accepted taboos. Before "Seinfeld", would anyone have dared talk about masturbation or feminine hygiene products on a network sitcom ? Was anyone ever killed off for comic effect on "Three's Company" or "Too Close for Comfort" ? Not bloody likely!

In the characters of George, Jerry, Elaine, and even Kramer, we were able to let fly with all the things that weren't necessarily acceptable in everyday life. They were our avatars, the ones who were "just saying what we're all thinking." Granted, they took it farther than any of us ever would, even if given the space to cut loose, but that's what made it so funny. Like a fun-house mirror, it took all of our private anxieties and blew them up to a gargantuan public spectacle.

Basically the show centers on neurotic New York stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, his old girlfriend who he is still friends with Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his eccentric neighbour with outlandish ideas and wacky appearance with his upright hair and loud clothing "Cosmo" Kramer (Michael Richards), and his loyal best friend the balding, self-loathing, miserly, dishonest, petty and insecure George Constanza (Jason Alexander). Most of the episodes center around Jerry's apartment as well as many other places out and about New York City.

Many minor characters appear throughout the series including but not limited to Kramer's best friend and Jerry's worst enemy Newman (Wayne Knight), Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller), Estelle Costanza (Estelle Harris), Uncle Leo (Len Lesser), David Puddy (Patrick Warburton), "J" Peterman (John O'Hurley), Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg), Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris), Mr. Kruger (Daniel von Bargen), Morty Seinfeld (Morty Seinfeld), Helen Seinfeld (Liz Sheridan) and The Soup Nazi (Larry David).

"Seinfeld," in most episodes, consists of four stories that are interrelated. The four cast members live their own lives and get themselves in all kinds of messes just like real people. They are so close as friends that they have each other to fall back own when the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune get the best of them. It is quite understandable why none of the four has ever married. Even though in their 30's, Seinfeld and George are still tied to their parents. Both are also bundles of neuroses, particularly George.

At least Seinfeld has his looks and job as a stand up comic to keep his ego fed. George is fat, bald, basically a loser, going from job to job, living with his parents much of the time. Elaine is attractive, has a decent job, yet is somewhat of a floozy, although she won't admit it to herself. She is also so self-centered that she is unable to give much in a relationship. Kramer, well, who could live with him ? The only friend who can tolerate him for long is Newman, that nobody likes besides Kramer.

The humour throughout the series is cleverly done. It is not over the top nor is it outrageous, yet it relates to everyday events and the writers even incorporated their own experiences and brought it to life in the show. There will never be another show like "Seinfeld" and all four actors will always be remembered for "Seinfeld" no matter what happens throughout their careers. For a show about nothing, it certainly has reaped its benefits for everyone.

Season 3 is arguably the gold standard for Seinfeld. A good handful of the best-remembered episodes come out of the 1991-1992 run, and it's here that the writing solidified once and for all and Seinfeld had become everything it was supposed to be. It was also one of the higher-profile years as far as the cultural zeitgeist, introducing catchphrases like "These pretzels are making me thirsty" and "I have no hand" into the pop lexicon.

The greatest stride forward in Season 3 was in the ability of the crew to create stories that involved all four of the main cast, often on divergent paths that then converged in unexpected ways. For instance, in the episode "The Suicide," the team begins by being split in two halves. Jerry flirts with his next door neighbor's sexy European girlfriend, prompting a fight and the neighbor attempting to overdose on pills. Kramer needs his vacuum cleaner back from the neighbor, and he maintains a vigil over the man while he's in a coma, accompanied by downstairs tenant Newman (Wayne Knight, appearing for the first time). Jerry is afraid Newman will rat him out for the affair, and so he sticks to the pair like glue.

Meanwhile, George is planning a trip to the Bahamas, and Elaine is fasting while waiting to be tested for an ulcer. When she takes George to a psychic, the pregnant soothsayer warns him away from his vacation, but Elaine's testy outbursts get the two thrown out before George can find out why. George then accompanies Elaine to the hospital, discovering that the psychic is there giving birth. Jerry and Kramer are also there, and the various story lines become hopelessly entangled. Tying them all together? Drake's Coffee Cakes! The convolutions are nearly imperceptible, the comedy moves at a lightning pace.

Many of the stand-outs in this season also involved getting the gang out of their regular New York haunts. There is, of course, "The Pen," where Jerry and Elaine travel to Florida to visit Jerry's parents and get involved in some kerpuffle over an astronaut's pen. More importantly, though, are the episodes that take a cue from the great success of "The Chinese Restaurant" from Season 2 and try to put the crew in an enclosed space where they are subject to the absurdity of the environment. "The Parking Garage," for instance, where they are trapped looking for their car, wandering the many levels of the garage and getting into trouble. Also, "The Subway," which begins with all four of the guys on the same subway train, sees them split to various trains, and then follows the situations they get into on their own.

All the while, the team was getting more courageous and daring with material. Suicide, pregnancy scares, Nazism--nothing was off limits. Even surreal segments, like Jerry's penis playing chess with his brain in "The Nose Job" or the outright parody of JFK in "The Boyfriend." Whereas many series hit a pothole when they achieve a certain level of notoriety, feeling the pressure to live up to their new reputation, the makers of Seinfeld treated its growing popularity as fuel, only getting smarter and more outrageous, and constantly moving farther out on the ledge to see what they could get away with.

EPISODES: * The Note * The Truth * The Dog * The Library (audio commentary with writer Larry Charles) * The Pen (Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David) * The Parking Garage (director/producer Tom Cherones and production designer Tom Azzari) * The Café * The Tape * The Nose Job * The Alternate Side * The Red Dot * The Suicide * The Subway (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards) * The Pez Dispenser (Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David) * The Boyfriend (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards) (featuring vintage introduction by Jerry Seinfeld) * The Fix-Up * The Limo (writer Larry Charles) * The Good Samaritan * The Letter * The Parking Space (director/producer Tom Cherones and production designer Tom Azzari) * The Keys

I guess you either love it or hate it . Personally once I start watching any of the nine series of Seinfeld , I can't stop . Binge watching . A sitcom of the highest standard .

Seinfeld is definitely the greatest comedy ever made.Friends was excellent but this was the most inventive and best written of them all. 😂👏

If you don't mind crude and silly humour then you will find a lot to laugh at here. Every character is brilliant. I particularly like George and I can't believe that he was the only one who never received a reward for his acting in this. To me he is the best by far.

very satisfied

Fantastic, I forgot how good this was, we are watching it second time round with our kids, and enjoying every minute. Great stuff.

This was bought as a gift for someone, although I have this myself and can highly recommend it. Jerry Seinfeld has a way of delivering comedy that makes me laugh over and over again. It may take some time to complete the whole set but I'm sure when I do I will have hours of fun watching these all over again.