4 ms·

> Larry David left the show (as a writer) after season 7. I’m rewatching with my wife, who never watched it before, and definitely the latest seasons feel wors

> Larry David left the show (as a writer) after season 7. I’m rewatching with my wife, who never watched it before, and definitely the latest seasons feel worse. I didn’t remember it this way. Now I understand why.

easton 4y ago
The interesting thing is that two of the most remembered jokes from the show, "Serenity Now!" and Festivus, were both in Season 9.
- gingerlime 4y ago
  honestly fwiw I only vaguely remember festivus and don’t remember serenity now at all. I don’t think seinfeld was great for jokes as such. if anything, I feel like later episodes were a bit trying too hard to create jokes and over-the-top silly situations (e.g the episode where Kramer sells the real Peterman bus tour and Elaine trying to dump the stumps of the cupcakes)
  - dwighttk 4y ago
    Muffins
    - gingerlime 4y ago
      always get those two confused!
    - tamaharbor 4y ago
      Top of the muffin to you!
  - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
    The Peterman bus tour was a meta joke because the real Kramer was running a Seinfeld bus tour in real life.
    - aspenmayer 4y ago
      That part always cracks me up, it’s literally too absurd, verging on farcical, and yet the truth is stranger still than fiction.
    - gingerlime 4y ago
      that’s what I love about HN. Thank you! now that’s hilarious! Unfortunately it fell completely flat for me without knowing the backstory. Or perhaps the execution of the story was just lame, particularly trying to tie the other story arc felt artificial and forced.
- fartcannon 4y ago
  Those are basically the 'Bazinga!' moments for the show. Maybe David would have been able to prevent that.
beerandt 4y ago
Larry David contributed so much of his trademark awkwardness, but also was responsible for tying together multiple plot arcs at the end of episodes. The episodes that all seemed to culminate perfectly on multiple levels as the credits rolled where largely his doing. Similar to George learning to walk out on a high note, leading to outsized expectations. And that type of pressure is largely why David left the show. ETA: If you've never watched curb your enthusiasm, watch a couple of episodes and you'll immediately recognize what was largely missing in the episodes once David left.
- gingerlime 4y ago
  > Similar to George learning to walk out on a high note, leading to outsized expectations. And that type of pressure is largely why David left the show. I’m not sure I follow? do you mean that he was worried about the show going downhill as it became more popular, so he preferred to leave when it was still doing great? yes, I watched some curb your enthusiasm. it was harder to get used to because of the improv style, but I enjoyed it a lot. Hope my wife will like it as next step after we finish seinfeld.
  - longtimelistnr 4y ago
    I think to some degree Larry David is more selfish than you’re describing and I’d argue he cares more about himself being embarrassed rather than disappointing fans of the show
  - beerandt 4y ago
    He was so good at ending the episodes on a that multi-dimensional high note- it was a hard thing to keep doing. At least to his standards. I think it was more of not wanting to disappoint himself/others in that role than any expectation that the show would go downhill or was on the verge of getting stale. But that's just my layman's take. There's plenty of early era blog posts written on the topic by people more informed than me, though. As well as dead-tree entertainment magazine articles.
- oceanghost 4y ago
  > but also was responsible for tying together multiple plot arcs at the end of episodes. In writing terms this is called the "Harold format". David didn't invent it, but he might have been the first person to bring it to TV.
1123581321 4y ago
Not just Larry leaving, but David Mandel writing and running more of it. By accounts a very nice man, easy to work with, financially predictable for the network, but hardly a brilliant or challenging comedy writer. He also took over more of Curb and Veep in their later seasons and the corresponding quality drop happened on both of those shows as well.

easton 4y ago

The interesting thing is that two of the most remembered jokes from the show, "Serenity Now!" and Festivus, were both in Season 9.

gingerlime 4y ago
honestly fwiw I only vaguely remember festivus and don’t remember serenity now at all. I don’t think seinfeld was great for jokes as such. if anything, I feel like later episodes were a bit trying too hard to create jokes and over-the-top silly situations (e.g the episode where Kramer sells the real Peterman bus tour and Elaine trying to dump the stumps of the cupcakes)
- dwighttk 4y ago
  Muffins
  - gingerlime 4y ago
    always get those two confused!
  - tamaharbor 4y ago
    Top of the muffin to you!
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  The Peterman bus tour was a meta joke because the real Kramer was running a Seinfeld bus tour in real life.
  - aspenmayer 4y ago
    That part always cracks me up, it’s literally too absurd, verging on farcical, and yet the truth is stranger still than fiction.
  - gingerlime 4y ago
    that’s what I love about HN. Thank you! now that’s hilarious! Unfortunately it fell completely flat for me without knowing the backstory. Or perhaps the execution of the story was just lame, particularly trying to tie the other story arc felt artificial and forced.
fartcannon 4y ago
Those are basically the 'Bazinga!' moments for the show. Maybe David would have been able to prevent that.

beerandt 4y ago

Larry David contributed so much of his trademark awkwardness, but also was responsible for tying together multiple plot arcs at the end of episodes. The episodes that all seemed to culminate perfectly on multiple levels as the credits rolled where largely his doing. Similar to George learning to walk out on a high note, leading to outsized expectations. And that type of pressure is largely why David left the show. ETA: If you've never watched curb your enthusiasm, watch a couple of episodes and you'll immediately recognize what was largely missing in the episodes once David left.

gingerlime 4y ago
> Similar to George learning to walk out on a high note, leading to outsized expectations. And that type of pressure is largely why David left the show. I’m not sure I follow? do you mean that he was worried about the show going downhill as it became more popular, so he preferred to leave when it was still doing great? yes, I watched some curb your enthusiasm. it was harder to get used to because of the improv style, but I enjoyed it a lot. Hope my wife will like it as next step after we finish seinfeld.
- longtimelistnr 4y ago
  I think to some degree Larry David is more selfish than you’re describing and I’d argue he cares more about himself being embarrassed rather than disappointing fans of the show
- beerandt 4y ago
  He was so good at ending the episodes on a that multi-dimensional high note- it was a hard thing to keep doing. At least to his standards. I think it was more of not wanting to disappoint himself/others in that role than any expectation that the show would go downhill or was on the verge of getting stale. But that's just my layman's take. There's plenty of early era blog posts written on the topic by people more informed than me, though. As well as dead-tree entertainment magazine articles.
oceanghost 4y ago
> but also was responsible for tying together multiple plot arcs at the end of episodes. In writing terms this is called the "Harold format". David didn't invent it, but he might have been the first person to bring it to TV.

1123581321 4y ago

Not just Larry leaving, but David Mandel writing and running more of it. By accounts a very nice man, easy to work with, financially predictable for the network, but hardly a brilliant or challenging comedy writer. He also took over more of Curb and Veep in their later seasons and the corresponding quality drop happened on both of those shows as well.