Seinfeld (season 1)

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Seinfeld
Season 1
Seinfeld1&2.jpg
DVD cover for seasons one and two
No. of episodes5
Release
Original network NBC
Original releaseJuly 5, 1989 (1989-07-05) –
June 21, 1990 (1990-06-21)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

Season one of Seinfeld , an American television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on July 5, 1989, on NBC. [1] Originally called The Seinfeld Chronicles, its name was shortened to Seinfeld after the pilot to avoid confusion with another sitcom called The Marshall Chronicles. [2] The season finale aired on June 21, 1990. [3]

Contents

A Seasons 1 & 2 DVD box set was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on November 23, 2004, thirteen years after it had completed broadcast on television. [4] In addition to every episode from the two seasons, the DVD release features bonus material, including deleted scenes, animatics, exclusive stand-up material, and commentaries. [5] With only four episodes after the pilot, season one of Seinfeld is one of the smallest sitcom orders in television history.

Production

Castle Rock Entertainment produced Seinfeld. Seinfeld was aired on NBC in the United States. [6] Larry David was the main show runner, the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operations, for this season, and one of the producers. [6] Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wrote most of the season, with Matt Goldman writing episode three, "The Robbery". [7] The season was directed by Art Wolff and Tom Cherones.

The show features Jerry Seinfeld as himself, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, and Michael Richards as Kramer. [8] In the pilot, Lee Garlington appears as Claire, the waitress at Pete's Luncheonette, but after the pilot the "gang" started eating at Monk's Cafe. Garlington was set to appear as one of the main supporting characters. Her role was dropped when it was decided that there was no need for a regular female waitress. [1] The character of Claire was replaced with Elaine Benes in the second episode. Jerry refers to Kramer as Kessler; however, his name was changed to Kramer for the rest of the series. [1] Kramer was named after a real person; he was called "Kessler" in the pilot episode because of worries about the rights to use the name. [2]

Reception

The pilot was met with poor responses from test audiences, and NBC decided not to pick up the show. [2] Believing it had potential, NBC executive Rick Ludwin ordered four episodes about a year after NBC's rejection. The first aired on May 31, 1990. [2] [3] When the pilot was first repeated on July 5, 1990, it received a rating of 13.9/26, meaning that 13.9% of households were tuned in at any given moment; additionally, 26% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it. [2] These ratings were high enough to secure a second season. [2] NBC research showed that the show was popular with young male adults, a demographic sought by advertisers, giving NBC an incentive to continue the show. [9] The episode "The Stake Out" was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award. [10]

Retrospective reception of the season has been positive. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 76% approval rating, with an average rating of 8.1/10 and based on 29 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Seinfeld's first season lays out the template for the show's unique style, effectively outlining the hugless, lesson-free humor that would later make it an oft-imitated classic." [11] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, it received a score of 79 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12] TV Guide ranked it the twenty second greatest television season of all time, being one of four of the series's entries on the list.[ citation needed ]

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date  [13] Prod.
code  [14] 		US viewers
(millions)
11"The Seinfeld Chronicles" Art Wolff Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld July 5, 1989 (1989-07-05)10115.4 [15]
Jerry tells George about a woman named Laura he met in Michigan who is coming to New York for a seminar. Jerry wonders if she has romantic intentions. The two continue to talk about her after they leave the luncheonette. Jerry then receives a telephone call from Laura, who asks if she can stay overnight at his apartment. Jerry invites her, but is still unsure whether or not her visit is intended to be romantic. Jerry and Laura arrive at the apartment. Laura then receives a call and when Laura gets off the phone she tells Jerry: "Never get engaged." Jerry then realizes that he has no chance with Laura, but has already committed himself to an entire weekend with her.
22"The Stake Out" Tom Cherones Larry David & Jerry SeinfeldMay 31, 1990 (1990-05-31)10322.5 [16]
During a party, Jerry flirts with a woman but fails to learn anything about her except her place of work. Jerry is reluctant to find out her phone number from his ex-girlfriend Elaine because he does not talk about other women to her. Jerry's father, Morty Seinfeld (played by a different actor from later episodes), suggests that he should wait outside the building for the woman and pretend to meet her accidentally. Jerry goes along with the idea. He manages to meet the woman, whose name is Vanessa. The two then decide to go out on a date.
33"The Robbery"Tom CheronesMatt GoldmanJune 7, 1990 (1990-06-07)10419.7 [17]
Jerry is robbed after Kramer leaves Jerry's door open, so Jerry decides to find a new apartment. As a real estate broker, George finds a new apartment for Jerry, but then wants it for himself. The group argues about who should receive the apartment, with Elaine getting either George or Jerry's apartment, depending on who moves. Not wanting to hurt their friendship, Jerry and George decide not to move and give the apartment to someone else. After seeing how much the new owners enjoy the apartment, they regret their decision.
44"Male Unbonding"Tom CheronesLarry David & Jerry SeinfeldJune 14, 1990 (1990-06-14)10219.1 [18]
Jerry tries to avoid meeting an old childhood friend, Joel Horneck, who persists in keeping in touch with him. Jerry claims that the reason he has not broken up the relationship is because Joel is a man. George suggests that Jerry should pretend that Joel is a woman and break up normally. Jerry attempts to break up with Joel, but Joel bursts into tears; Jerry changes his mind and agrees to take him to see the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, Kramer, working under the name Kramerica Industries, is working on the idea of building a pizza place where you make your own pizza pie.
55"The Stock Tip"Tom CheronesLarry David & Jerry SeinfeldJune 21, 1990 (1990-06-21)10519.4 [19]
George gets a stock tip, and after investing $5,000, he passes the tip on to Jerry, who invests $2,500. Jerry goes on a first date with Vanessa; a weekend away at a place Elaine recommends. As George predicted, the date ends up being a disaster. Meanwhile, both George and Jerry are shocked to discover that the source of the stock tip had been admitted into the hospital. While they are unsure of when to sell the stock, the stock's value plummets. Jerry finally sells it, but its value subsequently begins to rise, and George ends up making an $8,000 profit.

Related Research Articles

<i>Seinfeld</i> American television sitcom (1989–1998)

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 180 episodes. The show's ensemble cast stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes, and neighbor from across the hall, Cosmo Kramer.

"The Seinfeld Chronicles" is the pilot episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, which first aired on NBC on July 5, 1989.

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"The Robbery" is the third episode of the first season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.

"The Stake Out" is the second episode of the first season of the NBC comedy Seinfeld.

"The Jacket" is the third episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. Elaine's father Alton, a war veteran and writer, makes Jerry and his friend George Costanza very uncomfortable. Elaine is delayed and Jerry and George are stuck with Alton waiting for her at the hotel.

"The Pony Remark" is the second episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and the seventh episode overall. The episode was written by series co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, based on a remark David once made.

"The Phone Message" is the ninth episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and the fourth of the show's second season. The episode concerns protagonist Jerry Seinfeld dating a woman who likes a commercial for cotton Dockers he dislikes. Meanwhile, his friend George Costanza leaves an obnoxious message on the answering machine of his girlfriend, and goes to great lengths to prevent her from hearing it.

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<i>Seinfeld</i> (season 2) Season of television series

Season two of Seinfeld, an American television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on January 23, 1991, on NBC.

<i>Seinfeld</i> (season 3) Season of television series

Season three of Seinfeld, an American television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 18, 1991 on NBC, a U.S. broadcast television network. It comprises 23 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 6, 1992. "The Tape", "The Pen", and "The Letter" are some of the season's episodes that were inspired by the writers' own experiences. Co-creator Larry David admits that season three was a big turning point for the series in terms of how the show was made; it's where the writers started doing non linear storylines with episodes containing multiple stories. George was becoming a bigger liar, Elaine was becoming more quirky, and Kramer was becoming surer of himself throughout his crazy antics. This season received eight Emmy nominations and one Directors Guild of America Award.

<i>Seinfeld</i> (season 4) Season of television series

Season four of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on August 12, 1992, and concluded on May 20, 1993, on NBC.

<i>Seinfeld</i> (season 5) Season of television series

Season five of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 16, 1993, and concluded on May 19, 1994, on NBC.

<i>Seinfeld</i> (season 6) Season of television series

Season six of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 22, 1994, and concluded on May 18, 1995, on NBC. Season six placed first in the Nielsen ratings, above Home Improvement and ER.

<i>Seinfeld</i> (season 7) Season of television series

Season seven of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 21, 1995, and concluded on May 16, 1996, on NBC. It is the final season before Larry David left and also the final season to feature Seinfeld's stand-up routines.

References

General sources

Specific sources and notes

  1. 1 2 3 "The Seinfeld Chronicles episode at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on October 25, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2: Notes about Nothing – "The Seinfeld Chronicles" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. April 22, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Seinfeld Episodes | TVGuide.com". TV Guide . Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Seinfeld region 1 DVD". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Season 1 and 2 DVD on Seinfeld website". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  6. 1 2 "The Seinfeld Crew and Credits at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on July 23, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  7. ↑ "The Robbery episode at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Seinfeld and nihilism". The Observer. December 3, 1999. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  9. ↑ Rapp, David (May 31, 2006). "Seinfeld: The Unlikeliest Success Story". American Heritage. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  10. ↑ "The Stake Out episode at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Seinfeld: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Seinfeld: Season 1". Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Seinfeld Episodes | TVGuide.com". TV Guide. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Seinfeld Prod. Codes for all seasons". epguide.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Hit Shows That Got Off to a Slow Start: Seinfeld". The TV Ratings Guide. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  16. ↑ "'Seinfeld' is a standup hit". Life. USA Today. June 6, 1990. p. 3D. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  17. ↑ "'Mysteries' cracks the top 5". Life. USA Today. June 13, 1990. p. 3D. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  18. ↑ "'Seinfeld' is still going strong". Life. USA Today. June 20, 1990. p. 3D. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Mandela didn't inspire ratings". Life. USA Today. June 27, 1990. p. 3D. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
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