Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 28, 1993 TAG: 9304270245
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEN PARISH PERKINS DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Watching it was like a voyeuristic journey to nothingdom: waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant, fighting for a parking space, stealing cable, friendship. Few knew about it. But we knew. We laughed at Kramer and Elaine and George, fell for its premises, which weren't premises at all. No one knew what we were talking about the morning after because they didn't watch. They didn't know. We had "Seinfeld" all to ourselves.
Now look at it. It's got an audience. Ratings. Magazine covers. Endorsements. "Saturday Night Live." Everyone is talking about it. They even have a line of greeting cards, for goodness' sake.
Saw Alexander on the tube recently exchanging cutesy barbs with "Today's" Katie Couric.
Katie: "So, how's success?"
Jason: "It's been astounding, really."
Before that, he hit "Letterman" ("astounding, David"). Louis-Dreyfus paid a visit to Jay Leno's "Tonight Show." As for Seinfeld, you can't watch television without catching one of those American Express commercials. Wonder how much he got for those. Or how much he'll rake in for the cross-country concert tour that hasn't even started but is already sold out. Millions will see him.
Before "Seinfeld," the comedian did more than 300 club and concert dates a year. He still goes out when he can, calling it a must to keep his edge - and sanity. "It's like being a fighter pilot, you know," he mentioned during an interview at the start of the TV season. "You can't do it on the weekends. You have to really do it, or you could get killed."
Will "Seinfeld" get killed? Will it lose its edge? It was a witty, dialogue-driven show even before the rest of the world caught up. It first appeared as "The Seinfeld Chronicles" on May 31, 1990, following the inventive lead of "It's Garry Shandling's Show," starring another stand-up comic playing himself. The shows shared the appeal of blurring the line between art and life.
There was Seinfeld, 15 years of stage experience, doing what he does in his routine: combining keen observation and his own personal compulsions to point out life's most petty annoyances. "Seinfeld" is a study of urban anxiety without having to shoot up a McDonald's to prove it. Eclectic conversation is the show's specialty, a no-message message its goal.
"Seinfeld's" evolution was slow and somewhat methodical. It didn't stick first time out. Carefully timed contemplative humor hardly ever does. It sinks in. Lingers. Then a day or two later, while taking a shower or stuck in traffic, you laugh out loud. Yeah, that's what he meant.
A sitcom telegraphs lines and plots. Says where it's going. "Seinfeld" doesn't care where it goes. It zigs. Or zags. Or zagzigs. While sitcoms set up the situation and plug in one-liners, "Seinfeld" makes the situation itself funny.
When ABC decided to match its highly rated "Home Improvement" against NBC's "Seinfeld" last fall, Jerry got creamed. This was, of course, good. Then NBC moved it to Thursdays, following "Cheers," preceding "L.A. Law," and now "Seinfeld's" ratings are higher than either of those shows.
Here's the worry: What goes up comes down. "Seinfeld" was fine where it was. Average. Middle of the pack. In that spot where no one bothers you, you just sort of exist.
Now everyone knows about "Seinfeld." Everyone. It's achieving mainstream success. Heard the talk of a cereal box? There's something about success that spoils folks. Look at Tony Orlando. Erik Estrada. Vanilla Ice. See. It's not always a good thing.
Stop watching "Seinfeld." Please. Let the ratings slip to 30, maybe 35. Let it hang by a thread. Let the writers sweat and come up with un-sitcom ideas. Let it think like a cult hit.
Don't give "Seinfeld" the responsibility of living up to its mainstream popularity. Don't let it become a sitcom.
Don't let it succeed.
"Seinfeld" airs 9:30 p.m. Thursdays on WSLS (Channel 10).
by CNB