Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) – a nerdy young stand-up comic – lived in Apartment 5A, 129 West 81st Street, New York City, across the hall from the almost-always unemployed eccentric Kramer (Michael Richards), who continually had schemes afloat – including his coffee table book, The Coffee Table Book of Coffee Tables.
Jerry’s ex-girlfriend and platonic pal Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) lived at Apartment 2G, 16 West 75th Street, while his best friend, luckless worrywart George Costanza (Jason Alexander), lived with his parents, Morty and Helen, at 1344 Queens Boulevard in the Flushing section of Queens.
Often regarded as the quintessential sitcom of the 90’s, Seinfeld revolutionised the sitcom genre with its “show about nothing” concept.
Created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, most of the stories were about life’s trivia – hanging out at Monk’s diner, waiting in line, forgetting where your car is parked, throwing out someone’s prized TV Guide – but there were occasional longer story arcs, such as George and Jerry’s efforts to sell NBC a TV series (also based on “nothing”).
Other recurring story arcs included George’s job with the New York Yankees – in which Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was frequently heard but not seen – and his engagement to Susan (Heidi Swedberg), which ended, to his all-too-obvious relief, when she died after licking out-of-date, cheap envelopes for their wedding invitations.
Elaine originally worked as an editor at a publishing house and later as a copywriter for globetrotting catalogue magnate J. Peterman (John O’Hurley).
Numerous recurring characters were seen, including Jerry’s parents, Helen (Liz Sheridan) and Morty (initially Phil Bruns and then Barney Martin); George’s folks, Estelle (Estelle Harris) and Frank (Jerry Stiller), who were as neurotic as he was) and Newman (Wayne Knight), the malevolent postal worker.
Other characters who inhabited the Seinfeld universe included Elaine’s bosses, Mr Lippman (Richard Fancy) and later Mr Pitt (Ian Abercrombie); her hapless boyfriend, Puddy (Patrick Warburton); her comical stalker, Crazy Joe (Peter Crombie); George’s boss at the Yankees, Wilhelm (Richard Herd); Jerry’s ill-humoured Uncle Leo (Len Lesser); his pragmatic dentist, Tim (Bryan Cranston); rival comedian Kenny (Steve Hytner); Kramer’s pompous attorney Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris); his short friend, Mickey Abbott (Danny Woodburn); and the obsessed President of NBC, Russell (Bob Balaban), to whom Jerry and George pitched their pilot.
Memorable stories included ‘The Pez Dispenser’; Elaine showing a bit too much of her breast on a Christmas card (for which she was nicknamed “Nip”); Jerry and his date (Susan Walters) whose name he could never remember (“it rhymes with a female body part”); Jerry wearing a silly puffy pirate shirt on the Today Show; the gang’s experiences at a local soup restaurant run by the tyrannical “Soup Nazi”; Kramer trying to smuggle in some “Cubans” (cigars) and instead getting a group of real Cubans – who turned out to actually be Dominicans; and the “backwards episode” in which the scenes were shown in reverse order – first the final scene (a wedding in India), then the scenes that led up to it, then the scenes that led up to that, and so on all the way back to thirteen years before the ceremony took place.
The episode ‘The Puerto Rican Day’ was memorable for the wrong reasons: Jerry and his pals become annoyed when they are stuck in traffic because of a Puerto Rican Day parade. At one point, Kramer accidentally sets a Puerto Rican flag on fire and then stomps on it to put it out.
NBC received many protests and angry letters because of the flag burning and the stereotypical portrayal of Puerto Ricans
One of the most famous catchphrases from the 90s came from Seinfeld. The phrase “yada yada yada” became a staple of the show and is still widely recognised today.
Used by several characters in the series – including Jerry himself – the catchphrase was often employed to skip over mundane details or summarise a story.
Its humorous, dismissive nature struck a chord with viewers and quickly became part of everyday conversations.
In 1998, after eight years on the air, Jerry Seinfeld called it quits, much to the chagrin of millions of fans worldwide.
The script for the final episode was the subject of much hype, conjecture, and secrecy, with various fake scripts circulating online.
When “The Finale” aired on 14 May, it was a cultural event. ‘Watch parties’ took place across America, and one was even shown on the big screen in New York City’s Times Square.
Even other television networks tipped their caps to the finale: ABC’s Dharma and Greg included a line about how everyone in the country was watching Seinfeld in an episode titled “Much Ado About Nothing.”
And TV Land didn’t air its usual schedule of sitcom classics; instead, it broadcast a closed office door adorned with a note that read “Gone watchin’ Seinfeld.”
Ultimately, the two-part final episode was widely judged a letdown and is loved and hated in equal parts by fans and critics.
Jerry Seinfeld Himself
Elaine Benes
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
George Costanza
Jason Alexander
Cosmo Kramer
Michael Richards
Newman
Wayne Knight
Helen Seinfeld
Liz Sheridan Morty Seinfeld
Phil Bruns (1)
Barney Martin (2)
Estelle Costanza
Estelle Harris
Frank Costanza
Jerry Stiller
Uncle Leo
Len Lesser
Jack Klompus
Sandy Baron Mr Lippman
Richard Fancy
Russell Dalrimple
Bob Balaban
Susan Biddle Ross
Heidi Swedberg
‘Crazy Joe’ Davola
Peter Crombie
Mickey Abbott
Danny Woodburn
Justin Pitt
Ian Abercrombie Kenny Bania
Steve Hytner
Dr Tim Whatley
Bryan Cranston
Wilhelm
Richard Herd
David Puddy
Patrick Warburton
J Peterman
John O’Hurley
Jackie Chiles
Phil Morris
Jerry’s ex-girlfriend and platonic pal Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) lived at Apartment 2G, 16 West 75th Street, while his best friend, luckless worrywart George Costanza (Jason Alexander), lived with his parents, Morty and Helen, at 1344 Queens Boulevard in the Flushing section of Queens.
Numerous recurring characters were seen, including Jerry’s parents, Helen (Liz Sheridan) and Morty (initially Phil Bruns and then Barney Martin); George’s folks, Estelle (Estelle Harris) and Frank (Jerry Stiller), who were as neurotic as he was) and Newman (Wayne Knight), the malevolent postal worker.
NBC received many protests and angry letters because of the flag burning and the stereotypical portrayal of Puerto Ricans
The script for the final episode was the subject of much hype, conjecture, and secrecy, with various fake scripts circulating online.
Jerry Seinfeld
Morty Seinfeld
Mr Lippman
Kenny Bania
