On this day in 1998, the 2-part finale of the ever popular Seinfeld was aired. With the pilot episode airing in the summer of 1989, the 30-minute sitcom ruled the 1990s depicting itself as “a show about nothing.” But fans loved this show about nothing, tuning into NBC every week to see what kind of crazy situation Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer would be getting themselves into. And even now that the show has been over for 22 years, fans still continue to watch re-runs on cable networks and digital streaming devices whenever they get a chance. It is without a doubt among the greatest tv sitcoms of all time.

For as much as this show was loved, however, the finale was regarded by a lot of people, even some of the cast, as disappointing. I won’t go into any details about the show’s final scenes because I don’t want to give away any spoilers to people who may be watching it through for the first time right now, or those who are planning on starting it. But many felt the finale didn’t properly pay ode to the show’s very devoted fans. The characters, in many peoples’ opinions, came across as disheartened jerks who seemed to be making a mockery of society and even its audience. Even Jerry Seinfeld has voiced his regrets and even made a reference to it in the show Curb Your Enthusiasm by saying, “we already screwed up one finale.” But the show’s creator Larry David has stood by his final episode, calling it “creative” and a “good finale.”

There are others though, that agree with Larry David about the show’s finale. With the style of the characters and the entire show in general, the finale didn’t need to have a nice, fluffy, feel-good ending. After all, the show repeatedly preached “no hugging, no learning” throughout its entirety, and that’s what people came to love. The two-part finale also went down memory lane through the series’ nine seasons and brought back many of the shows secondary characters. I believe the negative reviews generally have more to do with the finale not being what was expected, rather than being disappointing, and this is because expectations for this incredibly popular show were through the roof to basically make the finale the “best show ever.” But those expectations were unrealistic. Fans built them up and built them up throughout the days leading to the finale that it was never going to reach expectations.

Whatever your thoughts are on the Seinfeld finale, I know we can all agree how fantastic the entire series was. In many ways it changed the landscape of future television sitcoms. But more than that, it kept us entertained. It kept us entertained every week for nine years, and continues to keep us entertained 22 years later. After all, that is the purpose of a sitcom. Thank you Seinfeld.

Garett

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