Customer Reviews

Seinfeld: Season Four

5 star:		(125)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I'm not one of those Seinfeld fans who saw a big decline in the show as the season's came and went. I loved the final couple of seasons just as much as any. Only the first season, where they were still working with the formula to get it right, was a bit weak. That said, if I was on a desert Island and could have only one season of Seinfeld to own and watch, it would be season four. It not only had many great episodes but it had many that would go down as classics, not only of Seinfeld, but all-time sit-com classics.

There are so many great episodes from season four but here are my favorites:

"The Wallet" & "The Watch" this was a two-parter as Jerry's parents come to town so Morty can see a back specialist. Morty is up in arms when he thinks his wallet is stolen in the doctor's office. Meanwhile Unlce Leo finds a watch that Jerry threw in the trash, a watch his parents gave him and Jerry tries to buy it back.

"The Bubble Boy" Jerry, Elaine, George and Susan are going up to Susan's father's cabin. They are asked to see a local fan named "the bubble boy" who lives in a plastic bubble ala John Travolta in the movie. George gets there first and plays a game of Trivial Pursuit with the bubble boy and they get into a fight. Kramer accidently burns down the cabin. One of the all-time great episodes!

"The Contest" Maybe the greatest episode ever...George is caught pleasuring himself by his mother who throws out her back and lands in the hospital. George, jerry, Kramer and Elaine all bet to see who can go the longest without doing...that...Later appearing on David On the Letterman show, Julia Louis-Dreyfus said that the network censors would not allow them to say "masturbation".

"The Pick" Kramer takes a picture of Elaine for her Christmas card. After she sends the picture out to everyone, including her nephew, they notice that her nipple was exposed! Jerry's girlfriend thinks she caught him picking her nose.

"The Visa" Kramer punches Mickey Mantle at a baseball fantasy camp, Babu's visa expires and he is deported. Kramer's explanation of the fight with Mantle is the highlight.

"The Outing" this would feature one of the all-time great Seinfeld lines "Not that there is anything wrong with that" when a college newspaper reporter mistakenly thinks jerry and George are a gay couple.

"The Implant" Jerry dumps his girlfriend (Terry hatcher) when Elaine tells him that her breasts are fake. Kramer thinks he sees Salman Rushdie the author, in a sauna and George gets into a fight at his girlfriend's Aunt's funeral because he 'double-dipped' a chip.

"The Junior Mint" Jerry can't remember the name of his girlfriend, only that it rhymes with the word for a female body part. Jerry and Kramer watch an operation and accidently toss a junior mint into the surgical opening.

"The Smelly Car" a Valet parker leaves a strong body odor in Jerry's car. Jerry tries everything to get the smell out and eventually gives the car away.

"The Pilot" George & Jerry's show is greenlighted to have a pilot produced and they interview prosective "kramers, Georges, and Elaines". Elaine finds Morty's wallet...missing since that early episode, in Jerry's Couch.

This season really had it all. I would have to say that there really was not one bad episode in the entire season. This group of talented actors was on their game all season and took the sitcom to incedible heights. There simply has been nothing since that has come close to matching Seinfeld's brilliance.

Just for the Junior Mint episode alone, but the contest to see who can go the longest without, you know, is fabulous. I LOVE George's mother; how I love seeing her in her hospital bed, berating him for yet another transgression, (What is it with you; who are you; I don't know you any more!") and George's reaction to his mother's next door neighbor-patient when she gets a spongebath is hilarious (and in another show, a young guy gets a spongebath, equally hilarious), and of course, the Trip...IMHO, George's parents are one of the best aspects of this fantastiuc show; I enjoy Jerry's parents also, his father at the doctor's office when he is fillling out the patient information form and gets to the STD part is a riot; he says "That's it! They got my name and my phone number; that's it!" And later in the room where he waits for the doctor when he thinks someone stole his wallet...well, you just have to see it. I was so upset when Seinfeld went off the air, but now I can watch these classics over and over and over again whenever I want and it really doesn't get any better than that. And the peripheral characters are so good you want them to be a regular part of the show; e.g, the grumpy old man Jerry volunteered to take care of; the Rabbi in Elaine's building; George Steinbrenner; Tim Whatley, the weird dentist; Elaine's roommate; and my favorite of all, Jimmy...Jimmy's DOWN; Jimmy's got a compound fracture! Thank God for DVD!

Looking down from this high perch in 2005 Seinfeld's cosmic success is easy to take for granted but as I watched the behind the scenes material and episodes (The Bubble Boy, The Contest, The Junior Mint to name but a few classics) included in season 4, I was reminded of how risky and cutting edge Seinfeld was way back in the "olden days." The fact that the one liners and gags have held up and stayed so fresh over the years is an amazing testament to the creative instincts of Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld and the entire cast and crew. And what other real life sitcom creators could have been so incredibly naive as to actually do a season story arc about producing a fictitious show about the show we were already watching and then to come right out and admit that it was in fact; "...a show about nothing!" In essence the emperor had no cloths and we loved it!
To borrow a phrase from Banya, Season 4 is "Gold Jerry... gold!" and truly marks the moment in the shows history when everyone hit their stride like a runner finding their second wind not to mention the fact that we get more of Jerry and George's parents, Susan, Uncle Leo, Newman, Del Boca Vista... more everything! The chemistry and craft seems so effortless and magical it's hard to imagine anything like it happening again. Simply put Seinfeld redefined the sitcom and defined water-cooler chat without anyone getting pregnant, suffering from cancer, running for politics or getting naked (although they sure talked about it a lot) and the credit goes to a group of people who were able to throw caution to the wind rather than holding their collective fingers into the air to see which way the network trends were blowing. On the technical side the mastering in HD is fantastic (the shows have never looked or sounded better), the extra's (including a short documentary on season 4) are gloriously insightful and funny, it's like attending some twisted family reunion filled with faces you haven't seen in years. And the "bloopers" (running at just under 22 minutes) are an entire show about nothing unto themselves!
The planets and stars were certainly aligned when the players in the Seinfeld universe collided and I image it will be at least another thousand TV years or so before such a celestial event happens again.

Sony has done a very good job of putting these dvd's together. I have heard bad things about the way sony does their dvd's but this one is very nice. I don't want to repeat what has been said a million times but this show is very funny. I also like the "easter eggs" that are on these dvd's. One of my favorites show a clip of Kramer and Paul from 'Mad about you' talking about how Kramer got his apartment. To see it go to "Extras" move the stain down to "The Virgin" and press the right arrow a triangle will appear and press enter. There are more but I am sure people will find them, they are easy. I can't wait for season 5!

This is my favorite season. It has "The Contest", which was a bet sparked by George's mother catching him at "you know...I was alone...". They all bet on who can go the longest without doing "you know...". Although this is most people's favorite Seinfeld episode, mine happens to be "The Junior Mint", also in this season. Jerry is dating a woman whose name he can't remember but he knows it rhymes with a female body part. Could it be Mulva? And who can forget George's Trival Pursuit game with the Bubble Boy, in which the Bubble Boy loses by insisting the Moors conquered Spain in the 8th century, when in fact, it was the Moops.

Although Seasons 1-3 were good, Season 4 is when the show became sidesplittingly funny. When we would go to work or school and everyone would be talking about the episodes. I can't wait for this video.

The fourth season of Seinfeld is, arguably, when the show really hit its stride creatively. The show about nothing decided to make fun of the concept by having Jerry (Seinfeld) and George (Alexander) write and then pitch a TV show where nothing happens. It is a self reflexive comment on what makes Seinfeld work so well: its ingenious concept. Every episode has the characters simply hanging out at a local diner, in Jerry's apartment or in some other equally ordinary setting. They are settings and situations that anyone can relate to and has universal appeal.

Fans of the show are in for a real treat as this box set is jam-packed with extras that involve the participation of the four lead actors and several supporting cast members (including Wayne Knight, Jerry Stiller, and many others), crew and executives. Each disc features audio commentaries (with the four main actors, and key crew members like Larry Charles), deleted scenes, "making of" featurettes (that provide fascinating behind-the-scenes stories) and subtitles that can be played over every episode dispensing trivia and production notes.

On the first DVD, there is "The Breakthrough Season," a 19-minute retrospective featurette on how Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David decided to push the envelope of the show with this season. This is an excellent look at the season with all four cast members participating in brand new interviews.

"Regis and Kathie Lee Parody" features the two daytime talk show hosts commenting on the episode where Jerry and George pitch their show about nothing and then they show a clip that satirizes their typically mindless repartee.

The second disc features a blooper reel that runs an impressive 21 minutes of blown lines that are flubbed or forgotten. There are also countless moments when someone does or says something funny that causes a blown line.

"Master of his Domain" features footage of Seinfeld's stand-up comedy routines that play at the beginning and ending of episodes. This is the material that never made the final cut and is pretty good stuff.

On the third disc are vintage promotional ads for the show hyping its move to Thursday nights after Cheers.

You have to love a show that has the comedic chutzpah to base an entire episode around a Junior Mint candy or the lingering smell of B.O. in Jerry's new car. They are absurd concepts that are ultimately grounded in real situations and this is part of what makes the show so brilliant.

Some of the best episodes are in season 4 like The Contest, The Bubble Boy, The Junior Mint, The Pick, The Opera, The Virgin, The Implant, and The Smelly Car and many other great episodes in the 4th season. Im going to pick up season 4 and I do have the gift set and Im gonna get every season. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is hot.

Yes, these people are shallow and self centered, but the show never portrays these things in a positive light. In fact, we are discouraged to be just like them. Seinfeld remains the funniest show on television. Season Four is just another example of how good the show really was once it found its ground and established the characters. Thumbs up! Can't wait for this to come out.

A Kid's Review has been posting the same review blasting Seinfeld for being "lame" or "tasteless" at least 5 times. Well Kid, you certainly got your point across. You don't like the show, WE HEAR YOU. Now can you move on please?

I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the 4th season. Besides the incredible "Master of One's Domain" episode, we see the Junior Mint, the Pick (with Elaine's hilarious breakdown in Coach class mirrored by Jerry's over-the-top pampering in 1st Class), so many great lines, moments, episodes. I, for one, did not see any decline in the show over the years -- except for the heartily disappointing final episode (the one time I would have liked to see a bit of shmaltz), the later episodes with Little Jerry Seinfeld the fighting rooster, George's "jerk store" fiasco, Elaine's reaction to the book that had been in the bathroom, Puddy's calm assurance that Elaine is going to hell; so many good ones from the later years, as well.

As far as the DVD's go, the packaging is superb, the audio and video are sparkling. The "Notes About Nothing" feature (think of VH1's "Pop-Up Video" concept) is awesome -- I've learned a lot of interesting tidbits about the show...I would have never guessed the song George is humming in "The Limo" is from Fiddler on the Roof -- probably not the 1st choice of entertainment for a neo-Nazi!!

Kudos as well to the Seinfeld crew for getting the DVDs released relatively quickly -- it did take quite a while to get started, but sucessive sets have been put out in a timely manner (unlike SOME *cough-Simpsons-cough*).

Looking forward to Seasons 5 through 9....