#13 No SEINFELD for You

While I enjoyed the final episode of SEINFELD, "The Finale," I understand the uproar that was heard from many of SEINFELD's viewers. Looking at traditional sitcoms and their final episodes, there are usually two types of viewers: the "hardcore" group and those that have only seen a handful of episodes and tuned in to the finale due to large amounts of advertisements. In either case, it is easy to see their disappointment with the final episode of SEINFELD.

To viewers that have watched every episode of SEINFELD, the finale would have been much of the same and nothing new. For instance, while the flashbacks and self-referentiality of the finale proved useful in telling the plot, many viewers could have seen this as things they've already seen, especially if they are "true" to the series. Sometimes repeating and bringing back old plots and ideas gets boring and is not exciting to watch at the end of a sitcom.

For those just tuning into the series, the finale would have had too many re-occuring jokes and plots that many viewers would not have understood and find funny. The court scene recalled many people "the four" have hurt in the past; if you haven't seen many episodes of SEINFELD, these short flashbacks and quick clips would not have made any sense and in some instances would not have been funny at all. Seeing as much of the finale dealt with these flashbacks it would be easy to believe viewers would have found the final episode not funny and not SEINFELD-like.