Seinfeld vs. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Ledbetterman10 · August 2022

Seinfeld

I loved Curb as much as the next guy but never found it to have as much rewatch value as Seinfeld. But for the first 7 seasons, Curb was usually pretty hilarious to me on the first viewing. Not so much for seasons 8 and 9. And seasons 10 and 11 were so awful in my opinion that I file them with the likes of Rocky 5….I don’t even acknowledge their existence because it would bring down the greatness that proceeded it. I didn’t even make it through season 11. Quit after like 4 episodes. They were a chore to watch.

It’s been renewed for season 12 just today. I’m loyal enough to Larry to give it a try as I did with seasons 10 and 11…but I’m not very optimistic.

mca47 · August 2022

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The Juggler said:

Seinfeld is the greatest comedy of all time. There is no debate. Season 5 is the greatest season of comedy of all time. Week after week was one classic after the other. Uncanny how amazing that season was.

Curb is quite possibly 2nd and likely in the top 5. I love both. Curb's problem has simply been Larry doesn't know when to leave. It's been past it's prime for more than a decade now. Jerry left on, pretty much, a high note.

My only problem with Seinfeld is how quickly the quality of the writing and acting fell off after Larry left the show. The last two seasons were....okay at best. To your point about Larry not knowing when to leave, I agree to that on Curb, but he was spot on when he left Seinfeld. And to me, this drastic dip in quality really shows who made Seinfeld....Seinfeld...and it wasn't Jerry.
Also, I hated how all the characters changed in the last two seasons. George just got mad and loud all the time. Elaine became almost unlikeable, Kramer seemed to get quieter and his physical comedy was more expectedly obvious. Jerry just seemed to coast but with far less (and smart) social observations...which is such a big part of his standup.

Seinfeld will always win this "debate" because of how it was part of the 90's NBC, Thursday night, primetime lineup. Everyone watched and planned for that. And now, if you scroll down the guide on whatever service you have, Seinfeld is on at least 4 networks at anytime.

With Curb, you had/have to seek that out. Nothing about that show is mainstream or could even be touched by something that wasn't a paid add-on, cable service where they could get away with more adult humor.

Anyways, both are fn great and for different reasons.

The Juggler · August 2022

Seinfeld

mca47 said:

The Juggler said:

Seinfeld is the greatest comedy of all time. There is no debate. Season 5 is the greatest season of comedy of all time. Week after week was one classic after the other. Uncanny how amazing that season was.

Curb is quite possibly 2nd and likely in the top 5. I love both. Curb's problem has simply been Larry doesn't know when to leave. It's been past it's prime for more than a decade now. Jerry left on, pretty much, a high note.

My only problem with Seinfeld is how quickly the quality of the writing and acting fell off after Larry left the show. The last two seasons were....okay at best. To your point about Larry not knowing when to leave, I agree to that on Curb, but he was spot on when he left Seinfeld. And to me, this drastic dip in quality really shows who made Seinfeld....Seinfeld...and it wasn't Jerry.
Also, I hated how all the characters changed in the last two seasons. George just got mad and loud all the time. Elaine became almost unlikeable, Kramer seemed to get quieter and his physical comedy was more expectedly obvious. Jerry just seemed to coast but with far less (and smart) social observations...which is such a big part of his standup.

Seinfeld will always win this "debate" because of how it was part of the 90's NBC, Thursday night, primetime lineup. Everyone watched and planned for that. And now, if you scroll down the guide on whatever service you have, Seinfeld is on at least 4 networks at anytime.

With Curb, you had/have to seek that out. Nothing about that show is mainstream or could even be touched by something that wasn't a paid add-on, cable service where they could get away with more adult humor.

Anyways, both are fn great and for different reasons.

I agree that the last two Seinfeld seasons were not as good as earlier ones. Also agree on the characters changing as that has always irked me. But I would not say they were "okay" at best. The consistency was not there but some of the all time classics were in those last two seasons.

Plus, if we are talking about shows going downhill....Curb, as amazing as it was early on, has been kind of a tough watch for about a decade now.

PJ_Soul · August 2022

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I really love both, but CYE is so real, that makes it funnier.

pjhawks · August 2022

Seinfeld

MASH is the greatest comedy of all time. Seinfeld 2nd. Most underrated is Taxi.

Gern Blansten · August 2022

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I always thought the "Bizarro Jerry" episode was hilarious which was the next to last season.

hedonist · August 2022

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The Juggler said:

mca47 said:

The Juggler said:

Seinfeld is the greatest comedy of all time. There is no debate. Season 5 is the greatest season of comedy of all time. Week after week was one classic after the other. Uncanny how amazing that season was.

Curb is quite possibly 2nd and likely in the top 5. I love both. Curb's problem has simply been Larry doesn't know when to leave. It's been past it's prime for more than a decade now. Jerry left on, pretty much, a high note.

My only problem with Seinfeld is how quickly the quality of the writing and acting fell off after Larry left the show. The last two seasons were....okay at best. To your point about Larry not knowing when to leave, I agree to that on Curb, but he was spot on when he left Seinfeld. And to me, this drastic dip in quality really shows who made Seinfeld....Seinfeld...and it wasn't Jerry.
Also, I hated how all the characters changed in the last two seasons. George just got mad and loud all the time. Elaine became almost unlikeable, Kramer seemed to get quieter and his physical comedy was more expectedly obvious. Jerry just seemed to coast but with far less (and smart) social observations...which is such a big part of his standup.

Seinfeld will always win this "debate" because of how it was part of the 90's NBC, Thursday night, primetime lineup. Everyone watched and planned for that. And now, if you scroll down the guide on whatever service you have, Seinfeld is on at least 4 networks at anytime.

With Curb, you had/have to seek that out. Nothing about that show is mainstream or could even be touched by something that wasn't a paid add-on, cable service where they could get away with more adult humor.

Anyways, both are fn great and for different reasons.

I agree that the last two Seinfeld seasons were not as good as earlier ones. Also agree on the characters changing as that has always irked me. But I would not say they were "okay" at best. The consistency was not there but some of the all time classics were in those last two seasons.

Plus, if we are talking about shows going downhill....Curb, as amazing as it was early on, has been kind of a tough watch for about a decade now.

I think Elaine changed when she cut her hair. She was mean…less Elaine-y.

The Juggler · August 2022

Seinfeld

hedonist said:

The Juggler said:

mca47 said:

The Juggler said:

Seinfeld is the greatest comedy of all time. There is no debate. Season 5 is the greatest season of comedy of all time. Week after week was one classic after the other. Uncanny how amazing that season was.

Curb is quite possibly 2nd and likely in the top 5. I love both. Curb's problem has simply been Larry doesn't know when to leave. It's been past it's prime for more than a decade now. Jerry left on, pretty much, a high note.

My only problem with Seinfeld is how quickly the quality of the writing and acting fell off after Larry left the show. The last two seasons were....okay at best. To your point about Larry not knowing when to leave, I agree to that on Curb, but he was spot on when he left Seinfeld. And to me, this drastic dip in quality really shows who made Seinfeld....Seinfeld...and it wasn't Jerry.
Also, I hated how all the characters changed in the last two seasons. George just got mad and loud all the time. Elaine became almost unlikeable, Kramer seemed to get quieter and his physical comedy was more expectedly obvious. Jerry just seemed to coast but with far less (and smart) social observations...which is such a big part of his standup.

Seinfeld will always win this "debate" because of how it was part of the 90's NBC, Thursday night, primetime lineup. Everyone watched and planned for that. And now, if you scroll down the guide on whatever service you have, Seinfeld is on at least 4 networks at anytime.

With Curb, you had/have to seek that out. Nothing about that show is mainstream or could even be touched by something that wasn't a paid add-on, cable service where they could get away with more adult humor.

Anyways, both are fn great and for different reasons.

I agree that the last two Seinfeld seasons were not as good as earlier ones. Also agree on the characters changing as that has always irked me. But I would not say they were "okay" at best. The consistency was not there but some of the all time classics were in those last two seasons.

Plus, if we are talking about shows going downhill....Curb, as amazing as it was early on, has been kind of a tough watch for about a decade now.

I think Elaine changed when she cut her hair. She was mean…less Elaine-y.

YES! I believe it does also coincide with Larry leaving, but I have always thought when she cut it and made it curly that her character also changed. Her wardrobe also changed a bit around that time too.

1ThoughtKnown · August 2022

Seinfeld

The only Seinfeld episodes I don’t like are the pilot and Puerto Rican day. Every other episode is enjoyable from classic to a few chuckles. Even if I’ve seen the episode a hundred times. It’s timeless.

CYE is more topical and some episodes can become dated.

Seinfeld vs. Curb Your Enthusiasm

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