The Unnesecary addition of laughtracks into sitcoms or general statemnets that arent even supposed to be jokes
by The Urban Dictionarium'stdve December 31, 2020
Get the Seinfeld Syndrome mug.the straight man, a figure who is "able to observe the chaos around him but not always be a part of it."
by Midwest emo fan November 7, 2023
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The Seinfeld Effect is when a cultural work is so popular that many creators copy or take inspiration from it, making the original style common. As a result, when someone watches the original, it no longer feels special because they’ve already seen it repeated elsewhere.
"When I finally saw the original, it didn’t blow me away like I expected — the Seinfeld Effect had kicked in. I’d already seen so many versions of its ideas that it just felt familiar instead of groundbreaking."
by Mrdinglbemb May 19, 2025
Get the Seinfeld Effect mug.The (superstitious) curse put on the cast and crew of Seinfeld, that disabled them from being able to start new shows.
Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Micheal Richards have each attempted to launch new sitcoms as title-role characters. Despite decent acclaim and even some respectable ratings, almost every show was canceled quickly, usually within the first season. This gave rise to the term Seinfeld curse: the failure of a sitcom starring one of the three, despite the conventional wisdom that each person's Seinfeld popularity should almost guarantee a strong, built-in audience for the actor's new show. Shows specifically cited regarding the Seinfeld curse are Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Watching Ellie, Jason Alexander's Bob Patterson and Listen Up!, and Michael Richards' The Michael Richards Show. Larry David once said of the curse, "It's so completely idiotic... It's very hard to have a successful sitcom."
However, the Emmy award-winning success of Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine has led many to believe that she has broken the 'curse'. In her acceptance speech, Louis-Dreyfus held up her award and exclaimed, "I'm not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!" With Louis-Dreyfus playing Christine, the show has been on the air for four seasons with above-average ratings as of 2008.
Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Micheal Richards have each attempted to launch new sitcoms as title-role characters. Despite decent acclaim and even some respectable ratings, almost every show was canceled quickly, usually within the first season. This gave rise to the term Seinfeld curse: the failure of a sitcom starring one of the three, despite the conventional wisdom that each person's Seinfeld popularity should almost guarantee a strong, built-in audience for the actor's new show. Shows specifically cited regarding the Seinfeld curse are Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Watching Ellie, Jason Alexander's Bob Patterson and Listen Up!, and Michael Richards' The Michael Richards Show. Larry David once said of the curse, "It's so completely idiotic... It's very hard to have a successful sitcom."
However, the Emmy award-winning success of Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine has led many to believe that she has broken the 'curse'. In her acceptance speech, Louis-Dreyfus held up her award and exclaimed, "I'm not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!" With Louis-Dreyfus playing Christine, the show has been on the air for four seasons with above-average ratings as of 2008.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus broke the Seinfeld curse when she starred in CBS's "The New Adventures of Old Christine."
by RawrItsPanda October 20, 2009
Get the The Seinfeld Curse mug.A moment/ subject of conversation that isn't worth talking about. A little thing that normally people wouldn't bother to bring up.
Example 1:
X: Let's *cough, cough* shake on it.
Y: I'm not gonna shake hands with YOU, you just coughed in your hands!
Y: Now that's a Seinfeld episode.
Example 2:
X: Are you kidding me?
Y: Why what happened?
X: My waiter spilled my drink and didn't even offer to clean it up!
Y: I'll just ask him to pick it up.
X:No don't do that, he knows i saw him do it.
Y: Your making this such a Seinfeld episode.
X: Let's *cough, cough* shake on it.
Y: I'm not gonna shake hands with YOU, you just coughed in your hands!
Y: Now that's a Seinfeld episode.
Example 2:
X: Are you kidding me?
Y: Why what happened?
X: My waiter spilled my drink and didn't even offer to clean it up!
Y: I'll just ask him to pick it up.
X:No don't do that, he knows i saw him do it.
Y: Your making this such a Seinfeld episode.
by Jews are people too July 9, 2010
Get the Now that's a Seinfeld episode. mug.The Seinfeld Chronicles is the pilot episode of the NBC series, Seinfeld. It originally aired on July 5, 1989. The original title of the episode was Good News, Bad News however it has been confirmed by the creators that the title of the pilot is The Seinfeld Chronicles.
It was rebroadcast in 1990 after the show had been picked up as a series.
The episode was written by creators, Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Art Wolff.
Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza are seated at Pete's Luncheonette debating over a shirt button. The waitress, Claire, comes over to their table and pours each a cup of coffee. George tells Claire he does not want caffeine in his coffee and Jerry corrects him by telling George she is an expert waitress. The two continue to talk and finally leave when Jerry has to do laundry.
The following evening while watching a late Mets game, he receives a phone call from a potential girlfriend, Laura, whom he met on the road. She asks if she can stay over his apartment since she cannot find a "decent hotel" (a fact George contests). Jerry invites her but is unsure if her visit is intended to be romantic or not. George and Jerry continue to debate fine details in Laura's conversation with Jerry to determine the true nature of the visit. A character known in the pilot as "Kessler," (who in all future episodes is known as Kramer) joins in asking Jerry why he would even give her a choice about where to sleep by bringing in another bed. The episode gives viewers a quick glimpse at George's profession (real estate) and also Kramer's (questionable get rich quick schemes).
At the airport, George and Jerry continue to talk in an effort to identify the possible signals Laura might give upon her arrival. Laura arrives and takes Jerry (and George) by surprise. The two arrive at Jerry's apartment and he feels uncomfortable with the situation. Laura removes some excess clothing to get comfortable and asks for wine. Jerry believes he has gotten to the bottom of the whole question. His plans are abruptly interrupted when he learns Laura has a fiancé. Jerry realizes he has no chance with Laura but has already committed himself — and his studio apartment — to an entire weekend with her.
Note
The episode does not feature the character of Elaine Benes. Her character was introduced as a result of constructive criticism based on this episode.
Lee Garlington, who played Claire (the waitress at Pete's) in the pilot, although credited as a regular, was not asked to appear in the series and is only featured in this episode.
The restaurant Jerry and George are eating lunch at is known as Pete's Luncheonette in this episode. It will later be known as the well-known Monk's Cafe for the remainder of the series.
It was rebroadcast in 1990 after the show had been picked up as a series.
The episode was written by creators, Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Art Wolff.
Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza are seated at Pete's Luncheonette debating over a shirt button. The waitress, Claire, comes over to their table and pours each a cup of coffee. George tells Claire he does not want caffeine in his coffee and Jerry corrects him by telling George she is an expert waitress. The two continue to talk and finally leave when Jerry has to do laundry.
The following evening while watching a late Mets game, he receives a phone call from a potential girlfriend, Laura, whom he met on the road. She asks if she can stay over his apartment since she cannot find a "decent hotel" (a fact George contests). Jerry invites her but is unsure if her visit is intended to be romantic or not. George and Jerry continue to debate fine details in Laura's conversation with Jerry to determine the true nature of the visit. A character known in the pilot as "Kessler," (who in all future episodes is known as Kramer) joins in asking Jerry why he would even give her a choice about where to sleep by bringing in another bed. The episode gives viewers a quick glimpse at George's profession (real estate) and also Kramer's (questionable get rich quick schemes).
At the airport, George and Jerry continue to talk in an effort to identify the possible signals Laura might give upon her arrival. Laura arrives and takes Jerry (and George) by surprise. The two arrive at Jerry's apartment and he feels uncomfortable with the situation. Laura removes some excess clothing to get comfortable and asks for wine. Jerry believes he has gotten to the bottom of the whole question. His plans are abruptly interrupted when he learns Laura has a fiancé. Jerry realizes he has no chance with Laura but has already committed himself — and his studio apartment — to an entire weekend with her.
Note
The episode does not feature the character of Elaine Benes. Her character was introduced as a result of constructive criticism based on this episode.
Lee Garlington, who played Claire (the waitress at Pete's) in the pilot, although credited as a regular, was not asked to appear in the series and is only featured in this episode.
The restaurant Jerry and George are eating lunch at is known as Pete's Luncheonette in this episode. It will later be known as the well-known Monk's Cafe for the remainder of the series.
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
Get the The Seinfeld Chronicles mug.by Someone, April 14, 2006
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