Pages tagged “Seinfeld”

20 Best TV Characters of the Past 20 Years

Today, we present the final four characters. Click here for #20-#17, here for #16-#13, here for #12-#9 and here for #8-#5.

Jerry Seinfeld isn't particularly gangsta. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But he's not exactly the first person who comes to mind as the inspiration for a hip-hop mixtape from the best rapper you've never heard of. Last we checked, The Soup Nazi wasn't getting too many Lil Wayne shout outs. But maybe a Seinfeld/Wale pairing isn't as odd as it initially seems.

Welcome to High Gravity, my new blog for daily nuggets of music, film and culture. I plan on using this space for quick, throughout-the-day updates on whatever comes across my desk or crosses my mind, from news about Thom Yorke making sure Prince's Coachella cover of "Creep" gets unblocked by YouTube or Liz Phair performing Exile in Guyville in its entirity (June 23rd at the Fillmore in San Francisco, 24th at The Vic Theatre in Chicago and 25th & 26th at the Hiro Ballroom in New York) to my own Top 10 lists, favorite new discoveries and, yes, beer recommendations.

My New Discovery of the Week
Johnny Flynn: Listening to 60-something entries for our Best of What's Next issue in September last week, the one that I keep going back to is Johnny Flynn. A bit Robyn Hitchcock, a bit Sixteen Horsepower, but with the exuberance of The Waterboys, this Londoner has won me as a fan. Only after visiting his MySpace page did I realize that I'd had his upcoming album sitting unlistened on my desk, courtesy of Lost Highway.

Best Sitcoms Since 1980
I don't have much of an opinion on sitcoms that predated me, so we'll go back to when I was nine. I'm curious to hear which ones you think I've overlooked, so let me know what rip-roaring laughs or laugh-tracks I've been missing. And before you say Taxi, just know that it debuted in 1978 (which is why I had to delete M*A*S*H, long may it rerun).

With Seinfeld in perpetual rerun, you might wonder why anyone would shell out $50 to own it on DVD. After all, most of us have seen these shows so many times we can pull up classic scenes in our minds faster than we can fumble with a remote control and a DVD menu.

But if you were only to buy one set of Seinfeld discs, Season 4 is your best bet. This is the season that includes “Bubble Boy,” “The Pitch,” “The Junior Mint,” and “The Contest,” the episode that established Jerry Seinfeld as the Master of His Domain and hooked the nation on a show about nothing.

Deleted scenes, a look behind the scenes, audio commentaries, new clips of Jerry’s standup, and 1-2 minutes extra per episode (the original network versions, not seen in syndication)—the DVD set is loaded with special features that let you obsess over the show the way George would, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Having the gang back in your living room is like a surprise visit from old college friends. You don’t mind how long they stay and can’t believe they still make you laugh as hard as they do.