Don’t watch that, watch this!
The Guardian online is asking all the tough questions today. Namely, ‘Why didn’t American sit-com Seinfeld ever take off in the UK?’
Good question. I’ve been wondering this since I first came to the UK nearly 9 years ago, and discovered that the series that I was addicted to in Australia was virtually unknown in this country.
Britain has produced some fabulous sit-coms over the years – Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, The Office, Father Ted (ok, Graham Lineham is Irish, but still), Porridge, Dad’s Army, The Thick of It, Man about the House (soley for having one of the best sit-com theme tunes ever), I’m Alan Partridge, Peepshow etc. etc. – but yet the sheer brilliance of Seinfeld, not to mention Arrested Development, Curb your Enthusiasm, The Larry Sanders Show and Family Ties (ha!) seems to have passed too many people by.
OK, as the article points out many of these shows have been buried in the TV schedules (Arrested Development certainly has been) and constantly shifted around time slots, but surely they would have managed to find an audience somehow?
And do UK audiences really prefer to have continuous story arcs where characters ‘learn something’ as the Guardian suggests? I suspect not. Just imagine what Fawlty Towers or Black Books would be like if the characters ‘learnt something’ and ‘developed as people’?
It seems that The Guardian doesn’t know the answer and neither do I. All I can say is: don’t watch boring old tripe like Sex in the City and Friends, watch Seinfeld, it’s one of the best TV shows of all time.
‘Festivus’ highlights from ‘The Strike’, Seinfeld, season 9, 1997
Tags: on TV
May 13th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Completely agree. To be fair, I think a fair few people did like it (it was given a fairly constant repeat slot on channels like Paramount in the UK, and the DVD launch did pretty well from what I remember) but some people just didn’t get it. Personally, I think the backwards episode (The Betrayal) and the master of my own domain episode (The Contest) are among my favourite sitcom half hours of all time…
May 14th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hello Dylan, nice to see you over here! Good point about availability on cable, but how many people really watch it?
I love The Contest too and The Betrayal (I can’t wait for that to come out on DVD so I can watch it again), but the Festivus stuff is my favourite. And the episode where George builds a bed under his desk at work, and the one where he pretends to be a marine biologist… George Costanza is one of my favourite sit-com characters ever.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Funnily enough I’ve only picked up on Seinfeld recentley – what put me off for years was other American sitcoms I always found them too slick, smug and formula (rapturous claps when anyone walks on , the kitchen table confessional after the ad break) and things like Frasier just left me cold. I always though Seinfeld would be more of the same. Until I heard him doing stand up via internet radio – it was hilarious. I hired the first series and have been loving it ever since (I’m up to series 5 now) The competition and The Melon are personal faves..
May 14th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Whilst not quite in the same league as ‘My Two Dads’, Seinfeld is definitely one of the best. Not sure if I have a favourite, though the one set entirely in a restaurant was genius, as was the Pony Remark episode, but they’re all good. I’m of the belief that what put people off in the UK was the god-awful intro muzak. Not sure where I read it, but apparently 60% of Britons are allergic to the combination of slap bass and Rolf Harris
May 14th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Clearly (of course!) readers of this blog are exceptions to the Seinfeld = apathy rule! Excellent news.
PM – I agree with you that the typical American sit-com conventions can be tiresome, but I’m suprised that as a Seinfeld fan you don’t like Frasier. I don’t think its as good, but still I quite like it. Have you ever watched Arrested Development?
Il Man – Good point about the theme music, although you have to admit that it is pretty different to the typical sappy theme tune music you usually get on sitcoms. No thanks at all though for reminding me of the existence of ‘My Two Dads’. Shudder.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I’ve been over here for a while, but I’d been lurking surreptitiously in the corner hoping nobody would notice me…
Is it wrong to admit that The New Adventures Of Old Christine is my (extremely extremely) guilty pleasure?! It just reminds me of the happy days of watching Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. Please, never mention it again though…
May 14th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Brit – thanks for delurking – I now have two known readers in the States!
You know I have never seen The New Adventures of Old Christine. I’ve seen Julia Louis Dreyfuss pop up in Curb and Arrested Development, but I’d love to see her in a proper show of her own. Sadly I don’t have cable, so I might be waiting some time. Is it really that bad?
May 14th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
It’s pretty woeful yes – not quite My Two Dads, but certainly up there.
And feel free to call me Dylan – it’s not as if I’ve hidden my identity in any particularly concerted way!
May 15th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I’ve encountered people who are a little snooty about American sitcoms but they’re missing the point, by about the length of here to Australia. It’s frustrating and I cannot compute someone’s taste who does not think this is the finest comedy ever aired.
Their loss.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Such taste RE! It is a great show. Maybe the problem was the TV schedulers decided in advance that people wouldn’t like it because it’s American (like what happened with The Simpsons) and just didn’t put the effort in to supporting the show initially. Who knows, but at least all the people round here appreciate it!