Quote:
Originally Posted by biguc
Bingeing Seinfeld when it showed up on Netflix made this transition really apparent. The first few seasons felt like they were treading lightly around the censors and a sensitive, socially conservative society. Hence they'd talk about "the naked channels" and pretend not to drink alcohol. But that's also the surprisingly rich earth from which classics like "master of your domain" sprang.
By the middle of the series they're shouting about pornos like it's nothing. As the series progresses the characters get worse; they lose a lot of their charming traits, their flaws become glaring. By the end it's kind of nasty. The finale reflects it.
The thing is though, TV in the '80s was a regression from TV in the '70s--at least from what I've seen. I'd love to hear what some older forumers think, but my impression is that shows like All in the Family and Taxi were way more challenging and liberal than anything in the '80s.
I mean, this; https://youtu.be/j-c4cd_Lm-Q is a lot even for the '90s. |
I think the show shifted from being about banal situations (i.e. a show about nothing) to focus more on how neurotic the characters were. I loved the later seasons. Not surprisingly George is my favourite character.
Peak Seinfeld:
