Over thirty years ago, Seinfeld debuted to the world. The first few seasons weren’t looked at fondly way back when. After all, TV sitcoms did operate the way that Seinfeld did. But it wasn’t before long, that the series changed how situational comedies were done. Seinfeld begat Friends, which in turn begat shows like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.
Twenty years after the show ended at its still considered one of the greatest, if not best of all time. Every season featured plenty of classic bits and quotes that are still quotable to this day. Not bad for a show about nothing - here are the nine seasons of Seinfeld, according to IMDB.
Season 1 - 7.58
With only five episodes, it’s really hard to put the season above any other. That doesn’t mean it was bad, but it was still just a new show finding its footing. While there was no “classic Seinfeld” episode during the first five shows, the candor and tone that became a series staple was there right from the the pilot. The standout episode is “The Stock Tip,” which was also the finale and garnered enough praise to merit season two.
Season 3 - 7.90
In the show’s first full season, Larry Charles and his delightfully demented stories became wonderful deviations from the normal episode. His penchant for madness started with “The Library,” which involved a hard-nosed Librarian tracking Jerry about an overdue book.
Another classic moment came in “The Pez Dispenser,” Jerry making a mockery of George’s girlfriend’s piano recital. Keith Hernandez guest started in the two-parter, “The Boyfriend,” which featured a comedic rendition of “The Magic Bullet” theory about JFK.
Season 6 - 7.95
The show’s sixth season had plenty of memorable moments and classic episodes. “The Fusilli Jerry,” features Kramer’s pasta art. Not to mention, everyone trying to copy Jerry’s move, including Elaine’s current boyfriend, Puddy. The show’s Super Bowl episode, “The Label Maker,” features Kramer and Newman playing Risk all over the apartment building and onto the New York Subways. Jerry’s real life friend Larry Miller (who was originally up for George) guest stars as well in “The Doorman,” as the cantankerous titular character.
Season 2 - 8.06
Several of Seinfeld’s early classics happened during the show’s second season. Episodes like “The Deal,” which might have been par for the course for other sitcoms was actually one of the only episodes that explored the Jerry and Elaine romance. We also meet Elaine’s tough as nails father (Lawrence Tierney). George plays out a well known moment from Larry David’s own life in “The Revenge.” The season’s high point was the concept episode, “The Chinese Restaurant,” where Jerry, Elaine, and George are endlessly and frustratingly waiting for a table. That definitely doesn’t sound like much on paper, but it’s “Seinfeldian” humor at its best.
Season 4 - 8.12
Coupled with the season three finale “The Keys,” the season premiere, “The Trip” plays like a feature length Seinfeld. The entire fourth season introduces some story arcs, a big novelty for sitcoms of the day. George and Jerry spend a good chunk of the season trying to get their show off the ground.
Jerry and Elaine debate if Jerry’s girlfriend’s chest is real. Kramer inadvertently launches a Junior Mint to a surgical patient’s chest cavity. A college reporter thinks that Jerry and George are gay...not that there’s anything wrong with that. But the season’s (and one of the show’s) greatest episodes happened when the foursome entered into a certain contest.
Season 9 - 8.36
By the final season, the show was number one all over the world and all kinds of secrecy abound “The Finale,” which fittingly, albeit divisively featured a master list of nearly every guest star ever arriving to put the core four in jail for their unending list of crimes. As many shows do during their final seasons, Seinfeld went all out and doubled-down on silliness and experimentation in episodes like “The Butter Shave,” and “The Betrayal.” The show introduces a brand new holiday in “The Strike,” a Festivus for the rest of us!
Season 5 - 8.47
During the show’s fifth season, Jerry’s life gets ruined because of “The Puffy Shirt.” He also meets a line woman at the US Open who tries to read lips for George at a dinner party (Oscar Winner, Marlee Matlin). Kramer wants to help Morty unload a slew of Raincoats that he once tried to years earlier. George is a coward trampling over everyone during a fire. He also decides to do “The Opposite” of whatever his instincts tell him to. But the highwater mark for both he and the show came with his ridiculous and hilarious monologue to close out “The Marine Biologist.”
Season 7 - 8.53
The story thread for season seven is that George fearing inadequacy, proposes to his old girlfriend, Susan. George being George, immediately regrets his decision and does all he can to try and get out of it. By the end of the season, Susan dies from an allergic reaction to the glue on the envelopes in “The Invitations.”
Kramer and Newman hatch a scheme you travel to the Midwest to get more money their cans in “The Bottle Deposit.” The show’s most quotable line comes when New York comes across a passionate soup chef who demands respect otherwise its “no soup for you!”
Season 8 - 8.58
The first season without co-creator Larry David had all kinds of lunacy going on. George is forced to be a part of “The Foundation” devoted to Susan. Elaine gets tired of the dealing with the same mundane nonsense everyday and meets a similar group of nicer friends in “The Bizarro Jerry.” It turns out Elaine can’t dance at all in “The Little Kicks.” Jerry and Kramer switch rooms (and personalities) in “The Chicken Roaster.”