Seinfeld had not only some of the best writing on TV at the time but some of the best comic actors, as well. The choice of some great character actors in the smaller reoccurring roles helped make the show: Len Lesser as uncle Leo, Barney Martin as Mort Seinfeld, and of course, Estelle Harris and Jerry Stiller as Frank and Estelle Costanza.
Jerry Stiller was able to take a thoroughly unlikeable man and make the audience not only love him but eager to see the character again. His timing and delivery were impeccable, as was Harris'. They were very believable as an old married couple. Stiller played Frank Costanza as if he were a philosopher for the ages, turning the beloved Seinfeld character into a quote machine of inadvertent hilarity.
"I Was Watching A Provocative Movie On Cable TV Called 'The Net,' Starring That Woman From 'The Bus.'"
Frank is explaining how he got the idea for his computer business from the Sandra Bullock movie The Net, and mistakes Speed for a movie called "The Bus."
The Net is a 1995 movie about a computer programmer who discovers a vast conspiracy that puts her life in danger. What Frank gets out of the paranoid computer espionage thriller is that the computer business is great and he needs a part of it.
"Your Meatloaf Is Mushy, Your Salmon Croquettes Are Oily, And Your Eggplant Parmesan Is A Disgrace To This House!"
Frank and Estelle had a relationship of mutual putting up with each other until one or the other broke. It was usually Frank doing the breaking, and exploding with yet another Frank Costanza masterpiece.
The relationship of George's parents was one of the great things about Seinfeld. Jerry Stiller and Estelle Haris both had great timing and played well off each other. They were only in 27 episodes out of the total 172, but the impact of their characters makes it seem like much more, and they are two Seinfeld fan-favorite characters.
"No One Is Touching My Feet. Between You And Me, Elaine, I Think I've Got A Foot Odor Problem."
Elaine thinks that the Korean women at the nail salon she frequents are making fun of her in Korean while they work on her nails. Frank speaks Korean, so Elaine asks him to come along to see what they saying. She offers to pay for a pedicure in exchange for the favor.
Frank Costanza is just the kind of guy to make these pronouncements, bold and loud, and then stick by them. No one will ever see his feet. Stiller gets a lot out of these small moments, and it's not so much what he says but the way he says it that's hilarious.
"Let Me Understand, You Got The Hen, The Chicken, And The Rooster. The Rooster Goes With The Chicken. So, Who's Having Sex With The Hen?"
At a nice, tense, chicken dinner party, Frank turns his attention to chicken sex. First of all, he seems to think that hens and chickens are two different things, which is where his problem begins. To him, it's a riddle, an unsolvable puzzle for a public investigation.
Frank would come up with things like this quote all the time, usually to the utter embarrassment of George. Estelle would usually just shrug or yell something back at him. He's utterly oblivious to the reactions around him, and when he isn't, he usually responds by blaming other people.
"That's Why I Could Never Become President. That's Also Why, From An Early Age, I Never Had Any Interest In Politics. I Refuse To Vote. They Don't Want Me, I Don't Want Them!"
Frank responds to Elanie's question about him being born in Italy, and why he could never be president. His revenge is to never vote, a sort of play on the old Groucho line, "I don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members.”
In America, only a natural-born citizen can become president, meaning either born on American soil or to an American citizen. That leaves Frank, obviously a naturalized citizen, out. The viewer can see why his son George thinks and acts the way he does.
"I've Got Good News And Bad News, And They're Both The Same: You're Fired."
Frank starts a business selling computers and hires George and George's childhood nemesis, Lloyd Braun. Franks makes them compete in a sales contest: the winner gets a Water Pik and the loser gets fired.
George is forever trying to get his dad's approval, which with Frank is always going to be conditional and fleeting. His whole childhood, as can be seen over the course of the series, was both a quest to get his father's love and stay out of his way.
"The Tradition Of Festivus Begins With The Airing Of Grievances. I've Got A Lot Of Problems With You People, And Now, You're Gonna Hear About It!"
The annual airing of grievances at dinner means Festivus has begun. Of course, the only one who gets to air his grievances is Frank himself. And he airs them by chewing out his son's boss and telling him what George really thinks of his company.
Frank's holiday only serves one person and makes them merry, Frank himself. But Frank, with his aluminum pole and his grievances, is just fine with that.
"A Brassiere For Men ... The Manssiere! Get It?"
Kamer has a great idea, which is always a problem for the rest of the gang. He gets Frank to try on his bra for men: "The Bro." Frank likes it, but not the name, he wants to call it "The Manssiere," the brassiere for men.
This is a Seinfeld scene that fans love watching over and over again. The fact that Frank wears Kramer's device and likes it is probably points for him for trying something new. Frank is a man who seemingly has no shame over his own behavior and little to no self-awareness of his effect on those around him. He will just barrel ahead, regardless of consequences.
"But Out Of that, A New Holiday Was Born. A Festivus For The Rest Of Us."
Frank is relating how he went to buy a doll for George when he got into a fight with another store customer over the toy. They came to blows, bruising themselves and smashing the doll. That's when he got his idea for Festivus.
Seinfeld has some great quotes, and this is one of the most famous. Festivus is Frank's version of Christmas, but without the commercialism he hates. In his living room, he set up an aluminum pole (tinsel is distracting) and then gathered his loved ones together to tell them what a big disappointment they were that year. Only Frank would think that this is the better holiday.
"SERENITY NOW!!!"
Frank is trying to relax to bring down his blood pressure, so he listens to tapes on meditation. The author said if you feel your anger and blood pressure rising, just say "Serenity now."
Of course, instead of saying a calming phrase, Frank angrily shouts it, because the man, "wasn't specific." This became a catchphrase and one of Seinfeld's funniest running gags for Frank, as he would shout it whenever he got the least bit irritated, which was frequently.