Seinfeld continues to reign as the greatest sitcom because of its universality and relevance. The eponymous hero, Jerry, and his group of friends continue to make life hard for themselves in one way or another. Between criticizing people behind their backs or fighting among themselves, they have created some of the most memorable scenes in television history.
The unique thing about Seinfeld is that its characters are shown tackling mundane concerns of day-to-day life, albeit in an over-the-top, spiraling out of control fashion. There are plenty of Seinfeld hijinks far from forgotten and therefore have high rewatch value.
Newman's Courtroom Drama
When an injured Kramer agrees to be Newman's alibi for a speeding ticket, the whole ruse devolves into a tragi-comic scene that leaves Newman breathless and knocks the honorable judge off his seat. In season 4's "The Ticket," a cunning Newman decides it's worth his while to spin a complex story to overturn a traffic ticket. It goes something like this: he was speeding to save Kramer, who otherwise might have taken a drastic step because he couldn't fulfill his dream of becoming a banker.
The story would have moved the judge to reduce or drop speeding charges if Newman wasn't such a bad prosecutor and his alibi forgetful from the head injury. Their jig is up, but Newman refuses to give up without a fight and grabs Kramer by the collar. Newman was one of Seinfeld's most memorable recurring characters, and his fast-paced iconic monologues count as some of the best stuff in sitcom history.
Elaine's Dance
Elaine was a bit of a disaster at J. Peterman party and ended up losing respect from her co-workers. In season 8's "The Little Kicks," she broke into her signature little kicks and thumb dance and people stared at her in disbelief. Later, George described the dance as a "nugget of entertainment" and "a full-body dry-heave set to music."
In all fairness, as the head organizer of the bash, Elaine had every right to kick back and enjoy the night. As long as she enjoyed it, it didn't matter how she looked, dancing her heart out. But no matter how many times Elaine's iconic dance is replayed, it hilarious each time.
When You Control The Mail ... You Control Information
Newman said these words in a fit of rage after Jerry shot down his idea of using Laura to eavesdrop on his superiors down at the post office. He often spoke about the relentless nature of the mail and how he struggled to handle the flow daily. Therefore, in essence, there couldn't be a better character than Newman to foreshadow the state of global affairs and the onset of the information age.
In the current era, ownership, access, and control of data have become valuable commodities. Newman's memorable words are proof enough that Seinfeld scenes hold up in 2021.
The Wardrobe Malfunction
In season 4's "The Pick," Elaine is horrified to find out she's revealed a bit more décolletage than she meant to in her Christmas card photo. Her sister, Gail, her boyfriend, Fred, and her colleagues all give her a hard time about it. Thankfully, her pal, Jerry, gets her to calm down.
Now, Seinfeld could have gone any which way with the wardrobe malfunction storyline, and for the most part, it did. While everyone at Elaine's office started to call her "Nip," the lead character's reassurance came in the form of a positive and groundbreaking narrative, thereby proving Seinfeld is the most influential sitcom of all time.
Kramer Vs. Klein
One of the memorable B-plots, also from "The Pick," deals with Kramer's decision to confront Calvin Klein after finding out his "Beach Cologne" business idea was ripped off by the company and produced as "The Ocean." He storms rights into Klein's office to talk about the perfume and instead is hired immediately as an underwear model.
Kramer walks into Klein's office with authority and struts around "without a trace of self-consciousness," while engaging in a conversation with the boss himself. His characteristics please the chief, the CK executives, and Seinfeld fans who never get tired of rewatching this hilarious piece of physical comedy.
A Festivus For The Rest Of Us
Jerry Stiller's Frank Costanza has a revered place in pop culture for several reasons, and chief among them is for his efforts in keeping alive the holiday of Festivus. In season 9's "The Strike," he makes an unforgettable demonstration of the origin of Festivus down at H&H Bagels to an enthusiastic Kramer. Fans just can't get enough of Frank Costanza amping up the anti-consumerism fervor.
When George was growing up, the new holiday was born out of the Costanza tendency towards stinginess and the disdain for excessive consumerism around the holiday season. Celebrated on December 23 in the Costanza household, Festivus begins with the airing of the past year's grievances at the dinner, features a metal pole instead of a Christmas tree, and culminates in the "feats of strength" wrestling match.
George, The Hand Model
For a second, it looked like season 5's "The Puffy Shirt" was about to turn George Costanza's fortunes around. After being scouted at the restaurant for having exquisite hands, he is immediately signed up for hand modeling jobs.
George is at the top of his game and puts in a real effort to maintain his hands. He wears oven mitts most of the time, but the one time he takes them off (Jerry's dressing room, backstage at the Today Show studio), a hand injury ends his career as a hand model. The scene elicits sympathy for George, and fans rewatch it to marvel at his comedic exploits.
The Sea Was Angry That Day, My Friends
... says George Costanza after saving a beached whale in "The Marine Biologist." At the start of the episode, Jerry talked George up, lying about his flourishing marine biology career to a former college classmate Diane DeConn.
While strolling the oceanside together, Costanza and DeConn come upon a dying beached whale with an obstructed blowhole. Since George had meticulously kept up the whole marine biologist lie, he's forced to march into the ocean and save the whale. The incident makes the papers, and Costanza's dramatic soliloquy qualifies as one of the most meme-worthy Seinfeld scenes.
Elaine's Marlon Brando Impression
In season 3's "The Pen," Elaine and Jerry trip down to Florida to scuba-dive and attend a dinner in Morty's honor as the outgoing president of the condo association. Rarely in the world of Seinfeld have good things come to fruition, and this episode is no exception. Elaine injures her back trying to fall asleep on the pull-out sofa bed, pops one of Morty's muscle relaxant drugs, and as a result, goes completely loopy.
The night of the ceremony when Elaine is introduced to Aunt Stella, she does a mean Marlon Brando impression, screaming, "Stellllllllaaaaaaaa!" to the lady's face. Admittedly, Aunt Stella is embarrassed, but no more so than Morty and Helen. Elaine's Marlon Brando rendition with the grimacing Seinfelds in the background is a memorable storyline, hands down.
No Soup For You
The eponymous character of "The Soup Nazi" episode was a grouchy soup stand owner who'd immigrated from Argentina to chase his American dream. Long queues were a common sight outside his restaurant, and people were willing to go as far as tolerating his unfriendly demeanor to get a taste of his glorious soup.
The man named Yev Kassem had a strict ordering mechanism in place, and his rationale was simple - if he was so meticulous in the soup-making process, how could he expect any less from his customers? Years later, his iconic catchphrase, "No soup for you!" still reverberates in the viewers' minds. On the whole, "The Soup Nazi" is the Seinfeld episode with the highest rewatch value.