Seinfeld (season 1)

infobox tvseason
season_name = Seinfeld Season 1


caption = The front cover of the "Seinfeld: Season 1 & 2" DVD boxset, the first two seasons were sold together as one boxset.
dvd_release_date = Region 1: November 23,2004 Region 2: November 1,2004 Region 4: October 18,2004
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = July 5,1989
last_aired = June 21,1990
num_episodes = 5
next_season = Season 2|

Season one of "Seinfeld", an American television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, originally aired its pilot episode on July 5, 1989 as "The Seinfeld Chronicles" on NBC, a U.S. broadcast television network.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/episode_guide/?sl=episode&ep=101|title=The Seinfeld Chronicles episode at Seinfeld Official Site|publisher=Sony Pictures|accessdate=2008-04-22] The series' title was shortened to "Seinfeld" to avoid confusion with another sitcom called "The Marshall Chronicles".cite video|title=Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2: Notes about Nothing - "The Seinfeld Chronicles"|medium=DVD|publisher=Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|date=2008-04-22] The pilot met with poor reviews, as a result, NBC passed on the show.cite web|last=Boudreaux|first=Jonathan|url=http://www.tvdvdreviews.com/seinfeld1.html|title=Seinfeld: Season 1 & 2 DVD Review|publisher=tvdvdreviews.com|date=2004-11-24|accessdate=2008-04-22] NBC executive Rick Ludwin believed the series had potential, and gave "Seinfeld" a budget to create four episodes, which began airing on May 31, 1990.cite web|last=Boudreaux|first=Jonathan|url=http://www.tvdvdreviews.com/seinfeld1.html|title=Seinfeld: Season 1 & 2 DVD Review|publisher=tvdvdreviews.com|date=2004-11-24|accessdate=2008-04-22] cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=100389&more=ucepisodelist|title=Seinfeld Episodes | TVGuide.com|publisher=TV Guide|accessdate=2008-04-22] This is considered the smallest sitcom order in television history. [cite video|title=Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2: Notes about Nothing - "The Contest"|medium=DVD|publisher=Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|date=2008-04-22] The season finale was aired on June 21, 1990. "Seinfeld" later went on to become one of the most successful sitcoms; a 2002 TV Guide poll named "Seinfeld" the greatest American television program of all time. [cite news|title= TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows|url= http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/26/entertainment/main507388.shtml|publisher= Associated Press|date=2002-04-26|accessdate=2008-04-01]

"Seasons 1 & 2 DVD box set" was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on November 23, 2004 thirteen years after it had completed broadcast on television.cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releaselist.cfm?ShowID=3743|title=Seinfeld region 1 DVD release dates|publisher=TVShowsOnDVD.com|accessdate=2008-04-22] As well as every episode from the two seasons, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, Animatics, exclusive stand-up material, and commentaries.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/dvd/?sl=browse_by_season&tab=features&season=1|title=Season 1 and 2 DVD on Seinfeld website|accessdate=2008-05-12|publisher=Sony Pictures]

Production

The series is set in an apartment block on New York City's Upper West Side; however, the first season is mostly filmed at Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/episode_guide/?sl=episode&ep=105|title=The Stock Tip episode at Seinfeld Official Site|publisher=Sony Pictures|accessdate=2008-04-29] The show features Jerry Seinfeld as himself, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, and Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer. [cite news|title= Seinfeld and nihilism|url= http://www.nd.edu/~observer/12031999/News/5.html |date=1999-12-03|accessdate= 2008-04-29] Lee Garlington appears as Claire, the waitress, in the pilot. Claire was billed as one of the stars of the show; however, when the series was picked up it was decided that there was no need for a regular female waitress, so Garlington's role was dropped. In "The Robbery", Kramer makes his first sliding entrance when he came in sliding through the door. According to Richards, he was late on his cue so he came in very fast. When the studio audience and the crew laughed, he decided to develop the entrances into what eventually became his trademark.

Casting and changes

In the pilot, Jerry refers to Kramer as Kessler; however, his name was changed to Kramer in rest of the series. Kramer was named after a real person, he was called "Kessler" in the pilot episode because of worries about the rights to use the name. This name inconsistency is somewhat explained in season nine's "The Betrayal" when Kramer says that "Kessler" is simply the name on the buzzer for his apartment. "Eileen" was the original name for the Elaine character; however, it was changed just a few days before production.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/episode_guide/?sl=episode&ep=102|title=Male Unbonding episode at Seinfeld Official Site|publisher=Sony Pictures|accessdate=2008-04-29] In the original script, Jerry's mother addresses her husband as Leon. This was changed to "Morty" at some point during the production week. Phil Bruns appears as Jerry's Father. He was replaced by Barney Martin for the character's next appearance in Season Two.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/episode_guide/?sl=episode&ep=103|title=The Stake Out episode at Seinfeld Official Site|publisher=Sony Pictures|accessdate=2008-04-29]

Crew

"Seinfeld" was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures Television and Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television) and was aired of NBC in the US. The executive producers were Larry David, George Shapiro, and Howard West with Tom Garnmill and Max Pross as supervising producers. Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Mehlmanard, Majorie Gross and Suzy Greenburg were the producers, and Carol Leifer was the co-producer. Larry David was the main show runner for this season. Bruce Kirschbaum was the executive consultant.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/about/?sl=show_credits|title=The Seinfeld Crew and Credits at Seinfeld Official Site|publisher=Sony Pictures|accessdate=2008-04-30] The season was largely written by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the other writer was Matt Goldman who wrote one episode.cite web|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/episode_guide/?sl=episode&ep=104|title=The Robbery episode at Seinfeld Official Site|publisher=Sony Pictures|accessdate=2008-04-29] The pilot was directed by Art Wolff; however, when the series was picked up Tom Cherones became the director for rest of the season.

Reception

The pilot met with poor reviews, as a result, NBC passed on the show; however, NBC executive Rick Ludwin believed the series had potential. He therefore gave "Seinfeld" a budget to create four more episodes, which began airing on May 31, 1990. When the pilot was first repeated on July 5, 1990, it received a rating of 13.9/26, which means 13.9 percent of households were tuned in at any given moment; additionally, 26 percent of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into this program. These ratings were high enough to secure a second season. Soon after the "Stock Tip" aired, NBC executives ordered 13 additional Seinfeld episodes to air as midseason replacements during the 1990–91 season. NBC research showed that the show was popular with young male adults, a demographic sought after by advertisers. This gave NBC an incentive to keep broadcasting the show. [cite web|last=Rapp|first=David|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/entertainment/articles/web/20060531-jerry-seinfeld-sitcom-television-nbc-kramer-comedian-stand-up-larry-david.shtml|title=Seinfeld: The Unlikeliest Success Story|publisher=American Heritage|date=2006-05-31|accessdate=2008-03-19] "The Stake Out" was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award, the first of many nominations for the series. Brandon Tartikoff, the program executive for comedy programming, kept a scene from "The Stake Out" cued up on his office VCR to show guests how funny Seinfeld was; despite this, NBC held off broadcasting the last four episodes until summer.

Episodes

References

External links

* [http://www.seinfeld.com Seinfeld.com] , the Official Site from Sony Pictures Television
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