Seinfeld Reference: The Complete Encyclopedia (3 page)

Fortunately for "Seinfeld" fans, NBC executive Rick Ludwin was committed to the project and earmarked money from his budget to produce four additional episodes.  It was a bold maneuver for several reasons: Ludwin was outside the sitcom bureaucracy, his department never developed a sitcom, and he was risking valuable funds on a long shot.  Four episodes remains the smallest network commitment for a series, which was miraculously accepted by the creators who declined a 24-episode commitment from a cable network.

The title of the pilot was "The Seinfeld Chronicles," which was trimmed to "Seinfeld" for the series to avoid confusion with a new, albeit short-lived, NBC show "The Marshall Chronicles."  The across-the-hall friend, Kessler, was renamed Kramer, after Larry David's real-life friend Kenny Kramer.  The show added a female costar, and the restaurant changed from Pete's Luncheonette to Monk's Café.

When the series resumed in late-May 1990, NBC president Tartikoff was receiving pressure from Rob Reiner, a partner in Castle Rock Entertainment, producer of the show, to position the series in a popular time slot.  "Seinfeld" received the best placement in prime-time programming, Thursday night following "Cheers," which foreordained colossal ratings.  Although the critical reviews were favorable, the show's creators were not optimistic.  They anticipated only lasting six episodes, but remained ambivalent because they were more interested in having fun.  Naturally, they were stunned when NBC, after the second broadcast, ordered 12 episodes and reserved the series as a mid-season replacement in the 1990-91 television season.

Based on summertime ratings success, NBC moved "Seinfeld" to Wednesday night with the expectation of creating another evening of prime-time programming dominance.  The attempt failed miserably, and "Seinfeld" wallowed in mediocrity.  Nevertheless, Ludwin and a few other faithful NBC executives lobbied for a 22-episode commitment and a better time slot.  This was no easy task because Tartikoff was not a big fan of the show, calling it “too Jewish and too New York” to be successful. He reluctantly acquiesced, and after a permanent switch to Thursday night, the show became an unprecedented success.

The Set

Although George's parents reside at the fictional address 1344 Queens Boulevard, Flushing, New York, the exterior photographs are from an abode on nearby 37th Street.  Jerry's apartment building on 129 West 81st Street was once his real-life residence, but the exterior shot is a Los Angeles complex.  The actual building is a five-story, gray-brick walk-up where Seinfeld rented a studio apartment for $200 per month.  The television embodiment is a taller, brown-brick complex with earthquake reinforcements at the base.  Finally, the interior shots of J. Peterman's office include real-life products from the J. Peterman collection.

New Yorker Tom Azzari (b. 1941) was the "Seinfeld" set designer, whose résumé also includes "Caroline in the City" and "Working."  He had the unenviable task of creating 285 "Seinfeld" sets for the 1995-96 season, which was more sets than "Cheers" had during its entire 11-year run.  A typical episode had up to 12 "swing sets" that were temporary set designs, such as the coffee shop or Jerry's apartment.  However, the final episode contained another odious task, constructing 28 swing sets on three stages.  Azzari's philosophy was to ensure realism in every detail and avoid creating funny sets.  Another philosophical tenet was never allowing the background set to overtake the actors; it always remained subtle and unobtrusive.

According to Azzari, as a set designer, there are two memorable moments in the "Seinfeld" era.  The first, in 1995, was constructing a $110,000 subway set using pieces of the set from the blockbuster movie
Ghost
.  The other came in early 1994 after a Northridge earthquake destroyed the show's sets.  At a cost of $800,000, Azzari replicated an Upper West Side Manhattan thoroughfare on the studio lot.  The street corner, Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, is complete with rain and steam machines, and interchangeable store fronts.  Other set projects involved a mammoth parking garage (for "The Parking Garage" episode) and a replica corner of Central Park.  The creators also fathomed relocating the series to New York for a couple episodes or even an entire season, but the move was too complicated for everyone involved.

Jerry Seinfeld was very particular about the items placed on the refrigerator; obviously his preference was Superman mementos.  The cereal boxes were real (and not alphabetized), and the Apple computer on Jerry's desk was upgraded every year.  Subtle changes include textured walls, casement windows in Jerry's apartment to match the outside shots, changing the pictures on the walls to accommodate the actor's tastes, and changing cereal boxes.

Michael Richards is responsible for the Klein mountain bike hanging on the wall of Jerry's apartment.  As a bike enthusiast, Richards convinced Azzari to abandon the bookcase for a unique, interesting prop.  However, discerning viewers may also recognize that the Klein was replaced with a Cannondale bike for a couple episodes.

As the series approached its finale, looters pillaged the set while security cameras captured their furtive activity, and Jerry Seinfeld personally contacted a thief to recover the coveted apartment intercom.  Most of the "Seinfeld" memorabilia remained intact so cast members were able to pocket a few cherished mementos: Julia Louis-Dreyfus kept a phone, Wayne Knight hoarded Newman's glasses, Estelle Harris kept the doll that resembled her appearance, and Seinfeld saved the apartment door, intercom and Monk's Café booth.  Although the Smithsonian Institute considered preserving the set, Seinfeld opted for more visible displays at the Warner Bros. Museum in Burbank, California and the National Museum of American History.  The former will house the living room/kitchen and Monk's Café, which will be included in the studio tour; and the latter will exhibit the remaining parts of the set in a museum display.

Typical Work Week

The typical sitcom season lasts eight months, so 22 episodes are taped in 34 weeks.  Besides the winter break during the Christmas holiday, the production team is constantly hurried to produce nearly an episode per week while working on other scripts for future episodes.  The "Seinfeld" set was no different.  A typical day had the cast appearing by nine or ten each morning, and staying until five or six in the evening.

On Wednesday, the morning after taping, the next script was distributed to the actors for a "table-read," where the proposed episode was read aloud by cast members while the writers, producers and network representatives from NBC and Castle Rock observed and took notes.  Larry David was usually a stand-in for various guest actors during this embryonic stage of episode production.  In the afternoon, various head honchos discussed the script and offered suggestions, modifications, additions, or deletions.  This could be a very tense meeting in the struggle between artistic integrity and network conservatism.  The remainder of the day was spent rewriting the script to comport with some of the recommended changes.

The following day involved a rehearsal so the director could block shots (placing the characters in their appropriate location as if filming actually occurred).  Friday entailed a cast rehearsal, and offering advice on upgrading the material.  Later that afternoon was a quick run-through for the writers, who would spend the evening rewriting the script.  If the rewrite was substantial, the writers spent the weekend revising the dialogue.  On Monday the actors memorized a modified script and had a full-fledged run-through, where the entire script was rehearsed as if filming the show.  Tuesday was the casual run-through with minor adjustments to the production, and later that evening they returned to tape the episode.  After approximately five hours of filming, the audience departed and the cast worked into the early morning hours to re-shoot scenes.

Taping Episodes

When "Seinfeld" originally commenced production, the episodes were taped on Wednesday nights in CBS Studio Stage 19.  During the sitcom's fledgling years there was little fanfare or big-budget production on the set.  As the series grew in success, so did the budget and hoopla.  Jeff Bye was the regular stand-up comedian who warmed-up the 300 audience members before each episode taping.  His duties included meeting celebrities and dignitaries, and providing an appropriate introduction to the audience.  Some of the guest audience members included Randy Travis (who played guitar during breaks), Mick Fleetwood, Beau Bridges, Diane Keaton, Marla Maples, and Chris Rock.  Following Bye's performance, Jerry Seinfeld spent a few minutes entertaining the crowd before introducing the cast.

Jeff Bye had humble beginnings in Hollywood.  As part of the "Seinfeld" team, he was hired in March 1992 to sit in Jerry Seinfeld's office on Wednesday nights to prevent looting in the star's dressing room.  He was paid $50 for five hours and allowed to watch endless "Seinfeld" episodes.  Over time, Bye acquired knowledge of the show and learned considerable behind-the-scenes activity from various production jobs.  He eventually wrote a few monologue jokes (e.g., Bozo does not need "the Clown" after his name), and appeared in four episodes (e.g., "The Caddy" as Elaine's 1970s boyfriend in a flashback clip).  By series end, Bye was earning $1,000 per night to host the show and tantalize audience members with his unique humor.

When the series permanently switched to Thursday nights, episode taping was changed to Tuesday nights at the infamous CBS Studio Stage Nine in Studio City, California.  The audience usually appeared around 6:30 p.m., and during the four to five hours of filming, they were constantly reminded not to erupt into uncontrollable fits of laughter and applause at Kramer's antics.  Due to the constant interruptions, "Seinfeld" was forced to use laugh-tracks to superimpose audience laughter over various segments that were re-shot without the audience later that evening.

When filming and the re-shoot was finished in the early-morning hours, the creators, writers and cast members would congregate at Jerry's Famous Deli to analyze the episode and brainstorm new ideas.  Naturally, the cerebral discussions often ended in uproarious laughter as they dissected their lines and recapitulated the episode.  They even engaged in juvenile pranks, such as challenging one another to order the most childish food (for the sake of victory, health food fanatic Seinfeld has been known to consume a cheeseburger, chocolate shake and fries).

Series Evolution

An inherent fact of sitcom life is the need to adapt to the changing television environment and audience interests.  There are pragmatic concerns and time constraints in the production of each episode that can affect content inclusion or exclusion.  Although "Seinfeld" remained relatively intact, over the course of a decade, the series was not immune from changes in structure and content.

In the beginning, "Seinfeld" concentrated on the minutiae of life, with a detailed analysis of common everyday occurrences.  A few illustrations include a remark about a pony, purchasing a jacket, leaving a phone message, and renting an apartment.  After the fourth season, the scope of examination was expanded to broaden the scripts and create more outlandish stories, such as converting to a new religion to impress a woman, pretending to be a marine biologist, commencing a business venture selling raincoats, and becoming a chaperone for a beauty pageant contestant.  Notwithstanding the scope shift, the staff writers found it increasingly laborious to limit exclusive focus on the trivialities of life.  There were only so many topics that could be covered and still keep the show novel, fresh and humorous.  The broader story lines were a matter of self-preservation--an expansion of their creative mine fields--so the series could remain on the cutting edge of comedy without duplicating story lines or descending into areas devoid of humor.

The other significant change in the series was the comedy club clips.  The series originally included a stand-up comedy routine of Jerry Seinfeld, which was interspersed throughout the episode to accentuate the connection between the daily activities of a comic and the gathering of material for a performance.  However, as the series progressed, each show contained less stand-up material.  By 1992 the bits were limited to an episodic introduction or reserved for closing credits.  Unfortunately, the routines were becoming too hurried and the stand-up material was suffering, so the creators decided to reduce the stand-up routine rather than sacrifice quality.  By series end, the performance snippets ceased, which became a significant deviation from the original series concept.

One area of change the creators wanted to avoid was romantically linking the principal characters.  This was always a firm tenet of the show's creed, so the issue of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' pregnancies had to be addressed or concealed.  Although Elaine Benes was known to frequent several lovers, the creators did not want to change the focus of the episodes to parenthood, nor did they want the immature, self-absorbed, neurotic characters to become mature, responsible and committed.  Any such deviation would significantly alter the story lines and the show content would inevitably suffer.

An excellent illustration is "Mad About You," which was riotous at its inception before a pregnancy and childbirth soiled the scripts.  Thus, the "Seinfeld" creators decided to follow the example set by "Cheers" when disguising the pregnancy of Shelley Long, by using various camera angles to disguise Louis-Dreyfus' two pregnancies, and having her carry large items, stand behind props, and wear multiple layers of clothing.

Cast Collegiality

Unlike many popular and successful television shows, the "Seinfeld" set was jovial, cordial and had a familial atmosphere.  The set was always filled with laughter, and often the live episode taping had to be re-shot to edit their noticeable and uncontrollable laughter.  While filming "The Rye" episode, the gang engaged in a friendly snowball fight.  In fact, after each performance the cast frequently hugged and kissed, and in the early days, they would spend time at their favorite hangout, Jerry's Famous Deli in Sherman Oaks, California.  As the show became increasingly successful, so did each actor's career, and by series end they rarely had time to fraternize.