Afternoon Baseball

Well, I hope it's not a waste of time.

But beyond that, it's the smallest of efforts to fill the void (very selectively) left by TV Squad when it ditched its version. It's also because for all the good stuff that's happening now, there's plenty being forgotten. And a lot of that serves, deliberately or not, covertly or not, as the inspiration for the things you're enjoying at this moment.

What I'm looking to get out of this is an exploration of particular episodes and why, beyond their here-and-now greatness, they were important in a show's development, history, canon, etc., and possibly to the genre itself. For any classic sports moments we cover here, it's similarly, why this game, contest, etc., is much more than just one day, one event.

We start, for no particular reason, with the Season Five opener of "Seinfeld." A show, if not at its peak, then certainly close to it, and one that seamlessly could develop characters without exposition, meld storylines without making any obvious attempts, and use potential weaknesses (Jerry's acting, Elaine's awful hair, Kramer's too-weirdness, George's dislikeability) as strengths.
This episode, I think, moves forward on a lot of those fronts. If you've a suggestion, I'll do my best to fulfill it. And if I'm wasting words, let me know, too.

Labels: classic-review