The Funniest Seinfeld Episodes

Seinfeld is without a doubt (in my mind at least) the funniest television program of our time. The ensemble cast is perfect, the situations range from the mundane to the absurd, but what makes this such a great show is the writing. What follows is a list of my favorite episodes (in no particular order) (except that The Chinese Restaurant is the funniest half hour ever).

• The Chinese Restaurant. I still tell the host at a restaurant that my name is Cartwright.
• The Boyfriend. That was "one magic loogey."
• The Parking Garage.
• The Stranded.
• The Outing. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
• The Smelly Car. A scary thought... O can get separated from B.
• The Marine Biologist. "The seas were angry..."
• The Gymnast. I will still eat anything that is on "top of the doiley."
• The Big Salad. This is a new way of thinking about who gets credit.
• The Burning.
• The Little Kicks. Even I can dance better than that.

The Seinfeld Community

I know that the content of Seinfeld is morally bankrupt. There are very few values that can be gleaned from the famous 1990's sitcom. Episodes routinely deal with pornography, phone sex, fornication, masturbation and the like. Surely there is nothing of worth here.
But let me begin by extolling the virtues of the writing on this program. Yes the content is disturbing, but the dialogue is unparalleled in television comedy. In fact, it was the writing that led Seinfeld to the cultural phenomen that it became, and remains. We have adopted so many 'seinfeldisms' into our everday speech that it boggles the mind; 'master of his domain,' 'yada, yada, yada,' 'not that there's anything wrong with that,' 'no soup for you,' 'close talker,' 'low talker,' and 'look to the cookie,' are just a few.
However, I believe that there are great lessons in Seinfeld Universe.

• Love your neighbor. As much as Jerry is irritated by Kramer, he consistently goes to bat for him. Whenever there is a problem, Jerry can be counted on to help out. In fact, when pressed, Jerry would even help the dreaded (hated) Newman.
• Build each other up. Although much of the idea behind Seinfeld is sarcastic and hateful, the four primary characters encourage, care for and advocate for one another.
• Be creative. We usually see creativity at its best as Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer compete to come up with the biggest lie. But note that Kramer always has a great idea in the works. Jerry is constantly on the search for new material. And George invents ways to avoid work.
• Community is powerful. Seinfeld is definitely set in Manhattan. It is a world away from what many of us think of as community. But Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are a community. Together they survive relationship failures, moving, job losses and even a fiancee's death. They learned that together they can accomplish a lot.