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Seinfeld

#131
I was never a huge fan of the show, though I’ve watched it from time to time, but I do have a funny little story about the show. Here’s what happened:

I went down to LA with the guitarist from my band for Thanksgiving week in 1994. We were staying with his aunt, went to Disneyland and Universal Studios, other sites in the LA area. We were at the Chinese Theater, and there was guys handing out free tickets to see tapings of sitcoms, and one was for Seinfeld. We thought that we were just going to be a part of the studio audience. Looking at the ticket, we noticed that we had to be at CBS Studios (odd, as it was an NBC show, but whatever) first thing in the morning the next day. 7am or something like that.

We show up at the appointed time, and there were a few dozen other people there. They corralled us through the gate and over to an outdoor area with bleachers, had us take a bag of stale popcorn and a soda cup with lid and straw filled with water, and sat us on the bleachers. Then the director of the episode that was filming gave us the scoop. This part of the episode takes place at the Super Bowl, and we had to act as the spectators while Seinfeld and Newman (Wayne Knight) trade verbal jabs. Ok, cool!

A few minutes later Jerry Seinfeld shows up, and warms up the crowd with a few jokes, which was very cool and got everyone into it. Then Wayne Knight shows up, armed with a soda and hot dog, and sits in the row in front of me and a couple of spots to my right. They start shooting the scene, and we were told that we had to look like we were reacting to the half time show or something happening on the field, look like we were talking, but not speak, as they needed to capture audio of Seinfeld and Knight doing their thing. I don’t remember the exact specifics of the scene or the set up, but the deal was that Seinfeld didn’t know he was going to be sitting next to Newman, so when he shows up not very thrilled about it, and neither was Newman. They filmed the scene several times, with Wayne Knight knocking back a hot dog each time, and that was it.

I watched the episode when it aired, and was bummed that, even though I was really close to Seinfeld and Knight, all that could be seen was my right arm, wearing a leather jacket, and a bit of my long hair. My band mate was on my left side and completely out of picture.

Still, it was fun to participate, and it was free!
 
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#132
crucislancer said:
I was never a huge fan of the show, though I’ve watched it from time to time, but I do have a funny little story about the show. Here’s what happened:

I went down to LA with the guitarist from my band for Thanksgiving week in 1994. We were staying with his aunt, went to Disneyland and Universal Studios, other sites in the LA area. We were at the Chinese Theater, and there was guys handing out free tickets to see tapings of sitcoms, and one was for Seinfeld. We thought that we were just going to be a part of the studio audience. Looking at the ticket, we noticed that we had to be at CBS Studios (odd, as it was an NBC show, but whatever) first thing in the morning the next day. 7am or something like that.

We show up at the appointed time, and there were a few dozen other people there. They corralled us through the gate and over to an outdoor area with bleachers, had us take a bag of stale popcorn and a soda cup with lid and straw filled with water, and sat us on the bleachers. Then the director of the episode that was filming gave us the scoop. This part of the episode takes place at the Super Bowl, and we had to act as the spectators while Seinfeld and Newman (Wayne Knight) trade verbal jabs. Ok, cool!

A few minutes later Jerry Seinfeld shows up, and warms up the crowd with a few jokes, which was very cool and got everyone into it. Then Wayne Knight shows up, armed with a soda and hot dog, and sits in the row in front of me and a couple of spots to my right. They start shooting the scene, and we were told that we had to look like we were reacting to the half time show or something happening on the field, look like we were talking, but not speak, as they needed to capture audio of Seinfeld and Knight doing their thing. I don’t remember the exact specifics of the scene or the set up, but the deal was that Seinfeld didn’t know he was going to be sitting next to Newman, so when he shows up not very thrilled about it, and neither was Newman. They filmed the scene several times, with Wayne Knight knocking back a hot dog each time, and that was it.

I watched the episode when it aired, and was bummed that, even though I was really close to Seinfeld and Knight, all that could be seen was my right arm, wearing a leather jacket, and a bit of my long hair. My band mate was on my left side and completely out of picture.

Still, it was fun to participate, and it was free!
Click to expand...

Cool story

 
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#134
crucislancer said:
I was never a huge fan of the show, though I’ve watched it from time to time, but I do have a funny little story about the show. Here’s what happened:

I went down to LA with the guitarist from my band for Thanksgiving week in 1994. We were staying with his aunt, went to Disneyland and Universal Studios, other sites in the LA area. We were at the Chinese Theater, and there was guys handing out free tickets to see tapings of sitcoms, and one was for Seinfeld. We thought that we were just going to be a part of the studio audience. Looking at the ticket, we noticed that we had to be at CBS Studios (odd, as it was an NBC show, but whatever) first thing in the morning the next day. 7am or something like that.

We show up at the appointed time, and there were a few dozen other people there. They corralled us through the gate and over to an outdoor area with bleachers, had us take a bag of stale popcorn and a soda cup with lid and straw filled with water, and sat us on the bleachers. Then the director of the episode that was filming gave us the scoop. This part of the episode takes place at the Super Bowl, and we had to act as the spectators while Seinfeld and Newman (Wayne Knight) trade verbal jabs. Ok, cool!

A few minutes later Jerry Seinfeld shows up, and warms up the crowd with a few jokes, which was very cool and got everyone into it. Then Wayne Knight shows up, armed with a soda and hot dog, and sits in the row in front of me and a couple of spots to my right. They start shooting the scene, and we were told that we had to look like we were reacting to the half time show or something happening on the field, look like we were talking, but not speak, as they needed to capture audio of Seinfeld and Knight doing their thing. I don’t remember the exact specifics of the scene or the set up, but the deal was that Seinfeld didn’t know he was going to be sitting next to Newman, so when he shows up not very thrilled about it, and neither was Newman. They filmed the scene several times, with Wayne Knight knocking back a hot dog each time, and that was it.

I watched the episode when it aired, and was bummed that, even though I was really close to Seinfeld and Knight, all that could be seen was my right arm, wearing a leather jacket, and a bit of my long hair. My band mate was on my left side and completely out of picture.

Still, it was fun to participate, and it was free!
Click to expand...

That's a really cool story - must have been a real fun experience!
 
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#137
LiquidMidnight said:
Almost all of the episodes are great, but the Larry Charles episodes are sitcom brilliance. The way Charles could take multiple story threads and weave them in a way that they end up at the same ironic point is just writing I have not seen since.
Click to expand...
In that vein, I like the one where Kramer "adopts" a section of highway. So much going on, and it all comes together brilliantly.
 
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#138
LiquidMidnight said:
Almost all of the episodes are great, but the Larry Charles episodes are sitcom brilliance. The way Charles could take multiple story threads and weave them in a way that they end up at the same ironic point is just writing I have not seen since.
Click to expand...

I'd be shocked to learn he wasn't at least a bit influenced by Fawlty Towers in that regard. I think of George as equal parts Basil Fawlty and Larry David.
 

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