9 Best ‘Seinfeld’ Episodes After Larry David Left
Larry David helped turn Jerry Seinfeld’s standup comedy into the hit sitcom Seinfeld. But, David left after season 7 and Seinfeld lasted two more. While some fans lamented the loss of David’s perspective, there were still some great Seinfeld episodes after he left. In fact, Seinfeld was still doing so well that NBC tried to persuade Seinfeld to do season 10.
Had Seinfeld taken the deal, there may have been even more post-David episodes to choose from. As it stands, here are just nine of the great Seinfeld episodes that came after David’s departure.
‘The Muffin Tops’ was a classic ‘Seinfeld’ frustration episode
When Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) observed that the top of the muffin was the best part, it was a classic Seinfeld observation. She’s not wrong, but only on Seinfeld would Elaine have the idea to open a store that only sold muffin tops. The problem became, what to do with the rest of the muffin.
‘The Summer of George’ gave Costanza his comeuppance
David’s last episode was the season 7 finale that killed off George (Jason Alexander)’s fiance, Susan (Heidi Swedberg) with an allergy to envelope adhesive. By the next season finale, George was single and free from his job at the New York Yankees. He thinks he’s going to have the best summer ever, but an injury gives him just what he deserves.
‘The Bizarro Jerry’ was a high concept ‘Seinfeld’ episode
Perhaps indicative of Seinfeld moving away from the mundane into more gimmicky episodes, “The Bizarro Jerry” was nevertheless a clever way to do it. Elaine meets a new group of friends who correspond to Jerry, George and Kramer, only they’re all nice to each other. It was still fun to see the Bizarro versions of not only Jerry, but George and Kramer.
‘The Betrayal’ was the famous backwards ‘Seinfeld’ episode
The ultimate special Seinfeld episode was the one that told its story backwards. This was years before Memento. The gang attends a wedding in India, and each prior scene pays off jokes that came after, including George’s mysterious saying “You can stuff your sorrys in a sack.” It may get old if they’d done it more than once, but for a one time event, the backwards Seinfeld was a clever way to pay off Seinfeld jokes.
‘The English Patient’ echoed many viewers frustrations
Seinfeld rarely mentioned popular movies. They made up their own like Death Blow and Sack Lunch. When they did riff on real movies, it was Jerry getting in trouble for making out during Schindler’s List. So, a few years later after The English Patient swept the Oscars, Elaine went to see it. And she hated it. Elaine’s complaints reflected many who were underwhelmed by that Oscar winner.
‘Spongeworthy’ is classic ‘Seinfeld’ double entendre
Seinfeld got away with a lot when it came to the sexual exploits of its gang. While not quite as overt as “The Contest,” “Spongeworthy” still went there. Elaine learned her favorite contraception was discontinued. With her remaining supply, she would only have sex with someone who was “Spongeworthy.”
‘Serenity Now’ remains a rallying cry
Jerry Seinfeld really practices transcendental meditation in real life. The characters on Seinfeld aren’t quite so enlightened. So when the philosophy of “Serenity Now” arose, they just screamed it in anger. Lloyd Braun (Matt McCoy) himself revealed the flaws in “Serenity Now,” but it’s still satisfying to scream it in frustration.
‘The Yadda Yadda’ is classic ‘Seinfeld’
Even without David, Seinfeld still picked up on social foibles that could create major misunderstandings. The gang met a woman who would summarize her anecdotes saying “yadda yadda yadda.” It caught on, until they learned the specifics of what she was skipping over. “Yadda yadda yadda” joined “not that there’s anything wrong with that” or low talkers in the real world lexicon.
‘The Little Kicks’ were classic Elaine
This episode was so classic it’s hard to believe it came so late in the series. Elaine dances at a party and the video goes viral before viral videos were even a thing. Her dance moves ended up on commercials for Seinfeld in syndication too. Louis-Dreyfus says she remains embarrassed by this episode, but we hope she feels it was worth it for Seinfeld history.
