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’Net Junkie Shawn "Speedy" Lopes |
Much ado about nothing
For a TV show designed to be "about nothing," as it was described by co-creator Jerry Seinfeld, "Seinfeld" had quite a long and successful run.
From 1990 to 1998, the sitcom was beamed into American homes -- short on plot but brimming with colorful, quirky characters and the peculiar situations they would often find themselves in.
Already six years removed from its final episode, and nearly 15 years from its first, "Seinfeld" left a legacy to which future comedies will be compared. According to the Forbes Celebrity 100 List, in 1998 the man for whom the show was named reaped $267 million, the highest annual earnings by an actor, and a distinction that earned Jerry Seinfeld a place in the Guinness World Records.
The show boasted 102 million viewers, the most ever for a television comedy. In 2002, TV Guide ranked "Seinfeld" at the top of its "50 Greatest Shows of All Time."
It's no surprise, then, that countless "Seinfeld" fan sites have been erected on the Internet. Many give a brief overview of their beloved sitcom, some delve deeper into the life of Seinfeld himself, while still others are as offbeat as the show.
At home.earthlink.net/~asena/srny.html, you'll find "Seinfeld's Real New York," a novel Web site that pinpoints locations seen in various episodes. There's Jerry's address, revealed in the show as 129 W. 81st St., with an accompanying photo of the building, directions to the location and a virtual map. As the site's creator points out, the apartment structure shares little in common with the one shown on television (the exterior shot you saw on the show is actually of a building in Los Angeles), though Seinfeld actually lived there in less abundant times, when stand-up comedy was his primary source of income.
There are also genuine addresses and photos of the Soup Nazi's store, Elaine Benes' apartment, and the bar where Elaine flirted with New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez, to name just a few.
Elsewhere on the Web, you can find sites providing scripts of "Seinfeld" episodes, including www.stanthecaddy.com/seinfeld-scripts.html, and www.seinfeldscripts.com.
There are dozens more to list, but I'll let the hard-core fanatics sort those out, if they haven't already.
Note: Web sites mentioned in this column were active at time of publication. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin neither endorses nor is responsible for their contents.
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’Net Junkie drops every Monday.
Contact Shawn "Speedy" Lopes at slopes@starbulletin.com.
