Seinfeld: Season 7 – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews


Available at Amazon.com

Creators

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld

Cast

Jerry Seinfeld”¦”¦”¦.Jerry Seinfeld
Julia Louis-Dreyfus”¦”¦”¦.Elaine Benes
Jason Alexander”¦”¦”¦.George Costanza
Michael Richards”¦”¦”¦.Cosmo Kramer

DVD Release Date: November 21, 2006
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 541 Minutes on 4 Discs

The Show

Seinfeld was nearing the end of its run by season seven, yet no one knew just how close to it they actually were. You also couldn’t tell by the acting or quality of shows if they were coming to their final show about nothing because everything was simply superb. Another Emmy award-winning season which brought about some of the most classic and remembered episodes in all its years.

The entire cast of Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, George, Estelle, Frank, Newman and so many more return here and give fantastic performances that still have me laughing no matter how many times I see them. Wayne Knight (Newman) is not seen in many of this season’s episodes, nor on screen for any large lengths of time, but he makes the most of his time and delivers fantastic lines and interaction. And the introduction of Jackie Chiles this season, who would be around for some more classic moments to come in the next two season leading up to the finale.

The Seinfeld cast didn’t film their episodes as if preparing for it to be over. They produced them as if they knew they’d do the same running jokes next season or beyond. They always wanted to get the most laughs out of their audiences, and the most fun out of it for themselves. This season is no different as you can see that each episode fits well into its place, one after another. They also can be viewed as stand alone episodes, a comedic anthology if you will.

Episodes

Disc One:

The Engagement: George begins to think about his life and how lonely he’s become, so he asks ex-girlfriend and “former lesbian” Susan Ross to marry him, whom after much convincing, she accepts. Meanwhile, Elaine is having problems with a dog barking all night so Kramer comes up with an excellent idea.

The Postponement: When George realizes what he’s done, he’ll do anything he can to buy himself some time and postpone the wedding.

The Maestro: Elaine starts dating Krame’s friend who insists that everyone call him “Maestro,” instead of by his given name of Bob. Kramer also meets lawyer Jackie Chiles for the first time as they plan to sue for coffee being too hot.

The Wink: Jerry decides to start eating healthy which leads to a grapefruit squirting into George’s eye giving him a troublemaking wink. The result is everyone believing George is telling secrets, thus he ends up with is more work.

The Hot Tub: Kramer buys a hot tub for his living room that leads to some odd choices for Newman’s dinner. Elaine has a marathon runner, with a troubled past of missing the Olympics because of oversleeping, staying at her apartment.

The Soup Nazi: The episode even non-fans have heard of. The owner of a soup shop is very specific about his customers order and act in his business. They are willing to put up with his pickiness because of how wonderful his soup is.

Disc Two:

The Secret Code: Kramer gets a police scanner and thinks he has the best ideas for NYFD. George must protect his ATM code at any cost, even from his bride-to-be Susan. But when he gets caught at Mr. Peterman’s mothe’s house, he’s just got to tell someone.

The Pool Guy: Jerry runs into his pool guy one time outside a theatre, and now he won’t leave Jerry alone. Kramer has become the new voice of Moviefone. And George is worried his two worlds of friends and relationships will collide when Susan and Elaine go to a clothing exhibit together.

The Sponge: Elaine finds that her favorite method of birth control, the “Today’s Sponge,” is being discontinued so she buys up all she can anywhere she can. She then puts all her potential sex dates through a rigorous test in order to prove themselves worthy of the “sponge.”

The Gum: While trying to save an old theatre, Kramer runs into Lloyd, an old friend of his recovering from a nervous breakdown. Lloyd gives Kramer some Chinese gum that everyone must have a piece of. And due to Lloyd being back around, the whole group is thrown into turmoil and lies.

The Rye: The Costanzas and Ross’ meet for the first time to have dinner, but when a loaf of rye bread isn’t served, George is determined to find some to make it up to Susan’s parents. Kramer gets into the works to help George’s plan until Jerry gets hold of a loaf of the rye bread gangster-style.

The Caddy: Kramer befriends a caddy who can help his golf game tremendously. George is looking really good to his bosses in the Yankees organization, but it’s only because of locking his keys in his car. Elaine tries to give her bouncy friend a hint by buying her a bra.

Disc Three:

The Seven: Elaine and Kramer seek the help of Newman to settle a dispute over a girl’s bike that both of them say is theirs. George is angry when Susan’s cousin likes the name he has chosen to have for his future child – Seven, which happens to be Mickey Mantle’s number.

The Cadillac Parts 1 & 2: Jerry wants to do something nice for his parents, so he buys them a Cadillac. They can’t accept the gift and end up secretly selling it to the ornery Jack Klompus in their condo complex. When Jerry hears about this, he makes a trip down to Florida, behind their backs, to buy the car back. A big dispute heats up, and Jerry’s method of getting the loaf of rye bread comes back to haunt him. George has found out that he can get a date with Marisa Tomei, and he doesn’t care that he is engaged.

The Shower Head: George tries to convince his parents to move to Florida so he can finally be rid of them, but the Seinfeld’s don’t like the idea. All the showerheads in Jerry’s building are replaced with low-flow models that cause havoc for Jerry, Kramer, and Newman’s hair. Elaine tests positive for opium, so her trip to Africa with Mr. Peterman is out unless she finds the cause.

The Doll: Kramer plays, or at least attempts to play, billiards with Frank in the Costanza’s new game room. George is haunted by frightening images when Susan wants to bring some of her stuff to his apartment, which includes a doll collection sporting a doll looking just like George’s mother.

The Friars Club: Jerry is in line for a membership to the exclusive Fria’s Club until he makes off with one of their jackets after having to wear it for dinner. Elaine doesn’t believe one of her co-workers is deaf. And Kramer tries to imitate Leonardo Da Vinci’s sleeping patterns to take advantage of more of his life, but it doesn’t work out quite as he planned.

Disc Four:

The Wig Master: George finds a cheap parking lot in New York and possibly a way out of his marriage with Susan. Jerry is suspicious of a sales clerk that has picked up on Elaine. Kramer becomes, well, a pimp.

The Calzone: Mr. Steinbrenner takes a real liking to George after they share a calzone. Problem is George can no longer get the calzones after getting banned from the place that sells them for digging in the tip jar. Kramer has found a new obsession with wearing clothes right out of the dryer until he finds an even better option – the oven.

The Bottle Deposit Parts 1 & 2: Elaine gets into a bidding war with the braless woman over a set of gold clubs at the Kennedy auction. After spending more then she was requested to, she goes to get the clubs out of Jerry’s trunk, but Jerry’s disgruntled mechanic has stolen the car. George has an important project to take care of for the Yankees, but didn’t quite pay attention to what he is supposed to do. Kramer and Newman go on a trip to make some money depositing recyclable bottles, but then partake in the chase of the mechanic who stole Jerry’s car.

The Wait Out: George says a comment to a married couple that ends up splitting them up. This makes Jerry and Elaine happy as they move in on the separated couple now hoping to score. When George though wants to make things right, Jerry and Elaine are not happy. All the marital problems causes Susan to “think about some things,” which makes George extremely happy.

The Invitations: Kramer is trying to find a loophole so a bank has to pay him $100. In an effort to save money on wedding invitations, George buys the cheapest ones he can get away with. Unfortunately, for Susan, the sealing glue is toxic and she ends up dying. George doesn’t seem too distraught, however. While George’s marriage has crumbled, Jerry has possibly found his perfect woman – the female version of himself.

The Video

The episodes are presented in 1.33:1 full screen format and looks just like it did during their television run. The colors have been enhanced a bit, so they look good.

The Audio

Each episode is heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Sounds just fine, no problems at all.

Special Features

Queen Of The Castle: The Elaine Benes Story – Cast and crew discuss how Louis-Dreyfus became Elaine and how she became an essential part of the show and its success.

Larry David’s Farewell – Creator and writer Larry David had wanted to quit after every season, but finally followed through with it after season seven. The cast, as they are today, reflect back on how life was with and without Larry David.

Where’s Larry? Seinfeld’s Secret Guest Star – Larry David was seen or heard in 40 different episodes bringing many characters to life.

Inside Looks – Some behind the scenes stories from the creators and cast members of the show, fun watch.

Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That – Bloopers from season seven. Funny stuff as each season’s has been.

Yada, Yada, Yada – Each disc contains a few episodes that will have different combinations of members of the cast, writers, and directors giving commentary.

In The Vault – Deleted scenes for certain episodes are on each disc.

Master Of His Domain – Jerry Seinfeld himself in never before seen stand-up. I, for one, never found his stand-up routine good, but I love the show. So it’s a simple matter of taste whether you’ll enjoy this or not.

Sein-Imation – Quite possibly the best special feature in the whole set. Scenes from The Engagement and The Marine Biologist depicted in black and white animation on pieces of loose-leaf paper. Shame they are the only episodes, but very fun to watch.

Notes About Nothing – Small production notes and fun trivia about the show that will run throughout the episodes if you turn them on.

The Inside Pulse

The seventh season of Seinfeld continued the show’s dynamic run to super-stardom. They were already at the top and couldn’t go any higher, but with some of the fantastic episodes in this season, they tried. The Soup Nazi episode alone is well worth the purchase, but then the extras give you almost thirteen hours of more fun stuff to watch. For the fan, this set is a must, of course. For the non-fan? I would even recommend picking this up because in no time you’ll be telling someone, “No Soup For You!”

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Seinfeld: Season 7
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

8
THE VIDEO

8
THE AUDIO

7
THE EXTRAS

9
REPLAY VALUE

10
OVERALL
8.5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)