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'Seinfeld' show: much ado about nothing
Sevanand Gaddala, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) The hugely funny television show "Seinfeld" beaming on Star World is actually about nothing - though it has raked in numerous awards, topped critics' lists as the best show of all time and even been the subject of philosophical dissections. 

Though it may be a show about nothing, it truly deserves some serious deliberation.

Besides being a really funny show, it will go down in history as a definitive piece of pop culture and a commentary on the human condition. 

The show, which beams at 7 p.m., is crafted with artistry, is precise with meticulous attention to detail and is a brilliant combination of great writing, acting and fluid direction. 

On one level, in its attempt to explore the evil of humanity, the show serves as a catalogue of human interactions that lead to the downfall of humanity. The characters are jerks but we love them anyway. The creators of the show have two guiding principles - no hugging and no learning. 

The best example of the show's style and over arching theme of "nothing" is exemplified in the first lines of the very first episode. 

The scene has two friends, Jerry and George, sitting in a restaurant and having the following conversation. Jerry, trying to ridicule the shirt George is wearing, says: "To me, that button is in the worst possible spot. The second button literally makes or breaks the shirt. Look at it, it's too high, it's in no man's land. You look like you live with your mother." 

The show revolves around four main characters. 

Jerry, played by Jerry Seinfeld, is a stand-up comic. We never see him practice and he seems to be casually interested in his work. He doesn't hang out with his celebrity colleagues but spends most of his time with his loser friend, ex-girlfriend and his eccentric parasite of a neighbour. 

Jerry is a clean freak who fears gems and in one episode could not kiss a woman because he sees her toothbrush fall into the toilet. 

The ex-girlfriend is Elaine Benes portrayed by Julia Louis Dreyfus. She is pretty and has a knack for getting into confrontations. Ironically, she comes closest to a typical male figure. 

The eccentric parasitic neighbour is Kramer with Michael Richards essaying the role. He never seems to be employed but somehow gets all his needs met. And he, like the other characters, never seems to get that big break that liberates them from the mold of their lives. 

The friend George Costanza, though not the star of the show, is most symbolic of the show's theme of the pettiness and evil of people. He can't keep a job, has no ambitions and is devoid of talent. He lies, cheats or steals just to try and get an upper hand in this world he believes is completely out to get him. 

He eats an éclair he finds in a garbage can; pushes children and the elderly out of the way if he thinks he's in danger and smiles when he learns his fiancée has died. He takes advantage of the physically handicapped, lies even though he knew that everyone knows he is lying, is selfish, and has the shallowest dreams. The only reason we warm up to him is that he is a loser. 

The show for eight years dealt with the most mundane details of life. In one episode the characters spend the entire episode waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant. In another, they look for a car in a parking lot. 

And in one of the most hilarious episodes George, in order to win the approval of his fiancée's parents, tells them that he has a house in a fancy neighbourhood. He then has to drive them there to see it even though both he and they know that it doesn't exist. 

Another unique feature of the show is how it does not resort to any neat, emotional or nice tying up of loose ends that were typical of other popular shows like "Friends". 

Jerry and Elaine do not get back together, George never marries, and Kramer does not live to see any of his hair-brained ideas succeed. They are doomed to live out their lives paying for their character flaws. Their behaviour always comes back to kick them in the back.

Catch the show on Star World at 7.00 p.m. and the repeats at 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. the next day.