The battle of ages – ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ vs ‘Seinfeld’ – let us settle the score of this sitcom battle here and now.
Both are Larry David shows, and despite the similarities, various components make them incomparable. While in ‘Seinfeld’ every character has something to do in every episode, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ is more disjointed. Though both shows are very much of their time and it’s not really possible to compare them directly, we have tried to bring the pros and cons of both the shows to the table to find out clearly which show has a stronghold over the audiences’ hearts.
Highlights —
- Things ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ does better than ‘Seinfeld’
- Reasons why people are inclined towards ‘Seinfeld’
- Now, who is the real convincer?
Will ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ finally beat ‘Seinfeld’?
Things ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Does Better Than ‘Seinfeld’
- The episodes of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ feel more authentic than those of ‘Seinfeld’. The characters’ reaction to the situations seems genuine and authentic, just like in real life. On the other hand, the dialogues of ‘Seinfeld’ are well-written which makes the conversations less authentic.
- CYE’s story has been dovetailed better than ‘Seinfeld’s’. The script of every Curb episode has been written by Larry David whereas a team of writers was appointed to work on ‘Seinfeld’.
- ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ gets a few extra points for popularizing the improvisational style and single-camera cinema verité shooting techniques.
Every scene in Curb is prompted by an outline that drives conversations. Humour is always drawn from the situation and is more focused than that of ‘Seinfeld’.
Reasons Why People Are Inclined towards ‘Seinfeld’
- Unlike ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ where the story revolves only around Larry, ‘Seinfeld’ has managed to invest the audience equally in a storyline about every character (Jerry, Elaine, George, Kramer).
- In ‘Seinfeld’, the jokes are always on the characters, whereas in CYE, it’s hardly ever on the characters.
- ‘Seinfeld’ has given us better phrases than CYE. Phrases like “No soup for you!” and “These pretzels are making me thirsty” are more popular than CYEs “the stop-and-chat” or “the chat-and-cut”.
- ‘Seinfeld’ is more relatable. For example, Jerry having to cheat on his barber to have a better hair cut, George gifting Elaine a cashmere sweater knowing that it has a red dot on it but hoping she won’t notice, Elaine not being able to spare a square of toilet paper to the person in the stall next to her, and more.
On the other hand, very few people can relate to CYE’s situations like county club etiquettes, making $5000 bets because it is quite unaffordable for most people.
Ohhh! ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ is such a joke in front of ‘Seinfeld’
Now, Who Is The Real Convincer?
The answer to that question is ‘Seinfeld’. Why? For many reasons, but mostly because of its reliability! Even the audience has their winner sought out. Check it out –
‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ is funny, yes, but the comedy is less elegant and its humour is mostly due to Larry getting into ridiculous situations unlike ‘Seinfeld’ which has cleverer jokes. If CYE would have come a decade earlier, it might not have been so funny for most people. There are a lot of other factors that let ‘Seinfeld’ beat ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm‘. Factors like its core, the way it deals with the unregulated nuances of the human interactions in the society, and how people (the characters) deal with them daily. Besides, Curb didn’t have a Jerry-esque personality.
What do you think? Which is better: ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ or ‘Seinfeld’? Do you definitely like one more than the other? Or do you agree that both shows are great and should not be compared? Let us know in the comments section below.
