Product Description

Seinfeld: Season 9 is a four-disc boxed set including all 24 episodes from the ninth and final season of the long-running series, including the finale and hours of exclusive, never-before-seen bonus footage. The wealth of bonus features for Seinfeld: Season 9 include scenes from "The Roundtable" (excerpts from the one-hour table discussion), deleted scenes, bloopers, trivia, interviews, stand-up comedy footage, and other behind-the-scenes bonus material. The ninth season was nominated for five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and features an astounding array of noteworthy episodes such as the unique backwards episode, "The Betrayal," and the reemergence of a classic arcade game in "The Frogger." The season culminates in the highly rated two-part finale, which boasts an illustrious gathering of some of the show’s most memorable guest stars including Larry Thomas (Soup Nazi), Wendel Meldrum (Low-Talker), Golden Globe® Award-winner Teri Hatcher, TV journalist Geraldo Rivera, and others.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2183 in DVD
• Brand: SEINFELD,JERRY
• Released on: 2007-11-06
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 553 minutes

Amazon.com
Seinfeld's final season seems to take its cue from a little piece of "showmanship" advice that Jerry offers to the hapless George (Jason Alexander) in the episode "The Burning": "When you hit that high note, say goodnight and walk off." In television, as in comedy, timing is everything, and that's what Seinfeld, No. 1 in the ratings, did. The show that TV Guide would later rank the greatest of all time, left the stage, perhaps not at the top of its game, but at least on its own terms. To the end, Jerry, George, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) remain true to the show's misanthropic muse. In the episode "The Merv Griffin Show," Jerry induces sleep in his new girlfriend so he can have his way with her retro toy collection. In "The Apology," George relentlessly badgers an old acquaintance (James Spader) now in AA, for a Step Nine apology over a long-ago insult. At one point, Elaine resumes her on again-off again relationship with Puddy (Patrick Warburton) because she needs a bureau moved. In the end, it all comes crumbling down for the so-called "New York Four" when they are put on trial in a Massachusetts courtroom for violating a Good Samaritan Law after not coming to the aid of an obese carjack victim. A parade of lack-of-character witnesses spanning the series' near-decade-long run, from Mabel Choate, the Marble Rye Lady, to Babu and the Soup Nazi testify how they were "abused, wronged, deceived, and betrayed" by Jerry and company. Anyone expecting Seinfeld or Larry David to apologize for this bitter, and not at all sweet, finale, can just stuff those sorrys in a sack, mister. In "The Last Lap," a bonus featurette about Seinfeld's decision to end the series despite unprecedented offers from NBC brass to continue, they acknowledge the episode's "mixed reaction," but remain defiant. As Alexander notes, nothing could have lived up to the massive hype the episode received.

Seinfeld's ninth does not quite leave audiences wanting more. While there are several great episodes, including "The Butter Shave," "The Betrayal," "The Cartoon," and "The Maid," the season is loaded with what George might call "gaffes," including a series nadir, "Puerto Rican Day," which in these PC times, drew enough protest to hinder its rebroadcast. The writing this season is more outrageous (see "The Merv Griffin Show," in which Kramer salvages a discarded talk-show set and installs it in his apartment), but there are enough inspired bits of silliness (fleeting season-opening mustaches in "The Butter Shave," a live-action re-creation of the classic arcade game in "The Frogger," and Jerry's silly voice in "The Voice") to keep Seinfeld's legacy intact. As an added bit of showmanship, this set contains bountiful extras, perhaps the most interesting being a chronological re-edit of the backwards episode, "The Betrayal." Season 9 may not win Seinfeld any new fans, but this DVD set is a Festivus for the rest of us. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

A great & unique comedy series takes its final bow
Season nine starts where we left off the previous season, with George recovering from injuries he took down a flight of stairs, thus interrupting the "Summer of George" he was planning to enjoy with his generous severance check from the New York Yankees. George quickly finds another job, but his potential new boss has misunderstood his cane, and before George can explain the boss tells George about all of the benefits he will enjoy as a handicapped employee. George decides to go along with the ruse when he discovers he will have his own specially outfitted bathroom to suit his handicap - a perk George cannot resist. When George is found out by his employer and even offered another generous severance package to leave, he decides to dig in and the whole situation turns into a humorous seige. George never fails to offend and infuriate people, so later in the season when an acquaintance is working on step nine of the AA program by going around and apologizing for past transgressions George is unhappy that he is never apologized to. He agitates the acquaintance about this so badly that he does eventually get the apology. However, unfortunately now the poor fellow has an anger management problem on top of his alcoholism due to George and must enroll in still another support group.

Elaine is in a longer relationship than usual, continuing her romance with ace auto mechanic David Puddy. The mismatched couple have as tortured a relationship as you would expect and in the opening episode are bickering during a plane ride all the way back from Europe where they have been vacationing. They break up but end up sleeping together every time they see each other. This works out for Jerry and for Puddy since Jerry keeps betting Elaine that she can't stay away from Puddy - and winning - and it turns out that Puddy likes not having to stick around to cuddle with Elaine afterwards.

Although I have no idea how Kramer manages to live in Manhattan without any visible means of support, at least we finally discover why he has been unemployed. He's been waiting for the strike to end at H&H Bagels for 12 years. The strike ends when the minimum wage finally reaches what the union demanded in the first place. Of course, Kramer is the only one of the strikers who has actually been faithfully striking all these years. When he decides to celebrate George's father's version of Christmas - Festivus - he wants the day off. When H&H refuses Kramer goes back on strike because his religious beliefs are not being honored, thus ending Kramer's brief venture into the world of work.

Jerry has numerous romantic misadventures this season including a girlfriend that looks either beautiful or hideous depending on what the lighting is, another girlfriend who likes to wander around sans clothing yet still manages to annoy Jerry when he discovers there is such a thing as "bad naked", and yet another girlfriend whom Jerry throws over for the sound of his own voice imitating the noises that the girl's stomach makes.

This year has Newman making quite a few appearances, most notably in "The Butter Shave" where he discovers that he is strangely attracted to Kramer in a culinary way after Kramer uses butter as a tanning lotion and then falls asleep in the sun. That all-over butter smell is just too much for Newman to resist ending in a hilarious chase scene through the middle of Jerry's stand-up routine. Newman and Kramer are also featured in a satire of the X-Files when Kramer starts to complain about his junk mail to the post office and goes there to declare he no longer wants his mail delivered.

The last four episodes - Puerto Rican Day, the two clip shows, and the finale were a bit of a let-down to me. Puerto Rican Day didn't seem to have the same level of ensemble humor I was accustomed to seeing, the clip shows are just bits and pieces taken from prior shows that were shown on the night the finale was broadcast, and the finale just didn't live up to my expectations. But then it would be hard to wrap up in one hour a show that spent nine years focused on the minutia of life as experienced by four self-involved people and somehow managed to never disappoint. It's hard to have a satisfying conclusion to something that had no real beginning or middle to it. The following is the list of special features:

Digitally Mastered Audio and Video
Audio: English (Stereo), French
Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
"The Last Lap" - the cast and crew reminisce about their final days making SEINFELD and share their impressions about the show's legacy.
Scenes from "The Roundtable" - Excerpts from a conversation with Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louise-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards and Larry David nine years after SEINFELD went off the air.
"Inside Looks" - Behind-the-scenes stories from the cast and creators
"Not That There's Anything Wrong With That" - Never-before-seen outtakes and bloopers
"In the Vault" - Season Nine never-before-seen deleted scene saved from the cutting room floor, including 15 bonus minutes from "The Finale".
"Yada, Yada, Yada" - Cast and crew audio commentaries
2 Sein-Imations - See classic SEINFELD scenes re-imagined in Sein-Imation
"Notes About Nothing" - Behind-the-scenes trivia and production notes
"The Betrayal" Back-to-Front - Watch Seinfeld's "backwards" episode forwards
Factoid Tracks on all 24 episodes

Note that "Seinfeld the Complete Series" is now available for pre-order, so you might want to consider that package before buying this solitary final season.

Ending on a high note
Many Seinfeld fans were disappointed to see the show end, but it's very understandable that Jerry wanted to end while the show was on top rather than wait until they ran out of ideas.

This season is filled with episodes that contain that classic Seinfeld style of humor. Many people who don't like Seinfeld don't appreciate how complex and well written the story lines can be. The Betrayal (or Backwards episode) seems to be dreaded by many but is a favorite for me. I see it as a well written and thought out episode that ventures into a much more daring style of writing. Show me a movie or TV show that comes even close to this format (flashbacks DON'T count) and still maintains a funny and engaging plot.

The final episode was a disappointment for me, and I will also admit that it fell short of the standards set by the previous episodes. But I also applaud their ability to bring the show to a close and still incorporate so many of the extras that made appearances over the years.

Though maybe not the best, this season is still one of the best of the Seinfeld show. Even if you consider this a hit or miss season, those that hit, are absolutely hilarious. The goofy, unrealistic, off the wall style is what the show was all about. Pick up a copy of this as soon as it comes out.

Festivus for the Rest-of-Us
After nine hilarious seasons, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards say goodbye in "Seinfeld: The Complete Ninth Season". "Seinfeld" follows the funny misadventures of stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his close group of eccentric friends going through everyday life in New York City. In the final season, Jerry becomes annoyed when his rival Kenny Bania receives much success as a "time slot hit". George tries to preserve his decades-old high score on a Frogger machine. Elaine gets a big surprise when she is invited to a 13-year-old boy's bar mitzvah. Kramer finds the old studio set from "The Merv Griffin Show" and turns his entire life into a talk show. "Seinfeld" is the award-winning comedy series that became one of the most watched sitcoms on television. The ninth and final season has some very funny moments and clever subplots. The season includes such notable episodes like "The Slicer", "The Betrayal", "The Merv Griffin Show" and "The Dealership". The final episode features numerous cameo appearances, scored sky-high ratings but was heavily criticized by audiences and critics as being mediocre and unfulfilling.

Come celebrate the holidays around the Festivus pole and check out "Seinfeld: The Complete Ninth Season". All 24 hilarious episodes of the ninth and final season are presented in their original full screen format. The 4-disc DVD box set contains a clean and nicely detailed picture quality. Its 2.0 Dolby Digital audio is clear and well balanced. One of the most appealing features in the box set is the 20-minute "The Last Lap" featurette that focuses on the final days of the series. Other DVD extras include never-before-seen outtakes, deleted scenes, behind-the scenes interviews with the cast members and creators in the development of the series, production notes and audio commentaries with the cast members and production crew. Overall, "Seinfeld: The Complete Ninth Season" receives an "A-".