Curb or Seinfeld? Which is funnier?
You gotta pick one.
I was watching both this past weekend, and couldn't quite figure out which I love more. Here's where I figure the differences are:
CAST - The overall cast of Seinfeld is superior; there is no better Core Four on any other sitcom. I think this because, when faced with which character could be omitted from the show and be missed the least, I honestly can't pick one. Curb has great characters; Larry is of course unparalleled, and Leon is a HOF'er... screaming Susie is great too... but there's no Fantastic Fourth, so the nod here goes to Seinfeld.
LAUGH TRACK - Obviously, Seinfeld has one and Curb does not. And while many (probably most) people hate the laugh track, Seinfeld is the rare show where it doesn't bother me because the show actually earns the laughs-- it's just so freakin' funny.
STRUCTURE - Pretty similar, in that Larry brilliantly weaves and converges multiple storylines. I don't think any show did this before Seinfeld, and certainly no show does it better (but Curb does it equally well) .
AWKWARD HUMOR - Clearly, Curb wins this one hands-down, as no one does Awkward better than Larry. Curb is frequently awkward because Larry will say the things we all want to say, but are too scared to do so . If you're into awkward humor, then Curb will clearly come out on top for you.
But for me? I still can't quite figure it out. After all, there would clearly be no Curb without Seinfeld... so in that respect, maybe you give the nod to Seinfeld? But for pure enjoyment, for pure laughs, which show do I like better?
It's a pussy move, but I can't decide! I know I said at the top that you have to, but I just can't.
Love them both but if I had to pick one....Curb. There's just something baout Larry David that cracks me up. Just watching him walk makes me laugh.
Such a clever show, with incredible writing (both of them actually)
Larry D vs. Kramer -- geez that's a tough one.
Ha, you're right -- Larry does have a funny gait. And when they play that funny music when he's on his way to do whatever neurotic thing he's about to do... that is one for the Curb column, because nobody on Seinfeld has a funny walk like that (except, of course, for Kramer's entrances).
Both hysterical.
I go to school with a guy who claimed "I have never laughed once at anything Kramer has ever said or done." Since he said that, my opinion on that guy totally changed, and not for the positive.
That's a shame.
Wait, were you just doing Jerry there?
I never watched Seinfeld but Comedians in Cars is my new favorite show. Jerry has a fucking great personality and I love his lifestyle of driving around in classic cars running little errands, smoking cigars in the middle of the day, insinuating how wealthy he is and shit. I think I'm gonna check out the sitcom.
If you like Comedians in Cars, you MUST check out Seinfeld. It's on all the time, just give it two episodes... you'll love it.
Cool man will do. Thanks
I really like Jerry's sort of philosophy/personality. People try to get deep with him and he's sort of like, 'Guys we're all dead in 50 years. Does it really matter? You know what is worthy of a 15-minute discussion though? The manner in which people do various irritating things.' And that's it. That's all he does.
I loved Comedians in Cars. The mere idea of just sitting down, getting coffee, and making a show about it makes me laugh.
Seinfeld's interviews with Howard Stern were all phenomenal.
Def never understood the appeal of Seinfeld. Haven't seen Curb.
Wow... so you neither like it, nor can see why others like it? I guess different strokes...
I probably shouldn't even comment because I've only seen Curb a few times, but Seinfeld is a much better show IMO.
Larry was a great writer but there is something about him I just cannot stand when watching him in Curb.
Yep -- he's definitely polarizing. But also definitely evokes an opinion.
It's basically George Costanza vs Larry David.
I mean, he was THE funniest person on the show. Jerry was kind of the straight man...
This is why I vote for Curb. You’re right, George was a proxy for Larry, but since George was only 25% of Seinfeld, I’ll take Curb because Larry is essentially 100% of that show. The more Larry, the better.
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Hmm.. interesting. Seinfeld was, and still is, uniquely funny... but I think Curb was also pretty much a trailblazer in that it's essentially unscripted and mostly improvised (they work off of an outline). Though, I guess, as a viewer, this isn't really detectable... But yes, I agree in the sense that Seinfeld framed episodes around minutiae -- waiting for a table at Chinese restaurant, going out with a woman who had Man-hands -- that no other sitcom would tackle because other shows (or show runners) couldn't see the humor in these small things in life.
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Additionally, Seinfeld actually built a whole lexicon, ‘ that is now part of everyday language now....’close talker’, puffy shirt’, ‘double dipper’, etc.
Curb is fantastic but it’s not anywhere as good as Seinfeld. None better.
Yeah, as far as a pure sitcom goes... I just don't think you can beat Seinfeld. Unlike other shows, Seinfeld isn't just lame jokes... but their IDEAS are funny. They basically wouldn't do a story unless the story, itself, is funny. Most sitcoms have lame ideas, but they think they can make it funny with jokey jokes... Seinfeld clearly had a litmus test in the sense that, if the idea itself isn't funny, we're not doing it.
watch a real comedy show:
I think Seinfeld wins by a mile. George, Kramer, and Elaine are far superior to Leon, Jeff, etc, even though I do like the latter too. And the minor characters in Seinfeld are just so great - J peterman and Puddy in particular. I also think Seinfeld is more relatable. The characters run into more interesting/varied dilemmas, while Curb is more focused on the awkward. The dialogue in Seinfeld also seems more clever. In curb you have Larry at his finest, but in Seinfeld you have both him and Jerry.
Yeah, interesting note about the dialogue being more clever in Seinfeld -- I think that's attributable to Seinfeld working off of a full script, complete with dialogue, while Curb just works off of an online and the actors improvise the dialogue. This improvising usually seems to result in the dialogue being a little less polished and clever.
Love both but Curb is funnier to me. I think overall Seinfeld is probably the "better" and more "important" show for the genre, but I still prefer Curb. Also not a fan of laugh tracks.
Yeah, I think if this was a wide poll ( or just a poll, in general), I think you’d see close to a 50/50 split. Each show has so much going for it, and each has an element or two that some people don’t like.
Seinfeld is possibly the funniest sitcom of all time, but there are several shows I'd put ahead of Curb (All in the Family, Frasier, MASH...) so Seinfeld wins for me. Curb has essentially been a continuation of the whole "Awkwardness leads to weird coincidences" plots that Seinfeld long since perfected.
Curb is funny no doubt, but it's alot more disposable. You can see an episode and never really revert to it again. Seinfeld has a ridiculous number of "classic" episodes you can name off the top of your head - Master of my domain, The Soup Nazi, The white supremacist limo, Kramer's hole in one...I'm chuckling just thinking about them.
True, about Seinfeld having more "memorable" episodes. But I wonder if that's partially a function of how many people watched the shows: Seinfeld garnered 30 million viewers a week, while Curb gets only about a million viewers. Because more people talked about Seinfeld, I wonder if that embedded it deeper into the public (and an individual viewer's) consciousness.
This is also a huge point. I rewatch Seinfeld episodes all the time. I've probably seen most episodes 4-5 times. I do like Curb, but I've rewatched far fewer episodes.
This is good point — re-watchability. I watch old Seinfeld episodes with my kids all the time and don’t dread it at all — I look forward to it and can’t wait to see their reactions to the crazy/clever storylines.
Bingo on All in the Family and MASH. Those two and Seinfeld simply out weigh any sitcoms. I wouldn’t put Fraiser or Curb or Cheers in their class (while I’m a fan of all.)
I've watched both from beginning to end and I found Curb way funnier. I think it's cause I related to it more.
But I imagine you found Seinfeld pretty funny if you watched it from beginning-to-end.
For me, it's no debate. Curb is so disgustingly over the top and dumb that it gives me anxiety. Seinfeld is still over the top, but more clever and gets the edge.
Over both of the aforementioned heavy hitters, my goto sit-com will always be "How I met your mother."
See, that’s a show I never quite got. Not that it’s not a good show... I just never found it a funny show compared to your Seinfeld, Friends or Raymond.
It's also just not a good show.
Both hysterical, but 100% Curb.. Gotta love LD
Curb is pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good
Watch Seinfeld without the laugh track and you'll realize just how sociopathic Jerry and his friends are.
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