Conceived by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David to be a half-hour comedy that showed how a standup comic generated his material, Seinfeld started out humbly with the lowest first-season order in TV history and struggled in a bad timeslot for a couple of years. It eventually became a cultural landmark that dominated the ratings for almost a decade and is still enjoyed by fans to this day.
Episodes like “The Chinese Restaurant” and “The Contest” marked watershed moments in sitcom history. There are a ton of great Seinfeld episodes – and only a couple of bad entries – but the top Seinfeld episodes have stood the test of time and remain as witty today as they were more than 20 years ago.
Updated November 7, 2022 by Antony Morris: A powerhouse of the airwaves in the pre-streaming 90s, Seinfeld’s inclusion into the Netflix archives has proven a success sparking fresh interest in a sitcom classic. As such, it is hardly a surprise there has been renewed rumors of reunions and renewed denials from the creators themselves.
While fans are highly unlikely to get an official comeback show, there is one way to experience a reunion of sorts. Curb Your Enthusiasm season 9, featuring Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, has a running thread where he successfully gets the 90s cast back together. The season culminates in a finale where viewers finally get a slice of a Seinfeld reunion. So, with the probability of new shows near nil, rewatching old Seinfeld is the best fans got. As such, here is a list of episodes TheBestWarGames would suggest starting with.
20 The Yada Yada
- Episode 19 of Season 8
Jerry’s dentist, Tim, has recently converted to Judaism and Seinfeld believes they have only done it to appropriate the humor. He confides this to a mutual friend, who is unimpressed with Jerry’s dentist-related joke and relates it back to Tim. So begins Seinfeld’s ‘anti-dentile’ woes.
When his date keeps explaining away the finer details of her day by saying ‘yada yada’, George unsurprisingly takes exception. And, while George invokes the same conversational trait to excuse himself from attending a funeral, it comes to ahead with his girlfriend when she describes an experience with her ex as ‘yada yada’.
19 The Hamptons
- Episode 21 of Season 5
A road trip episode where our main troupe all travel to the Hamptons to visit a friend’s newborn. With both Jerry’s and George’s girlfriends, Jane and Rachel, joining them, and Elaine ‘reading signals’ that are not there, the episode is primed for shenanigans.
George, who’s expecting to progress his relationship with Jane, is outraged when everybody but him sees her topless. A series of inappropriate decisions culminate in Rachel seeing George naked and mocking his manhood.
18 The Race
- Episode 10 of Season 6
In a twist of fate many readers may well empathize with, Jerry is confronted with a demon from the past that he must face. Having beaten school rival, Duncan, in a race years prior in controversial circumstances, this ghost from the past returns to challenge Jerry once again and to save face with his new girlfriend, Lois, Seinfeld accepts.
Elaine is blacklisted from a Chinese takeaway and Kramer gets fired from a job as Santa Claus after being accused of spreading communist ideology to kids. At the same time, rumors spread about George’s work that he has communist sympathies. And, while he tries to refute these claims, his boss sees it as an opportunity.
17 The Puffy Shirt
- Episode 2 of Season 5
One of the most iconic episodes, The Puffy Shirt from season 5 see season favorite Kramer dating ‘low talking’ fashion designer, Leslie, looking to make her mark. With Seinfeld due to appear on The Today Show to discuss his stand-up comedy, what better chance to showcase some fashion?
As Jerry is preparing to wear the now-infamous puffy shirt that is currently on display at National Museum of American History, George is gearing up for a new job opportunity hand modeling. As the episode precedes, Georges tries his utmost to protect his new prize assets, only to fall short by burning his hands and ruining his new career.
16 The Little Kicks
- Episode 4 of Season 8
The advice to ‘dance like nobody is watching’ unfortunately, doesn’t apply to everyone. Attending a work party, Elaine decides to bust some moves on the dance floor, entirely unaware of her colleague’s mocking stares. Tagging along, George hits on one of Elaine’s work friends who is initially not interested, until she begins to believe that he is a bit of a bad boy. Elaine blames George for the scorn she’s feeling from colleagues and has to work to regain her reputation.
Meanwhile, Jerry is attending a sneak preview of a new film with Kramer and Kramer’s dodgy friend, Brody. During the showing, Brody and Kramer pull out a camcorder and begin taping the film. Mid-film, Brody falls ill and has to leave. Before doing so, he tells Seinfeld at gunpoint to finish the recording. The stakes are high for Jerry, and fearing arrest he isn’t sure what to do.
15 The Susie
- Episode 15 of Season 8
The season 8 episode "The Susie" has two main narratives going on. In one, Elaine finds herself misnamed Susie by a coworker and has to figure out a way to make "Susie" disappear (of course, it's a lot easier said than done). At the same time, Kramer puts a bet on a basketball game in Jerry's name against returning character Mike.
Through a series of unfortunate events, Mike ends up thinking he's being shaken down for money he can't pay to Jerry as a result of the bet and ends up accusing Jerry of killing Susie. It sounds like a lot, but it's amazingly written and one of those episodes that is tied up neatly by the end of its short runtime.
14 The Switch
- Episode 11 of Season 6
The season 6 episode "The Switch" is so named because Jerry wants to "switch" his girlfriend with her roommate. He does this because his girlfriend never laughs at him (or even cracks a smile) but her roommate laughs at almost everything he says.
It's also the episode where fans finally learn what Kramer's first name is. While it's an old show, fans won't find spoilers here – it's worth watching this episode just for that reveal.
13 The Calzone
- Episode 19 of Season 7
"The Calzone" is something of a comedy of errors. The season 7 episode begins with George getting his boss addicted to specialty calzones from one of his favorite restaurants, but in a twist, George ends up getting banned from that very restaurant when he is accused of stealing. To keep the calzones flowing, he enlists Kramer to help.
Kramer, of course, ends up getting banned too because he tried to pay with pennies, leading George to take one last resort – Newman. It's an episode that perfectly highlights George's character and has lots and lots of unforgettable moments, especially when Kramer and Newman get involved.
12 The Frogger
- Episode 18 of Season 9
In one of the most famous scenes of Seinfeld, George is seen trying to wheel an arcade cabinet across a busy road. It's not just any arcade cabinet, though – it's a Frogger cabinet with his high score on it.
In an effort to preserve the arcade cabinet, and to stop anyone from taking his high score away from him, George buys the cabinet. He finds it much more difficult to move than he thought, considering it can't lose power or his high score would be erased, making for a tense and hilarious conclusion to the episode.
11 The Nap
- Episode 18 of Season 8
In the season 8 episode "The Nap" George takes a nap under his desk while his boss waits in the room to talk to him, Kramer chooses to swim in New York's East River instead of a crowded swimming pool, and Elaine and Jerry have different issues with people causing problems in their apartments.
It's an episode that truly doesn't come to any kind of meaningful conclusion, bringing a new definition to the "show about nothing". While each character hardly interacts with the others, it's a tightly written episode that explores what the characters do when away from each other.