Posted
5:06 PM
by Gene
The male Ms. Travers of TNRO has something to say about a TV cri-TIC named TOM:Since "Seinfeld" was cancelled in 1998, Shales has cited it in a remarkable 79 articles. (Compare that to a mere 18 mentions of "The Simpsons," which has actually been running, albeit at quarter-steam, all those years.) Shales has described "Seinfeld" as "the most successful and acclaimed sitcom ever"; "one of the most popular and highly praised sitcoms ever "; "It may have constituted a 'great era' all by itself"; "the last great sitcom of the age of the sitcom"; and "the last really funny TV show"--a tidal wave of praise that would be less overwhelming if not for the fact that all these quotes appeared in the last 14 months, many years after the show went defunct. And while he avows the great comic masterpiece was "very funny", he further avows, "I find its relentlessly shticky humor holds up rather disappointingly in reruns" -- meaning, as with so many cultural sensations, you had to be there.