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Comment by tomcam | Hacker News Reader

To me, he is one of the greatest writers in standup there ever was. Like Eudora Welty, his finished product is devoid of fat and gristle. You can’t really remove a word without losing the meaning of the text.

Virtually no one understands these days that he was quite wealthy before he had the TV show. He called himself “the most popular unknown comedian in America“ because he was absolutely killing it with corporate gigs and selling out his shows while absolutely not being a household name.

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I've seen his act. It's just so much fluff

He called his show the “show about nothing”, and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee would pretty much also qualify for that title. It’s all 100% fluff. (I love his stuff for exactly that quality)

> He called his show the “show about nothing”

He most certainly did not, he specifically called it the opposite (see point 4): https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/10-facts-a...

Calling it “about nothing” is a meme with no basis in reality. That misconception even came from an episode which is about pitching a show. Seinfeld episodes are so clearly about something; they hit you on the head with the theme right at the start of each episode.

I admit I meant this slightly tongue in cheek. I think „nothing“ works well as a description in terms of „no agenda“ and maybe „no philosophy“ (not sure about the latter, maybe it just escaped me; cynicism?).

I'm pretty sure this is a misconception. He never called Seinfeld a show about nothing. That was the show that his character and George pitched to the TV execs in Seinfeld.

Yeah but the entire episode was meta and breaking the 4th wall.

He even references scenes that they do in Seinfeld when pitching it.

And I wouldn't call it fluff, its observational humor and his style is to do 95% detailed setup and a quick punchline connecting it altogether.

I think Sally Weaver's new show could be for you. Finally a show about something!

Are you a cashier?

At what stage? An act isn't a single performance and developing a routine means a different set each night nevermind the different routine has used throughout his career.

It's like someone saying to a programmer. I know your work I saw one commit.

(Not OP) It's a line from Seinfeld (the TV show). Yes, this is not Reddit, but it's funny!

Try writing one that bad and report back with a YouTube link to your performance.

EDIT: answers below prove I am an ignorant doofus

It's a Seinfeld reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3kTYCLSgsg

I hate myself

Are you sure you are a fan and not a fanboy ?

I suspect you aren't as much of a Seinfeld fan as you think you are when you didn't recognize that line from the show.

Damn me! And I’m a huge Seinfeld fan but definitely didn’t see all of “Seinfeld”

You have to watch it all and then move on to Curb Your Enthusiasm by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David. I prefer his harder edge comedy.

I also prefer the humor of Curb. I have watched Curb before I've watched Seinfeld, and I could definitely recognize Larry David's writing in Seinfeld. So great.

Ahem. Getting on it right away.

Johnny Carson knew it the first time he walked up on the stage of the Tonight Show in 1983. Seinfeld got the O.K. sign [0]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_4ds9BtQEI

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/arts/television/carsons-c...

> You can’t really remove a word without losing the meaning of the text.

Hmmm... Once you see his jokes in text form this seems a little hyperbolic. Removing words would definitely change the rhythm, but Seinfeld is not a name that springs to mind when talking about taut writing.

https://bouncemojo.com/jerry-seinfeld-jokes/

Interesting. I believe the link proves my thesis.

I would encourage you to experiment a little. You can remove entire sentences while keeping the meaning, like this (the first joke on that page):

Original: According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

Could be: According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

I just removed 20% of the words and the meaning is intact. The rhythm and emphasis for spoken delivery maybe not, but one of the things that bored me about Seinfeld eventually was the way he spoon fed everything to you, like he didn't quite trust you to be smart enough to get it the first time around.

Compare that to Steven Wright's work - there really isn't a word out of place there. You either get it or you miss it, he just keeps moving

I love your experiment, I concede instantly, and provisionally agree about Steven Wright[1]. Thank you for calling me out.

[1] Provisionally b/c maybe someone will bust in like you did and disprove you… I’m gunshy now

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