Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 You know that guy who can relate any awkward social situation to an episode of Seinfeld? Yeah, that's me. Like it or not, there's at least one of us in just about every social circle. On one hand, it might seem like all that Seinfeld knowledge is trivial at best on the other. Seinfeld has provided decades of memories and laughs for tens of millions of people, and holds a pretty unique place in our culture.
Speaker 2 00:00:28 It's a great way to connect with people, A great way to find out there are so many other people like you that really appreciate this show and wanna be a part of something. And I think, you know, because I'm such a podcast junkie and I, and I love listening to other people's podcasts and how they do it, and that makes you feel like you belong, you're a part of something, and it's great being able to bring that to people.
Speaker 0 00:00:53 Next, you'll hear how two buddies turn their obsession of Seinfeld into something way more than a hobby. My name is Stuart, and this is Audience, a Castro's original series where we go behind the scenes of some of the best podcasts to explore the world of audio creation and the creators behind some of the most innovative and interesting shows.
Speaker 0 00:01:19 One of the best ways to learn how to do something is to go directly to the people on the top of that field. So at Casto, we do just that. Each episode of audience features some of the most talented and creative podcasters around. And we hope that by listening it will inspire more creativity in your work as you dive into this journey that is audio creation along the way. Casto wants to be part of your creative journey from our suite of tools, future Rich hosting platform, and even our production services, we're here to help connect with us directly by emailing hello casto.com or by click it on the link in the show notes.
Speaker 2 00:02:02 Once you meet somebody who really gets Seinfeld, that's where, you know, that's where it really just, you just click. So it's gone from, you know, I kind of would just watch it like on tv, like a lot of nights, and it went from that to just being a hobby, really. That's, you know,
Speaker 0 00:02:21 That's Adam or his stage name, so to speak. Adam, the Ugly baby, I guess you gotta watch Seinfeld to get it, like millions of people. He loves Seinfeld so much so that he got a job hosting Seinfeld Trivia nights. That's where he met his friend Eric, or Eric the Clown, who of course also loves Seinfeld.
Speaker 3 00:02:42 Well, I remember watching Seinfeld, um, towards the end of its run season 7 89 with my parents. They used to watch it every week. And I remember watching, I was, you know, I was young and I didn't really get a lot of the references. I would mainly just laugh at Kramer's Falls and noises or whatever. And then as I got a little older and I started watching it in reruns, that's when I really started to fall in love with it. And then when the DV kds came out, that was just like a whole other thing.
Speaker 0 00:03:10 So together they hosted Seinfeld trivia, then the pandemic came along and people weren't really gathering in bars anymore, so they decided to start a podcast.
Speaker 3 00:03:22 Yeah, and we also knew Matt, who hosted Sign Cast. Uh, we were friendly with him and we mm-hmm <affirmative> hosted a lot of trivias with him. And then when that podcast ended, there was a little bit of a lull, you know, for like two or three years. And we had always talked about, oh, maybe we could like have a podcast where we talked to other actors from the show and also have fans come on and talk about specific topics that interest us. And we always wanted to do it, and it just never happened. And then the, once the pandemic started, we, we were like, okay, now it's our time. We should really try to do this. And we were lucky. Our first guest was Larry Thomas who played the Soup Nazi, and he was great. And he sort of got the ball rolling. So next thing you know, we're like almost at a hundred episodes now, and it's just been so much fun.
Speaker 0 00:04:01 And that's how the place to be A Seinfeld podcast was born. It's an interesting show. The format will change from one episode to the next. Sometimes it's just Adam and Eric chatting about a random Seinfeld topic, like movie references in the show, or funny bloopers, but most episodes feature guest interviews with actors who appeared on the show, not necessarily a-listers like Jerry Seinfeld or Julia Louie Dreyfuss, but many of the great character actors like Larry Thomas, known as The Soup Nazi, or Phil Morris who played the eccentric lawyer Jackie Giles. In fact, you could argue that the podcast doubles as a profile and character acting. Their presence adds another layer to the show that you don't always get on other fan podcasts. It's a beak behind the curtain at one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. The reception by listeners is almost unanimous. They love this podcast about their favorite show.
Speaker 0 00:05:03 I wanna read a, uh, a review that I found on Apple Podcast for you titled Truly a Scarsdale Surprise. After about 10 years of listening, the sign cast repeatedly, I decided to seek out another Seinfeld podcast. I am extremely picky. I chose my podcast very carefully. I did not think that any other podcast could compete with Matt and Vinny. I am happy to say that I was proven wrong. Not only are Eric and Adam excellent host, their Seinfeld knowledge surpasses even my own. I am in the process of binging their entire run until the President. That's, that's high praise
Speaker 2 00:05:36 <laugh>. Wow, that keeps you humble.
Speaker 0 00:05:38 <laugh>, you know, in the nineties there were a lot of good sitcoms from that era, but Seinfeld has more staying power than I think any of those. Bar none. Uh, what is it that you guys think sets it apart? Adam, why don't, why don't you go first?
Speaker 2 00:05:54 So I think it's the writing and the fact that it was allowed to flourish. Seinfeld was just such an unbelievable project from the start that they were even allowed to, to get those four episodes that went on the air. You know, it was this burned off pilot. Nobody cared about this, you know, this, this comedy team that never written anything. And then all of a sudden it just started to gain this momentum. And, and like maybe nowadays in days of streaming services, things like that, there's such a plethora of things, but it would also probably be a very niche type of show where like, not as many people would've seen it, whereas like, the fact that all everything aligned just right, you know, whatever you wanna believe. Divine Intervention, I don't know, <laugh>, we, there, there's something that happened with, with that show where it was just, it was really allowed to, to become what it was. And I think that it was just so many people coming together and willing to work with each other and not having an ego about it. And as like, like you'll hear in a lot of the interviews we do, people say that they let the funny go. You know, if there was somebody that would work better and was funnier, they knew they did whatever was best for the comedy.
Speaker 0 00:07:10 Yeah, I mean, I think Seinfeld's or Jerry Seinfeld in particular, and I've heard other people say how much they appreciated this about him, that he understood that, you know, he had really hit the jackpot with a cast and really kind of took the step back and decided you, he, for the most part played the role of the straight man and let, and let everyone else flourish as characters. And, and the last several years, I would say there have been several podcasts about TV shows. I'm thinking like The Office You have The Office ladies, you had the great when Brian Baumgartner did the Oral history of the Office, both phenomenal shows. And then more recently, uh, some of the cast members from Boy Meets World have gotten together and made, uh, pod Meets World. Do you listen to either of any of those shows and did you get any, have you gotten any inspiration or, or ideas from them? If you have?
Speaker 2 00:08:00 I do listen to Office Ladies religiously. I think I try to take a lot of my cues from them to know how to relax and know how to talk to, and like being able to talk and how great it is to like talk with, you know, one of your best friends about something you love. The only difference is obviously we weren't on the show. I think that would've been <laugh>, you know, that would've been something. And I think that that adds another layer to it. But it, it really, it really does make you appreciate like great shows. Also like Seinfeld in the office.
Speaker 0 00:08:30 Eric, you guys bring a lot of these character actors and guest stars onto the show. I almost feel like your show could almost have a subcategory of profiles and character acting. And I'm curious, what perspective does a Larry Thomas or a Phil Morris or someone else who had one of these little bit rolls on it, what perspective do they provide that say a conversation with Jason Alexander or Jerry Seinfeld might not give you?
Speaker 3 00:09:00 Well, to be honest, and people ask us, are you ever gonna have Jerry or Jason Alexander or Julia on? And you know, obviously we'd love to do that, but the fact is they've done tons of interviews and we've heard a lot of their stories. But also another thing that's actually interesting, they don't remember a lot from their time on Seinfeld, at least from what I've heard from other interviews. They kind of, you know, it was a long time ago and, but folks like Phil Morris and, and Larry Thomas or maybe even smaller characters who were in one scene or had one line they tr really treasure that one memory or one moment that they were there, they're like, I'm on si, I'm on Seinfeld. I love this show. I love being with these actors and being in this environment. This is so special. So when they talk about their scene or their episode or whatever it is, you know, their memory is a little bit more vivid of that specific episode or that scene because it was their one chance to really shine on the show. Uh, obviously Phil Morris was in several episodes, but we've talked to people who have had one line, like I said, and it's amazing how many stories they have just from that 1 15, 20 second scene. Uh, and that's what I've loved about interviewing all these actors is just, you think they're gonna come on and not have much to say, and then one hour later we're like, uh, this was incredible. And now I have a whole new perspective on the episode and it's, it's just a lot of fun.
Speaker 0 00:10:19 Going back a little bit, Adam, to your time doing trivia, obviously you guys know a lot about Seinfeld, probably significantly more maybe than the average viewer. What have you learned about Seinfeld from talking to some of these different guests that maybe you didn't know prior to starting this podcast?
Speaker 2 00:10:37 I think like, just talking to all these people, it really confirmed my knowledge that Seinfeld was a special show, like I said before, but also that it was something that everybody wanted to be a part of. Like so many actors in, in Hollywood, you know, people wanting to get their start or people you know, that were already, you know, pretty successful. And it was in, it's interesting to hear like how they got the roles and again, like how they really used everybody to their total potential and they knew how to do it.
Speaker 0 00:11:15 Is it ever surreal to have some of these guys on? Like, I, I can't imagine talking to, talking to Jackie Chiles.
Speaker 2 00:11:24 Oh, he was so cool.
Speaker 3 00:11:25 Yeah, well, especially when he starts doing the character, it's, you know, it's like, oh my God, I'm really talking to Jackie Chiles
Speaker 0 00:11:30 <laugh>. It, it is amazing how they can just, he can just turn a character that he, that he hasn't had to do now in, in 25 years could just turn it on like that. And Phil Morris couldn't be more different than Jackie Chiles.
Speaker 2 00:11:44 Yeah. Well, and I think one, I think one of the most surreal ones,
Speaker 0 00:11:48 Danny Woodburn, right? You had Danny Ward, the guy who plays
Speaker 2 00:11:51 Danny, Nick, Danny Woodburn, mark, I'm sorry, mark Metcalf. Oh yeah, <laugh>, uh, Maestro.
Speaker 0 00:11:55 The Maestro, yeah,
Speaker 2 00:11:56 Yeah. Is because, because I loved him also as Neer Meyer. So like just seeing him and like actually getting to talk to him, that was another, but yeah, talk again with Danny Woodburn was just totally like, wow. I mean, cuz you, you also see that they're just, they are real people that really, you know, they love acting. They love the show. They love their character as much as you do. Because sometimes you might, like, people might think that, you know, a lot of these bigger actors, they might, they're a lot of times have this image of they're snooty or something, or they don't like the characters that they did. But then you get to these other people and you talk to 'em, they're like, wow, you know, just gives you a whole new perspective.
Speaker 0 00:12:39 I think, again, it goes back to what you're saying about how, how special of an experience that was for everybody. I, I've heard actors say before, like there there's been movies they were in that they've never seen. I think it was William Russ who plays Alan Meth, who's in Boy Meets World, on the episode he was on, he was saying he never once watched Boy Meets World and he was on the show for 10 years and he never once watched an episode. And he, he said it would've made him feel self-conscious and, and he never watched it until he decided to go on the podcast. And he, he got kind of curious and, and, and watched an episode. And you hear, I I've heard a lot of actors say that before, I think it was Michael Kane once said, you know, he's never seen Jaws too, but he has seen the house it built and it was Magnificence
Speaker 2 00:13:21 <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:13:23 Yeah. Yeah. I
Speaker 3 00:13:24 Don't think Michael Richards ever watches the show. I, I don't think any of them do. But I think like even when they were reviewing the DVDs for the bonus features, I think he did like the first four or five seasons and then he just stopped doing the commentary. I think he just couldn't watch himself anymore.
Speaker 0 00:13:38 Yeah. And of course always knew that he was the most serious of them behind the scenes, but that's what everybody says who comes on. They say, you know, Michael Richards was just, and this how he had to be, I guess to, to be able to play that role of Kramer.
Speaker 3 00:13:53 That's the biggest thing we hear.
Speaker 0 00:13:54 And of course, you know, everyone, those comedians are, are a little bit twisted, but people speak glowingly of, of, uh, cherry
Speaker 3 00:14:01 For the most part. Everyone has really nice things to say about all them. Like even Michael Richards, no one has really terrible things to say. They just talk about how serious he was and how, you know, he was just in his zone and he, he really just tried so hard to be as funny as he possibly could. And, you know, he would just do his entrances over and over and he would go in a corner and rehearse his lines by himself. Um, it was nothing personal. He was just, that was how he worked. You know,
Speaker 0 00:14:29 I know he has said recently, cuz he did do that episode of Comedians and Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry. And he, he had, I think he mentioned, you know, he wished he had enjoyed the process a little bit more and Jerry reminded him, look, well that wasn't your job. And I, I think it's, despite everything he's been through maybe in the last, you know, 15 or 16 years, I, I do appreciate, uh, his dedication to the craft and, and everything, you know, that character ha has given us over the years.
Speaker 3 00:14:54 Yeah. I, I would love to talk to him more than any of them because we've heard from him the least. You know, I, I don't know a lot of his stories or just his experience on the show, so that would be great. But I don't think it's ever gonna happen. <laugh> <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:15:09 Yeah. I'd say your show has a pretty free flowing format. Every episode feels a little bit different. There's some episodes where you guys are just almost reenacting scene for scene and line for line, a particular episode. I mean, you guys, you guys have all these lines memorized. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:15:24 <laugh>. Yeah, pretty much. We might have to look them up once in a while for like the exact wording, but overall it's pretty, you know.
Speaker 0 00:15:33 Now are you guys from New York?
Speaker 3 00:15:34 I'm from New York.
Speaker 2 00:15:35 I'm from Rhode Island. They're never in contention
Speaker 0 00:15:38 <laugh>, but I just, I can, I can hear the, the Northeastern accent when y'all do impressions of, of the characters.
Speaker 2 00:15:45 Oh yeah. Well you gotta do the New York accent. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:15:47 Sometimes we do those, sometimes we do those episodes cause we need breaks from the interviews and just kind of have a little fun. Sometimes we'll have Seinfeld fans come on, you know, talk about specific topics or do a trivia. Those, those are always fun just to kind of mix, mix it up a little bit and, you know, not do too many interviews.
Speaker 2 00:16:03 And people have definitely given us feedback. They prefer when we do just a show, just the two of us talking about a topic, you know, about an episode. They, they like, they people really like those even though they're more work for us. But
Speaker 0 00:16:16 <laugh> Well, you did mention in an episode, I think when you had, uh, Biff, what was his last name? The guy that played Yeager? Yeah. You guys mentioned, so Biff Yeager, I believe you guys kind of changed up the format a little bit, Adam, you started bringing in clips from the show and then a month or two later you mentioned that you've gotten some good feedback from, from your listeners. And I think that's always good if you can get that feedback from your listeners and they're telling you that they like or want something, it's, it's usually worth considering. How do you guys connect to listeners? Where do you interact with them?
Speaker 3 00:16:47 Yeah, so a lot of our listeners reach out on Instagram, Twitter. Um, they, they message us. Sometimes they'll email us and they'll just tell us, Hey, you know, I like that new format. I hope you can see it again sometime. Or when are you gonna do another trivia or, uh, keep the interviews going. You know, it's, it's all different. When we do a lot of interviews, people are like, when are you gonna do just the two of you talking? That's what I love. And then we do that for few episodes in a row and people are like, where's the interviews? What's going <laugh>? But um, <laugh>, you know, it it's flattering that people like both, you know, and we try to balance it out as best we can.
Speaker 0 00:17:23 So Adam, you know, you do all, all the technical stuff. This, again, this is, this is a pretty free flowing format. It's seems a little bit light on the production side, but you are, you're bringing in, you're bringing in clips, you're giving the show some structure. So what first gave you the idea to start incorporating some clips from the show?
Speaker 2 00:17:40 Again, a lot of it, what is Eric's ideas? He's like the, you know, like the big picture guy. And then, you know, I'll sit down and kind of figure out, all right, this, this is the nuts and bolts of how we're gonna do this. But I think that as we just started talking more and just started figuring out we can do this and we can, you know, cuz we use Anchor, um, you know, pretty simple stuff. You know, whatever you can find for free. You know, here's a tip, Google is your friend. Um, you know, but you can find a lot of stuff out there that's, you know, free software, you know, you just download it and it's,
Speaker 0 00:18:12 Casto is also available for an affordable subscription. <laugh>, I feel obligated to say that.
Speaker 2 00:18:17 Okay. <laugh> little ad <laugh>. But yeah, and I think like, as we've both kind of figured out how to do things. Cause I was, I was ruminating tonight about like, you know, when we first started and you know, we like if we, if we messed up and we would just like totally start over instead of like figuring out, oh, we can just record this and then edit it later. And, you know, it was just a lot of it was just like sitting down and figuring out, okay, this, this can do this and this can do that. So I think that naturally evolved into, all right, well let's play clips and let's show it at the begin. You know, have a little something to keep people, you know, at least tuned in with the show until I kind of laugh and say, oh yeah, you know, I remember that. And oh, it's the guy from that scene. Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 0 00:19:00 Then every episode of course has the, has the trademarked Hello
Speaker 2 00:19:05 <laugh> <laugh>. Yeah, that was definitely something we, uh, we wanted to include incorporate used, do that
Speaker 3 00:19:11 A trip we used do that Trivias.
Speaker 2 00:19:13 Oh yeah, still do it. Yeah. Well, usually I'll do the, hello, welcome to Seinfeld trivia. People will kind of cheer and I'll say, oh, you sound like a great crowd <laugh>. But yeah, it, but it kind of gets, because it kind of gets me into like the spirit of it, you know, if you, because you know, sometimes when I'm, when I'm recording, you know, you had a rough day or whatever, you, you're not necessarily always feeling it, but then all of a sudden you just kind of get the, get it going and you say that line, it's like, all right, ready to do this.
Speaker 0 00:19:44 I like what you guys said at the top of the show where you watched it and, and as kids you, you're just watching it cuz you know, Kramer, you know, sliding through the doorway or like, you know, tripping over a golf ball is, is really funny. But then you start to pick up on the cultural references and you know, like to me, Jackie Child was always funny. But, you know, once I realized that, you know, he was supposed to be, uh, derivative of Johnny Cochran, I just made it, you know, all, all the funnier and you know, the parallel of course with the woman, uh, burn the, the old lady burning herself on McDonald's coffee. I mean, I, I've had so many moments in my life as an adult where like, I I, I'll read about something and I'll be like, where did I know about that? Oh yeah, Seinfeld, they did that.
Speaker 2 00:20:29 <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:20:29 Yeah. And also the more movies you see and TV shows that you watch, you realize, oh, they're referencing this. Oh, that's so much funnier because the, you know, whatever the case is. But, uh, and we actually had an episode about all the movie references on Seinfeld.
Speaker 0 00:20:42 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. You mentioned, you've been mentioned trivia a a lot. I've gone gone to trivia nights, obviously I haven't attended one of one of yours. But a lot of trivia hosts are, are, I mean, they're, they're putting on a performance. Do you guys feel like that when you're doing your Seinfeld trivia that you're kind of giving a performance to the crowd
Speaker 2 00:21:00 For Seinfeld? Absolutely. You just really g I mean, of course I'm gonna get into it, I love it, but you really do get into it because people there are having such a good time. You know, I ho I do host like other trivia topics, you know, I host like Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, uh, the Office, the Office is a lot of fun. Um, that other show, I won't say, but it begins with an f um, <laugh>. But seriously, like, you know, and you get ups and downs, like obviously I don't know the references that well and it's not gonna be as much fun quoting Game of Thrones like to people as it is quoting Seinfeld. But with Seinfeld it really is, you realize it's just like a special group of people that come out and you want them to have a good time. And yeah, there, there is an entertainment level to it. Like, when I'm putting together questions, I wanna think, okay, what's gonna be a good question? What's gonna be like the funniest reference? What's gonna make people chuckle? You know, what's gonna get them really, you know, tickle their Seinfeld funny
Speaker 3 00:21:58 Bowl. And the thing about Seinfeld fans is there's so much fun because when you quote a line, they'll give you the one right back that follows that all the time. It never fails. So, uh, they're tuned into the show so, you know, so closely just like us. And that's what we love about
Speaker 0 00:22:14 It. Yeah, it's, it's amazing just how much fun you can have with complete strangers. I think of social media accounts that I follow, like on Instagram and just going to the comment section and on, on any other post, on a platform like that, a comment section is just an a an absolute cesspool. It's the worst of humanity, but <laugh> Seinfeld, it's like the best of it. You know, you'll, you'll just start riffing with a complete stranger and you'll, you'll act out a scene together. It is amazing. And I, I don't know of any other show that has that much breath. I mean, obviously there's lots of shows have cult followings, there's hardcore fans for every show, but with within Seinfeld, it's, it's all walks of life. And, uh, it's, it's across generations, it's across demographics, it's across other interests and, and I just don't know of another show off the top of my head that has that. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:23:06 I just feel like Seinfeld found a way to cover everything somehow. There's not a day goes by where you can't reference a Seinfeld episode. It's, it's amazing.
Speaker 0 00:23:15 And we're probably some of the most annoying people in a friend group if someone doesn't watch Seinfeld. <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:23:21 <laugh>. Yeah. But I find that anybody that I turn on to Seinfeld and I've turned on quite a few people, they've always enjoyed it. In fact, I got my parents into the show, you know, not the other way around because they, you know, they'd seen a few episodes here and there, but then when I knew I was starting the podcast, I, they were like, okay, I'm gonna borrow your DVDs and we're gonna sit down and I'm gonna watch the whole series and now I can make jokes with them and cracks with them. And it's fantastic.
Speaker 0 00:23:49 If you were talking to a new, or, and perhaps through this podcast you are talking to someone who hasn't watched Seinfeld before, could you recommend an episode to start with?
Speaker 2 00:24:00 So the way that I started somebody was through the puffy shirt and then the contest.
Speaker 0 00:24:06 Why the Puffy shirt? That's an interesting choice.
Speaker 2 00:24:09 So it bec it has a lot of the great characters in it. I think it's one where it, the, it has the great dovetailing at the end where everybody just kind of gets screwed over. There's some great George stuff. Um, George becoming a hand model, <laugh>, you know, the great physical like show, you know, great physical comedy, you get a lot of great references. I don't know that one, that one's really good. Anything from like season five? Cuz my favorite episode is the Dinner Party. That's, I know it's like, seems like it would be hard to pick a favorite, but I've always considered that one. So anything from like that season five era, I would say would be a good start. Or I just tell people, you know what, start from the beginning. Just go, just dive right in.
Speaker 3 00:24:52 It's hard to pick one episode because you sort of familiarize with yourself with the show. The more you watch it, it's like, oh, these characters are this way. So if you jump right into the puffy shirt or the contest, you're not as familiar with them. So it's not as funny when they're going through these situations. So I would say probably start from the beginning and just know that it does get better over time. But I think another great one, if I had to pick is the Subway. Just because each one has their own story and you can kind of see how they react to each situation on their own. They almost each have their mini episode.
Speaker 0 00:25:27 Yeah. And that's a good example of just how risky or how, how they were willing to take such risks. I can't think, you know, cuz again, like anyone who knows anything about TV writing understands that, especially for sitcoms. It's, it's very, it's very formulaic. It's, it's very technical. They're, they're, and, and Seinfeld was just doing things that were confusing even to the people on the show. I think Jason Alexander has always talked about that. He was like, what the hell are these guys doing? This is not there. There's no way a a TV executive will will sign off on this. And I think, uh, yeah, sh shows early shows like, or early episodes like that that were so risky. The subway at the parking garage, the Chinese restaurant, even though that one doesn't have Kramer. So I would never start with that one.
Speaker 3 00:26:14 I would pick the, I would pick the Chinese restaurant if Kramer was in it. I think that's a great one to start with.
Speaker 0 00:26:18 Yeah. Because the other three characters, everything about their personality just kind of comes through in that situation. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 00:26:24 I totally forgot to mention this, but the main reason why I said the puffy shirt is because there is that reference to the contest. So that's why I said if you watch the puffy shirt <laugh>, and this is, this is because this is a scenario that has played out for me in real life. So I figure it's a repeatable experiment. You can watch the Puffy shirt and he, George says he won the contest and then people say, what's the contest? Contest? And I'll say, you'll see <laugh>
Speaker 3 00:26:45 Another good one's the pitch too, because, um, that, that's the beginning of that story arc. So if you want to kinda mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, and they, it's sort of like the show within the show how they're commenting on it. It's about nothing. And, and that's, that's the start of that arc. So if, if you continue, then it's like, I guess that's a good place too.
Speaker 0 00:27:05 I go back and forth on that because I, I used to start people out with the pitch for the reasons you were just saying, but I now think actually that's, those episodes are a little bit funnier if you're more familiar with the show that
Speaker 3 00:27:17 You're right. That's what I was saying about the, the puffy shirt than the contest. It's tough to pick mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. I don't know.
Speaker 0 00:27:23 But you could drop anybody into any episode and it's gonna be fun. Of course. I feel like if you're describing Seinfeld to someone who hasn't seen it and they say, what's it about? What, what's, what's your response?
Speaker 3 00:27:35 Bad things happening to selfish people. <laugh>,
Speaker 0 00:27:39 <laugh>,
Speaker 3 00:27:39 Um, you know, there's no hugging, there's no learning. It's all about the funny, that's it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, yeah, don't expect there to be any sentimental moments. Uh, there's not gonna be any weddings or babies or life
Speaker 0 00:27:56 <laugh> except Adam the ugly baby. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:27:59 <laugh>. There's not gonna be any, uh, life lessons, you know, it's, it's just bad things happening to bad people. And it, and, and <laugh> it's hilarious.
Speaker 0 00:28:11 <laugh> Adam, do you have a, a response to that?
Speaker 2 00:28:13 I think that sums it up perfectly, but yeah, that's so true. Where I know the nostalgia critic said that, he said, yeah, I disagree. It's not a show about nothing. It's a show about everything. And I think it does kind of sum it up cuz it's always that old cliche of like, this is such a Seinfeld moment. <laugh>. So I think that, uh, yeah, <laugh>, I think Eric said
Speaker 3 00:28:33 It perfectly. I also wanna mention how amazing the cast is. I mean, we talked about it before, but you have Jerry at the head, but he was more of the straight man. He knew how amazing his three co-stars were and he wasn't afraid to give them all the best stuff. But then just, I, I mean Newman, Frank Castanza, Jackie Chiles, putty, uh, Estelle, just the, the list goes on and on Uncle Leo. I mean, just these incredible characters that they were able to bring onto this show and just expand this universe. Even these characters that were in one scene, like we talk about that, that we talk to sometimes. I mean, they all added, I think Jason Alexander said this about the finale. They, they all added to their baby. And so that was so rewarding in the finale to just kind of sit back and watch all these incredible guest stars take the stand and, and just like, say hi to them. Some people they hadn't seen in eight, nine years. It was just like a big thank you to those amazing guest stars. And I just think from top to bottom, Seinfeld is the best casted show in the history of television.
Speaker 0 00:29:37 You talk about these secondary characters and how someone could be in one episode or, or one scene. Ethan, you know, I think about the guy who almost br took Elaine's toe off <laugh> with the Kane,
Speaker 2 00:29:47 Sorry, <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:29:50 One word in the whole series. And he's one of the funniest secondary characters. And the only thing I can even relate that to is are the Coen brothers and they're films. How there's almost this whole universe of just secondary characters who might have been in one and two scenes in a movie. And if you ever watch, you know, the show Fargo, of course there, there's all kinds of Cohen brother Easter eggs and it's this own universe and it's these characters who, you know, it's, it's if you know, you know, and Seinfeld does that, I think better than than like you said, any show in the history of television. You know. Cause typically if, you know, if you have an Alister like Jerry Seinfeld and it's his show Yeah. Typically they're not gonna be bringing on a guest star who's gonna kind of, I don't what use the word grandstand, but who, who is gonna kind of steal some of the spotlight. Most, most shows just didn't do that back then.
Speaker 3 00:30:40 No. J Jerry wasn't afraid to do that. And he, like, like we said, he all he cared about was the funny, didn't matter if it was coming from him or if it was coming from Michael or Julia or Jason or someone, some random actor that was just in, had one line in one scene. Uh, as long as it was funny. That's, that's really all he cared about. And I, I think that was the key to the show's success.
Speaker 0 00:31:01 Is Seinfeld a dark show in your opinion?
Speaker 2 00:31:04 It can get very dark <laugh>. There, there's, there are a lot of moments that go, wow, this is really dark <laugh>, you know,
Speaker 0 00:31:12 But it got the laugh track behind it. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:31:15 Yeah, exactly. You know, Kramer finding a pig man mental patient. Uh oh.
Speaker 3 00:31:18 The stuff with Joe Devola.
Speaker 2 00:31:20 Joe
Speaker 3 00:31:21 Joe's pretty
Speaker 2 00:31:21 Dark. Yeah, crazy. The opera's like yeah, definitely the darkest episode of Seinfeld. I definitely wanna dissect that one day.
Speaker 0 00:31:29 Yeah. I think it was Larry Charles in those earlier seasons, you know, he really wrote some pretty dark episodes. The, the heart attack where <laugh>, they get in the, the where the paramedics get in a fight with <laugh> each other and, uh, George, you know, basically breaks his neck or like really hurts himself or, uh, and even like later on, kill it off the Susan character who kills off one of the main characters love interest in, in a show and, and to go and get a cup of coffee when, when they get the news. <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:31:59 <laugh>. Well,
Speaker 3 00:32:00 It's, uh, get some coffee.
Speaker 2 00:32:01 I mean, you have in the implant, you have George getting in a fight at a funeral <laugh> and try to picture the coffin to try to get a
Speaker 3 00:32:08 Death baby. You got Jerry Affair, you mugging an old woman for a marble rye, <laugh> George pushing women and children outta the way to get out of a fire.
Speaker 2 00:32:17 <laugh> <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:32:18 But it's funny, you know, that's all that matters. Yeah. It's dark, but it's funny.
Speaker 2 00:32:21 Exactly.
Speaker 0 00:32:23 Another observation I had in listening to you guys is this does remind me of old school podcasting where I'd say today, podcasting certainly can be very utilitarian, right? A company has one to kind of double as like content marketing or Marvels, you know, shelling out a, a big budget for it. Uh, or they get funding, someone gets funding from somewhere to, to establish IP so they can later option that for a movie. And, and there's nothing wrong with any of that stuff. We, we get great, we get great podcasts from that. But if you think back to like, you know, about 20 years or ago or so when, when people were really first starting to create RSS feeds and, and distribute them out to the world, it, it was really this kind of d y just a couple people making things like from their homes just, just cause and, and, and, and I do almost have to ask like, what do you guys get out of this? And I even, even if it's not something tangible, like what is working on the place to be done for you guys,
Speaker 3 00:33:29 F for us, it's just complete love for the show and just trying to find out as much as we can about it from anyone who wants to talk about it, that that's really our ultimate goal. Whether we talk to one of the main characters, someone small role a fan, we, we just love talking about Seinfeld. It's how we met. You know, we met at Seinfeld Trivias and we were surrounded by Seinfeld fans and it makes us happy to talk about Seinfeld with Seinfeld fans. And that's really all we ever wanted to do. And it's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 00:34:03 Yeah. You know, it's also just a great extension of our fandom and you know, it's a great little hobby and it's a fun thing to like tell people about and it's a great way to start a conversation, you know, because you can start a conversation just saying, oh, you know, I'm a big Seinfeld fan, but you say, oh, well I have a podcast that I do about Seinfeld. And I'm like, really? Oh wow. You know? So there's a little bit of that, you know, that ego trip for sure. So, and I think, uh, you know, what else is Seinfeld all about? But without having a little, you know, selfish pleasure once in a while, but <laugh> but seriously, it's, it is like a great way and it's a great, yeah, it's a great way to connect with people. A great way to find out, there are so many other people like you that really appreciate this show and wanna be a part of something. And I think, you know, because I'm such a podcast chunky and I, and I love listening to other people's podcasts and how they do it, and that makes you feel like you belong, you're a part of something. And it's great being able to bring that to people.
Speaker 0 00:35:04 You know, I normally don't do what they call rapid fire or, or whatever, but I I think this is a special episode. It's a special podcast. So I do have some Seinfeld related questions for both of you. So, uh, Eric the clown, what kind of name is that for a clown? We're, we're gonna start with you and then Adam can, can answer as well. If you could eat at Monks, what would you order? Ooh,
Speaker 3 00:35:27 That's a good one. Pair of Bearclaw please. <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:35:33 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:35:36 I'm going, this is a deep cut. I'm gonna go for the double bacon bitch. Burger
Speaker 3 00:35:40 <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:35:42 Double bacon
Speaker 3 00:35:44 Burger I'll burger.
Speaker 0 00:35:45 Wow. Okay. I I'm, I'm, I'm stumped. This hasn't happened to me before. I'm stumped.
Speaker 2 00:35:50 That's, that's, that's one, that's one you really have to pay attention to. We talk about this in our monks episode, I believe. Where if you look at the board by the counter where they have like, the menu and the writers and the, the, well probably the people that, um, like the crew people had a lot of fun, like making up different dishes for monks in the background so you can see things. That's one of the things they would put on there. You know, <laugh>, it was double bacon bitch <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:36:19 Wow. Can't believe it. I'd maybe go with a muffin a m. Either the muffin or, uh, the egg white
Speaker 3 00:36:26 Omelet. What about muffin?
Speaker 2 00:36:28 All right, just gimme
Speaker 3 00:36:28 A mustard. What about muffin sandwich and coffee? <laugh>, you know, a muffin can be very appealing.
Speaker 0 00:36:33 A muffin can be.
Speaker 2 00:36:36 I know
Speaker 0 00:36:37 I say that every time I eat a muffin Now anytime my wife gets a muffin or I'm eating one, I say, you know, a muffin can be very filling. <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:36:45 <laugh>,
Speaker 0 00:36:47 Uh, you
Speaker 2 00:36:48 Pop the top and Dr. The stump. Yeah,
Speaker 0 00:36:51 The, i I eat the stump too, but I do pop the top. I do, I pop the top and eat it first and then the stump is just like a nice little like, uh, encore. Uh, Adam, we'll start with you this time. If you had to have a nine to five job, which boss would you most dread having?
Speaker 2 00:37:07 Oh, most dread having, I hate to say it cuz I love him, but Mr. Pitt, I would not wanna work <laugh>. That wouldn't even be a nine to five. That would just be, especially nowadays that would
Speaker 3 00:37:18 Just my
Speaker 2 00:37:19 Answer. 24 7 <laugh>,
Speaker 3 00:37:24 I guess Mr. Lipman kind of sound, but kinda seems like a, you know, he could be tough too. He, you know, Elaine kind of danced around some subjects with him and wasn't quite sure how to approach certain things. So I, I guess Mr. Lipman, but Mr. Pit's my first choice.
Speaker 0 00:37:40 None of them would be a walk of the park.
Speaker 3 00:37:42 Uh, I would love to work for Mr. Krueger except
Speaker 2 00:37:45 Kruger.
Speaker 3 00:37:45 <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:37:46 <laugh>. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:37:47 Krueger would be great.
Speaker 0 00:37:48 Yeah, that's the one exception. <laugh>. All right. I'm not too worried
Speaker 3 00:37:52 About it. I'm going home.
Speaker 2 00:37:54 <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:37:58 All right. This one, uh, you know, it might be a bit embarrassing to answer, but Well, I'll do it and I'll do it if you guys do too. Which character do you identify with the most and Eric? We'll, we'll start with you and, and you can't, I mean, I mean maybe it's Eric the Clown, but I was thinking main cast
Speaker 3 00:38:15 <laugh>. I, I, uh, God kills me to say it. I, I gotta say George. I mean, I wouldn't push a wo woman and children outta the way for a fire or, you know, anything create the human fund or anything like that. But, um, I think certain things a lot of times, especially like when they're writing the Jerry show and he's like, God would never let me be successful <laugh>, I, I could relate to that. Or when he's like nervous about going to the doctor and he's like, you know, uh, he, he, he thinks it's gonna be something serious because God would never want him to be successful and you know, if he can never go that they, if he never goes, then they can never tell him what's wrong. Like, that's, that's how I think.
Speaker 0 00:38:54 I thought you didn't believe in God. I do feel the bad things.
Speaker 3 00:38:57 <laugh>. Exactly.
Speaker 2 00:38:58 <laugh>,
Speaker 0 00:39:00 What do you think, Adam?
Speaker 2 00:39:04 I'll just say with certain people I feel like Jerry because sometimes I do feel like the straight man of a, amongst a bunch of crazy people. But yeah, I think, you know, to quote Andy Ackerman, one of my favorite quotes, there's a little bit of George Costanza in all of us. So, you know, I definitely get that neuroticism and always being negative <laugh>, you know, just not, you know, not wanting to think, you know, I'm a great quitter, you know, I was raised to give up <laugh>, so I guess that's ch a little bit cheating. But I'll say, uh, Jerry
Speaker 3 00:39:35 And George does bring up a lot of good points at some of the, sometimes, I mean, why don't they bring the stalls all the way down to the floor? Why? You know, it's a good point.
Speaker 0 00:39:45 Well, and I think it's, when you see Larry, uh, in Curb your enthusiasm, you know, oftentimes he sets out to do it. He perceives to be the right thing, and he encounters people who are just as self-serving and and stubborn as he is. And I think you have a little bit of that in Seinfeld too, like Yeah, these are all, all four of these characters are socially inep. They're a menace to society. They're incredibly self-absorbed, but a lot of times the people they're dealing with aren't particularly saints either.
Speaker 2 00:40:13 Yeah, exactly. And that's one of the best parts of Seinfeld is just these characters, they talk about this on Sy cast a lot too, where we have these people who are just mean or just evil for no reason other than that's just how they are. And you know, you don't know what they did. You know, you think of like the Jiffy part guy, you know, or the later the Jiffy dump guy, you know, that's not garbage. You know, they're muffin stumps, you know? Sorry, can't do it. You know, <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:40:40 <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:40:41 Pick it up with consumer affair.
Speaker 0 00:40:43 Yeah, I agree. Oh, and I, I promised, I, I promised I would go too. So I, I'm gonna cheat a little bit as well and say, uh, sometimes Elaine and sometimes George, just because I think I can kind of identify with Elaine, who kind of on the exterior kind of likes to present this very cultured, uh, forward thinking kind of like liberal persona, but then there's just this, like, there's just this rage inside of her that it takes almost nothing, uh, for it to come out. And, and when it does, it's explosive and, and hilarious. And, and of course, George, for, for all the reasons you guys mentioned, the, you know, the neurosis, the, uh, the self-pity and then that, that mixture of, uh, self-righteousness, yet also having very low self-esteem, I think is, uh, is it's a very human, those are very human emotions. And I, I, I like that there's a little bit of George and all of us, um, <laugh>. Well, guys, this, this has been fun to do. You guys have any final thoughts to add to kind of bookend our, our conversation here?
Speaker 2 00:41:44 I dunno, check us out at the place to be. Uh, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter. I just wanna say that Seinfeld is really a special show, and I'm so happy that we've met so many great people and that we get to be on shows like this, and that's just really been such a blessing.
Speaker 0 00:42:02 Yeah. Well, again, I, I think, I think what you guys have done is kind of similar to what Jerry and George or Larry and, uh, Jerry did in the sense that y you just kind of had this idea and it, and it's just kind of ballooned into something. I I don't know if you guys ever anticipated that you'd get to talk to the soup Nazi or to Jackie Chiles or to Mickey Abbott, but here you are more than a hundred in episodes more than a year later, and you've gotten to do a lot of great stuff. And I think it's a, it's a great example of, uh, if you're, if someone out there's, you want, you wanna start a podcast about something that you're passionate about, you and your friends wanna do it, go for it. And do do the best you can.
Speaker 3 00:42:38 Absolutely. And I, I think another thing I, that I've learned about doing this show is just how many people are so proud of their experience on the show and want to talk about it. You know, I thought we would reach out to so many people and just never hear anything, but so many people answer right away, and they're just, they come on and tell these great stories and it's so interesting and just couldn't thank them enough for being a part of our show and contributing so much to it. It's just like Adam said, it's been a blessing. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:43:07 It's like, it's just, it was an experience of the life of a lifetime for some of them. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:43:11 Absolutely.
Speaker 0 00:43:12 Well guys, I, I appreciate this. Uh, if he's hangout, maybe after, uh, the credits, we'll, we'll get a podcasting tip from you
Speaker 3 00:43:19 Guys. Good.
Speaker 0 00:43:21 It was a lot of fun to talk with Eric and Adam. Anytime I listen to their podcast, I feel a kinship of sorts. Like I'm part of a tight-knit community. Actors who come on the show don't feel like guests, but more like an old friend. And I think that's where they've stumbled upon the sweet spot when it comes to making a podcast. It's not just another line item for their business. And they're certainly not trying to become influencers or anything like that, but it's still important to them. They take the craft seriously. And it's definitely more than a hobby time now for this week's podcasting tip where we ask our guests to bestow some wisdom on our listeners.
Speaker 3 00:44:04 Hi, my name is Eric from the Place to Be a Seinfeld podcast, and my tip is louder and faster. Just like Jerry Seinfeld himself said to all the actors that came on his show. Take out all the pauses, make it louder and faster and concise, and that'll be your best quality work.
Speaker 0 00:44:27 Audience is a Casto original series created entirely by our in-house production team. Our founder and executive producer is Craig Hewitt. Production assistance is provided by Eel Brill, Jocelyn Devore at Marni Hills Logo and website design is by Francois Brill, our head of product here at Casto. All music comes from the Story Blocks Library. This episode was edited, narrated, produced, and written by me. I'm Stuart Barefoot. For more episodes, go to audience podcast fm or anywhere they stream podcasts. Next time on Audience, I speak with Tricia Vita from the podcast, Coney Island Stories to learn how she helped turn an oral history archive into a podcast series.
Speaker 4 00:45:19 Well, I think oral history illuminates the past, and as I mentioned before, it personalizes history in a way that we don't get when we just read a book or, or a newspaper article.
