cameramanohio
It's like someone saw Top Gear (which came out in 2002) and said "Whoa!! wait a minute comedy and cars is a can't miss formula!! get the biggest name in comedy and the best cars and it will just be a money machine, it doesn't even have to be any good at all."Ten years later or so we got just that.
Funny as the show was most likely stolen (Christian Charles pitched the show idea to Jerry in 2002, he turned it down, then in a stroke of genius "came up" with the idea ten years later) But enough about that, how about the show...It's a show that has Seinfeld in it, so it's going to be a smash no matter how poorly executed, but let's take an objective look at it anyway....The "Car portion" is a hook that doesn't work.
Occasionally it's part of the humor/convo but really Seinfeld just reads stuff off a queue card, and occasionally parrots some info about the cars. He's obviously not knowledgeable or passionate about these cars at all so the fact that they're there is meaningless for the most part. They could be replaced with nearly anything and it wouldn't matter other than to initially get the Top Gear set to try watching it (then abandoning it shortly after)
It could be "Comedians with teapots getting a pedicure" and the show wouldn't really change much (might actually improve it).You expect (with Seinfeld being a vet of standup and the fact that they get to edit all they want) that the show would be full of quick comedy back and forth, but it's not. The show is lackluster even after editing it for only the choicest bits.The really sad fact is that Jerry Seinfeld needs a script, or some written material to be funny, he's not an "On the spot" comedian. He's not quick witted enough for it, and that comes across in spades for his role as interviewer/conversationalist/whatever.
Essentially he's *Almost* as funny as Mike Wallace without any of the interview chops. The only saving grace of the whole show is that the guests are genuinely interesting and funny, even though Seinfeld does nothing but ask the most formulaic, insipid, questions and when a guest finally does get started and is being funny/entertaining "on a roll", he tries to "hop in" to the comedic banter which generally "puts the brakes on" the entertainment and just feels sad/awkward.Seinfeld also comes across like having to do this show is a major nuisance to him. And that he has no real interest in these people (even the supposed close friends)
From the opening of the first episode to the final credits of the last, he always seems like he's forcing any show of mock interest and you can see it fade/disappear quickly often. He'd rather be doing 2000 other things and it shows and/or he just doesn't care, either way it's not engaging to me as a viewer and I find myself often wishing someone else was hosting the same show.I went into this thinking Seinfeld wouldn't get into something like this unless it was a 100% sure thing, and I honestly thought he would have a lot of fun with it and with his name/clout/cash expectations, it might be genuinely entertaining outside of the formulaic sit com type arena.
Unfortunately while his name may ensure season after season of filming based on the die hard fans alone, the quality of the content simply isn't there. At the end of it all what I learned is that Jerry Seinfeld isn't someone I would even want to talk to, let alone have coffee or a drive with, and that watching other people (even really entertaining people) have to endure him isn't much better (even with really interesting cars in the mix). Just go watch Top Gear (I may throw up a little as I type this,..) even Top Gear America is more entertaining by and large.
