- (FBE) Welcome to Does It Hold Up?
the new show where we take a look back
at content from the past. We brought in some young people
who fit the original 18-29 year old demographic
for Seinfeld who have never seen the show.
- I've always heard about it, but then it was never
on Netflix.
- (FBE) We had them watch a handful of full episodes
before coming in to shoot.
- Watching Seinfeld on my own for this episode,
I was a bit confused.
- (FBE) We'll be showing them some highlights to find out
the answer to the question "Does it hold up?"
- (Celia) Oh yeah, the toys. - (Jerry) Where did you
get all these? - (Celia) My dad
was a collector. I inherited them after he died
from a long, painful bout with-- - (Jerry) Super bowl!
Hey, an original. - It's tempting.
It's very tempting to play with all those toys.
- It's hilarious seeing adults act like this over toys.
- (Celia) Jerry, what are you doing? - (Jerry) I'm putting this on him
and we're going to a sink. - (Celia) Jerry, they're priceless.
- Dude, I'd be offended too. That's my dead dad's stuff.
- (Celia) I said no. - No means no.
- He wants to play with her toys.
- This episode kinda made me a little bit uncomfortable
with the premise.
- (Celia) I have a headache. Can you just get me an aspirin?
- Oh, I remember this part. Yep.
- (Jerry) "Will not cause drowsiness."
- Deceitful little Jerry here, man.
- (Jerry) "May cause drowsiness."
- This is so [bleep] up.
- This would totally be controversial in a day like today.
- That's legit not funny. I understand the show
came out in the '70s or '80s, right?
- (FBE) '90s. - '90s?
That can not have been chill in the '90s.
- (FBE) So, you watched these full episodes earlier,
so if this episode that first aired in 1997 aired today in 2018,
does it hold up? - No.
It's hilarious that this-- that people thought
this was okay.
- Twitter would explode. Seinfeld would get backlash.
- God no. If they saw that on TV today,
people would be like, "You better believe that
every single person who worked on the show
would probably be fired."
- No. It could be a lot worse,
but he's still putting a woman to sleep so that
he can play with her belongings.
- You probably could, because the things on TV
right now are a lot edgier than this stuff.
- In terms of how entertaining it was, for me,
it does really hold up.
- I don't think this would fly at all.
- No, this would not be okay. Ever since the MeToo movement
and stuff has arisen, stuff like this would be
way too sensitive.
- (Jerry) What's the matter?
- Oh, this pissed me off.
- (George) My mother caught me. - I remember this.
- Oh my God, this is so funny.
- (George) I was alone. - I also like how during
this conversation, they never say "masturbate."
- (Kramer) She caught you? - (Jerry) Where?
- (George) I stopped by the house to drop the car off.
- I'm surprised he's so open about this whole interaction.
- (George) I am never doing that again.
- (Elaine) Give me a break. - (Jerry) Oh, yeah right.
- (George) What? You don't think I can?
- (Jerry) No chance. - (George) You think you could?
- (Jerry) Well, I know I could hold out longer than you.
- Then they make it a contest.
- (Jerry) Sure, how much? - (George) Hundred dollars?
- (Jerry) You're on. - (Kramer) Wait a second,
wait a second. Count me in on this.
- I like Kramer. That's the one thing
I got out of it. Kramer is kind of funny.
- (Elaine) I wanna be in on this too.
- (Jerry) No, no. - (Elaine) What, why?
- (Jerry) 'Cause you're a woman. - (Elaine) So what?
- (groans)
- (Jerry) It's easier for a woman not to do it
than a man. We have to do it.
- That joke still holds up.
- I feel like this show's really sexist.
- (Elaine) I'll put up 150. - And she has to put in
more money? Not fair.
- In this case, this episode holds up.
- It seems like a regular episode to me.
- I feel like people would watch this right now.
- No. I don't really relate
to the humor.
- No.
- Their contest definitely, in my eyes, it really does.
It's hilarious.
- This one definitely holds up because even though yes,
obviously we know that men and women masturbate,
but there's still that conversation of like,
women don't really do that though.
- No, no. Definitely not.
This is probably the worst one. People just try to find
the points where they feel like some progress is being made
and then overlook all of that [bleep].
They're like, "At least they're talking about female masturbation."
- (Elaine) Boy, I'm in the mood for a cheeseburger.
- (Jerry) No, we gotta go to the soup place.
- The Soup Nazi.
- (George) Soup stand Kramer's been going there.
- (Jerry) He's always raving. - You guys chose some good ones.
I've never watched Seinfeld before, but I knew of it,
and these episodes are great.
- (Jerry) There's only one caveat.
The guy who runs the place is a little temperamental,
especially about the ordering procedure.
He's secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi.
- You can't be throwing that word around nowadays.
- I thought this one was insane how many times they said
the word "nazi."
- (Jerry) He yells and you don't get your soup.
- So he's a Nazi just because he yells?
- (George) Medium turkey chili.
- Okay, see. I think this is the only part
of Seinfeld that I thought was kinda funny,
which was this whole ordering thing.
- (George) Excuse me, I think you forgot my bread.
- (Soup Nazi) Bread, two dollars extra.
- His voice is so soothing.
- (George) Everyone in front of me got free bread.
- (Soup Nazi) No soup for you. - Yikes.
- They gave the money back. I didn't even realize that.
- He should've just kept quiet.
- I wouldn't be surprised if that was probably one
of their best episodes, 'cause it was really hilarious.
No soup for you! That's just so iconic.
It's been stuck in my head ever since I watched it.
- The most it got out of me was just a light exhale.
The show's just not that funny to me.
In terms of comedy, no. Not really.
- No.
- Yeah, it holds up. What Seinfeld does really great
is do these really quick bits or really quick scenes
and it cuts right away.
- I just don't think the format of Seinfeld
in the Soup Nazi just doesn't really work anymore.
- Yeah, I think this could be okay.
- Oh yes, definitely really does.
- I don't think if that came out today,
it would hold up.
- Yeah, I could-- I mean, I was laughing
really hard during this episode, so I could definitely see it
holding to this day.
- (Elaine) Jerry! - (Jerry) Surprise!
- (Elaine) What is this?
- I was legitimately getting mad over this episode.
- I think I really liked this episode the best
out of all the ones you showed me.
- (Jerry) Ta-da! - Oh boy.
- (Jerry) It's a cigar store Indian.
- (Winona) You know, it's late.
I really should go. - (Elaine) I don't blame you,
Winona. - (Jerry) Hey-ah, ho-ah
hey-ah, ho-ah. - Oh my God.
- Oh my God, he's so dumb.
- The laugh track is so odd, too,
'cause I'm cringing rather than laughing.
- (Elaine) Winona is a Native American.
- Ooh. - (Jerry) She is?
- (Winona) It's just that it's a very sensitive issue for me.
- And they always set the girls up to look like the bitch, too.
- (Jerry) You'd see I'm very sensitive to these matters as well.
- But you just made that joke though.
- (Jerry) You like Chinese food? 'Cause I once went to
a great Szechwan restaurant in this neighborhood.
- Okay, this part was pretty good.
- Oh no. - (Jerry) You must know
where the Chinese restaurant is around here.
- You must know? Oh no.
- (mailman) Why must I know? Because I'm Chinese?
- That's not his fault.
- Dude, Jerry's a pimp, bro. I feel like every episode I saw
he had a different girlfriend.
- (Winona) I love that place, but it's usually so crowded.
Can we get a table? - (Jerry) Oh, don't worry.
I made reser--
- I feel like he was thinking a little bit too much
about that one.
- (Jerry) I arranged for the appropriate
accommodations. - Good save, good save.
- He's trying to be a little bit too much PC
to make up for his joke.
- (Jerry) Wait a second, you got the Mark McEwan
TV Guide. Could I have this?
- (Winona) Sure, take it. - (Jerry) Thanks.
- Oh no. Oh no.
I remember this.
- (Winona) Oh by the way, that TV Guide I gave you,
I need it back. - (Jerry) Why?
- See, this whole interaction with the TV guide,
a lot of people would feel a big disconnect with.
People are like, "What the heck
is a TV guide?"
- (Winona) Jerry, I really need it back.
It is mine. - (Jerry) You can't give
something then take it back. I mean, what are you, a...
- (Jerry) A person that... - (Winona) A person that what?
- (Jerry) Well a person that gives something and then
they're dissatisfied and they wish they had
never given it to the person that they
originally gave it to. - (Winona) You mean like
an Indian giver? - Yeah, I had no idea
what that meant.
- (Jerry) I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that term.
- God.
- It accurately depicts how triggered people can get
over this kind of stuff. People try too hard sometimes
to not be racially insensitive, but then it just--
they just end up looking dumb.
- I think this episode holds up.
As the audience member, we can see that they're
obviously in the wrong through other characters
that are calling them out.
- That's not gonna happen in today's standards.
- I could still see it as an episode today.
- Definitely, that one was hilarious.
- If you're being racist and people point it out to you,
it doesn't exactly erase the incident that just happened.
- I think this still holds up. The Native American character
doesn't feel like she's getting made fun of
or anything, it's Jerry being the fool here.
- No, no, no. This would cause
the biggest ruckus.
- It holds up. It makes the characters
aware of what they're saying. They're not just saying,
I guess, racist [bleep] just to say racist [bleep]
and be funny. It's like the characters
are aware of what they're saying
and they're holding off.
- (FBE) So, now that we've gone through all
the episodes you watched ahead of time,
we have a couple more clips from episodes
you haven't already watched. - Okay.
I'm interested.
- Oh no.
- (Rachel) Sorry, I thought this was the baby's room.
I'm really sorry. - I guess it was
the baby's room. - ♪ (Seinfeld theme) ♪
- (George) I was in the pool!
- Ah, poor George.
- (George) Well I just got back from swimming in the pool
and the water was cold. - (Jerry) You mean shrinkage?
- (George) Yes. - It be like that sometimes,
gentlemen.
- (Jerry) Shrinkage? - Bro, is this where the shrinkage
thing comes from?
- (George) Do women know about shrinkage?
- Oh my God.
- (Elaine) What do you mean, like laundry?
- Damn, damn. Ladies, shrinkage is a thing.
- This is such a dude show.
- (Elaine) It shrinks? - These are the issues
we need on television today.
- (Elaine) I don't know how you guys walk around
with those things. - Honestly, I've thought
about that. Penises are real bizarre to me.
- I don't think this is very controversial.
I could definitely see this in an episode today.
- That could air and people will be like, "Yeah, that's funny."
- I didn't really find it entertaining.
- Yeah.
- All these clips, they're written so well
and they deliver the joke in such a timely manner.
- This one probably would be the only one I've seen so far
where I feel like it has a best chance
of standing up to time.
- This honestly would still probably hold up, though.
Only because it's such a simple plot line, too.
We definitely still like a lot of [bleep] humor.
- That one holds up. I don't know where
the hell else on television I may have seen an episode
on the topic of men shrinkage.
- (Elaine) Those two girls behind you,
they're eavesdropping. - (George) Really?
- (Elaine) You know, just because you two
are homosexuals, so what? I mean, you should just
come out of the closet. - What?
- That was definitely a staple of the '90s, I feel like,
gay humor.
- (George) So what do you say?
- I like how he-- Jerry's so reluctant to play along
and this dude's just like, "Let's do it."
- (Jerry) I'm not going along.
- We still see this on TV. This isn't that out there.
- (Sharon) And do your parents know?
- (Jerry) Know what? - (George) My parents?
They don't know what's going on.
- (Jerry) Oh God, you're that girl
in the coffee shop that was eavesdropping on us.
I knew you looked familiar. - (George) Oh no!
- (Sharon) I better get going. - (Jerry) There's been a big
misunderstanding here. - (George) Yeah.
- Their immediate reaction is to be so--
oh, this is like... I'm so [bleep] pissed.
- (Jerry) We knew you were eavesdropping.
That's why my friend said all that.
It was on purpose. - Why is this the worst
thing in the world to be depicted as gay?
- (Jerry) We're not gay. Not that there's anything
wrong with that. - (George) No.
- Oh, that line is very iconic. Is this where it came from?
Oh my God.
- Even if I wasn't gay, even if that didn't directly
apply to me, I actually do have gay friends
and I would be upset for them.
- I think it could air right now. When they were trying
to be like, "It's okay if you're gay."
That whole spiel, I think was appropriate.
- No. It's definitely different,
'cause this was released back when homosexuality
wasn't as prevalent. It wasn't as talked about,
but now, it's very prevalent today, so I feel like shows
would be way more careful in including it
and they wouldn't include it in that sort of context.
- Yeah dude, definitely. I really enjoyed that.
- It does. That was great.
That was-- I gotta watch this whole show
when I get home.
- I don't think that's okay at all.
In general, I think people are starting to be
a little more sensitive to other people.
- No. That's so weird to me.
Why would that be your thought--
"Oh, let's pull a prank on them.
Let's pretend you guys are a gay couple."
How was that funny?
- This would hold up because I feel like
I've still seen this dialogue in TV shows today.
- It holds up. For its time,
I'm sure that for sure pushed it and they
were like, "Whoa, they're talking about--
they're talking about the gays on TV."
- (FBE) As a whole, now that you've been exposed to the show.
Does Seinfeld hold up as a show that you
could potentially watch in 2018?
- No. I think what makes them
special is their nostalgic vibe.
- Dude, I don't think you could show me a single
episode that I would say doesn't hold up.
I feel like it would all probably really hold up well.
- I would click off. I don't think so.
- From what I've seen, yeah, it holds up.
- Primarily, this is a comedy show, right?
The jokes don't hold up. They're not relatable.
- No. I think I was cool
with maybe a third of the episodes.
- It would hold up because the humor
is very funny. Every episode I've watched so far
has actually made me laugh really hard.
- I don't think so. Nowadays people want
to be invested in a certain plot line
and the characters as the episodes go down the line.
Seinfeld is very much one of those shows you could
jump into one episode and not really need any context
and I think nowadays, people want an ongoing story
and more and more context.
- Comedy changes every single era,
so for that time, it was appropriate
for that audience. Every single generation
gets more and more PC, so for that time,
for the older audience, I think that is acceptable
for what it is. It might not be for us.
- Hey guys, Ethan here from FBE.
Thank you so much for watching the very first
episode of this brand new series. What did you guys think
of this show? Would you like to see more?
And what types of things would you like to see
in the next episode? You gotta let us know
in the comments. Bye, guys.
- ♪ (funky outro) ♪