I’m a huge fan of TV history and love the inside stories behind great shows I enjoyed – but never knew. And so it was that I came across an amazing treasure trove about one of the true greats - “Seinfeld.”
 
The linked article, which culls info from dozens of never before published interviews with the cast and creators, contains amazing revelations about what might have been if things had worked out differently – and might have completely changed the finished product forever.
 
Without giving away too much, there are stories about why the show’s original concept surrounding two stand-up comics had to be changed, who originally were considered for the roles of George Costanza and Kramer, the reason Elaine was not in the original concept and why “Everybody Loves Raymond’s” mother almost filled that role for George’s character instead.
 
And that’s just a partial list. There are also breakdowns of some of the most famous shows, including how the Emmy winning “The Contest” (about masturbation) managed to get by the censors, and why “Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” saved a classic episode from winding up on the trash heap.
 
Probably my favourite factoid is that Len Lesser, the actor who played Uncle Leo ("Jerry! Hello!”) originally tried out for the role of George’s father and didn’t get it. But they liked him so much they invented another part for him to play.
 
And how about this for symmetry for classic sitcoms – the set for the infamous Monk’s restaurant where the gang got coffee was the same stage where Rob Petrie’s living room once sat on “The Dick van Dyke Show.”
 
If you’re a fan of the show, I hope you’ll get as big a kick of the article as I did.
 
You can find it here.

Last edited by RadioActive (May 14, 2018 11:39 am)