George Costanza
ER
November 25, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
An emergency room in a Chicago hospital.
A multi-racial cast.
Humor covering up the pain of working in a trauma situation.
Sounds like ER.
It is ER. But it’s not the one that immediately comes to mind.
Not the one that debuted in 1994.
Not the one that was a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night lineup for fifteen years.
This ER lasted only one season.
It was a sitcom based on a 1982 play. It was a nicely written, nicely acted, nicely produced show that aired on CBS during the 1984-85 season.
Elliott Gould plays Dr. Howard Sheinfeld, a twice divorced doctor who moonlights at Clark Street Hospital’s Emergency Room to pay his alimony bills. With Gould’s veteran comedy instincts, ER seems like a good idea for a sitcom. And it was, particularly in hindsight considering
the show’s talent, star power, and ensemble performances.
Conchatta Ferrell plays veteran nurse Thor. She later appeared on L.A. Law as entertainment attorney Susan Bloom. Currently, she stars as Berta, the wisecracking maid on Two and a Half Men.
Mary McDonnell took over the role of Dr. Eve Sheridan, Sheinfeld’s boss and potential love interest. Five years after ER, McDonnell captured America’s attention in Dances With Wolves. Marcia Strassman, Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter, plays Sheridan in the ER pilot.
Pamela Adlon plays Jenny Sheinfeld, the daughter of Dr. Sheinfeld. She voiced Bobby Hill on the long-running cartoon series King of the Hill.
Before he found fame, accolades, and notoriety as Larry David’s alter ego on Seinfeld -- George Costanza -- Jason Alexander played hospital administrator Harold Stickley on ER.
Lynne Moody plays young, love-seeking, good-natured nurse Julie Williams. In a bit of inspired crossover casting, Sherman Helmsley brought his George Jefferson character to ER as Julie’s uncle in a guest appearance.
Luis Avalos plays Dr. Tomas Esquivel. Avalos is probably best known to Generation Xers from The Electric Company.
And, of course, George Clooney. He appears on both ER shows. In the sitcom, he is Ace -- a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding, personality plus paramedic with rock and roll dreams. The name of his band is The Body Fluids.
Ace’s nickname reinforces his reputation as a ladies man -- My Place Ace. Coincidentally, Tomas reminisces about his younger days with a corresponding nickname -- Mi Casa Tomasa.
Like Night Court, Barney Miller, or Taxi, ER revolved around the workplace. But the potential romance between Sheinfeld and Sheridan, the wonderful acting and writing, and the quirky patients who populated the emergency room at Clark Street Hospital were not enough to keep ER from flatlining.
ER holds a special significance for me. In one episode, a guest character named Dr. Krell makes an appearance. Dr. Sheinfeld remarks on the name. He says, If I wasn’t a Sheinfeld, I’d like to be a Krell.
david@davidkrell.com
An emergency room in a Chicago hospital.
A multi-racial cast.
Humor covering up the pain of working in a trauma situation.
Sounds like ER.
It is ER. But it’s not the one that immediately comes to mind.
Not the one that debuted in 1994.
Not the one that was a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night lineup for fifteen years.
This ER lasted only one season.
It was a sitcom based on a 1982 play. It was a nicely written, nicely acted, nicely produced show that aired on CBS during the 1984-85 season.
Elliott Gould plays Dr. Howard Sheinfeld, a twice divorced doctor who moonlights at Clark Street Hospital’s Emergency Room to pay his alimony bills. With Gould’s veteran comedy instincts, ER seems like a good idea for a sitcom. And it was, particularly in hindsight considering
the show’s talent, star power, and ensemble performances.
Conchatta Ferrell plays veteran nurse Thor. She later appeared on L.A. Law as entertainment attorney Susan Bloom. Currently, she stars as Berta, the wisecracking maid on Two and a Half Men.
Mary McDonnell took over the role of Dr. Eve Sheridan, Sheinfeld’s boss and potential love interest. Five years after ER, McDonnell captured America’s attention in Dances With Wolves. Marcia Strassman, Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter, plays Sheridan in the ER pilot.
Pamela Adlon plays Jenny Sheinfeld, the daughter of Dr. Sheinfeld. She voiced Bobby Hill on the long-running cartoon series King of the Hill.
Before he found fame, accolades, and notoriety as Larry David’s alter ego on Seinfeld -- George Costanza -- Jason Alexander played hospital administrator Harold Stickley on ER.
Lynne Moody plays young, love-seeking, good-natured nurse Julie Williams. In a bit of inspired crossover casting, Sherman Helmsley brought his George Jefferson character to ER as Julie’s uncle in a guest appearance.
Luis Avalos plays Dr. Tomas Esquivel. Avalos is probably best known to Generation Xers from The Electric Company.
And, of course, George Clooney. He appears on both ER shows. In the sitcom, he is Ace -- a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding, personality plus paramedic with rock and roll dreams. The name of his band is The Body Fluids.
Ace’s nickname reinforces his reputation as a ladies man -- My Place Ace. Coincidentally, Tomas reminisces about his younger days with a corresponding nickname -- Mi Casa Tomasa.
Like Night Court, Barney Miller, or Taxi, ER revolved around the workplace. But the potential romance between Sheinfeld and Sheridan, the wonderful acting and writing, and the quirky patients who populated the emergency room at Clark Street Hospital were not enough to keep ER from flatlining.
ER holds a special significance for me. In one episode, a guest character named Dr. Krell makes an appearance. Dr. Sheinfeld remarks on the name. He says, If I wasn’t a Sheinfeld, I’d like to be a Krell.
Badge of Honor
June 26, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, the 1997 movie L.A. Confidential boasts an outstanding cast.
Guy Pearce.
Russell Crowe.
Kevin Spacey.
Kim Basinger.
Danny DeVito.
James Cromwell.
David Straithairn.
But it also has a treat for fans of classic television.
In the setting of 1953, the popular television show of the day is Badge of Honor, a direct nod to Dragnet.
Kevin Spacey's character of Detective Jack Vincennes is Technical Director on the show.
He's a friend of the show's star, Brett Chase. Television veteran Matt McCoy plays Chase. McCoy is probably most recognizable to Seinfeld fans from his guest appearances as Lloyd Braun, childhood rival of George Costanza.
Vincennes clearly enjoys the aura of celebrity.
In an early scene, he's dancing with a girl who is enamored with Jack's glamourous nexus to Brett Chase and the world of television.
Indeed, Vincennes is a Hollywood detective.
Badge of Honor plays a highly significant role in the relationship between Pearce's novice Detective Edmund Exley and the veteran Detective Jack Vincennes.
When Exley has to figure a scheme to rat out certain cops, he convinces the higher-ups to use Vincennes' Badge of Honor job as leverage against him so he'll testify against the bad apples in the department.
He knows Vincennes lives for the glory that the show gives him.
With the police department's threat of disallowing Vincennes' association with Badge of Honor, Vincennes agrees to testify.
Vincennes counters, however, and tells Exley he simply testified against old-timers who were close to retirement anyway. He gets to keep his Badge of Honor job. The bosses are satisfied.
Vincennes plays his Hollywood connections like Yitzhak Perlman plays the violin -- with sheer expertise.
He has an information-sharing arrangement with Sid Hudgens, a sleazy tabloid writer played by Danny DeVito.
Think Louie DePalma of Taxi with a typewriter but with more cunning, deceitfulness, and an absolute lack of morals.
Vincennes gains fame with Hollywood busts of celebrities and Hudgens increases circulation with stories of the same.
Vincennes becomes embroiled in the investigation at the heart of L.A. Confidential.
And later in the movie, we see that Jack Vincennes does a 180-degree turn with his own morals. He fatally pays for his conscience.
In L.A. Confidential, we actually see a snippet of Badge of Honor, the show within a movie. And the famous phrase attributed to its real-life counterpart appears as a clear nod -- Just the facts.
The first incarnation of Dragnet occurred in the same time frame as L.A. Confidential, 1951-1959.
david@davidkrell.com
Based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, the 1997 movie L.A. Confidential boasts an outstanding cast.
Guy Pearce.
Russell Crowe.
Kevin Spacey.
Kim Basinger.
Danny DeVito.
James Cromwell.
David Straithairn.
But it also has a treat for fans of classic television.
In the setting of 1953, the popular television show of the day is Badge of Honor, a direct nod to Dragnet.
Kevin Spacey's character of Detective Jack Vincennes is Technical Director on the show.
He's a friend of the show's star, Brett Chase. Television veteran Matt McCoy plays Chase. McCoy is probably most recognizable to Seinfeld fans from his guest appearances as Lloyd Braun, childhood rival of George Costanza.
Vincennes clearly enjoys the aura of celebrity.
In an early scene, he's dancing with a girl who is enamored with Jack's glamourous nexus to Brett Chase and the world of television.
Indeed, Vincennes is a Hollywood detective.
Badge of Honor plays a highly significant role in the relationship between Pearce's novice Detective Edmund Exley and the veteran Detective Jack Vincennes.
When Exley has to figure a scheme to rat out certain cops, he convinces the higher-ups to use Vincennes' Badge of Honor job as leverage against him so he'll testify against the bad apples in the department.
He knows Vincennes lives for the glory that the show gives him.
With the police department's threat of disallowing Vincennes' association with Badge of Honor, Vincennes agrees to testify.
Vincennes counters, however, and tells Exley he simply testified against old-timers who were close to retirement anyway. He gets to keep his Badge of Honor job. The bosses are satisfied.
Vincennes plays his Hollywood connections like Yitzhak Perlman plays the violin -- with sheer expertise.
He has an information-sharing arrangement with Sid Hudgens, a sleazy tabloid writer played by Danny DeVito.
Think Louie DePalma of Taxi with a typewriter but with more cunning, deceitfulness, and an absolute lack of morals.
Vincennes gains fame with Hollywood busts of celebrities and Hudgens increases circulation with stories of the same.
Vincennes becomes embroiled in the investigation at the heart of L.A. Confidential.
And later in the movie, we see that Jack Vincennes does a 180-degree turn with his own morals. He fatally pays for his conscience.
In L.A. Confidential, we actually see a snippet of Badge of Honor, the show within a movie. And the famous phrase attributed to its real-life counterpart appears as a clear nod -- Just the facts.
The first incarnation of Dragnet occurred in the same time frame as L.A. Confidential, 1951-1959.
Seinfeld
June 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Seinfeld left network television on May 14, 1998.
On that date, we said goodbye to Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer.
We said goodbye to puffy shirts, Kramerica Industries, and Newman.
We said goodbye to a timeless comedy that had the powerhouse Must See TV Thursday 9:00 pm time slot (8:00 pm in the Midwest).
Through reruns, DVD, and the Internet, we can relive the adventures of George wanting to be an architect, Kramer creating elaborate business schemes, and Elaine searching for the perfect mate.
The final episode of Seinfeld places the central four characters in the small town of Latham, Massachusetts after a forced emergency landing derails their plane ride to Paris.
They fight charges of breaking a Good Samaritan law by failing to help an overweight victim of a mugging.
Familiar faces from past Seinfeld episodes testify for the district attorney. They attack the character of the comedian, his neurotic friend from childhood, his girlfriend turned platonic friend, and his hipster doofus neighbor.
Bookman. The library cop who tracked Jerry down after twenty years for not returning a Henry James book to the New York Public Library.
George Steinbrenner. New York Yankees owner and George Costanza's boss.
Arthur Vandelay. Yes, George's favorite moniker of "Art Vandelay" actually belongs to the judge presiding over the case.
Naturally, the Jackie Chiles character inspired by famed attorney Johnnie Cochran provides the legal defense. Phil Morris inimitably plays Jackie Chiles.
The episode ends with the four characters going to prison. The episode tag shows Jerry doing standup comedy for his new prison friends. It's a nod to the Seinfeld episode structure that showed Jerry performing at a nightclub with the jokes relating to the episode story. In later years, Seinfeld dropped the tag from the episodes.
In the end, the show about nothing gave its characters a comeuppance because they did nothing.
Self-absorbed?
Sure.
Egotistical?
You bet.
Selfish?
Affirmative.
But what would life be like for the gang in prison? Would things be any different?
Would George continue to come up with schemes, perhaps to outsmart security and smuggle in food?
Would Elaine continue on her quest to find true love, perhaps with the warden or another female prisoner if she "switches teams?"
Would Kramer continue his wild entrances, perhaps into Jerry's cell?
Would Jerry continue his observations of the mundane and translate them into the hysterical?
For example, what is the deal with prison food?
david@davidkrell.com
Seinfeld left network television on May 14, 1998.
On that date, we said goodbye to Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer.
We said goodbye to puffy shirts, Kramerica Industries, and Newman.
We said goodbye to a timeless comedy that had the powerhouse Must See TV Thursday 9:00 pm time slot (8:00 pm in the Midwest).
Through reruns, DVD, and the Internet, we can relive the adventures of George wanting to be an architect, Kramer creating elaborate business schemes, and Elaine searching for the perfect mate.
The final episode of Seinfeld places the central four characters in the small town of Latham, Massachusetts after a forced emergency landing derails their plane ride to Paris.
They fight charges of breaking a Good Samaritan law by failing to help an overweight victim of a mugging.
Familiar faces from past Seinfeld episodes testify for the district attorney. They attack the character of the comedian, his neurotic friend from childhood, his girlfriend turned platonic friend, and his hipster doofus neighbor.
Bookman. The library cop who tracked Jerry down after twenty years for not returning a Henry James book to the New York Public Library.
George Steinbrenner. New York Yankees owner and George Costanza's boss.
Arthur Vandelay. Yes, George's favorite moniker of "Art Vandelay" actually belongs to the judge presiding over the case.
Naturally, the Jackie Chiles character inspired by famed attorney Johnnie Cochran provides the legal defense. Phil Morris inimitably plays Jackie Chiles.
The episode ends with the four characters going to prison. The episode tag shows Jerry doing standup comedy for his new prison friends. It's a nod to the Seinfeld episode structure that showed Jerry performing at a nightclub with the jokes relating to the episode story. In later years, Seinfeld dropped the tag from the episodes.
In the end, the show about nothing gave its characters a comeuppance because they did nothing.
Self-absorbed?
Sure.
Egotistical?
You bet.
Selfish?
Affirmative.
But what would life be like for the gang in prison? Would things be any different?
Would George continue to come up with schemes, perhaps to outsmart security and smuggle in food?
Would Elaine continue on her quest to find true love, perhaps with the warden or another female prisoner if she "switches teams?"
Would Kramer continue his wild entrances, perhaps into Jerry's cell?
Would Jerry continue his observations of the mundane and translate them into the hysterical?
For example, what is the deal with prison food?
Seinfeld
June 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Seinfeld left network television on May 14, 1998.
On that date, we said goodbye to Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer.
We said goodbye to puffy shirts, Kramerica Industries, and Newman.
We said goodbye to a timeless comedy that had the powerhouse Must See TV Thursday 9:00 pm time slot (8:00 pm in the Midwest).
Through reruns, DVD, and the Internet, we can relive the adventures of George wanting to be an architect, Kramer creating elaborate business schemes, and Elaine searching for the perfect mate.
The final episode of Seinfeld places the central four characters in the small town of Latham, Massachusetts after a forced emergency landing derails their plane ride to Paris.
They fight charges of breaking a Good Samaritan law by failing to help an overweight victim of a mugging.
Familiar faces from past Seinfeld episodes testify for the district attorney. They attack the character of the comedian, his neurotic friend from childhood, his girlfriend turned platonic friend, and his hipster doofus neighbor.
Bookman. The library cop who tracked Jerry down after twenty years for not returning a Henry James book to the New York Public Library.
George Steinbrenner. New York Yankees owner and George Costanza's boss.
Arthur Vandelay. Yes, George's favorite moniker of "Art Vandelay" actually belongs to the judge presiding over the case.
Naturally, the Jackie Chiles character inspired by famed attorney Johnnie Cochran provides the legal defense. Phil Morris inimitably plays Jackie Chiles.
The episode ends with the four characters going to prison. The episode tag shows Jerry doing standup comedy for his new prison friends. It's a nod to the Seinfeld episode structure that showed Jerry performing at a nightclub with the jokes relating to the episode story. In later years, Seinfeld dropped the tag from the episodes.
In the end, the show about nothing gave its characters a comeuppance because they did nothing.
Self-absorbed?
Sure.
Egotistical?
You bet.
Selfish?
Affirmative.
But what would life be like for the gang in prison? Would things be any different?
Would George continue to come up with schemes, perhaps to outsmart security and smuggle in food?
Would Elaine continue on her quest to find true love, perhaps with the warden or another female prisoner if she "switches teams?"
Would Kramer continue his wild entrances, perhaps into Jerry's cell?
Would Jerry continue his observations of the mundane and translate them into the hysterical?
For example, what is the deal with prison food?
david@davidkrell.com
Seinfeld left network television on May 14, 1998.
On that date, we said goodbye to Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer.
We said goodbye to puffy shirts, Kramerica Industries, and Newman.
We said goodbye to a timeless comedy that had the powerhouse Must See TV Thursday 9:00 pm time slot (8:00 pm in the Midwest).
Through reruns, DVD, and the Internet, we can relive the adventures of George wanting to be an architect, Kramer creating elaborate business schemes, and Elaine searching for the perfect mate.
The final episode of Seinfeld places the central four characters in the small town of Latham, Massachusetts after a forced emergency landing derails their plane ride to Paris.
They fight charges of breaking a Good Samaritan law by failing to help an overweight victim of a mugging.
Familiar faces from past Seinfeld episodes testify for the district attorney. They attack the character of the comedian, his neurotic friend from childhood, his girlfriend turned platonic friend, and his hipster doofus neighbor.
Bookman. The library cop who tracked Jerry down after twenty years for not returning a Henry James book to the New York Public Library.
George Steinbrenner. New York Yankees owner and George Costanza's boss.
Arthur Vandelay. Yes, George's favorite moniker of "Art Vandelay" actually belongs to the judge presiding over the case.
Naturally, the Jackie Chiles character inspired by famed attorney Johnnie Cochran provides the legal defense. Phil Morris inimitably plays Jackie Chiles.
The episode ends with the four characters going to prison. The episode tag shows Jerry doing standup comedy for his new prison friends. It's a nod to the Seinfeld episode structure that showed Jerry performing at a nightclub with the jokes relating to the episode story. In later years, Seinfeld dropped the tag from the episodes.
In the end, the show about nothing gave its characters a comeuppance because they did nothing.
Self-absorbed?
Sure.
Egotistical?
You bet.
Selfish?
Affirmative.
But what would life be like for the gang in prison? Would things be any different?
Would George continue to come up with schemes, perhaps to outsmart security and smuggle in food?
Would Elaine continue on her quest to find true love, perhaps with the warden or another female prisoner if she "switches teams?"
Would Kramer continue his wild entrances, perhaps into Jerry's cell?
Would Jerry continue his observations of the mundane and translate them into the hysterical?
For example, what is the deal with prison food?
Numbers
April 10, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Numbers play important roles in television.
Nielsen ratings determine whether programs live or die.
There’s a show on CBS actually called Numbers because it deals with a mathematical approach to solving crimes.
But what about numerical references in the actual television shows?
Let’s take a journey on one through ten.
Titles:
The Single Guy.
The Odd Couple.
Three’s Company.
Number of characters:
Four seems to be a magic number.
4-A. Classic sitcoms. I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Seinfeld, and Will & Grace all share a striking similarity: four major characters in a New York apartment.
4-B. Law & Order. The longest running network drama has four major characters, two detectives and two assistant district attorneys. Purists might argue the number is six because of the police lieutenant and the D.A., however, most of the scenes appear to use some combination of the aforementioned four.
4-C. HBO’s Entourage uses four primary characters -- a movie star, his half-brother and his two friends.
Five children on The Partridge Family.
Six on The Brady Bunch. NBC’s powerhouse sitcom Friends also had six major characters.
Seven is interesting.
It was the name George Costanza chose for his future offspring on Seinfeld. Unfortunately, it lost significance when the pregnant cousin of George’s fiancé Susan took it for her newborn baby.
Seven was also the name of a child the Bundys adopted on Married With Children. Then, like Chuck Cunningham, he just wasn’t there one day, though he was referenced briefly in a dream sequence when Kelly had to empty her brain of useless information and a picture of Seven floated by.
Back to titles.
Eight is Enough.
The Nine.
Just the Ten of Us.
Numbers can play an important part in the plot line of a show. In Lost, the following numbers have terrific significance: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.
First, they’re Hurley’s winning lottery numbers.
Second, they’re on the bottle of medication that Desmond takes.
Third, they’re the numbers Desmond has to enter into the computer every 108 minutes. Coincidentally, or maybe not, the numbers total 108 when added together.
When he didn’t, he triggered a reaction that caused an Oceanic Airlines flight from Sydney to Los Angeles to crash on the island. The numbers have also appeared individually or in some combination throughout the series. For example, the Oceanic flight number is 815.
Numbers.
They’re not just for Nielsen ratings anymore.
david@davidkrell.com
Numbers play important roles in television.
Nielsen ratings determine whether programs live or die.
There’s a show on CBS actually called Numbers because it deals with a mathematical approach to solving crimes.
But what about numerical references in the actual television shows?
Let’s take a journey on one through ten.
Titles:
The Single Guy.
The Odd Couple.
Three’s Company.
Number of characters:
Four seems to be a magic number.
4-A. Classic sitcoms. I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Seinfeld, and Will & Grace all share a striking similarity: four major characters in a New York apartment.
4-B. Law & Order. The longest running network drama has four major characters, two detectives and two assistant district attorneys. Purists might argue the number is six because of the police lieutenant and the D.A., however, most of the scenes appear to use some combination of the aforementioned four.
4-C. HBO’s Entourage uses four primary characters -- a movie star, his half-brother and his two friends.
Five children on The Partridge Family.
Six on The Brady Bunch. NBC’s powerhouse sitcom Friends also had six major characters.
Seven is interesting.
It was the name George Costanza chose for his future offspring on Seinfeld. Unfortunately, it lost significance when the pregnant cousin of George’s fiancé Susan took it for her newborn baby.
Seven was also the name of a child the Bundys adopted on Married With Children. Then, like Chuck Cunningham, he just wasn’t there one day, though he was referenced briefly in a dream sequence when Kelly had to empty her brain of useless information and a picture of Seven floated by.
Back to titles.
Eight is Enough.
The Nine.
Just the Ten of Us.
Numbers can play an important part in the plot line of a show. In Lost, the following numbers have terrific significance: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.
First, they’re Hurley’s winning lottery numbers.
Second, they’re on the bottle of medication that Desmond takes.
Third, they’re the numbers Desmond has to enter into the computer every 108 minutes. Coincidentally, or maybe not, the numbers total 108 when added together.
When he didn’t, he triggered a reaction that caused an Oceanic Airlines flight from Sydney to Los Angeles to crash on the island. The numbers have also appeared individually or in some combination throughout the series. For example, the Oceanic flight number is 815.
Numbers.
They’re not just for Nielsen ratings anymore.