The new Jerry Seinfeld: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

I love this show. It might be the best show on television since Britain’s Good Neighbors filmed their last episode before the Queen, but I admit to having weird tastes.

The premise is simple: Jerry Seinfeld drives around town and phones another comedian, inviting them to coffee and talk. He knows beforehand who he will call – this is television, after all – and has selected a car he thinks matches the comedian’s personality. If he were to phone me, I would expect him to show up in the driveway with nothing less than a 1973 Porsche 911 RSR or a BMW Bavaria 2002, or, more humbly, a Saab 900 turbo.

What I Like and What I Don’t

Like any show of this sort, some guests are better than others. What I don’t like is when the guest pushes hard to be funny, like it’s expected, they’re out with a comedian after all. In that case, I’ll keep watching if I want to see the car again. Otherwise, I turn it off. What I like is when Seinfeld and guest delve into the philosophy of comedy. And life. I’ve learned from watching that maybe the two aren’t that far apart.

Be Aware

I’ve become an uber fan of the older Jerry, off his sitcom, free now to devote himself to more philosophical pursuits and to Porsches.

We have the same taste in cars. I love that he is a Porsche fanatic, too, and owns – I mean, like it’s in his warehouse – the first production 911 offered to the public for sale. There’s a picture of it there at the top of the post.

Besides Seinfeld and Porsches, what I really like about the show is that every episode expands my scope. Every one of these comedians has worked their butt off to get where they are. I would have never guessed, and, before watching the show, would have bet you a paycheck that funny people are born that way and lay on the couch telling jokes until they’re discovered. But, to a one, they tell stories that should make your head spin about what they put into their work. In one episode, Seinfeld meets Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show, and they talk about work over coffee. What else? They head out in a white Ferrari and Seinfeld shakes his head when Noah describes a normal workday. Now, this guy’s not framing houses for eighteen hours a day, I get that. But, he is actively working on his craft every single day for as much time as you or I are driving to and from work, doing our work, having dinner, and then watching three reruns of Dancing With The Stars before bed. And we complain about how hard we have it? Even Jerry is taken back, and in between sips of what appears to be tarry black oil, he nods, “I think you’ll be alright,” he says, not joking.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen all the episodes but have really enjoyed those with Kristen Wigg and Alec Baldwin. Before the show, I might have an opinion about the showcased comic before each episode, but always like them more after the show. Somehow, Seinfeld pulls humanity out of them.

If, perchance, JUST SO I SAY IT, on a dark and stormy night when Seinfeld has nothing to do but search the web for articles about him, and he comes across this recommendation, I will just about give my right arm to fondle that 1964 Porsche with him there, telling me the gory details about its purchase and restoration.

So, check it out. Like the cheap SOB that I am, I watch episodes for free on Netflix. I’m guessing they can be had about anywhere.

Cheers!

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