Show about nothing
was really something

If there is one lesson that “Seinfeld” has taught us, it’s this: When you find yourself waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant, be patient. It may take a while, but eventually your name will be called.

That oft-mentioned episode from season 2 epitomizes the show’s mission statement. Yes, it was a show about nothing, but boy, was it something. And if NBC hadn’t sat back patiently and waited for a payoff, the television landscape throughout the 1990s and onward into syndication would have been as unfriendly as the Soup Nazi.

(MSNBC is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC.)

The “Seinfeld” gang will celebrate the series — and promote the release of DVDs that include the first three seasons (in two volumes) — with a reunion show Thanksgiving night on NBC. While you’re sitting around groaning after a turkey and yams overdose, make sure to give thanks that “Seinfeld” was allowed to live beyond a tentative and uncertain first two seasons, well into the riotous seasons 3-7, and finishing with the jump-the-shark tailspin of seasons 8 and 9.

Nowadays, networks take a read on a one-hour drama or half-hour sitcom and sever the cord at the slightest inkling that a series is underperforming. “Arrested Development” on Fox is a rare example of a splendid show given a reprieve because of critical and fan support — not to mention the momentum that a best comedy Emmy provides. But TV execs usually conclude that if a show slips, that means it tanks.

Slow start
The first two seasons of “Seinfeld” served as a opportunity for creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, as well as cast members Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards, to blend their voices into one. It didn’t happen overnight.

Although there were moments in season 1 that promised hilarity was up ahead, the early episodes were gentle and quirky, almost timid. Aside from Jerry, who played himself, the other three had not yet nailed their characters.  Alexander played George as a nebbish, with too much Woody Allen insecurity. Louis-Dreyfus had not yet established herself as an assertive single woman, anti-smoking crusader and publishing drone.

Richards had the most dramatic character transformation from seasons 1-2 to 3 and beyond. In an early interview, Richards stated that he initially played Kramer as someone who was one step behind everybody else. When he realized that he should have been playing him as one step ahead of everyone else, then he had the character. You can see that early on in episodes like “The Robbery” and “The Stock Tip” in season 1, and “The Pony Remark” in season 2 (as he talks about building “levels” in his apartment) in which Kramer is a bit of a dim bulb. Contrast that with the calm assurance, almost swagger, he displays in “The Heart Attack” late in season 2, when he takes George to a holistic healer. That’s the Kramer we now know and love.

Of course, it all would have been moot if NBC hadn’t allowed David and the writing staff to hone the characters and expand their imaginations with storylines, and let the actors discover the traits that would eventually make seasons 3-7 one of the most glorious runs in the history of television.

Even then, the numbers didn’t thrill. Season 3 only tied for No. 42 in regular-season household Nielsen ratings, which surely would have brought the ax in today’s climate. Season 4 crept up to No. 25. By season 5, “Seinfeld” was the third-ranked show in the nation, and in season 6 it reached No. 1, bringing in more than 31 million viewers, about double what the pilot garnered in the summer of 1989.

Season 3 marked creative explosion
While these new DVD releases celebrate the first three seasons, it’s really season 3 that calls for champagne and balloons. Ten of the episodes (a two-parter is counted as one here) that season deserve the “classic” label: “The Library,” “The Parking Garage,” “The Tape,” “The Red Dot,” “The Subway,” “The Pez Dispenser,” “The Suicide,” “The Fix-Up” (an Emmy winner for writers Larry Charles and Elaine Pope, and often overlooked by casual fans), “The Boyfriend Parts I and II” (with Keith Hernandez and the “second spitter”) and the highly underrated “The Limo.” An 11^th episode — “The Nose Job” — isn’t up to those overall, but it features a quintessential Kramer moment when he looks at George’s girlfriend and tells her matter-of-factly that she is as beautiful as any woman, with one caveat:  “You just need a nose job.”  

The ratings climb can be directly tied to a creative explosion. Whereas the first two seasons tamely focused on the vagaries of life among four wacky singletons in New York City, season 3 featured daring choices that pushed the characters beyond the limits allowed on other shows, and abandoned the lazy “setup-payoff” formula so pervasive in the sitcom world.

David’s edgy and ironic perspective emerged in season 3, serving as the driving force toward series immortality. “The Parking Garage” had Jerry and George indulging in public urination, and included a crack about Scientology. “The Red Dot” saw George having sex on his desk at work with the cleaning lady; later, he pleaded ignorance to his boss: “Was that wrong?”

In “The Pez Dispenser” George boasted that he had “hand,” and after his pianist girlfriend broke up with him, she informed him “and you’re gonna need it.” And “The Limo” involved neo-Nazis and mistaken identity, with George reading a blurb from a racist diatribe intended to be a speech, causing Jerry to ask, “You’re not gonna open with that, are you?”

By comparison to some later episodes, season 3 might now be considered quaint. Consider “The Contest” and “The Implant” in season 4, “The Fire” in season 5 and “The Fusilli Jerry” (with the ASSMAN license plates) in season 6. The transition from mildly offbeat to outrageously ingenious was complete.

When David exited the show in 1996, “Seinfeld” careened off into a poor imitation of itself over its final two seasons. The characters became caricatures, and the stories veered away from their foundation — many of the episodes were based on actual events in the lives of David, Seinfeld and others — and toward goofy extremes. Sadly, it wasn’t the same.

But there was an innocence and excitement in the first two seasons, followed by a wallop of comedic talent in the third season, that are worth rejoicing over. Patience is indeed a virtue, whether it means cooling your heels while dreaming of kung pao chicken, or nurturing a sitcom from gleeful beginnings to gut-busting fruition.

Michael Ventre is a frequent contributor to MSNBC.com. He lives in Los Angeles.

MORE FROM COMEDY

Larry David still full of enthusiasm for ‘Curb’

Larry David still full of enthusiasm for ‘Curb’ Last stop for ‘Scrubs,’ the lil’ show that could Quiz: Test your ‘Two and a Half Men’ memory   Add Comedy headlines to your news reader: