Upon hearing that the fifth and sixth seasons of Seinfeld were released on DVD late last month, your first instinct may be to shrug and say that you don’t need the DVDs because Seinfeld is still on several times a day.

But the DVDs have more bonus features than you will have time to watch. It may take you a year or two to get through them all.

Before you get to the extras, you may want to refresh your memory and watch some of the classic episodes. The first few seasons, Seinfeld was gaining an identity. These are the seasons where Seinfeld was already being recognized as one of the greatest shows ever produced, and these episodes are some of the best.

The episodes include Fussily Jerry, The Stall, The Hamptons, The Opposite? let’s face it, there were no bad episodes in Seinfeld. There was no decline. Every episode is memorable and every episode is worth watching again.

The quality of the picture is much better than you’ll see on the Seinfeld reruns. The transition onto DVD is presented with a much more vibrant picture, and it’s complemented well with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

After you watch some episodes, you’ll want to hear the commentaries (they call it the “Yada Yada Yada” section). Sometimes the behind-the-scenes crew are speaking, while other episodes are done by some of the cast members. It’s a shame, as Jerry might say, that all four principal cast members could not do commentary together on an episode. Speculation has it that they are not all seeing eye to eye these days, though they did get together for a couple interviews last month to promote these two sets.

Several of the episodes also have inside looks, where the cast and the crew share stories of how the episode came together.

Each also has deleted scenes, NBC promos, Jerry’s standup routines, and bloopers.

The highlight of both is a feature that appears on season six, called “Running with the Egg,” which is a step-by-step look of how a Seinfeld episode is created, from the script idea, to rewrites, to table reads, to shooting the episode, to editing, to air. It’s a remarkable look at how much work goes into one single episode.

Another gem is a feature on season five, “Jason + Larry = George,” examining how George was created.

Season six also has a feature called “Sein-imation,” which animates scenes from some episodes. It sounds better in theory than it looks.

5*/5*
Release Date: Nov. 22, 2005
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Season 5 Episodes

1. THE MANGO
2. THE GLASSES
3. THE PUFFY SHIRT
4. THE SNIFFING ACCOUNTANT
5. THE BRIS
6. THE LIP READER
7. THE BARBER
8. THE NON-FAT YOGURT
9. THE MASSEUSE
10. THE CIGAR STORE INDIAN
11. THE CONVERSION
12. THE STALL
13. THE MARINE BIOLOGIST
14. THE DINNER PARTY
15. THE PIE
16. THE STAND-IN
17. THE WIFE
18. THE FIRE
19. THE RAINCOATS, PART I
20. THE RAINCOATS, PART II
21. THE OPPOSITE
22. THE HAMPTONS

Season 6 Episodes

1. THE CHAPERONE
2. THE BIG SALAD
3. THE PLEDGE DRIVE
4. THE CHINESE WOMAN
5. THE COUCH
6. THE GYMNAST
7. THE MOM & POP STORE
8. THE SOUP
9. THE SECRETARY
10. THE SWITCH
11. THE LABEL MAKER
12. THE RACE
13. THE SCOFFLAW
14. THE KISS HELLO
15. THE BEARD
16. THE DOORMAN
17. THE JIMMY
18. THE DOODLE
19. THE FUSILLI JERRY
20. THE DIPLOMATS CLUB
21. THE UNDERSTUDY
22. THE FACE PAINTER
23. 100 EPISODE SPECIAL, PART I
24. 100 EPISODE SPECIAL, PART II






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