Seinfeld, a sitcom that ran from 1990-1998 is often described as "A show about nothing". But it wasn't really a show about nothing; it had characters and a plot. Nevertheless, unlike the usual sitcom, it didn't have a distinguishing mark to set itself apart from rest of the pool of television comedies. Cheers was about a bar. MASH was about a war. Seinfeld was just about some friends and their daily lives.

The show was set in New York City, and yet unlikely coincidences occurred nearly every day. In a city with the size and population of New York, it's obvious that unplanned meetings and relations aren't going to happen often (if ever). In Seinfeld however, they did. Because of this, Seinfeld remained a comedy. These improbable events balanced off the realistic personalities of the main characters and the comedic climax of many shows was a intertwining of the minor plots.

The main characters of Seinfeld were bad people. They weren't bad people because they robbed banks. They weren't bad people because they murdered children. They were bad people because they were all amoral and self-centered. But we loved them. Because really, we're all amoral and self-centered too. Don't try to deny it. Don't.

Unsurprisingly, many of the characters were based on real life people. Idiosyncratic characters like Kramer just can't be created by a writer.

The big four:

Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld)

The star of Seinfeld is Seinfeld (played by Seinfeld). He plays a professional comedian, and his observational humor often slips into the show. He's gone through innumerable girlfriends, and broken up with each one for an inane reason. His only permanent loves seem to be of cereal and Superman.

George Costanza (Jason Alexander)

Jerry's best friend since High School, George is the least ethical of the bunch. He is a quitter, a scoundrel, and a cheat. He is a short balding man with glasses, and unfortunately for him, the worst luck in the world. We've all got a bit of George in us that pops up once in a while, but unlike us, when George does these ill deeds, he gets caught.

Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

Elaine Benes is the lone female in the gang. She once dated Jerry, but they remain platonic friends for most of the series. She's also had her share of significant others, but most of the time she returns to David Puddy. She's nearly as bad a person as George is, but you wouldn't guess it.

Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards)

Perhaps the most amiable character is Kramer. The lanky man with an antigravitational hairstyle accepts his neighbor's Jerry invitation to "make himself at home" and takes it literally. What belongs to Jerry, belongs to Kramer. Kramer is a moocher in the truest sense of the word, but he's impossible to dislike. He's fun to watch, most everybody's favorite character...but you wouldn't want to know him.

As the show continued over the years, George and Jerry decide to create a television show. A show about nothing. Based on their own lives. They were to create the very show that they were already in. This is definitely my favorite Seinfeld plot line; the self-recurrence was pure genius (although I'm sure the feedback destroyed some of the cheaper TVs watching it)

Seinfeld ended in its prime (as the most popular show on television), which was considered by most to be a very wise move. Although they might have made much more money by dragging the show out, until we all got sick of it, we left the world of Seinfeld on a high note, and it will go down in history like so.

The final episode(s) of Seinfeld had the gang arrested for not helping a man who was being mugged. To popularize the new law, the "Good Samaritan" law (adopted from the French), the prosecution decides that a win is essential, and brings in dozens of character witnesses to testify against Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. The characters of Seinfeld finally had to pay for their lack of morals and were sentenced to a year in jail. I found this a very proper end to the series. Plus, it left room for a movie (don't get your hopes up).

Many were let down with the finale. The average Seinfeld viewer is cynical, whether they realize it or not, and I'm sure they'd be much more satisfied if everyone died. And I bet if the Seinfeld characters were watching, they'd be rooting for death too.

Most people don't know it, but "Seinfeld" was heavily influenced by "The Abbott and Costello Show."

Debuting in 1952, "The Abbott and Costello Show" was one of the earliest sitcoms on TV and lasted for 52 episodes. The show centered on Bud and Lou, two unemployed actors living in New York. Bud's girlfriend Hillary was a wisecracking waitress who lived across the hall from the guys. Other supporting characters included their mean landlord Sid Fields and Mr. Bacciagalupe, who ran the local fruit stand.

The similarities between the two shows are striking. Although Abbott and Costello lacked the interwoven plots of Seinfeld, most Abbott and Costello episodes resembled the "George" storyline from any given episode of Seinfeld. Lou Costello was a short, fat, balding man who tried to avoid work at any cost, and most of the shows revolved around his intricate plans falling apart. Bud Abbott became the doubting straight man, the classic "Jerry" role. Hillary fulfilled the "Elaine" role, but wasn't as well developed a character as Elaine was. The "Kramer" surrogate was Stinky Jones, played by Joe Besser. Besser eventually went on to join The Three Stooges after Shemp died. The evil Sid Fields acted as "Newman" to Bud and Lou's "Jerry" and "George." Like Seinfeld, Abbott and Costello got much of their humor from the use of language and from Kramer-like slapstick.

Many specific episodes of Seinfeld relate back to the old show. Elaine was not in the first episode of the show and the main female character was a wisecracking waitress at the diner. In Seinfeld Episode 58, the crotchety old man that Jerry takes care of is named Sid Fields. Several episodes deal with Jerry and Kramer butting heads with the owner of the local fruit stand. In Seinfeld Episode 30, Kramer overhears a tip on a racehorse ("His mother was a mudder...his father was a mudder"), which was actually a classic Abbott and Costello bit. The same goes for the "Salsa vs. Seltzer" discussion Jerry and George have in one episode.

NBC aired a TV special in 1994 called "Abbot and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld" which featured Jerry showing clips of the two classic comedians and talking about how much they influenced him.

While the show wasn't as deliciously mean-spirited or absurd as Seinfeld, I think that the old episodes of "The Abbott and Costello Show" still remain funny today. It's not too hard to find them on video for anyone interested.