Welcome to The Binge, CraveOnline’s new recurring feature that looks at the best TV series streaming on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
To kick off the column, there’s no better place to start than Seinfeld. Last month, Hulu and Jerry Seinfeld announced a blockbuster deal that will bring all nine seasons (180 episodes) of Seinfeld to Hulu starting next month.
Although Seinfeld is still ubiquitous in syndication, this is the first time that the entire series has been available for binge viewing without buying every season on DVD. That’s part of the joy of binge-watching. You don’t have to go by anyone’s schedule except your own.
Seinfeld is one of the signature comedy series of the ‘90s and it’s also one of the most consistently hilarious TV shows of all time. There was a special alchemy in the way that Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards played off of each other. Their characters (fictionalized Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer) were all memorable comedy creations that became TV legends. It’s been over 15 years since Seinfeld wrapped up its run and the show is still highly quotable and very easy to watch.
While you can watch Seinfeld on Hulu anytime you want beginning in June, we’ve assembled a list of the ten best Seinfeld episodes to get you started.
The Chinese Restaurant
Season 2 Episode 12
Jerry, George and Elaine desperately try to get seated at a restaurant as the series memorably broke the format for the first time. It’s an all-time great episode, even without Kramer!
The Parking Garage
Season 3 Episode 6
The Seinfeld quartet spend an entire episode looking for Kramer’s car in another format-breaking story that helped define Seinfeld as a show about “nothing.”
The Contest
Season 4 Episode 11
Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer break long-standing TV taboos by having a contest about who can go the longest without mastrebating.
The Junior Mint
Season 4 Episode 20
This episode is remembered for two memorable sequences: an incident with a junior mint in an operating gallery and Jerry’s infamous call for “Dolores.”
The Pilot
Season 4 Episodes 23 & 24
Taking meta to a new level, Jerry stars in a pilot episode about his own life alongside thinly fictionalized versions of his friends. But in the world of Seinfeld, nobody wants a show about nothing.
The Puffy Shirt
Season 5 Episode 2
George’s career as a hand model and Jerry’s self-esteem are victims of a “low talker” and the famous “puffy shirt.”
The Marine Biologist
Season 5 Episode 14
George’s finest hour comes when he finally manages to live up to one of his biggest lies. “In that moment, I was a marine biologist.”
The Opposite
Season 5 Episode 22
Perpetual loser George turns his life around by doing the opposite of his instincts in every situation. And while George rises, Elaine falls into the role of the group’s failure. This episode also debuted Kramer’s coffee table book about coffee tables.
The Soup Nazi
Season 7 Episode 6
The phrase “No soup for you!” was born in this episode as Jerry, George and Elaine cross paths with Yev Kassem (Larry Thomas), the man better known as “The Soup Nazi.”
The Yada Yada
Season 8 Episode 19
Pre-Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston guest stars as a dentist who earns Jerry’s disdain, while George “yada yadas” his girlfriend before discovering that her faults are even worse than his own.
