SEINFELD CANCELING `SEINFELD'.Byline: Bill Carter The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times ``Seinfeld,'' the most popular television comedy of the 1990s and the centerpiece of the most profitable night in television history, will stop production at the end of this season, Jerry Seinfeld This article is about the comedian. For the character, see Jerry Seinfeld (character). Jerry Seinfeld (born Jerome Seinfeld on April 29, 1954 in New York City, New York) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor and writer. , the show's creator and star, said Thursday. The loss of ``Seinfeld,'' which made the country laugh at the soup Nazi, close-talkers, chip double-dippers and loaves of marble rye, is a serious blow to NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , which already has seen its prime-time strength begin to weaken this season. The show has anchored NBC's big Thursday night since 1993, leading the network to its No. 1 position and to record-making profits, approaching $1 billion this year. ``Seinfeld'' alone has made more than $200 million a year in profits for NBC, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. advertising industry estimates. ``Seinfeld'' has become a cultural signpost in a class with ``I Love Lucy'' and ``The Honeymooners.'' NBC itself considered the show so important that in trying to persuade Seinfeld to stay, it offered him what one executive said was the most lucrative deal ever extended to a television star. With the departure of the show, the balance of power in the competition for supremacy during prime time could well shift. In a statement, NBC said: ``To keep a show of this caliber at its peak has been a great undertaking. We respect Jerry's decision that at the end of this season it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to move on.'' An NBC official who spoke only on condition of anonymity said the network would not try to dissuade Seinfeld by making further offers between now and the end of the television season. The decision to shut down the show, long anticipated in the television industry, was Seinfeld's, who is both the show's star and its main creative force. Associates of Seinfeld said he decided late Tuesday to wrap up production with a special finale episode this spring. Episodes that go into production during the next few months will be geared toward that finale. ``He just decided to go out on top,'' one associate said, speaking on condition of anonymity and comparing the decision to that of a top athlete who wants to leave the arena before fans believe his skills are eroding. The half-hour show revolves around four single, slightly neurotic and self-absorbed friends who negotiate the perils of love and life in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . The characters are Jerry Seinfeld, who plays himself as a stand-up stand·up or stand-up adj. 1. Standing erect; upright: a standup collar. 2. Taken, done, or used while standing: a standup supper; a standup bar. comedian; Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer, although , his former girlfriend and platonic pal; George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the United States-based television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" (by Elaine Benes), "Lord of the Idiots" (by , his high school buddy who has trouble keeping jobs; and Kramer, an eccentric neighbor who barges in and out of Jerry's apartment. Quality questions Some media critics have said this year's episodes fell short of the show's high standards, but Seinfeld maintained that he was proud of the work and was not quitting because of those comments. ``Seinfeld,'' now in its ninth season, remains the top-rated comedy in television this season, second only in overall rating to the NBC drama ``ER.'' But for the past full year, counting the repeats, ``Seinfeld'' has been the most watched show in all of television. The comedy, in reruns, is also the highest-rated syndicated series in television, and is expected to eventually make almost $1 billion in syndication revenues. Seinfeld's decision came after long and emotional discussions with his co-stars and production staff, and after intense negotiations with executives from NBC. Seinfeld's associates said the network offered a deal that would have been the richest in television history if Seinfeld, a former stand-up comedian, had agreed to continue the show for just one more year. One executive familiar with the negotiations said Seinfeld was ``walking away from more money than has ever been offered before to a television star.'' The executive estimated that NBC, led in the negotiations by Robert C. Wright, the network's president, and Jack Welch For the illustrator named Jack Welch, see Jack Welch (illustrator) John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr. (born on November 19 1935 , the chairman and chief executive of General Electric, NBC's parent company, had offered Seinfeld a deal worth about $5 million an episode to keep his show in production. ``Seinfeld'' produces 22 episodes a season. ``When Jerry said he was turning it down, Jack just went numb,'' said the executive familiar with the negotiations. The decision to turn down the money did not at all surprise Seinfeld's longtime friend and fellow comic Larry Miller Larry Miller is the name of several notable people:
Sane about money ``From the very beginning he was always the sanest about money,'' Miller said. ``Even during year two or three of the show he could have gone and filled stadia all over the country for astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. sums of money, astonishing sums, and he decided he didn't want to do stand-up in stadia.'' Some reports have set Seinfeld's salary at $1 million an episode, but the executive said Seinfeld had been at that figure three years ago. ``He already makes much more than that,'' the executive said. ``But this deal was a huge jump over that.'' Seinfeld's also profits from the syndication of his series. Forbes magazine put his income for last year at $94 million. But Seinfeld has said for some time that his decision about continuing the show would not hinge on Verb 1. hinge on - be contingent on; "The outcomes rides on the results of the election"; "Your grade will depends on your homework" depend on, depend upon, devolve on, hinge upon, turn on, ride money. He said he wanted to follow the tradition of stand-up comedians Famous stand-up comedians, by country of origin: Australia
His immediate career plans involve a return to his roots in stand-up comedy  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. . Seinfeld had already agreed to perform a one-man comedy
special for HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO)A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy next August. He is calling that special ``Laid to Rest,'' and he plans to use material from his stand-up comedy act one last time. The circumstances of the negotiations between NBC and Seinfeld were unusual because the decision about whether to continue the series rested entirely with Seinfeld, who runs both the writing and production staffs. He took over sole control of those functions after the 1996 season when his partner, Larry David, who had created the series with him, lef the show. Other than Seinfeld, the rest of the show's ensemble - Julia Louis-Dreyfus This article is about the American actress. For the French actress, see Julie Dreyfus. Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus[1] (born January 13, 1961) is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award-winning American actress and comedian who gained (Elaine), Jason Alexander (George) and Michael Richards (Kramer) - already had agreed to terms for another season after some acrimonious discussions last spring led to a settlement that is paying them each $600,000 for each episode this season. As recently as Monday, NBC executives had expressed confidence that Seinfeld would decide to return, at least partly to ensure that his co-stars would have another year at those huge salaries. NBC faces test The show's departure will force NBC to make difficult decisions. First, it must find a replacement for the show next fall. The network's next most highly regarded comedy is ``Frasier,'' but that show anchors Tuesday night and NBC would risk hurting that night with a move to Thursday. In addition, the network must decide what to do about the rest of its Thursday night lineup. For the past several years, NBC has been unable to find a companion show to follow ``Seinfeld'' that had similar widespread appeal. Industry executives have speculated for some time that without ``Seinfeld'' on Thursday, NBC would be suddenly vulnerable. To compound these problems, the network faces an extremely costly renewal for ``ER,'' which is also shown Thursday nights and has a contract that expires in May. And though NBC has been in the No. 1 position for three years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time ratings for its regular shows have fallen about 10 percent this year. Without ``Seinfeld,'' the drop-off could become much more severe. Overall, these are tough times for all the networks, which find it increasingly hard to create hit shows. But the other networks should all benefit from the absence of ``Seinfeld.'' NBC executives have identified Fox as their most serious competitor, and Fox executives already have a contingency plan A plan involving suitable backups, immediate actions and longer term measures for responding to computer emergencies such as attacks or accidental disasters. Contingency plans are part of business resumption planning. in place to attack NBC on Thursday night if ``Seinfeld'' is gone. The show began July 5, 1989, as ``The Seinfeld Chronicles.'' Except for Elaine, all the show's characters were in place in that pilot, but Kramer was called Kessler in the firDrst episode. Kramer was based on a real person with that name, but the name was not used until the show's producers could locate him and get permission to use his name. The next summer, the show aired six more times, and was scheduled to begin as a regular series in January of 1991. But it was bumped off the air by the start of the Persian Gulf War Persian Gulf War or Gulf War (1990–91) International conflict triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Though justified by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on grounds that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq, the invasion was presumed to be . It finally got a regular time slot Continuously repeating interval of time or a time period in which two devices are able to interconnect. Wednesday nights in the 1991-92 season and for the first half of the 1992-93 season. In that period, it was beaten in the ratings every week by the ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. comedy ``Home Improvement,'' also starring a stand-up comedian, Tim Allen. Nonetheless, it became a cult favorite during this time. In February 1993, when NBC was facing the loss of its then-hit comedy ``Cheers,'' it moved ``Seinfeld'' to 9:30 p.m., the time period after ``Cheers.'' There, it became a runaway hit. The next season, it moved to 9 p.m., and it has dominated that slot ever since. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (COLOR): SEINFELD |
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