‘Seinfeld’ Fans Call 4K Restoration a ‘Festivus Miracle’

Seinfeld fans who are fed up with the janky framing and bizarrely Matrix-like coloring of the streaming version of the show have been feverishly anticipating the new 4K Blu-ray release of the entire series. As we’ve mentioned before, Sony promised that the 4K versions of the show would restore the original boxy aspect ratio, thus fixing several jokes, and allowing viewers to get a better look at Jerry’s VHS porn collection. 

But there was still some trepidation about the release, given the previous botched attempts to “upgrade” the series. Not to mention how some other classic TV shows have recently been remastered, only to include A.I.-created demon faces lurking in the backgrounds of certain scenes.

Now, the Seinfeld box set has finally been released, and according to the fans that shelled out the whopping 250 bucks for new copies of a 35-year-old TV show, it’s actually pretty great.

One physical media stalwart posting on Blu-Ray.com noted that they have “zero complaints” about the set because the picture quality is “superb,” calling it “a Festivus miracle!” Over on Reddit, people are claiming that the 4K release of Seinfeld, which was originally shot on 35mm film, is the “best the show ever looked,” while others are suggesting that the episodes look way better than the recent 4K releases of James Cameron's filmography. 

It does look pretty nice, especially comparing one fan’s screenshot of the 4K release to the version that’s currently on Netflix. 

Some attentive viewers did point to one bizarre shot that possibly indicated some “A.I. tinkering” behind the scenes. In the pilot episode, when Kramer’s dog (who we can only assume was sent to live at a farm upstate between episodes) is licking George, it appears as though his leg becomes translucent, thus lending credence to any “Kramer was a ghost the whole time” theories. 

But fans double-checked the scene against DVD copies and confirmed that the “anomaly” was present the whole time, seemingly just the result of Michael Richards’ leg bearing a striking similarity to the color of Jerry’s floorboards. 

While the restoration was clearly a hit with fans, there were still some complaints about the box set, namely the “flimsy” packaging. 

There was once a time when Seinfeld home video releases were such a big deal that the packaging even came with playing cards and Monk’s diner-branded ketchup and mustard bottles.

Also, somewhat frustratingly, the non-4K Blu-ray version of the set only contains the widescreen versions of the episodes for some reason. Still, it would make a great gift for Festivus, if expensive gifts didn’t fly in the face of everything Festivus stands for.