Bill Murray Despised Seinfeld Because Of One Awful Episode

Larry David's and Jerry Seinfeld's sitcom "Seinfeld" debuted in 1989, and it stood as an antidote to the decade of bland, moral-forward family sitcoms from the decade that just preceded it. The central gag of "Seinfeld" was that the characters were so unbearably shallow and petty that they were incapable of absorbing morals. The show was to feature no sentimentality, no hugs, and no learning. Jerry (Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) were too focused on their own petty neuroses to care about others and were repeatedly punished for their pettiness in small ways. 

But by the next episode, they had forgotten their punishment. They once again became eager to dive back into bad dating habits, bad work relationships, and bad money decisions. Audience loved "Seinfeld," and it was one of the most popular sitcoms on TV for 180 episodes and nine seasons. 

Although the finale of the series, called "The Finale" (May 14, 1998), was in keeping with that spirit, few "Seinfeld" fans actually liked it. In "The Finale," the four lead characters were put on trial for their lifetime of petty horrors, and character witnesses came in to testify against them. Because they had no defense, the four characters wind up in prison. Indeed, the final conversation they have is a repetition of the very first conversation they ever had. Nothing has changed for them. The tone of "The Finale" is bitter and quiet, not hilarious and celebratory. There are no teary farewells or hugs. It's just sad, pathetic people having to stew in their own patheticness. 

Fans hated it, the cast wasn't super fond of it, and even Bill Murray, pointedly not a "Seinfeld" fan, hated it. Murray was interviewed by GQ in 2011, and he revealed that he barely watched "Seinfeld" while it was on the air. When he finally did see an episode, it happened to be "The Finale." She certainly didn't start liking "Seinfeld" after that.

Murray, it should be remembered, is the most lackadaisical human being on the planet. He's aware of what other comedians are doing, and watched popular TV shows from time to time, but he doesn't do a lot of careful study of the pop culture firmament. He's more concerned with his own jobs and his own leisure. This is the man who set up a special personalized job hotline so that he can screen calls and take acting gigs at his own pace, not worrying about timing, agents, or being hounded.

When asked about what he was watching, he merely expressed hope that Chevy Chase was funny on "Community" (which he hadn't watched), and that he had heard of another comedy show "that has the girl from 'Saturday Night Live.'" He was talking about "The Office." Murray said that he wants those shows to work, but admitted immediately that he was out of touch. He hadn't seen "The Office," he hadn't seen "Clerks" (which was an odd pull), and he hadn't seen "Larry David's show." He was talking about "Seinfeld."

He did see the finale, though, and hated it, natch. Murray said:

"I never saw 'Seinfeld' until the final episode, and that's the only one I saw. And it was terrible. I'm watching, thinking, 'This isn't funny at all. It's terrible!'"

And "Seinfeld" fans would agree. Although the finale was hotly anticipated, and "Seinfeld" had come to define a lot of the prevailing, self-reflexive attitudes of 1990s pop culture, the actual finale episode was a dud. Critics called it bloated, and fans were unsatisfied.

One might wonder if Murray has since tried watching a more acclaimed episode since 2011. Perhaps he would change his opinion. Or perhaps not. It doesn't seem like he's much interested in anything out there. Later in the interview, he finally admitted to seeing one — and only one movie ever: Tom De Cerchio's 1996 comedy "Celtic Pride."