I am what some might call a Seinfeld obsessive. More than just thinking of it as the greatest sitcom of all time, I have watched every episode and the funniest moments enough times that they practically play in syndication in my brain. I've deeply mined all sorts of behind-the-scenes featurettes and stories, and I ace every trivia quiz I come across. I like to think that I know everything there is to know about the show – but that just means that I'm especially tickled to make new discoveries like the one I found during my most recent rewatch.
Like many other Seinfeld fans, I was blissed-out this fall when it was announced that the NBC comedy series had been remastered and was getting a 4K UHD release (in the original aspect ratio no less), and I was immediately curious what kind of details I would find watching the series in pristine quality when my purchased copy arrived earlier this month. What I ended up discovering at the end of Season 5's "The Bris" can admittedly be seen in any prior release of the show, but my brain is still blown nonetheless.
To quickly recap the episode: a couple who are friends with Jerry and Elaine ask them to be the godfather and godmother of their new baby, and that requires the two friends to help plan the child's circumcision (a Jewish tradition known as a bris). Naturally, everything goes terribly wrong, and the nutjob moyle that Elaine hires (played to comedic perfection by guest star Charles Levin) ends up slicing the tip of Jerry's index finger.
Like all episodes in early seasons, "The Bris" ends with Jerry doing a standup bit (specifically one about people all around the world willing to do super disgusting jobs), but during my most recent rewatch, I picked up on a super minor detail that I absolutely love: Jerry's bandaged finger.
To be honest, one of the reasons why particularly love this discovery is because of how it relates to the way I've always felt about the intros and outros in Seinfeld. Even though I know the Jerry character in the series is a comedian, I've always perceived a barrier between the standup and the sitcom – which can at least partially be attributed to the fact that the jokes only rarely have any correlation with the stories. Seeing the character's bandaged finger at the end of "The Bris" effectively breaks that barrier, and I love it for doing so.
If you want to see this wonderful detail for yourself, you can stream the episode in question (along with the entire show) using your Netflix subscription – but if you're a Seinfeld fanatic like myself, allow me to personally recommend picking up the recently released 4K UHD box set. The filmmakers developing the release did a tremendous job remastering the show, and watching it in such great quality gives it a wonderful, fresh feel.
