Classic 90’s best-ever show, Seinfeld hits Netflix after six years run on Hulu. It has been given that the show was filmed so long before when there was nothing like HD. This is the show that was displayed in the ratio of 4:3 aspect ratio on TV. But on the Netflix streaming platform, the show has been cropped in 16:9 widescreen format just to fit the modern screens of the TV. This is one of the best shows that are now available in HD quality on the Netflix streaming platform. However, one thing that Rolling Stone noticed is that some of the visual gags have literally been erased.
Twitter users @boriskarkov and @Thatoneguy64 pointed a specific problem with episodes called “The Pothole.” This is the episode in which George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld are there trying to find out the lost keys of George. The keys are there dropped in the pothole that was then paved over. In the crop, George wildly yells at the pothole, this is the part that Netflix removed entirely. The 16:9 aspect ratio also cuts some of the other gags that are there in the series- or at the very least this is a totally different experience for the people who used to watch the show originally back in their days.
Yes, this is not a new problem. Crops of Seinfeld have been on cable TV for so many years and Hulu also showed it in 16:9 ratio only. Because of Netflix’s popularity, Seinfeld is gaining lots and lots of extra attention right now. There was a small controversy in late 2019 when the entire run of The Simpsons hit Disney+. After these number of complaints about the missed visual gags, Disney eventually released the seasons that were there in 4:3 in their original aspect.
Hopefully, Netflix is going to do the same with Seinfeld but in the meantime, the best way to watch it is probably on DVD.
