Arts: A Seinfeld Routine, From Idea to Completion

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Brow Beat A Seinfeld Routine, From Idea to Completion By Forrest Wickman Posted Thursday, Mar 14, 2013, at 04:14 PM ET Jerry Seinfeld debuted five minutes of new material on The Tonight Show last night. As you might expect, the perfectionist's routine was as polished as ever, consisting mainly of his signature minute observations about trivial aspects of everyday life. In this case, he joked about food. This bit of stand-up is especially interesting because Seinfeld has opened up about the story behind it. For a video to accompany a New York Times Magazine profile of Seinfeld by Slate pop critic Jonah Weiner—which is worth reading in itself—Seinfeld offered a rare glimpse into his creative process, using the "Pop-Tart joke" as an example. You can see exactly how Seinfeld crafted and then spit-shined the joke below, though it seems he never did figure out how to make that "chimps in the dirt playing with sticks" line fit. To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Hugo's Victor Congressional Progressive Caucus Shows You What a Liberal Budget Looks Like Who Should Be in the Gifted Program?	Advertisement
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