MovieChat Forums > Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (2012) Discussion > Saving Michael Richards

Saving Michael Richards

posted 12 years ago by music_man_fan
8 replies | jump to latest

Right when Seinfeld talked about doing it, I knew it would include Michael Richards. And when the episodes came up, I thought where is Michael? Until the last episode.

And even then, the topic didn't come up. But I was having such a good time with the episode, I thought maybe I was wrong. Then the last 2 minutes happened.

You can say a lot about Jerry, but this was a good deed indeed - even if it was slightly obvious. If it helps Jerry sleep better at night, so be it, and it was a nice "ride" to get there. Sometimes a verbal hug and sincerity is a good thing.

(Notice there are no commercials or ads whatsoever as Jerry paid for the whole thing himself. Why would he do that when it would have been easy to get at least one sponsor? So everyone will have access it without complaints and it can be viewed forever.

Jerry even did press the week of Michael Richards interview came out. Notice how it's the first one that comes up when you open it now? A very good friend indeed.)

[–] 10rust 11 years ago

I've always love Seinfeld (and co.) but I really respected how he stood by his friend when so many others would have distanced themselves or thrown Richards under the bus.

When this series came out, I was really excited to see Seinfeld doing something. When Larry David and Michael Richards in particular were guests, I thought it was like getting the Beatles together. To see these guys who had such an amazing chemistry and who made something so great was really a treat.

I think this was a great forum for MR to reflect and it seemed from the heart. Of course, everything else was great to see: The stories about the show, their creative process, the chess guy, etc.

I hope they do more episodes.

[–] chester-copperpot-1 11 years ago

The Michael Richards debacle definitely killed his career. And it was the elephant in the room. They went on well until he mentioned it, and then it just died. "I have been carrying around this bag enough" or what Seinfeld said. The air just went out, the moment they had was gone. There's no way getting around that career killer move, and it shows.

I love the series, and the ones that stands out are when Seinfeld shows his deep and sincere love and admiration for these folks. The Richards one, the Larry David one, and the one with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. He simply loves working with the people he loves, they play off each other magnificently.

[–] smoko 10 years ago

@chester-copperpot-1 "You know what, I've been carrying this bag long enough. I'm gonna put it down."
It seemed like Seinfeld was on the verge of pleading for Richards to let it go, but Richards is just not able to do it.

[–] wgfaej 11 years ago

Well said. And for pure fun of the series, Alec & Larry gave me the most laughs. Glad to see its back. Louie CK?

[–] polysicsarebest 11 years ago

I never thought the Michael Richards thing was a big deal, everyone gets angry and says angry things. We can speculate about any deep-rooted racial hatred Richards has, but I doubt there's anything like that. He was just mad and ridiculous. He apologize. End.

...but it DID certainly kill his career, didn't it? I mean, geez!

Richards already made fun of the incident on the episode of Curb where he argues with Leon. If all his subsequent work is self-referencing what killed his career, that'd be pretty sad. And it is.

-
Shuji Terayama forever.

[–] castaway666 11 years ago

I thought that episode was handled very well.

I'll give this little cookie an hour before we're doing the no-pants dance. Time to musk up.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5968) 3 months ago

Probably no sponsor would want to be associated with Richards.

[–] BKB (6084) 3 months ago

I'd like to think what happened to Michael Richards was he basically had a nervous breakdown, that his bread winner for the last 8 or 9 seasons was coming to an end and it was a radical life change for him, not just Richards, but the rest of the Cast as well.. Here was Jason Alexander in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm talking with Larry David about how tired he was always being referred to as "George" when Jason Alexander had a wide range of acting ability.. He was essentially typed cast and I could understand his frustrations, but in the end, this is what made him a Gazillionaire too..