Rumors that the ninth season of Seinfeld would be the last were confirmed halfway through that season by Jerry Seinfeld himself. Though the series was still TV's top-rated show, Seinfeld was determined to quit while ahead, stop while on top, yada yada yada....And while some fans were complaining that the series had slipped quite a bit in the past few years, others felt that its valedictory season was the best yet. Things get under way with "The Butter Shave," in which George (Jason Alexander) has recovered from his comfort-threatening illness and Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) is afforded another opportunity to pitch a "show about nothing" to NBC. In later episodes, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) unexpectedly "gets tongue" from a boy at his bar mitzvah, Kramer (Michael Richards) recreates The Merv Griffin Show in Jerry's apartment, and Jerry's problems with a naked girlfriend coincide with George's efforts to cash in on an ex-alcoholic's "Step 9." And mention must be made of the celebrated "backwards episode," "The Betrayal," which begins with a bedraggled George and Elaine returning from India, then with each scene heads progressively back in time -- all the way to 1986! Is there anyone in the Free World who does not know what happens in the series' very last episode, cleverly titled "The Finale." Well, so as not to spoil it for the two of you who don't know, a word of warning: never commit an act of "criminal indifference" in Latham, MA. (And what's this about the second button on George's shirt? Haven't we had this conversation before?) ~ Rovi
