Seinfeld ended 20 years ago today: Does the much-derided series finale get better with age?

Yahoo!

More than 76 million people watched the 75-minute May 14, 1998 series finale, which was met with with widespread derision and negative reviews. Even Jerry Seinfeld regrets the finale. Ken Trucker, who called the series finale "off-key and bloated" as TV critic for Entertainment Weekly, has had a change of heart. "When you look at 'The Finale' now, the episode works as a clever reminder of how many episodes of Seinfeld you enjoyed, enabling you to see faces that once were obscure ('Look, there’s Teri Hatcher as Jerry’s old girlfriend!') or to appreciate lesser-known characters, such as Bookman, the library cop — I forgot how much I loved Philip Baker Hall’s crusty overdue-book investigator. Indeed, watching 'The Finale' this time around was almost pure pleasure all the way through. While I’m sure the gang’s lawyer, Jackie Chiles, would come under P.C. scrutiny for the portrayal of a black man as a hustler with a law degree, I also admired Phil Morris’s deft performance, delivering reams of rapid-fire dialogue with ease."

ALSO:

• Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino and @Seinfeld2000 team for Elaine-themed “Jerry (Maybe We Should Get Married)" to mark the 20th anniversary
• "It was such a terrible letdown" reads one series finale review
• The Hollywood Reporter combed through 70 hours of previously unreleased interviews to mark the finale's anniversary