Stop Sein Ahead?

Seinfeld certainly has yet to enter an ugly decline, a la Murphy Brown. And if it does? Not to worry, says someone who was once the mistress of his domain: "A weak M*A*S*H was still better than the other shows on the air then," says Jamie Farr, who played Klinger. "And a weak Seinfeld is indeed better than the other shows on the air now. It's in an enviable situation."

(Additional reporting by Cable Neuhaus, Jessica Shaw, and Dan Snierson)

5 Ways to Keep Jerry Funny
1. Suspend the suspension of disbelief. The outlandish plots (Kramer's white Bronco ride) work the worst. The mundane-life bits (finding the car at the mall) work best.
2. Keep the writers from going to the well of bodily functions. Remember that recent pee-stain-on-the-couch episode? We need a buffer zone.
3. Give us more of the blubbery Newman. Tone down the eraser-headed Kramer. He's starting to smack of Fonzie.
4. When four plots intersect, the show seems as contrived as Three's Company. Take it down to two or three.
5. As the characters approach middle age, the lack of long-term relationships seems sad. Maybe one should actually experiment with, yes, commitment.