Seinfeld: How Kramer Changed From Season 1 (& How He’s The Same)
Kramer went through quite a few personality changes from season 1 of Seinfeld.
While Jerry is the star of 90’s sitcom Seinfeld, his quirky neighbor Kramer (Michael Richards) definitely gets a lot of attention. He’s the kind of person who others notice as soon as he walks in a room and he can’t be ignored.
Kramer has some good and bad qualities and he’s a sitcom character who fans can count on to always be strange and out there. But even though he never becomes a more conventional person, there are some things about his interesting character that evolve as Seinfeld progresses.
Changed: He Attempts To Move To California
In the episode “The Keys,” Kramer thinks that he can be a successful actor in Los Angeles and decides to make the move.
This is a big deal as Seinfeld’s NYC setting is part of its charm and also responsible for many of the main characters’ antics. The city is never that kind to them, as there are never enough good parking spaces and the subway is always breaking down. Thankfully, things don’t work out and Kramer ends up back in Manhattan where he belongs.
The Same: He Always Barges In On Jerry And Raids His Fridge
Jerry’s apartment is one of the main settings on the show and it works perfectly, as it’s where Jerry hangs out most of the time and where his friends visit him regularly.
Kramer lives across the hall, so he barges in on his neighbor every single day. He loves throwing his body against the door and greeting Jerry, no matter how busy Jerry is or who he has over, and he also spends a lot of time seeing what food he can eat from Jerry’s fridge. Jerry seems to care about Kramer, but there’s no doubt that Kramer is annoying to live near.
Changed: He Stays Home All The Time, Then Starts Going Out
The plan was for Kramer to stay home all the time, and fans will notice that at the start of Seinfeld, he seems nervous about going out into the outside world.
This changes as the character starts going out. By the third season, Kramer is with the rest of the characters when they’re getting into mischief.
The Same: He Comes Up With Random Business Ideas
Kramer is convinced that he can strike it rich by coming up with a brilliant idea for a product or business that will change the whole world.
He’s constantly coming up with ideas, from a coffee table book about coffee tables to a restaurant where customers will create their own pizzas. This is something that never changes about this character, and Seinfeld fans would never want it to, as it’s so fun to watch.
Changed: He Gets A Real Job
In the season nine episode “The Strike,” Kramer shocks fans by getting a real job at H&H Bagels. It turns out that Kramer had worked there twelve years earlier, but he was “on strike” of sorts.
This is one of Kramer’s most humorous plotlines as it’s just as random as the rest of his life is. No one had known this about him and it just comes out of nowhere. Watching Kramer join the working world again is really different, as he usually spends his days lounging around.
The Same: He’s Always Changing His Apartment
From worrying about the shower head in his bathroom to creating a front lawn experience in front of his door, Kramer is always making changes to the place he calls home.
This character also wants to change the peephole in his door in the ninth season, which is definitely crazy to even think about.
Changed: He Wants Everyone To Call Him Cosmo
For most of the show, everyone knows Kramer by his last name, and no one is aware of his actual first name. This is just one of his quirks, like his funny quotes and old-fashioned way of dressing.
In the sixth season episode “The Switch,” Kramer tells the gang that his first name is Cosmo. He also makes a big change: he wants everyone to call him Cosmo.
The Same: He Constantly Tries To Improve His Life
Kramer is an eternal optimist, in sharp contrast to the other characters on the show. He’s always trying to improve his life, even when it comes to the fruit that he buys.
In the season two episode “The Ex-Girlfriend,” Kramer tells Jerry to go to Joe’s fruit market because it’s possible to return fruit. Kramer says “See, the other thing is, if you don’t like anything, he takes it right back” and Jerry makes the hilarious joke about fruit being “a gamble.” Most people think the same way as Jerry, so this proves that Kramer is always looking on the bright side.
Changed: Kramer Becomes More Cartoonish
At the beginning of the show, Kramer seems more grounded in reality. Sure, he’s really weird, but as the show goes on, he seems to get more cartoonish as a character.
Kramer’s physical comedy becomes more intense, as he has really big reactions to what people are telling him, and it seems like his schemes get wilder and wilder.
The Same: He Dates A Lot Of Women
Kramer dates a lot of different women on Seinfeld and he never chooses one person to devote himself to.
He doesn’t feel the need to settle down, which makes sense since he doesn’t live a normal life. He doesn’t seem to have much of a routine since he doesn’t have a steady or traditional nine-to-five job (or any job at all, really). Of course, his treatment of women leaves a lot to be desired and it’s fair to say that in order for him to impress someone enough to want him to date him seriously or even marry him, he would have to change his ways.
