Give Thanks: "Seinfeld" Returns

This year, Festivus comes a bit early for Seinfeld fans.

First, viewers of the Emmy-winning sitcom will finally be able to enjoy the show's first three seasons on DVD on Nov. 23.

And two nights later, on Thanksgiving, Jerry and his New York cohorts return to their old Thursday night stomping grounds on NBC for The Seinfeld Story, a one-hour retrospective of the show's early history hosted by Seinfeld, and including episode clips and fresh interviews with costars Jason Alexander, Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"This special will focus on the early days of Seinfeld, and how it all began when it was the darkest of dark horses and had to overcome many obstacles, including poor media reviews," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told Variety.

The special, which will also include input from Seinfeld cocreator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, is planned by execs as an extra assurance that DVD sales will be brisk, especially since the holiday shopping season officially kicks off the day after The Seinfeld Story airs.

And about those DVDs. . . The first three seasons will be available in various configurations when they hit stores on Nov. 23, including a season one and two box set, a single season three set and the mother of all Seinfeld memorabilia, the Seinfeld Gift Set.

The collection features the first three seasons, plus goodies like Monk's Diner salt and pepper shakers, Seinfeld playing cards, a show script with handwritten notes by Larry David, and extra DVD features like outtakes, interviews, cast commentary, stand-up footage of Jerry, a profile of Kenny Kramer (the real-life inspiration for Cosmo Kramer) and bloopers. Bloopers? We can only imagine the wackiness that Richards didn't intend while portraying "hipster doofus" Kramer.

Among the episode gems in the show's first three seasons: Emmy-winning "The Subway" and "The Fix-Up"; the classic "Chinese Restaurant" and "The Library"; and one of the series' all-time best installments, the two-part "The Boyfriend," the JFK spoof featuring former New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez ("Back, and to the left. . .back, and to the left").

In short, it's the gift that's sure not to be re-gifted.

The special and DVD projects mark the first reunion of the show's stars since the series wrapped its 1989-98 run on NBC. Aside from David's popular Emmy-winning, autobiographical HBO series (on which Seinfeld, Alexander and Louis-Dreyfus have appeared), and Seinfeld's revamped stand-up performances, the other cast members have enjoyed little success in the post-Seinfeld world.

Richards crashed and burned as a bumbling detective on the ill-conceived 2000 NBC sitcom The Michael Richards Show. Louis-Dreyfus didn't fare much better in Watching Ellie, the 2002 real-time NBC comedy created by her real-life hubby, Brad Hall. And Alexander is still trying to forget 2001's Bob Patterson, the quickly canned ABC sitcom in which he portrayed a motivational speaker who was about as motivating as, well, a certain "short, stocky, bald man" we all know and love.

Alexander is currently starring in the new CBS sitcom Listen Up, playing a sports commentator who was inspired by real-life sportswriter Tony Kornheiser. Despite being trashed by critics, the show managed to pull down time-slot-winning ratings in its debut this week, though it should be noted that the show's time slot is a cushy one, nestled among the Monday night lineup that includes the Charlie Sheen hit Two and a Half Men and the final season of Seinfeld-sized hit Everybody Loves Raymond.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. . .