Network Memo Almost Ended Seinfeld Before It Began

It may be the greatest TV sitcom of all time. But can you believe Seinfeld was once described as "annoying," "disorienting", and "boring?"

We could go on, or as Seinfeld would say, "Yada, yada yada."

But it's true. Twenty five years ago NBC was testing a little show called "The Seinfeld Chronicles." That test audience did not like what they were seeing. 

TV Guide business editor Stephen Battaglio just uncovered a memo from 1989. It rated that first Seinfeld show as "Weak. No segment of the audience was eager to watch the show again." The now legendary Jason Alexander character, George Costanza, was labled a "wimp."

Watch More of Battaglio's Interview with INSIDE EDITION

Battaglio told INSIDE EDITION, "All the things that made Seinfeld quirky and interesting and idiosyncratic, these viewers just didn't get it. They thought it was boring, they didn't think it was relatable. They couldn't identify with it. They didn't think it was that funny."

The new issue of TV Guide on stands now, tells how NBC retooled and recast the show adding Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine. The rest is TV history.

Now, that scathing memo has surfaced, a memo that almost ended Seinfeld before it took off.

"Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, who co-created the show, were so amused by it that they both framed it and kept it in the bathrooms of their homes for many years," said Battaglio.