Jerry Stiller died this week, ending a legendary comedy career, of which his role as Frank Costanza on the TV show Seinfield was only one small part. Still: It was a pretty damn good small part, as Stiller delved—with never-ending vigor—into every petty grudge, grievance, and idiosyncratic delight that made George Costanza’s dad such an indelible part of one of the greatest TV comedies of all time. TBS aims to pay tribute to Stiller’s work this Saturday the only way it knows how: By assembling a 10-episode Seinfeld marathon out of many of Frank’s best episodes.
It’s a pretty good list, too: Early appearance “The Cigar Store Indian,” the Bro vs. Manssiere action of “The Doorman,” and of course “The Rye,” home to a legendary Stiller line-reading of “That’s perverse!” It all culminates, obviously, in “The Strike,” a.k.a. “the Festivus episode,” which might be the show’s purest expression of Frank’s endlessly aggrieved worldview and love of aluminum poles.
The marathon kicks off this Saturday, May 16, at 4 p.m. It runs until 9 p.m. or your eardrums burst, whichever comes first.