Reception
The episode was first aired in the United States on NBC on April 4, 1991 as part of a Thursday night line-up that also included Cheers and L.A. Law. "The Apartment" gained a Nielsen rating of 16.9 and an audience share of 28, meaning that 16.9% of American households watched the episode, and that 28% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it. Nielsen also estimated that 15.7 million homes were tuned into the episode, making Seinfeld the ninth most-watched show in the week the episode was broadcast, while 20.5 million homes tuned into Cheers. Seinfeld's ability to keep a large number of Cheers' audience eventually helped the show get a third season order.
Ocala Star-Banner critic Jon Burlingame praised the episode for its "smart humor" and stated the show could be a perfect fit between Cheers and L.A. Law. Mike Flaherty and Mary Kaye Schilling of Entertainment Weekly reacted very positively to the episode and praised Alexander's performance in particular, stating "George's profound self-hatred is now in full bloom ('Please, a little respect, for I am Costanza, Lord of the Idiots!'). Kramer's input, meanwhile, remains limited to off-the-wall, often annoying cameos. Which reminds us: Why in the world has Alexander been denied an Emmy, while Richards has scored two?" Schilling and Flaherty graded the episode with a B+. However, The Kitchener-Waterloo Record critic Bonnie Malleck gave the episode a particular negative review, comparing Seinfeld to It's Garry Shandling's Show, she stated "Seinfeld isn't neurotic enough to be as funny as . So, instead of being nervously funny, he's just nervously dull".
Read more about this topic: The Apartment (Seinfeld)
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