It's been more than 25 years since the "Seinfeld" finale aired, yet the episode itself remains just as controversial as when it premiered as a one-hour special in 1998. Written by co-creator Larry David, who left "Seinfeld" at the show's creative peak in season 7, the finale takes an unexpected turn by putting the show's gang on trial for violating a Good Samaritan Law after they taunt and film a carjacking victim instead of helping him. Upon sitting down in the courtroom, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards) are forced to listen as a string of beloved supporting players -- including the Soup Nazi, Bubble Boy, and the woman Kramer gave a faulty wheelchair to -- parade in to air their grievances about the self-absorbed individuals on the witness stand.

The ending divided critics, audiences, and even those involved with the show. Entertainment Weekly called the episode "off-key and bloated,...