THE K-K-Kramer scandal may have murdered Michael Richards' career - but it's doing wonders for sales of the latest Seinfeld DVD

Don Kaplan:

Season 7 of the popular sitcom is outselling the Season 6 set (released on the same day last year) by more than 75 percent, and more than 90 percent over season 5 at some online DVD retailers, according to TMZ.com.

On Barnes and Nobel's Web site, the DVD set is the sixth-best selling and Amazon ranks it in 12th place.

"I think the only explanation that could be is that there's a Kramer curiosity factor," says Dr. Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television.

"I can understand that, after what happened, there's a resurgent interest in 'Seinfeld,' and that seems to be expressing itself through people watching the show more and buying more DVDs.

"Boy, is it ever weird to watch 'Seinfeld' now," Thompson added.

Richards "carries baggage, when you see this happy-go-lucky guy barge into that apartment and talk about being 'master of his domain.' That really means something different now."

A video-phone recording of Richards exploding in a hateful, racist rant while performing his stand-up comedy act earlier this month leaked onto the Internet just days before the season 7 DVD set was released.

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