Wayne Knight’s favorite Seinfeld episode with Newman

Seinfeld is a series where almost every main character is weird and morally compromised, but made compelling by the strength of the writing and performances. So a character that’s specifically designed to act as Jerry Seinfeld’s fictional nemesis has to match the show’s overall aura of chaotic ineptitude while still being able to stand up. Wayne Knight’s Newman is perfect for the role. A scheming, theatrical postal worker who lives in the same building as Jerry and Kramer (Michael Richards), Newman is eccentric and obnoxious, but not exactly a villain. He is an antagonist of sorts because he manages to get along with most of the characters in the series who do not appear named Jerry, and the only one the real reason for Jerry to hate Newman is that the show’s creators thought it was a fun plot device.

Knight played Newman in 44 episodes after debuting in the Seinfeld season 3 molding him into one of the show’s most famous recurring characters. To this day, Jerry’s obnoxious greeting, “Hello, Newman,” remains one of the series’ most recognizable quotes. In 2012, in an interview with AV clubKnight easily singled out his favorite episode of Newman’s 44: “Seinfeld,” Season 4, Episode 4, “Ticket,” in which the character tries to get out of a speeding ticket by arguing in court that he rushed to the aid of a desperate Kramer (whose fantasies of becoming bankers were ruined). As Knight said:

“I have this scene in the courtroom where I was just in a state of exploding trying to (…) Well, it’s just over the top, but Newman was loyal, truthful and honestly more evil than he could have been. It was just fun and I thought it wasn’t one of the greatest episodes, but it’s my favorite.”

Newman and his shenanigans have become such an integral part of “Seinfeld” that it’s hard to believe the character was only supposed to appear in one episode — two, to be exact, if you include an early cameo appearance in “Revenge” Season 2 ”, which was voiced by Larry David, co-creator of “Seinfeld”. Newman’s original vision was a suspenseful guest character who threatens to tell a man waking up from a coma that Jerry is banging his girlfriend. However, Knight’s audition changed the course of the character thanks to his amazing chemistry with Richards. In an interview with the AV Club, the actor jokingly described the audition, amusingly comparing Richards and himself to the Tryon Tower and the Perisphere Building at the 1939 New York World’s Fair:

“I think when Michael and I were sitting next to each other in that scene, it was like the 1939 World’s Fair. I mean, there was this big tall obelisk and this rounded spherical shape and (… ) they just seemed historically appropriate and I just kept coming back.

Knight Newman’s favorite episode, “The Ticket,” features him and Richards as weird a great comedy duo very well. While Newman is perhaps better known for his feud with Jerry, his court-worthy mission to avoid a speeding ticket using a traumatized and confused Kramer as a witness is a great example of the special chemistry the pair shared in various schemes. B-plots.