The Better Call Saul Legends You Likely Forgot Starred In Seinfeld
After the massive success of "Breaking Bad," it certainly made sense for AMC to continue to capitalize on the critically acclaimed series. Less than two years after its series finale, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould premiered "Better Call Saul," a prequel based on one of the show's most beloved characters.
Fans of "Breaking Bad" will surely recognize Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) as the sleazy lawyer who helps Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) avoid serious trouble with the law. Throughout "Breaking Bad," Goodman's reputation as Albuquerque's must-hire lawyer inspires a great deal of confidence among the criminal elite and their many less-than-elite underlings. Since the spin-off series premiered, "Better Call Saul" has given audiences a window into how such a colorful character came to be.
Notably, "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" are not the first series in which Odenkirk and Cranston's paths crossed. Although the two never shared the screen at the same time in the NBC sitcom, both actors also once played brief roles in "Seinfeld."
Bob Odenkirk portrayed Elaine's doctor boyfriend
Long before he took on the role of Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman), Bob Odenkirk made a small appearance in a 1996 episode of "Seinfeld" that excellently demonstrates his inherent comedic chops. In "Seinfeld" Season 8, Episode 9 ("The Abstinence"), Odenkirk portrays Ben, the boyfriend of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Ben is a doctor in training who struggles to pass his final test. During a date with Elaine, Ben explains that although he has attempted the test a whole three times, he has never quite been able to pass the finish line. Despite his lack of actual certification, Elaine loves to tell everyone that she is dating a doctor.
In classic "Seinfeld" fashion, Elaine's delusions of grandeur come back to bite her in an extremely embarrassing fashion. Elaine is later shocked when Ben proves entirely useless to help another restaurant patron in urgent need of medical care. In response to the incident, Elaine becomes determined to help Ben pass his test. However, Ben continues to struggle, leading Elaine to propose a peculiar method to focus his energies. In order to allow Ben to focus, the two commit to abstinence (hence, the name of the episode).
Unfortunately, Elaine's refrain from intimacy has a strange effect on her, ridding her of her intelligence and making her act even sillier than normal. Once Ben passes his test, he leaves Elaine behind to find someone better, crushing her dreams of being able to honestly tell people that she's dating a doctor.
Bryan Cranston played Jerry's dentist
Before he embodied science teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White, "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston enjoyed a much more light-hearted role on "Seinfeld." In the NBC sitcom, Cranston portrayed Jerry's dentist, Tim Whatley, a man known as the "Dentist to the Stars." Similar to Odenkirk, his character also briefly dates Elaine, but it's not exactly a lasting romance either.
Cranston made his first appearance in the series in Season 6, Episode 8 ("The Mom and Pop Store"), an episode in which George Costanza (Jason Alexander) requests that he inspect teeth marks from a pencil to confirm they belong to the actor Jon Voight (who also briefly cameos in the episode). Cranston later returned for two additional episodes of Season 6, including Episode 12 ("The Label Maker"), in which Tim gifts Jerry a label maker in return for Super Bowl tickets, and Episode 18 ("The Jimmy"), in which Jerry becomes concerned that something untoward was done to him during a recent procedure at Tim's practice.
However, Cranston's "Seinfeld" character is probably best remembered for his role in Season 8, Episode 19 ("The Yada Yada"). In this episode, Tim begins making jokes about Jewish people only shortly after converting to Judaism. As Jerry later confides in a priest, this move offends him as a comedian. Perhaps most memorably, this series of events leads Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) to coin the term "anti-dentite," a word he insists denotes a person who is prejudiced against dentists.