One Of The Worst One-Off Seinfeld Characters According To Fans
Anyone will tell you that the key to putting together a worthwhile TV show is developing an engaging plot. It's vital that the story goes somewhere and that the characters within it develop over time. "Seinfeld," on the other hand, actively avoids this stuff, telling stories about nothing and starring people who fail to learn from their experiences time and time again. Despite all of this, though, the show managed to become a hit throughout the near decade it spent on the air. It even endures in popular culture to this day, and it's easy to see why.
More often than not, the most memorable elements of "Seinfeld" stem back to the series' host of colorful characters. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) served as the main crew, with the ever-conniving Newman (Wayne Knight) heading the recurring cast. Beyond them, "Seinfeld" has introduced countless unforgettable side characters, ranging from the often clueless David Puddy (Patrick Warburton) to Jerry's uncle, Leo (Len Lesser), — each bringing something unique to their given episodes.
While many minor "Seinfeld" characters have lived on in fan circles in a positive way, others aren't looked upon so fondly. Speaking particularly of those who only popped up in one episode, this character has earned a reputation as one of the absolute worst.
Toby hasn't won over many fans
Season 5's "The Fire" introduced "Seinfeld" viewers to Toby (Veanne Cox): Elaine's hyper-enthusiastic co-worker at Pendant Publishing, who mistakenly heckles Jerry during one of his stand-up comedy performances. This prompts him to later do the same to Toby at her job, leading to her running outside into the street just in time for a street sweeper to slice off her pinky toe. Her boss, Mr. Lippman (Richard Fancy), takes pity on her for the accident and offers her a promotion — the same one that Elaine had her eye on previously.
Given her erratic nature and lack of stand-up comedy etiquette, Toby stands out as one of the most unbearable "Seinfeld" one-off characters around. Redditor jahbariuz87 claimed as much in a thread about her, and so an interesting discussion about Toby ensued. Some, such as bussbaby, who admitted to skipping "The Fire" whenever it came up during their rewatch because of her, agreed with the original post entirely. However, not everyone looked at Veanne Cox's take on Toby in the same way.
Other Reddit users felt that Toby was indeed awful, but that just goes to show how well Cox handled the material. "I thought she was a trip. Great one off," wrote Wolvercote, and jahbariuz87 replied that they dislike Toby so much because of Cox's acting ability. User agthrowa voiced a similar thought, writing, "She was excellent and hatable at once. Great acting." They also, alongside numerous other commenters, highlighted the fact that at least they have Toby to thank for Kramer's hilarious pinky toe story.
All in all, Toby is far from a popular "Seinfeld" one-off character, no matter how you slice it. The writers intended for her to be unlikeable, after all, so when it comes down to it, Veanne Cox did her job to perfection.