Jerry's Two Favorite Seinfeld Episodes To Make Might Surprise You
"Seinfeld" is one of those shows that has thoroughly emblazoned itself into the pop-culture zeitgeist. Originally running from 1989 to 1998, "Seinfeld" follows the titular character Jerry Seinfeld and his colorful friends George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as they make observations about their environments and interactions (via IMDb). More often than not, episodes tend to have one or two plots and each member of "Seinfeld" usually has a different take than their comrades. Just think of the "Soup Nazi" episode, in which each person has a different opinion on the brutal soup chef.
"Seinfeld" was filmed in front of a live studio audience, which tended to give some real-world feedback to the comedians on the show. Alexander, one of the co-stars of "Seinfeld," once spoke to Fatherly about an interesting behind-the-scenes moment during the production of "The Marine Biologist." He said of one act involving George pulling out a golf ball, "There was a solid minute or more of laughter. That's a lot of laughing, where you can't go on, you can't do the next line, because the audience is laughing that hard? That was huge."
In a recent Reddit Ask-Me-Anything, Seinfeld himself was asked about what his favorite episode to make was. It turns out the comedian actually had two episodes in mind. But which?
Jerry brought up two episodes of Seinfeld -- The Rye and The Pothole
Seinfeld kicked off the discussion on the subreddit r/IAmA, where u/jklap asked what was Jerry's favorite episode to film. The comedian had two very distinct answers -– "The Rye" and "The Pothole." "The Rye" is Episode 11 of Season 7, and it is about a special loaf of bread that becomes the focal point of the episode when it becomes apparent that they need to return said bread, and Kramer is tapped to lead a horse tour through Central Park as a diversion.
Clarifying why he enjoyed filming "The Rye" so much, Seinfeld said, "We hadn't felt like a real TV show, the early years of the TV show were not successful. We had this idea of a Marble Rye and we had to shoot it in an outdoor set, and this was a very expensive thing to do, it's like a movie place there at Paramount in L.A. Their standing set for New York looks exactly like it, and we thought 'this is where the ADULT shows are, the REAL shows like "Murphy Brown."' We felt like we were a weird little orphan show. So that was a big deal for us." They spent all night filming the episode, he continued, and that it was very exciting to feel like the show was finally being taken seriously.
Jerry has mentioned The Pothole in other interviews
Seinfeld then also brought up Episode 16 of Season 8, "The Pothole," which involves the vindictive postal carrier Newman (Wayne Knight), George losing his keys in a freshly paved road, and Kramer adopting a highway. This episode sees Newman hit a pothole and sewing machine while in his U.S. Postal truck, which immediately causes it to erupt into flames because of several gallons of paint thinner coating the road. Seinfeld said he enjoyed "The Pothole" because filming the episode was a great experience, and that it was fun to set Newman on fire.
This was not the first time "The Pothole" was brought up by Seinfeld. In a 2019 interview with USA Today, he was asked about what episodes encapsulate the series the best, and he replied, "There's a few. I think Festivus, 'The Marine Biologist' (Season 5, 1994), 'The Contest' (Season 4, 1992), 'The Pothole' (Season 8, 1997), 'The Yada Yada' (Season 8, 1997),'The Boyfriend' (Season 3, 1992). I think they capture the show. Each episode has some insane thing in it." Even now, "Seinfeld" continues to have immense popularity, with The Streamable noting that the show is still an absolute behemoth when it comes to viewership. At least fans of the popular show now know the episodes Seinfeld enjoyed making the most, which is sure to make the series that much more enjoyable.