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Dear Seinfeld Group,

Why, exactly, is there such animosity between Newman and the Seinfelds? Also, what is Newman's first name?

He doesn't have one, I don't think. A character called him Norman once and that raised speculation that was it but someone with the show said that the actress blew the line and they just left it in. I think the problem with Newman and Jerry goes back to before Newman's first appearance on the show. Although in the Non Fat Yogurt Newman said he would get Jerry back for putting an end to the Non Fat Yogurt which wasn't

Paul Valenti

That was clearly just a goof by the character involved (it happened a couple times, most recently in The Bottle Deposit episode...the country girl apparently seduced by Newman messes up his name). However it was prob- ably written that way...

We never find out what the root cause of Newman's dislike of Jerry is. You get the sense that they might have dealt with it if they had found the appropriately funny plot line for it, but they just didn't. So it suited them to leave it as a loose end and a running joke all the way to the end of the show.

Come to think of it, Seinfeld has left so many loose ends that you could probably make 2 or 3 full-length films, either TV or theatrical, just tying SOME of them up (while creating a whole batch of new ones). Pretty clever of Jerry and Larry to do that...it almost assures that the franchise will live on for quite a while, and that it'll present an opportun- ity for revival if they find the appropriate plot lines and scripts.

I'll predict, though, that it won't happen in the fall of 1999...it will take them time to develop a script that will maintain the quality of the Seinfeld franchise and live up to people's expectations. (Not 10 years like Star Trek, but probably at least a couple.) They'll take their time because of the mixed reaction to the finale. But if they don't do it by about 2001 or so, the performers will start to get a little old to portray these characters the same way. So...Seinfeld reunion in 2000 or 2001, or probably not at all...

Bob Smith, afternoons WXXI-AM 1370, Rochester NY