“Seinfeld”: Nothing Changes

It might sound outrageous, egregious and preposterous, but lawyer character Jackie Chiles is back in a web series. He's still outrageously funny...

It's been 12 years since the final episode of "Seinfeld," which also marked the last TV appearance of recurring character Jackie Chiles, the flashy lawyer whose dealings with Kramer always ended in disaster.

Now comic Phil Morris has resurrected Chiles in a web series on Funny or Die – marking the latest sign that the show about nothing still has something to give.

We haven't stopped laughing over last year's "Seinfeld" reunion plotline on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which served as an affirmation of the long-running sitcom's enduring appeal as well as of how much Jerry and his pals are missed.

Morris' short video monologues – the second was posted this week – aren't anywhere near as elaborate as a reunion. But they serve as a funny reminder of the show, the Chiles character and the scope of the Seinfeldian universe.

"Did you miss me? I knew you did! Jackie's back and I'm badder and madder than ever," Chiles declares in the opening installment.

The verbally acrobatic character, modeled on the late O.J. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran, proved a great fit on "Seinfeld" in a handful of memorable appearances.

He stepped in when Kramer spilled hot coffee on himself ("It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous!") and was a supposed victim of big tobacco and of a driver clad in a bra. Each case ended in a hilarious debacle, as did the trial in the final episode when Chiles' defense couldn't keep the four main characters out of prison.

Morris, whose web series reportedly received Jerry Seinfeld's blessing, has tried over the years to parlay the character into a TV show. He might never make it back to the big screen, but we'll happily follow his online adventures – and hope for a Kramer cameo (and perhaps more web spinoffs: How does "Going Postal With Newman" sound?).

Meanwhile, check out the outrageous return of Jackie Chiles – and learn how he mentored a certain president – below:

Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.

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