the Larry Sanders Show

we all think we're larry but we're all probably closer to hank #truths

love the way artie always brings up exotic fruit to placate difficult guests

i never realized before what a debt Curb Your Enthusiasm owed to this show. it's basically the same show.

Only the lead can act.

As incredible as Hank is, he's a time-honored TV-type: the buffoon

Part of what is so brilliant about the show is that Hank can fulfil this role, yet the writing (and Tambor's acting) allow for wholly believable swings from sympathy for the character (particularly in later seasons, as I recall) to revealing him to be such an asshole in other moments. I just watched the one where Hank is feuding with the new bandleader (played by Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet!) and his behaviour is cringe-worthy nearly to the point of being unbearable to watch. But still hilarious.

Hank is basically a two-year-old in Jeffrey Tambor's body.

That is one of Hank's very funny episodes + one where his idiocy and maladjusted nastiness beautifully combine. Some very funny lines in that like Hank trying to pretend the girdle thing he wears to make him look thinner has a medical purpose. And then when he insinuates the Kemp character has a drug problem and is a paedo in front of the audience. Or that awkward moment where Hank says "our commander in grief" and it goes quiet. I have seen it umpteen times and still LOL hard at it.

he's like the Hamlet of sitcom buffoons

I have sometimes thought that Hank Kingsley was the greatest TV character ever. And I'm usually right about things.

I simplified him a bit there, cryptsicko; at times, he could be as corrosively cynical as Larry.

The episode where Hank becomes guest host is one of the greatest things ever.

Spotlights Hank minus his ego is a pretty great guy

But the ego always wins out, of course

"Hank?...Hank?....get the fuck off the bed"

saw Rip Torn as a lusty Louisiana senator last night in The Seduction of Joe Tynan ('79), def a Cajun cousin of Artie.

I didn't know Sissy Spacek was his cousin, that is new to me.

"I'm really sorry Hank, I've, I don't know, I've become kind of an asshole these last couple of years"

"It's OK Larry, I've turned into a moron. Let's just, let's try to have fun with it."

Even by the show's unimpeachable standards, the episode where Hank converts to Judaism is an absolute masterpiece. The tonal balance is brilliant, with Hank retaining his buffoonishness while nonetheless being wholly sincere; even after he reveals his attraction to his rabbi, the joke doesn't simply become "Hank trying to get laid by horribly awkward means" but does in fact seem like a legitimate expression of what the rabbi describes as a conflating of spiritual enthusiasm with romantic feelings. The hate mail scene always destroys me, particularly Tambor's defeated reading of the line "well, maybe don't read that one" when Brian shows him the envelope with the swastika on it. Even the subplot involving Larry's new chair is a brilliant bit of meta-commentary, contrasting Hank's legitimate and controversial spiritual awakening with the kind of nonsense sitcom plotting that passes for safe entertainment. We get bland, safe entertainment not only because that's what sells, but also because the potential for alienating anyone, even neo-Nazis, is too great a risk to take.

"Hey, where's Dirty Old Bitch?"

We miss you, Martin.

peak hank xp

artie: "what did we learn, here, hank? when you're humble and vulnerable, people like you. and when you act like an asshole, people think you're an asshole."

Some of my favourite episodes are when Artie's pissed off at the show/Larry/Hank/everything around him

there's a lot of george costanza in hank. and a lot of homer simpson.

but what is it that makes pretty much every episode of this show feel so epic, so all-time??

"Phil, you dress like one of the Peanuts gang; Linus with a goatee."

One minor disappointment: the show saves the revelation of Phil's repressed homosexuality as a gag for the second-to-last episode, thus saving the show from having to deal with it in future episodes.

coulda been a one-off

One of the pieces i posted above has Scott Thompson saying that he blindsided Wallace Langham (a straight friend of his) by disobeying his "No tongues" demand in that scene.

wd tot hit young Langham

Hank to 'his' rabbi: "I think rabbis are so wise and so good. And they let you guys marry, right?"

"That's right"

"Well that is so helpful. Catholic priests can't do that. And I think that's why so many of them have.. prostate problems."

"I really want to join your temple, rabbi"

"Well I'm very glad to hear that, Hank. Do you observe the Sabbath?"

"In what way?"

I'm up to the 6th season, and have just realized it's the last, and I am genuinely kind of upset and sad about that

luckily the show has one of the best endings ever

You have to re-watch the whole series at least 3 times before you start feeling sad.

on hbo streaming from 23 september

http://www.avclub.com/article/5-episodes-highlight-biting-backstage-humor-larry--242328

you need to wash your mouth out... with HANK

Frequently reminded how good Tambor was in this. In different hands, Hank could've been thoroughly off-putting rather than one of the all-time greatest fictional characters.

the core troika of Larry-Artie-Hank is the most perfectly formed/executed trio of characters since Kirk-Spock-Bones imo

there's an argument to be made for Tambor being the best comedic actor of the last twenty years

although his film work counts against him

I would give that honor to Danny McBride, personally

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzEpC8QFmUE

I just watched the episode where Larry faxes his "Dear Dumb Fuck" letter to Hank rather than the critic, A+ comedy gold

"I'm pissing my pants, conceptual flaw and all"

It's just possible that 'Hank's Night in the Sun' is the greatest episode of any tv show ever.

god yes. the rise, the inevitable fall, the acrid implosion. and burt reynolds.

Had to look it up--I was thinking it might have been his post-divorce episode--but yes, one of the best. Isn't that also the one where Hank says to Phil "Do you like your job?" and finds himself stuck for a comeback when Phil emphatically says "No"?

Yes, that's it. I've probably seen it (and the show as a whole) at least four times now and it's still just so... Like before he first goes on, and he's crumpling up and talking about not wanting to experience his dream in case he fucks it up, and it was genuinely affecting! And I knew full well the level of assholism to follow!

I don't think I could possibly get tired of rewatching this show. Not only does it remain amazingly fresh (I've been LOLing every episode), I think familiarity with the character dynamics actually enhances the experience. Anticipating a character's predictable reaction to a situation is half the fun at this point.

Hank: What is wrong with mankind, I ask you?
Darlene: Electromagnetic fields.
Hank: Please be quiet. Please be quiet.

Pretty sure the episode with Colin Quinn as Artie's son is the worst episode by some margin. But then it extensively features Colin Quinn 'acting' so there you go.