the Larry Sanders Show

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Penny_Johnson

I finished up last night. I'll go back now and watch all the deleted scenes, most of which I skipped.

The last season starts off with three of the best episodes ever. It's basically all the machinations of Stevie Grant and the network as they clear a path for John Stewart. As a corrosive look at show business, they're up there with Sweet Smell of Success. I linked to this way upthread--possibly my favorite exchange of the entire run--and another great moment I'd single out is when Stevie Grant says something like, "That's what made this company [meaning the U.S.A.] great," Arthur walks away in disgust saying, "It's a country," and you hear Stevie ask, "What'd I say?"

A bunch of good (though not as good) episodes follow, leading up to "Flip," the final show. I had mixed feelings on that one. It's unusual how they let Jim Carrey take over for a while--his banter during the commercial is great, but I'm not sure it's worth the 10 minutes that leads up to it. The meta stuff with Sean Penn during the commercial break was overkill; the point had already been made when Garry Shandling's name was mentioned. And the episode gets more maudlin than I would have expected towards the end; I almost wish Hank had exited on his tirade, instead of having him come back. Artie's better than ever through the whole season. I'd forgotten how Sarah Silverman basically disappeared, then reappeared.

I finish as I started: still gets my vote for the greatest sitcom ever.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/the-tragedy-of-the-talk-show-host/8293/

netflix is trying to kill me

kill u w/ lulz

so i just bought the complete series, after having only seen like 4 or 5 episodes. given that I'm a huge curb your enthusiasm fan, and will likely watch all of LSS for the next couple of weeks, is there hope? I mean, will I develop an ulcer out of acidic gluttony?

Summer 2010, for me, was all about watching the entire LSS series.

No regrets. Don't look back now.

Just started streaming on Netflix. At what point does it became comedy godhead?

I had my summer of LSS about a decade ago as an impressionable teenager via the joys of subscription television. Maybe I am due for another one?

Xpost: I'd probably say with the Hankercizer

Huh, Netflix streaming has a really weird episode order: "Hey Now" is first, and then "The Flirt Episode."

Yeah, there a few instances of episodes being out of order (really threw me at the beginning of Season 3), episodes not even in the right season, mislabeled episodes.

I assume Wikipedia has the proper order?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Larry_Sanders_Show_episodes

I know IFC has been airing them in production order, I assume Netflix has them the same. "Hey Now" was first shot, and "The Flirt" second, etc. See this page: http://epguides.com/LarrySandersShow/

In most cases it doesn't matter, although season 6 actually works better in production order.

My radio station had its license revoked the other day by the CRTC, a Canadian regulatory body. We're going to appeal; it may work, but it'll require a lot of money. Feb. 12 is supposed to be our final day of broadcasting.

So what does this have to do with Larry Sanders? I was thinking about what I'd say on what could be my final show this weekend, and I remembered the great opening to the final Sanders episode: Larry watching Jack Paar's Tonight Show sign-off. It was the second time they tried an opening like that, the other being the O.J. opening. Both were sombre, and completely silent except for what was playing on the television screen. Fantastic.

Artie: Well what about little Miguelito from Peru, you know the kid you adopted through Sally Struthers? All his letters pile up like goddamn junk mail!

Hank: Well what am I supposed to do, he wrote them in Spanish. You see, this is not going to happen with Roger because he's local.

holy shit, the Divorce Gun

god i didnt realize that netflix had all of the seasons

how am i going to get anything done

just started this too. Drunk Hank and Artie in "The New Producer" was amazing!

i keep getting worried theyre going to pull it from streaming. im still on season 3

two things:

* jeffrey tambor is one of the best swearers in the world
* is "the larry sanders show" (ie the talk-show within the show) supposed to be good or is it supposed to be kind of mediocre? his monologues are always so lame

i think gary shandling delivers a pretty competent monologue -- at least by the standards of tnite show monologues which tend to be lame. at one point networks were talking about hiring him to actually host one of the late night shows (I believe NBC was trying to get him for the late night show and when they couldn't they went with Conan instead). part of what makes the show work imo, is that shandling does the late night thing really well. he does seem very comfortable and has that kind of superficial interview chit-chat stuff. i don't think it's supposed to be 'good' in some amazing definitive sense tho and we constantly hear throughout the series about sanders problems competing for ratings. he's not supposed to be the best thing on tv, but he is supposed to be one of these guys that can do this job well.

i think the monologues are good

he was a frontrunner to succeed carson! (according to wikipedia)

i think the monologues are good/lame the same way that conan and daves are

They kind of give the impression they're struggling to stay in Leno and Letterman's league but Arsenio (sp?) is kicking they're ass. Sometimes the monologues are one joke.

not sure if this was posted already in this thread but very worth reading: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/the-tragedy-of-the-talk-show-host/8293/

The "no-flipping" thing he does at the end of each monologue always made me think this was some sort of alternative universe where David Brenner had a successful talk show.

Larry Sanders and Garry Shandling's guest stints on Carson were completely different.

they all have their own little 'no-flipping' things. conan bows to the audience a bunch.

Yeah, but the "no-flipping" is a lot lamer.

his delivery is good, he seems natural, etc., just the jokes themselves are really lame. they're like leno-standard jokes. i just wasn't sure if that was intentional or not.

i think tambor is a really good swearer because it doesn't seem casual at all, he seems genuinely infuriated whenever he swears. thinking specifically of when he finds out he's been cut from larry's architectural digest pictorial and just keeps saying "those ... fuckers" over and over

"penis vagina"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50GmA2T8Jo8

at one point networks were talking about hiring him to actually host one of the late night shows (I believe NBC was trying to get him for the late night show and when they couldn't they went with Conan instead).

it was the Tonight Show, and he turned it down to do Larry Sanders for HBO

can't find letterman's appearance backstage at an awards ceremony :(

they tried to get him to do late night again after larry sanders show was already running (it's discussed in the Conan biography part of the War for Late Night)

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWV06u_Q4UM

another great swearing hank moment is when he's trying to impress wu-tang with his parking tickets, stomping his foot; "fucking cops man!"

Those are exactly like larry sanders!!!

watched the first ep of season 4 today, tambor just KILLS it after his car gets egged

Isn't that the episode that starts with everybody sitting around a TV watching the O.J. trial, with Phil later using the egging to make a point about O.J.'s guilt? As I mentioned upthread, that's my favorite opening of any episode in the entire run. It's so atypically grim.

yeah, and roseanne is booked on the show and larry freaks out

"the only way they're going to get rid of this yarmulke is if they pry it off my cold, dead head"

btw my fav hank moment is when he gets engaged to a younger woman to everyone's confusion, and the punchline is when Artie meets her dad and he looks exactly like hank

so many amazing moments, love the episode where hank and larry end up dancing zonked on anti-depressants

"there's a place...I go to, when times are dark Larry..."

"the top drawer of my office desk?"

"yes two of the large yellow pills, with scotch"

I'm pretty sure there won't be anymore til Shandling's dead.

― Dr Morbius, Friday, April 27, 2007 1:27 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark

Morbzfail

ive been watching all of these on netflix from the start to the end and there isnt a single episode where hank doesnt make me laugh out loud

Hank Kingsley: [dictating "Hank's Thoughts" for a newsletter] : If I had my druthers, there would be no more world hunger.

I lol every time at the recurring joke of Hank saying a bunch of dumb shit (inevitably ending with something like "I'm not stupid, y'know") and Artie responding "I don't agree with a single thing you just said"

Hank's Thoughts: "I could really go for a Creamsicle right now."