The Larry Sanders Show
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Season One (1992)
Rate:
5 out of 5
Viewed:
10/24
10/24:
The Larry Sanders Show is one of the greatest TV shows ever conceived.
I used to laugh hard when it ran on HBO back then. The concept is genius with high-quality writing. Garry Shandling,
Jeffrey Tambor, and Rip Torn will always be legends for playing Larry Sanders, "Hey Now" Hank Kingsley, and Artie,
respectively. The supporting characters are well known, too, and everything is so interesting, especially when the
celebrities are being themselves behind the scenes.
Anyway, here's my analysis for some of the episodes:
The Promise: David Spade is an all-time asshole, and I hate him.
The Spiders Episode: One of the funniest ever. Actually, everybody exaggerated the danger of such creatures.
Used in the movie Arachnophobia, they're Avondale spiders which are 100%
harmless in real life.
Guest Host: Artie mentioned a guy named Rupert Pupkin; not many know this, but Robert De Niro played him in
The King of Comedy and his deeply disturbed stalker character kidnapped Jerry
Lewis so he could become a late night TV host. By the way, I hate Dana Carvey and have never thought of him as funny.
Are you fucking kidding me? That guy sucks. He had a show of his own in 1996 that was promptly canceled seven episodes later.
Also, the black actress who temporarily replaced Melanie Parrish is Anne-Marie Johnson, and she's well known for
the TV show In the Heat of the Night.
The New Producer: Simply the funniest. That's why Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn are the best.
Hank's Contract: Robin Williams had the greatest line ever when he asked if he looked like an Irish pimp while
dressed just exactly like that.
The 'Hey Now' Episode: It's amazing to see the run of celebrities who have died either young or recently:
Garry Shandling (66), Rip Torn (88), Bob Saget (65), Robin Williams (63), Martin Mull (80), Richard Simmons (76),
Ray Combs (40), and Hervé Villechaize (50).
Season Two (1993)
Rate:
4 out of 5
Viewed:
11/24
11/24:
There is a huge change happening here, and it's the tone.
I find it weird because of the back-and-forth between business matters and trying to be funny.
Was I supposed to laugh a lot as intended or be impacted by the goings-on behind the scenes? At any rate,
the overall comedy is down a lot.
Another hit is the departure of two cast members: Jeremy Piven and Janeane Garofalo. They decided that they
were bigger and better than the show by leaving for PCU and
Saturday Night Live, respectively. Huge mistake. They're simply well known because of this show and had never
done anything else better since then.
Anyway, here's my analysis for some of the episodes:
Artie's Gone: The death roll continues to mount up hitherto and also afterwards: Teri Garr (79), Bruno Kirby (57),
Richard Lewis (76), Suzanne Somers (76), Alex Trebek (80), George Segal (81), Phil Hartman (49), Burt Reynolds (82),
John Ritter (54), Gene Siskel (53), Warren Zevon (56), Chris Farley (33), Regis Philbin (88), Richard Belzer (78), and
Kris Kristofferson (88).
The Performance Artist: While I didn't think Tim Miller's skit was funny, there's a good point being made here,
and, of all people, Roseanne should know, having been embroiled in so many controversies.
The Grand Opening: You couldn't pay me to attend the grand opening of Hank's restaurant. He has always been a
loser and an asshole.
New York or L.A.: At the time, when I saw this episode, I thought the show had been canceled for good.
Season Three (1994)
Rate:
4 out of 5
Viewed:
11/24
11/24:
This one is much better than the previous season.
It's because most of the cast members are more involved this time. Plus, it helps to have Janeane Garofalo
back, but her hair...eek.
Anyway, here's my analysis for some of the episodes:
Would You Do Me a Favor?: Wow...talk about two all-time losers having a conversation: Hank Kingsley and
George Costanza.
Hank's Night in the Sun: Can you say "Rupert Pupkin"?
Headwriter Phil: This is the number one reason why Rip Torn was the only one of the cast to win an Emmy Award.
It's because Artie is a people person, and he's so fascinating, especially the way he handles everybody.
Larry Loses a Friend: Phil Hartman was on earlier. Then, Jon Lovitz showed up which reminded me that
he replaced Hartman on the show Newsradio after he was murdered by his wife.
The Fourteenth Floor: No doubt I saw this episode once in 1994, but I had no idea that the kid was
Haley Joel Osment because he wouldn't be famous until The Sixth Sense
happened five years later.
Season Four (1995)
Rate:
4 out of 5
Viewed:
11/24
11/24:
This season is much better than the previous two.
It's because the episodes are more funny and the tension has grown less. Janeane Garofalo's hair is finally back to
normal, but Linda Doucett is gone forever.
Anyway, here's my analysis for some of the episodes:
Hank's New Assistant?: Linda Doucett and Garry Shandling were in a relationship for many years, and they broke up
because she wanted a baby and he didn't. So, Shandling decided to kick her off the show. Hence, a wrongful termination
and sexual harrassment lawsuit was filed, and it got settled out of court in her favor which probably
explains why Linda Doucett never appeared in anything else in Hollywood afterwards. Ironically, Robert Shapiro was shown in
the TV for the O.J. Simpson trial, and he, a married man, tried to hit on her via a kiss by pretending to be interested
in taking on her case. Once again, Hank's assholeness comes out, ruining him for good along on top of wanting to get it on
with Darlene in a prior episode.
The Bump: When Beverly told Larry Sanders to have more black people after wanting suggestions to improve his show,
I didn't laugh because it's true. There are hardly any of them after four seasons. It's been white people constantly
all the time. By the way, I keep hearing the name "Jeff Cesario," but who the hell is he? I've never
seen him do anything outside of this show.
Jeannie's Visit: Too strange...it feels like the "family" sleeps with each other. The deaths continue including
afterwards: Ryan O'Neal (82), Tatjana Patitz (56), Larry King (87), Norm MacDonald (61), Farrah Fawcett (62),
Tom Shales (79), Tim Conway (85), Carl Reiner (98), Jerry Stiller (92), and Tom Petty (66).
Hank's Sex Tape: Hank hits another low point.
Nothing Personal: Jeff Goldblum is one of the better guests on the show. They need to get more A-list stars.
Beverly and the Prop Job: Again, Beverly brings it up. Yeah, how about Wesley Snipes? Laurence Fishburne? Black
athletes? Michael Jordan? Walter Payton? By the way, these O.J. Simpson jokes aren't amusing but rather disturbing.
Larry's on Vacation: I never thought Sandra Bernhard was funny.
Season Five (1996-97)
Rate:
4 out of 5
Viewed:
11/24
11/24:
This season is more of the same without issues given the irregularity or absence of certain longtime cast members.
Anyway, here's my analysis for some of the episodes:
Ellen, Or Isn't She?: Ellen DeGeneres is disgusting, and she's obviously gay.
The Matchmaker: This one is among the top five episodes in series history. I knew Hank's hooker was a man. These
Asians are notorious for this sort of thing.
Artie, Angie, Hank and Hercules: Given the long run of many now-deceased guest celebrities, I thought Angie Dickinson
had passed away, but she's unbelievably alive at age 93.
The Prank: This is an interesting episode in terms of how Lori Loughlin is because she was eventually
sentenced to serve time in prison for participating in a college bribery scandal involving her daughter.
Season Six (1998)
Rate:
4 out of 5
Viewed:
11/24
11/24:
The Larry Sanders Show has come to an end, so I have some thoughts.
To be honest with you, the monologues have rarely made me laugh. I don't get why they have to be about sex all the time.
Can the writers be more witty than that? The talk show per se isn't worth tuning in if it did air for real, but the
behind-the-scene stuff is the most fascinating part. Hence, I view The Larry Sanders Show more of a drama with
humorous moments here and there than a comedy.
On the other hand, if there's an Asshole Hall of Fame, Hank Kingsley should be automatically inducted. He gets way, way
too much attention in nearly every episode, especially during the last three seasons. To balance things out, more time
should've been spent on Larry Sanders, especially when he interacts with celebrity guest stars.
Anyway, here's my analysis for some of the episodes:
Another List: Jon Stewart had his own talk show on MTV: The Jon Stewart Show. Eventually, the channel
dropped it. Years later, he hosted another on Comedy Central: The Daily Show. However, I don't find him funny or
worth listening to.
Pilots and Pens Lost: Dave Chappelle sucks. And there's a pen that's worth $10,000? Yeah, okay...whatever.
Beverly's Secret: Drew Carey, Eriq La Salle, Michael Bolton...how hard is that? Of course, it had to be Eriq La Salle.
I Buried Sid: A former NFL player for the Giants and Rams, Rosey Grier used to be RFK's bodyguard and was
there during the night of his assassination, having tackled the shooter Sirhan Sirhan afterwards.
Just the Perfect Blendship: Sarah Silverman's monologue was baaaaaaad. I didn't know that Jeff Goldblum
could play the piano.
Flip: This is a well-done episode, one of the best in series history. Now, you see how having A-list stars helps a lot.
The best celebrity guest star performance goes to Jim Carrey. Sean Penn's conversation with Larry Sanders about a lowly actor
named Garry Shandling is very funny. What happened to David Duchovny? I thought he was slated to appear in the finale.
Earlier, he was imitating what Sharon Stone did in Basic Instinct.