HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (April 4, 2011) — I’ve never subscribed to HBO. There may have been a month here and there when it was provided to my family, by mistake, or as part of some promotion. Invariably, when our cable monolith attempted to charge us, we balked. The movie-watching we missed as a result of this cultural diminishment we didn’t see as relevant. However, each time I told Spectrum to go fuck itself, I did think twice about acess to all those episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Larry Sanders Show.
Last year, from some Bangkok street vendor, I procured the first four seasons of Curb for a ridiculously small sum. The entertainment was good. I had seen the odd 30-minute installment here and there. But ultimately I had trouble watching them en masse. After 5-6 episodes, not even a full season, I found myself worn out by the sameness of each plot: No, Larry. No, don’t do that. Oh geez…
By contrast, IFC started rebroadcasting The Larry Sanders Show in January and, with a deft flick of my DVR settings, I have proceeded to record each and every episode, in order, from the very beginning of the show’s run in 1992. It’s hard to keep up. My family rolls its eyes when they glimpse the list of recorded shows and spy this vintage Sea of Larry.
I’ll temper my ultimate, unbridled enthusiasm by saying the first two seasons of Larry Sanders were only slightly better than average — and something of a letdown when contrasted with the glowing tributes this series routinely garners from television cognoscenti. These episodes didn’t suffer from a sameness, a la Curb, but I did find myself wondering why I am supposed to care about any of the main characters who are unfailingly funny, but rather shitty.
Well, I can report that by Season 4, the show officially hit its stride. It’s not just easy for me to sit down and watch 2-3 episodes in a sitting; I make time for it. I recently watched the fictitious talk show’s 8th anniversary special. It struck me that a number of things have come together, revealing the show’s genius and explaining all the accolades I’d read and listened to over the years.