Die Larry Sanders Show

The award winning Larry Sanders show is subtle genius. Brilliantly written, superbly acted and hilarious, it took the documentary style comedy of Spinal Tap and re-tuned it to define a new sitcom style that inspired many other shows including Brit comedy The Office.

It ran alongside Sienfeld during the 90s but seems to have been overlooked by the mainstream and is in danger of slipping into obscurity.

The series follows the days in the lives of everybody involved in the production of a popular late night American talk show. The action centers around the three main characters, Larry Sanders the star and host of the show, Rip Torn's hilarious producer, Artie and the wonderful Hank Kingsley, Larry's sidekick.

The action is split into two styles, the behind the scenes docu-drama and the actual broadcast talk show. The two formats cleverly cut to tell the story of the characters. I don't know how they do it but the show is subtle and understated but at the same time fast moving and in your face.

I haven't seen the American version of The Office yet, but I strongly suggest that you don't even bother with it - just watch this instead. There are at least 7 or 8 series of it and you have to watch them in sequence too, because the stories cleverly develop and come to almost apocalyptic climaxes.

Do it!

For years we've all heard the stories of behind the scenes powerplays, ego, contracts, manipulation etc. among the late night hosts and networks. Ever since Johnny "clicked" with American TV audiences on NBC we have watched a steady stream of after 11pm hosts of variety type shows. Post-Carson we have seen Jay, Dave, Conan, Arsenio, Pat Sajak, Chevy Chase, Craig Kilborn, Bob Costas, etc. vie for the late night dollars. A movie entitled "The Late Night Shift" was made depicting the infighting between Jay Leno's people and David Letterman's group to take over The Tonight Show when Johnny retired.

Now Gary Shandling and HBO have devised a character and show to weave between reality and fiction all in the form of Shandling's alter-ego Larry Sanders. Much like Billy Crystal's creation, Buddy Young Jr., Sanders has taken on a personna of his own. However, what Shandling and HBO have done takes it to new heights of excellence. The stories are witty, funny, provocative, and probably lend more truth to insights into show business then even the most skeptical of us could have imagined.

With an absolutely great supporting cast this show embodies the idea that comedy can be intellectual, cutting edge, and somewhat bitter sharp without excluding portions of the audience. Of special note the performance of Rip Torn, as Larry's veteran producer (Artie), is shear greatness. Torn has fashioned his character after Fred DeCordova who was Johnny Carson's Executive Producer.Artie "knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em". He knows when to f__k with the network and when not to and he insulates Larry from anything that would compromise Larry's ability to be on the edge for a great show. He loves Larry like a brother and loathes him for his insecurities, childishness, ego and all that Larry can be that's infuriating.

Jeffrey Tambor is terrific as Larry's Ed McMahon sidekick Hank Kingsley. A sniveling, insecure, limited talent based guy Kingsley is well paid and likes to throw around power. Trouble is his power base is Larry and those staffers that work on the show only do for Hank what they absolutely have to. Tambor plays this character to a tee!

With real celebrity guests poking fun at celebrity, TV, movies, and themselves at times the program almost seems to allow the entertainment industry to safely poke fun at itself in a somewhat scathing manner.

The show ended it's run about a year and a half ago but it replays on the HBO channels each week and is well worth the time to view.

Larry Sanders has a broad range of humor. When on camera, the humor comes from how unfunny these characters actually are in front of the camera and how funny the audience finds it. Anyone who watches late night talk shows can relate to the "mock show" portion of each show. The behind the scenes, which makes up most of each episode relies on the situations as well as the dialogue which is usually very funny and well written, like something that would actually be said.

The characters were all very different and well written. Larry Sanders, played subtly and brilliantly by Gary Shandling. Larry is always smiling, whether he's happy or not. He's self centered, but not too much of a jerk. His manager Artie (Rip Torn) is more over the top rude and loud, but he's not an unbelievable character. Then there's Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) who plays second banana to Larry and the talk show, but on this show, often steals the episodes, taking many of the main plot lines, and he is hilarious as the alternate universe Ed MacMahon. Along with these three, there are many other less important characters, all very funny.

Overall, Larry Sanders was usually hysterical, but when not, it was still one of the most brilliant shows on television.

Hands down - this is my favorite television program, ever. For me, it replaced "Columbo" (especially the earlier ones) in this regard. Built around Garry Shandling's delightfully diverse character - the extremely-talented on-air Larry, who is equally-neurotic in his personal life, it presents everything one could want from any piece of entertainment. With Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn perfectly-cast in their sidekick and producer roles - there is a legion of talented others in terms of supporting cast, and a horde of A-list celebrities appearing as themselves, both as guests on the fictional show and in Larry's personal life.

Whatever the assigned characteristics the writers have provided the supporting cast and guests - sneaky, smarmy, confrontational, naive, insincere, unpredictable, etc,, etc. - it seems that everything, every characterization, every situation is carried-off without fault and is thoroughly amusing. Where the situation or drama had more serious elements, these were also well-done, without detracting from the show's overall humor.

A major affirmation of this show's appeal, for me (if I needed one) is that even where a guest appeared who was far from a favorite of mine (Rosanne would be the best example) even that person was engaging in the role within the program.

This program also was one where the "salty" language, which occurred in abundance, always added to the quality of the programming and stories, never seeming at all gratuitous. And another confirmation of the quality of this series is that in its subsequent re-runs, especially on local outlets, where many words are "bleeped," the programs are still completely entertaining.

Certainly everyone will have certain favorite episodes. However, this is a show which one can enjoy whenever seeing it again, whatever episode(s) are viewed, and irrespective of how many times they may have been seen before.

I know the participants have gone on to other separate endeavors. But I, for one, would love to see, say, a mini-series where HBO would present "the network" luring Larry, Artie and Hank "out of retirement," and having them do a series of retrospective "Larry Sanders Shows" as part of celebration of some sort of network milestone.

One of my local stations used to run two episodes late each Saturday night. I was able to see a few when aired, but made certain I taped all of them to see within the following few days. I'm surprised that I haven't already bought all of the series available on VHS or DVD, but intend to do so in the near future. These shows are the type which, even after multiple viewings, are more entertaining to see again than most alternatives available for the first time

The comedy is on point 90% of the time. The characters are believably insane. The stories are understandable and to the point. The series maintains it's quality (albeit it does get kind of dark in the last season or two). Really a fun watch for the incompetence and insecurities on display. Easy to watch as a main focus and passable for background (you will miss much of the performance, there are a surprisingly large amount of site gags). Recommend to really anyone.