arthur_itis

This one-off pilot/vehicle for Gilbert was written by Larry David with Gilbert's own material added in. It is based in Manhattan where Gilbert runs a stand that sells papers, magazines, snacks, etc. Of course, being Gilbert, he constantly has funny and neurotic things to say about his customers and work at the stand, including a rant about how he loves to make change, and his price for Lifesavers candies is part of a massive conspiracy when a man considers the price to be too high. Of course their is a supporting cast of characters as well, the best being Arnold Stang, who has been in various movies and TV shows. The most interesting thing about this pilot is the fact that it has all the basic elements of what would later be Seinfeld. It's got a very New York sensibility to it, with characters talking about nothing, and doing it in a very funny way. There is also no warm fuzzy sentiment or resolution to the story, something that later would be the backbone of the Seinfeld show. So, if you don't like Gilbert, you might find this hard to watch, but might find it interesting because it's a prototype of Seinfeld, arguably the greatest sitcom made to date.