Created by
Dennis Klein & Garry Shandling
Cast
Garry Shandling ………. Larry Sanders
Jeffrey Tambor ………. Hank Kingsley
Rip Torn ………. Arthur
Wallace Langham ………. Phil
Penny Johnson ………. Beverly Barnes
Janeane Garofalo ………. Paula
DVD Release Date: April 17, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 660 Minutes on 4 discs
The Show
In the early nineties HBO wasn’t known for its original programming. The network had movies, boxing and specials, but didn’t create noteworthy dramas or sitcoms. One of their early attempts at creating an original sitcom was The Larry Sanders Show which went on to become one of the best sitcoms in the history of television.
The show starred (and was co-created by) Garry Shandling, a standup comedian. His previous TV experience included a few stints as guest host of The Tonight Show and the groundbreaking and innovative It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, which ran on Showtime first before moving to Fox. That was a show like no other. Shandling played a standup comedian who lives on the set of the show he’s starring in. It looked like a mix between a sitcom and “behind the scenes of a sitcom” with constant transition from the scripted stuff to the supposedly behind-the-scenes stuff and interaction with the studio audience.
Once the show ran its course, Shandling took his interest in creating a show about television to the next level with The Larry Sanders Show which debuted on HBO 1992 and ran for six seasons, until 1998. Shandling played Larry Sanders, the host of a late night talk show. Sanders was neurotic, insecure and self obsessed (but I guess that’s goes with having a show named after you). He was assisted by his executive producer, Artie (Rip Torn) and his on-air sidekick, “Heynow” Hank Kigsley, played by the terrific Jeffrey Tambor.
The show followed the day-to-day ordeal of putting on a nightly talk show; the clashes with the network; the need to satisfy the biggest egos on the planet (including Larry’s); relations with the various Hollywood celebrities who made appearances on the show; romantic relationships and many more topics.
Hollywood celebs were the norm for the show. Unlike other shows who use special guest appearances as stunt casting, this show actually had a reason to have all those celebrities. It was quite easy; Larry was a celebrity himself, so it made sense to have him interact with them. Plus, they came on as guests on his talk show. What was even better about these appearances is that the guests weren’t afraid to make fun of themselves or look bad – many of them came off as a cliche of a Hollywood star (egotistical, lazy, self centered etc.). One of the most memorable guests was David Duchovny, appearing during the peak of his popularity as Fox Mulder or the hit TV show The X-Files. He appeared on a couple of episodes, where it seemed like he was hitting on Larry, but it was never really explained what was going on there. The way they played with their sexuality, especially the macho Duchovny soon became a hot topic. It was just one example of how the show wasn’t afraid to break the rules and be controversial, and how much it meant for the guest stars to appear in it.
But the cast didn’t rely solely on guest stars. Many of the regular cast members went on to bigger roles after their stint on The Larry Sanders Show. The aforemnetioned Jeffrey Tambor went on to play twin brothers George and Oscar Bluth on the brilliant and critically acclaimed (but unfortunately short-lived) Arrested Development. Other cast members included Jeremy Piven, who today plays Ari Gold on the current HBO hit Entourage, and Janeane Garofalo who appeared practically everywhere after she was done playing Paula. Two actresses went on to play major roles on the Fox hit show 24 – Penny Johnson who played Larry’s assistant Beverly became the conniving Sherry Palmer and Mary Lynn Rajskub who was the booking assistant Mary Lou is now the supreme butt-kicker, and the best female character, on 24 – Chloe O’Brian (And my secret love interest).
Another area where the series was innovative is the presentation. This is where being on HBO really benefited them. Instead of the standard three cameras sitcom, shot in a studio in front of a live audience, The Larry Sanders Show was shot on film using a single camera, while the talk show clips were shot in a studio with audience. This type of production is more complicated and expensive, but HBO had the guts to invest in it. Nowadays we see more sitcoms shot that way, and we have The Larry Sanders Show to thank for it. Being on HBO also allowed them to use profanities on the air, so the characters actually sounded like real people.
As the show came to an end with its sixth season, it followed the demise of the show within a show. Larry decided to step down – before the network would show him the way out – and that season followed the road to the final show, which mirrored the last show Johnny Carson had. Larry would be replaced by Jon Stewart, who later went to host his own real late night show on Comedy Central, The Daily Show.
The Larry Sanders Show was nominated for 56 Emmys and won three (writing, directing and supporting actor). It was also nominated for three Golden Globes and won two Peabody Awards. To this day it still stands as one of the best sitcoms of all time.
Episodes
Disc 1
“What Have You Done For Me Lately”: The network forces Larry to start doing live commercials on the show, with the first one being for the garden weasel. (Season 1)
“The Spiders Episode”: Carol Burnett and Jon Lovitz guest star, as Larry has to face his fears of spiders for a sketch he’s performing. (Season 1)
“The Hey Now Episode”: Larry’s finances aren’t that great, and he’s surprised to find out Hank is making a fortune thanks to his commercial work. (Season 1)
“The List”: Alec Baldwin guest stars and sleeps with Larry’s ex-wife, sending him into a jealous fit. Daniel Baldwin and Ed Begley Jr. also appear. (Season 2)
“The Hankerciser 200”: Hand endorses one product too many, as an exercise machine he promotes ends up injuring Francine. (Season 2)
“Life Behind Larry”:Larry has to choose who will host the show that follows his, and for some reason he goes with Bobcat Godthwait while telling Letterman his candidate is Tom Snyder. (Season 2)
“The Mr. Sharon Stone Show”: Larry has to deal with the fact that hs’e dating someone a lot more famous than he is — Sharon Stone. (Season 3)
Disc 2
“Hanks’ Night in the Sun”: When Larry gets food poisoning just before the taping, Hank gets a shot to host the show. (Season 3)
“Office Romance”: Larry starts dating Darlene and the whole office suffers the ripple effects. (Season 3)
“Hank’s Divorce”: Hank think Larry is sleeping with his wife when she asks for a divorce. (Season 3)
Hank’s Sex Tape”: Long before Paris Hilton and Screech, Hank had his own sex tape going through the Hollywood underground. (Season 4)
“I was a teenage Lesbian”: Paula and Brett Butler reminisce (sort of) about a brief “something” they had a long time ago. (Season 4)
“Larry’s New Love”: Larry’s upset when he learns that his new girlfriend plans to use their relationship as a stepping stone on her way to a Hollywood career. (Season 5)
“Everybody Loves Larry”: Larry’s afraid that the network is grooming Jon Stewart as his permanent replacement, while he’s trying to figure out whether or not David Duchovny is hitting on him. (Season 5)
“My Name is Asher Kingsley”: Hank causes troubles around the office when he tries to promote his Judaism on the show as a way to get it on with his new hot Rabbi. (Season 5)
Disc 3
“Ellen, or Isn’t She?”: Larry may be the last male Ellen Degeneres sleeps with, as he tries to persuade her to come out on his show. (Season
5)
“Pilots and Pens Lost”: Phil leaves to develop his own sitcom, but has to find out the hard way what’s it like to deal with the network. (Season 6)
“Another List”:: Once again, the network is pushing to have Jon Stewart replace Larry, who’s too bust chasing Winona Ryder. (Season 6)
“The Beginning of the End”: Feeling his days are numbered, Larry decides to call it quits and announce he’s leaving the show before the network will show him the way out. (Season 6)
“Adolf Hankler”: Jon Stewart is trying to make his presence felt, as Larry’s on vacation, by booking the Woo Tang Clan and insisting on doing an Adolf Hitler skit. (Season 6)
“The Interview”: During an interview he gives, Larry is caught crying and he scrambles to have this moment edited out of the show. (Season 6)
“Putting the “Gay” Back in Litigation”: Phil makes one gay joke too many, only to find out the jokes may have always been on him. (Season 6)
Disc 4
“Flip – Parts 1 & 2”: Larry bids farewell to the show, the audience and the crew in the series finale. His best friends drop by for a visit, as well as some of the show’s most memorable guest star and former cast members. When it’s all over, Larry tells us we may now flip. (Season 6)
The DVD
Sony chose to go with a “Best of” format rather than the standard full seasons’ release. There’s an easter egg on the first disc where they (Shandling, the president of Sony Home Entertainment and some other people) discuss this decision. I see it as a business trick – get the fans to pay first for “Best of” collections and then release full seasons and have them pay again.
The set contains 4 discs in two slim packages. I have to give props to Sony and the other studios for reducing the size of DVD box sets in order to save space. The discs sit firmly in the slim cases, so there’s chance of them getting loose during shipping, which is also a good thing.
The Video
Shot originally on film and digitally remastered for the DVD release, it looks very good. Not HD good, of course (as the technology wasn’t available back then) but still, very good.
The Audio
Sounds excellent. Again, it was digitally remastered for the DVD release and encoded in Dolby Surround. You won’t hear any complaints from me about it.
Special Features
Oh, where to begin? This release is so loaded with special features it took me several nights of viewing to get through all of them. Of course there are audio commentaries (not for all episodes) which are funny and interesting.
There’s an excellent documentary about the making of the show and a feature where Shandling reunites with Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor to discuss the show.
Also included are some very personal talks Shandling had with some of the most memorable guest stars, including Sharon Stone, Jon Stewart, Alec Baldwin and David Duchovny. We also go back to talk with the regular cast members, including Jeremy Piven, Janeane Garofalo, Sarah Silverman and others. We also get deleted scenes and a few easter eggs (So far I’ve only found one, but I’m sure there are more). This DVD is packed with great bonus features and I can only hope the next releases for the show will be just as loaded.
The Inside Pulse
The Larry Sanders Show was groundbreaking television. For years fans of the show were craving for a worthy DVD release. I’m sure I’m not the only who prefers full seasons rather than “Best of” compilations, but this release tries to make up for being a “best of”. The episodes chosen truly deserve to be there and Sony put a lot of work into loading the release with as many bonus features possible. I just wish that Sony won’t take that long to come out with more DVD sets for this show.
Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show |
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