Posted Jan 20th 2010 2:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Royalty, OpEd, Video, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Awards, Reality-Free
![larry_david_stairs](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2010/01/davidl.jpg)
If you're one of the millions, nay billions, who's laughed at the antics of Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer or if you can't pick up an order of kung pao shrimp without wondering if they shorted you on the number of shrimp, then you -- my friend -- are a Larry David fan. The brain behind
Seinfeld and
Curb Your Enthusiasm, David has a unique comic view of the world and on February 20, the
Writers Guild of America is giving Larry David a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The actual award is called the Paddy Chayevsky Laurel award for television, and Larry has most definitely earned the recognition.
Seinfeld remains a masterpiece of character and comedy with or without a plot. The very nothingness of
Seinfeld made it historic television. It was a show that NBC nearly canceled because the suits didn't get it (what a shock!), then went on to become America's favorite half-hour. Twenty years later,
Seinfeld is embedded in the psyche of pop culture. Not bad for a nothing kind of show.
Continue reading WGA to honor Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David
Posted Jan 12th 2010 1:41PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, Lost, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, Awards, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Glee, Modern Family
![mad_men_finale_amc](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2010/01/425.ab.mad.men.jpg)
There's been so much action going on with the TCA and the midseason returns and what-not that we sort of missed the announcement for the
DGA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television nominations for 2009. It's quite an interesting bunch, as much for what and who's included and who and what were left out.
Since the DGA noms come from the directors themselves, these awards are indicative of what the professionals really think of their peers. Very illuminating, if you ask me. Check it out, category by category, and feel free to comment on my comments.
Continue reading DGA Nominations for the best in TV in 2009
Posted Jan 3rd 2010 11:01AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Reality-Free
More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the funniest actors of the last ten years.
If you want to be a great comedic actor, you can never let on that you know you're being funny. Your character never knows what the joke is. That's why Rodney Dangerfield was a great, legendary stand-up comedian, and a fairly poor comic actor.
Everyone on this list excels at the comedic poker face. Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais, in their
Office boss characters, don't know that most of the rest of the office is laughing at them. Or at least they don't understand why. Stephen Colbert, despite all of the attention
The Colbert Report have received, may be the most underrated comic actor, because the character is so seamless, sometimes it's hard to tell it's a character. Shatner is a legend for playing campy with a poker face. And Neil Patrick Harris as a cad? A
straight cad? Perfect.
Here are a few of our favorite comedic actors from the past decade, and may their characters never realize the joke's on them.
Continue reading Best TV of the '00s: Comedic Actor
Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:33AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, House, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Celebrities, The Closer, 30 Rock, Dexter, Awards, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Glee, Modern Family
![sag_statuette](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/12/sag-award.jpg)
Every day it seems that we have nominations to announce. Yes, we are in award season and today it's the Screen Actors Guild's turn. On Saturday, January 23, 2010, at 8 p.m. on TNT and TBS, the winners of the
16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will air live from Los Angeles. Here's the nominees in the main categories and some thoughts on each:
Drama Ensemble: The Closer; Dexter; The Good Wife; Mad Men; True Blood
Interesting that CBS's
The Good Wife made the cut, especially over
Lost or
House or
Breaking Bad or
Sons of Anarchy or
Damages or
Friday Night Lights. And I love
The Closer, but the inclusion here is a surprise. I guess
NCIS would be too big a surprise to get recognized.
Comedy Ensemble: 30 Rock; Curb Your Enthusiasm; Glee; Modern Family; The Office
Glee and
Modern Family are freshmen, but clearly excellent ensemble comedies. And for
Curb Your Enthusiasm, are they honoring the
Seinfeld team all over again? Also, where's
The Big Bang Theory?
Continue reading Screen Actors Guild award nominations for TV
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 8:38AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/11/curb09_29tvs425.jpg)
(
S07E10) "It's the
Seinfeld reunion! That's a big deal!" - Cheryl
Yes, it
is a big deal. A little over eleven years after we saw Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George behind bars, the reunion we've all been waiting for has finally arrived. I'm not sure if this even counts as a category to classify TV shows, but last night's
Curb Your Enthusiasm season finale was easily the best "show within a show" episode I've ever seen... of
any show.
Jane was kind enough to step in for me and write up
last week's penultimate ep and I actually waited until last night to see that one as well -- I watched them back to back. I was struck by how well it all flowed together; how much it actually felt like we were watching a real episode of
Seinfeld, even during the table read. However, seeing it play out, scene by scene, in the finale? Talk about nostalgia.
Continue reading Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Seinfeld (season finale)
Posted Nov 16th 2009 4:25AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S07E09) "You don't loan Jason anything ... anything that can be inserted." - Jerry Seinfeld to Larry David, about the pen Larry loaned to Jason Alexander
It's me, the Fill-In Girl! And thank you so much, Jonathan, for leaving me with the mammoth responsibility of writing a thoughtful review about the
Seinfeld reunion on
Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'll do my best.
First of all, it was really great to see the gang back together again. It's like they've never been apart, and the whole scenario of a behind-the-scenes look at a table read of a
Seinfeld reunion show put together by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld was pretty brilliant.
And yet, it fit right in with
Curb, bringing in elements like Cheryl being Larry's real wife and are they together or not, and is she a real actress or not...
Continue reading Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Table Read
Posted Nov 9th 2009 9:33AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Curb Your Enthusiasm reruns are
coming to basic cable. First they will be shown on the TV Guide Channel next year (doesn't everybody get that channel? I thought it was just a guide to what's on television. They have shows?) and then TV Land in 2013. Any event that brings Larry David's sense of humor to the masses can only be a good thing (Who had the idea for the humor in awkward situations first, Larry or Ricky Gervais?).
Mind you, the show's language is somewhat racy for basic cable. There will be some bleeping here and there. At least there's no prevalent nudity in any episode that I recall. There is some adult subject matter, but nothing basic cable hasn't seen before. Hey, if
The Sopranos can make it to basic cable then Larry David should have no problem.
Given Susie Essman's vocabulary on the series, she may have every third word bleeped. That could possibly make her lines even funnier.
Posted Nov 9th 2009 8:06AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Larry David](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/11/curb7x08tvs250.jpg)
(
S07E08)
"Some guy told me to go 'f*ck my face' once. He went to jail." - Officer Krupke
With the
Seinfeld reunion coming up quickly (next week's episode is "The Table Read") things kicked into high gear last night on
Curb -- especially when it came to the role of Amanda, George Costanza's ex-wife.
It came down to Cheryl and a busy, very popular actress named Virgina Sloane (played by Elisabeth Shue). Right off the bat, that creates a huge conflict since Larry assured Cheryl that she had the role. But beyond that, there were a lot of issues with how "Officer Krupke" played out in terms of conflict.
Curb works best when the laughs are organic and too much of this episode felt forced and manufactured.
Continue reading Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Officer Krupke
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 1:10AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Jeff Garlin and Larry David](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/10/curblarryjeff7x07tvs425.jpg)
(
S07E07)
"Look, it may have been an accident, but you're a murderer." - Marty
Blame is a funny thing. In the absence of facts, the owner of the blame (i.e. the person at fault), is about one thing and one thing only -- public perception. Spin a good yarn and you can make 'em believe whatever you want. However, when you're Larry David, getting past the hurdle of your own reputation can be an issue. If you listen to even half the stuff that Larry says, why would anyone want to believe a guy like him?
Continue reading Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Black Swan
Posted Oct 26th 2009 10:15AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Larry David](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/10/ep66_03_378.jpg)
(
S07E06)
"Larry?! You sprayed on Jesus??" - Maureen
For as good an episode as "The Bare Midriff" was, it still had one huge problem that has plagued many past episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm as well. The central conflict -- Maureen's exposed stomach -- was just too much of a stretch (no pun intended). Why's that? The beauty of Curb is how well it sheds light on awkward situations we all relate to. Not so much on this one, because honestly, who in their right mind would think a short shirt like that was work appropriate attire? It wasn't believable, that Maureen thought her shirt was OK for the office. Fortunately, if you were willing to look past the absurdity of the issue, it paid off with arguably one of Curb's top five endings ever.
Continue reading Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Bare Midriff
Posted Oct 19th 2009 8:40AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Larry David and Rosie O'Donnell](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/10/curb705tvs425.jpg)
(
S07E05)
"Have you noticed if she has any proclivity for chopsticks?" - Larry
It's amazing to me that the main topic of last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm, people in wheelchairs, has never been tackled by Larry before. I'm sure there have been a few wheelchair jokes in the past that I'm forgetting, but this? This was a full-blown, inappropriate mess of incorrectness and every second of it was brilliant. Save for "The Reunion," this was easily the strongest episode of the season. Wheelchairs, wrestling Rosie O'Donnell, and the return of Leon! How can you go wrong?
Continue reading Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Denise Handicap
Posted Oct 12th 2009 3:20AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Larry David and Christian Slater](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/10/curb09_24tvs425.jpg)
(
S07E04)
"Was there a stipulation on the gift certificate? Three hundred dollars and "take me"?" - Susie
I was afraid this might happen. As exciting as it is, even the long awaited Seinfeld reunion doesn't have the power to sustain an entire season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. After last week's reunion, I expected a lull and with that in mind, there's really no reason to be disappointed because this episode had some very funny moments. Unfortunately, not even Christian Slater's caviar addiction could save the day with such fond memories of last week's landmark half-hour still on my mind.
Continue reading Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Hot Towel
Posted Oct 4th 2009 9:31PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Cheryl Hines and Larry David](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/09/curb09_05tvs425-1.jpg)
(S07E03) "This is your plan to get your ex-wife back. Pretty f*cking brilliant if you ask me." - Jeff
Larry David a selfish man? Nooooo. How could someone who's never given, nor has any idea how to give, someone the benefit of the doubt be a selfish guy? Wait - don't answer that. Instead ponder this: the moment we've all been waiting for - the Seinfeld reunion - has finally arrived, and we almost didn't get it because for a brief minute, it hinged on what Larry found more enjoyable, a potential funeral or a potential marriage. Selfish? How about sick.
Continue reading Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Reunion
Posted Sep 27th 2009 11:12PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![Vivica A. Fox as Loretta Black on Curb Your Enthusiasm](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/09/curb09_12tvs425.jpg)
(
S07E02)
"I don't like you. Why would I want to hug you?" - Larry
Larry David is not all about appearances. It's rare to see him masking his true intentions when most of the time he has absolutely no problem saying how he feels or asking for what he wants. But, much like the episode of this title indicates, when you're talking about a blowjob in a car (or anything crass or uncomfortable), it helps to dress it up a little.
Continue reading Curb Your Enthusiasm: Vehicular Fellatio
Posted Sep 21st 2009 1:02AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
![(L-R): Bob Einstein, Larry David, and Jeff Garlin](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212042201im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2009/09/curbs07e01tvs425.jpg)
(
S07E01)
"I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose." - Larry
Larry David is back, and I feel uncomfortable. Awkward moments, off-color comments, and instances of sheer disgust were all there in tonight's season premiere of
Curb Your Enthusiasm. If you sit back for a second and actually consider all the different elements that made up this episode, it's pretty impressive. More often than not, an episode of
Curb is just as intricately plotted out as an episode of
Lost.
Continue reading Curb Your Enthusiasm: Funkhouser's Crazy Sister (season premiere)
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