Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show

Although Sony released the 1992 debut season of the pioneering HBO series The Larry Sanders Show on DVD back in 2002, the other five seasons (of a show that not only garnered 56 Emmy nominations but also paved the way for later hits such as Curb Your Enthusiasm) appear to be MIA. Fortunately, there's a lot of Larry to love in this 23-episode compilation backed by an outstanding array of extras. The brainchild of comic Garry Shandling, who plays the neurotic titular talk show host, the series' brilliant conceit was to present tidbits of Johnny Carson-like moments (monologues, guest interviews, skits, and wacky product demos) in the foreground but mostly focus on the behind-the-scenes action of a late night talk show. Shandling is wonderful as the insecure Sanders (“no flipping!” he regularly warns channel surfers), Rip Torn is a force of nature as Sanders' pit bull of a producer Artie, and Jeffrey Tambor is a hoot as sidekick/foil Hank Kingsley (whose signature catchphrase “hey now” became part of the cultural lexicon). Spread out over four discs, the selected episodes here are not necessarily the best nor are they evenly distributed (one-third come from the sixth season alone), but these often uproarious half-hours do capture the narrative arc of the show and many of its towering comic moments (from Carol Burnett's famous whispered aside to Larry about his short-loinclothed-Tarzan—“I saw your balls”—to Jim Carrey's bring-down-the-house rendition of the Dreamgirls hit “And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going”), as well as cutting-edge musical performances from Paul Westerberg, They Might Be Giants, and Ben Folds Five. DVD extras include over eight hours of newly-produced material, ranging from a feature-length behind-the-scenes retrospective documentary and cast interviews (with Janeane Garofalo, Jeremy Piven, Sarah Silverman, and others) to a jaw-dropping series of offbeat one-on-one interviews featuring Shandling with David Duchovny, Sharon Stone (over a home-cooked breakfast), Alec Baldwin (the two spar in a boxing ring), Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Burnett, and a chain-smoking Tom Petty (who laughingly observes, “the sad thing is it takes three cameras for us to feel good”). A solid testament to a landmark series, this is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)