Product Description
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Undeniably the hippest show to air on cable in the 1990s, The
Larry Sanders Show takes you backstage at a fictional late night
talk show with real-life guests from movies, music and
television. The Larry Sanders Show was ahead of its time,
becoming an immediate critical and audience hit for its
satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at Hollywood. The series that
combined documentary-like camerawork with a clever blend of fact
and fiction set the standard of quality for HBO and influenced
the development of shows like Sex and the City, Six Feet Under,
The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office.
Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show features more than 8
hours of newly-produced material including Garry Shandling in
personal and visits with friends like Alec Baldwin, Tom
Petty, Sharon Stone, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jon Stewart and
including the compellingly entertaining, feature-length
documentary, "The Making of The Larry Sanders Show."
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Garry Shandling wraps up the run of his groundbreaking
HBO comedy series in definitive yet nostalgic fashion in this
boxed set, wryly titled Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders
Show. Now there's truth in advertising. Along with 23 of what
Shandling felt were the best episodes of the show's run (89
episodes from 1992-98) comes eight hours of newly produced
material, including a feature-length "making of" documentary,
cast and star interviews, deleted scenes, commentaries, and
footage of Shandling on personal visits with stars like Alec
Baldwin, Jon Stewart, and Jerry Seinfeld. The personal visits are
some of the most interesting moments (a breakfast with Sharon
Stone is so strained and forced it's hard not to laugh) and the
new features bring so much of Garry's personal thoughts and
feelings into play that maybe this set would have been better
named Being Garry Shandling. But it seems only fair to get such a
subjective and in-depth personal view on the series from the man
who made awkward self-consciousness a comedic art form.
The Larry Sanders Show was at the forefront of changing the genre
of TV comedy, and influenced the development of many shows to
follow, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, and both
versions of The Office. The source of that inspiration is on full
display here, as talk-show host Larry Sanders (Shandling) along
with his producer Artie (Rip Torn) and his "poor deluded bastard"
sidekick Hank (Jeffrey Tambor), struggles to keep his late-night
talk show on the air despite dropping ratings, absurd notes from
the network, and a hilarious tendency to self-sabotage his
personal life. His guest stars, including some of the biggest
names in show business, seem to enjoy lampooning their images and
provide some of the sharpest comic moments. It's great stuff, and
it's too bad all six seasons are not scheduled to be released on
DVD. Shandling reportedly went this route with the release,
rather than continuing with complete seasons, because of a desire
to wrap it all up at once after a long legal battle with producer
Brad Grey. While many fans might bemoan the fact that there will
be no complete-season sets of The Larry Sanders Show released
after this, there are episodes from all six seasons here to
enjoy, including the first and the double-part finale. With a gem
like this, it's better to savor what's available than to lament
what might have been. --Daniel Vancini