Revisiting a timeless classic!
I'm so glad HBO has started airing this show again. It's a nice tribute to the late Gary Shandling. He was so well-liked, loved and respected as a person and comedian back then. Of course, that love and respect never stopped. This also revisits a time when Gary was actually more well-known than Jerry Seinfeld, which might sound a bit strange to some people today. But for those that remember and used to watch Johnny Carson, remembers Gary as a regular guest host on The Tonight Show.
The other thing...this show has held up SO well over the years. It's just as funny, if not funnier today than when it first aired. It was quite the groundbreaking show at the time in terms of the concept and everything they were able to do with it. There are some of us that watched this show religiously when it was considered a prime time show on HBO, a cable channel of all things. So for the people that are just now discovering this show and loving it, good for you. I'm glad you've found it.
This show certainly paved the way for a lot of great shows. To me, Curb Your Enthusiasm immediately comes to mind. The way real actors and entertainers were able to mock and parody themselves so much, and in such an hysterical manner. The making-of and behind-the-scenes look of a late night talk show is something that's going to catch a lot of people's interest. How they warm the crowd up, what about or if the hosts and guests talk during a commercial break. The all-too-common nightmarish and all-too-real things that do happen behind the scenes and backstage of a show like this. The dysfunctionality and the drama that does place. The writers had so much to work with, just based on real events and scenarios of other shows they actually worked on or witnessed themselves. And exaggerate some of those scenarios to where they're funny and still believable.
And though Gary was the star of the show, it was Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn that were the wild card players that really made the show. I think Gary was the first one to admit that. Tambor as Hank and Rip Torn as Artie. Such funny, consistent performances, you can understand why both of them won awards for their roles on this show. Artie's ability to keep things running and be on damage control in the fashion that he did is absolutely priceless. One example of a show that had a star, but it was the supporting characters that really made the show great.
It had a very good run. Six years was respectable for a show like this. But I really wish they could've squeezed on or two more seasons out of it, without losing its quality. So hard to find good shows these days, it's all to easy to revisit a series like this one. A true, true gem. Keep watching and just enjoy.
"*beep* you, Fonzie!!"