Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show

Prior to this DVD's release, I read interviews with Shandling who talked of his love and affection for The Larry Sanders Show and how the DVD had become a labour of love for him.He wasn't wrong.Shandling has devoted himself to this DVD set. You could almost dust each box for his fingerprints - and I bet they'd come up too! The man has laid himself bare across almost the whole of the multitude of extras you get here. It's actually fascinating to learn that the "friendship" between Larry and David Duchovny, is not that far from the friendship between Shandling & Duchovny. You also learn that Shandling had a relationship with Sharon Stone in the 1980s, which makes the 'Sharon Stone' episode all that more "real". And you actually feel, during their Personal Visit together, that she still has feelings for him (that's Shandling, not Sanders!!!).On top of the 23 episodes included, you also get the following...More Personal Visits:RIP TORN & JEFFREY TAMBORALEC BALDWINTOM PETTYJON STEWART (not so much a 'personal visit' as a strange live, backslapping phone call with video cameras, even though both of them live in LA!!)ELLEN DEGENERESJERRY SEINFELDCAROL BURNETTLINDA DOUCETTCast Interviews:PENNY JOHNSONJEREMY PIVENJANEANE GAROFALOWALLACE LANGHAMSCOTT THOMPSONLINDA DOUCETTMARY LYNN RAJSKUBBOB ODENKIRKSARAH SILVERMANExtensive Documentary (75min)Deleted ScenesAudio Commentaries (by Shandling, with writers & director)Incidentally, the documentary ends with a perfect twist of Larry Sanders irony, when Bruno Kirby pops up on set to host the documentary, only to be told by Shandling that Greg Kinnear has already done it."You're bumping me from the DVD???"You then learn this was Kirby's last ever piece on camera, before his death. But what a great final piece, it was.This really is a superb DVD set. Yes, there is a lot of fan-griping about why only Season #1 has been released in its entirety but it's still early days. I firmly believe the remaining seasons will follow - after all, Shandling won't need to film any more extras (well, maybe the odd commentary), so it should be a straight case of 'transfer, print & distribute'.I do have one small gripe, however. In a conversation, Shandling has with one of the writers, it comes to light the writer had the idea of a scene where Hank's girlfriend leaves her young son with him at the office, where Hank proceeds to trail around all day with the kid on a dog leash, so the little mite doesn't get lost. At the time, Shandling wouldn't allow it (not on any moral grounds, but on the grounds he didn't feel it was something someone would actually do). But surely, if there was one person in the Larry Sanders office that would've held a young boy on a leash all day, in some misguided way of keeping the boy safe - it would be Hank! Now, that would have been a great scene - and, you get the impression, the writer is still a bit pissed off about it. Anyway, that's a gripe about Shandling, not about the DVD.Again, this is a great 4-disc set - perfect for any Larry Sanders/Garry Shandling fanatic. Like everyone else, I'm now just waiting for the remaining seasons to make their way to DVD.

Will this serve as the definitive Larry Sanders DVD set? It will probably depend on the sales. Much of what is here is wonderful. The show itself is as fascinating and enjoyable as ever. Hank Kingsley is one of the greatest creations ever, and one has to wonder how much someone like Ed McMahon, say, resembled him behind the scenes. But even greater to me is the amazing Rip Torn as Artie, Larry's producer, mentor, protector, and father figure. What a remarkable character! I can count on Artie alone to make me bust out laughing five or six times an episode, and that beats even Homer Simpson! I wish there was more commentary on the episodes in this set -- I find these discussions the most worthwhile. Unfortunately there are also a number of conversations taped recently between Garry Shandling and a number of the shows' guest stars, and these are far less interesting. Shandling himself calls them self-indulgent and not intended for public consumption, and he is right. Still, there are some memorable moments. Like Alex Baldwin demonstrating his anger and bulk in a boxing ring -- one prays for unfortunates who may have been intimately acquainted with either. There is a tremendously tedious sequence with Tom Petty -- apparently both men enjoyed some herbal refreshment before the interlude, and they make our eyes droop as well. Then there is the spectacle of Jerry Seinfeld having a cow because he can't find his favorite leather jacket. Yes, citizens, even gazillionaires can get upset over such mundane matters, except that THEY have assistants they can interrogate to resolve these difficulties over their cell phones. On the up side, Carol Burnett proves herself as sly and adept in her interview as she always was in physical comedy. What a talent! So, I am deducting one star for this potpourri of hit-and-miss extra material -- and the dreadful ultra-slim DVD cases. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU REMOVE THE DVDS FROM THESE CASES!!! Although I have handled hundreds of DVDs over the last five years, Disc 3 cracked almost in half when I tried to remove it from its case. Fortunately Amazon was good enough to replace the set with a new one, but consider yourself forewarned...

It's so good to see this show again, even though this set is only a selection of episodes from each season. Kudos to those involved for investing a lot of time and energy into a lot of special features, which helps (somewhat, at least) make up for the episodes that we're not seeing this time around. There are 23 episodes in total on 4 discs.The special features vary in terms of interest, from interviews with cast members to an awkward setup with Alec Baldwin in a boxing gym to a touching session with Garry and Sharon Stone. Memo to Mr. Shandling: Garry, you need to marry that woman.If you like the show and haven't seen it for a while (who has?) this is worth the price.

If you're buying this because of the interviews, don't. They are boring and/or uncomfortable to go thru (felt like they were to do it .. or maybe this is Shandling's idea of making subtle comedy ... by making you uncomfortable watching these sad interviews)

Excellent

Having watched almost all the Larry Sanders Show on television, I was disappointed to find missing a number of episodes that I had enjoyed and wondered why they did not release a Complete Larry Sanders Show for all the seasons as most shows are doing. Instead of presenting us with "the best" -- by whose reckoning, anyway? Instead we are given crappy behind-the scenes episodes of absolutely no value as a fill-in, no doubt. As far as I am concerned, all the Larry Sanders Show episodes are excellent and all deserve to be seen in their entirety. And I mean the Complete All Seasons Show.

Great