Clueless about classic comedy The Larry Sanders Show?
Heres Jacks handy guide to Garry Shandlings underrated series…
Celebrities appear onThe Larry Sanders Show, usually portraying exaggerated, often unflattering, versions of themselves.
The Characters
Larry SandersLarry is a neurotic, narcissistic comic and the host ofThe Larry Sanders Show.
Hes constantly bothered by ratings and the success of rivals shows.
Hes insecure and very concerned by the size of his ass, a constant source of paranoia for Larry.
He frequently uses the catchphrase Hey now!, which Larry believes to be an affectation.
When questioned on his frequent use of the phrase (clearly a take-off of Ed McMahons Hi-yooo!
Hes incredibly shameless and things generally tend to blow up in his face.
Hes a source of constant ridicule around the office, much to his disdain.
Hank once chipped his back tooth on a urinal.
Artie
Arthur or Artie is Larrys hard-nosed, gruff-voiced producer.
He regularly uses the word crapper when referring to the toilet.
BeverlyBeverly (Penny Johnson) is Larrys unfortunate, over-worked assistant.
Hank tends to take advantage of her kindness and she generally ends up running seemingly pointless errands for him.
PaulaPaula (Janeane Garofalo) is the shows grouchy talent booker.
She regularly changes the colour of her hair throughout the series and likes to date musicians.
Shes particularly fond of Pavement and Weezer.
Phil
Phil (Wallace Langham) is the cynical, smart-assed head writer atThe Larry Sanders Show.
He regularly makes fun of Hank, generally without Hank realising.
He had a brief relationship with Darlene, who believed he could speak French.
She eventually found out that Phil was just making up French-sounding words.
JerryJerry, played by Jeremy Piven, was the original head writer ofThe Larry Sanders Show.
In 2006, Shandling was interviewed by comedian Ricky Gervais.
Both shows are centred around wealthy comedians with the same camera setup and celebrities playing exaggerated versions of themselves.
Not to mention the frequent use of foul language.
From first impressions, its easy to draw comparisons between30 RockandThe Larry Sanders Show.
But whereasSanderstended to be dark, sardonic and wry,30 Rocktends to be much more upbeat and light-hearted.
However, thats not to say that30 Rockcant pack a punch when it wants to.
Extras
Extrascharts the life of Andy Millman, a struggling writer and actor.
The Office
Not as heavily influenced byThe Larry Sanders ShowasExtras, but theres still a notable influence here.
The show largely used character-driven humour and featured similarly cringe-worthy, toe-curling moments toSanders.
The shows heavily influenced by the behind-the-scenes segments ofThe Larry Sanders Show, and often deals with similar themes.
