BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) RIP TORN & JEFFREY TAMBOR
“Hey now!” “Goddammit!” Those are two phrases that were embroidered into the jacket of my brain after watching this show. Rip Torn has done some awesome stuff in his time. I’m a big fan of his work in Freddie Got Fingered, Men In Black, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and it’s a pleasure to see him pop up in anything I’m watching. Tambor became a favorite after Arrested Development. I watched that series before this one and was hooked on the man. In my honest opinion, Rip Torn’s “Artie” and Jeffrey Tambor’s “Hank Kingsley” are the best roles of each of their very respectable careers. The life, humor, and heart they crammed into these supporting roles made the show for me. Without either the show isn’t what it is. Shandling is the obvious lead, but Torn and Tambor carry just as much of a load. All three complement each other as good as any comedy team I can think of. In a perfect world Shandling would have left and Tambor would have taken the title role with Torn in the same role. That’s just me being greedy though.
(THREE) GREAT YOUNG CAST
Along with Shandling, Torn, and Tambor this show was pretty stacked. The show brought a lot of awesome people to screen in random roles. We had Janeane Garofalo, Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Piven, Wallace Langham, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Penny Johnson, and a great as always Bob Odenkirk. That’s just the cast of characters though. Judd Apatow produced and wrote as well!
(TWO) SMART PREMISE
Sneaky. Shandling could have been involved with the whole “Late Night Wars” nonsense. You see he was offered Late Night when Letterman left. Had he taken it, Conan would never have been in our lives. Instead he would go on to rock with his own behind the scenes mock talk show. Basically, he got to host his own talk show and eat it too. You see what I did there? Yep, cake humor. The show had A-List guests normal talk shows would kill for, he got to get in a monologue here and there, and the whole time he gets to show off his acting and mock the whole talk show experience. It’s done very well.
(ONE) SURPASSES THE HYPE
A lot of shows don’t live up the hype bestowed upon them. The hype build your expectations up and before you know it you’re looking for flaws. You can try, but you’re going to have a hard time finding any in this show. It grows on it and absorbs you. It’s easily one of the best comedies of modern TV.
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