The Morning After: Sein, Sealed, Delivered

Haven’t caught Curb yet, but anybody else done with The Cleveland Show? I don’t know how it was promoted, whether they said it would not be like Family Guy, but in reality, it is. The show has the same random cutaway jokes, the same mean-spirited sensibility–that Halle Berry Oscar parody was painful to watch for its length and cruelty–and the same casual misogyny (oh look, another rape joke involving pop culture figures). Family Guy for all of these faults, sometimes has a sharp idea: the Disney parody last week, for instance, but they also are just downright offensive sometimes and for no real comic payoff. Like this week’s episode which had, har har, Holocaust jokes. The Cleveland Show, despite being advertised as a more of a traditional family sitcom, turns into a Family Guy redux, having the worst qualities of that show.

I just didn’t think the Curb show was that good. I’m a big fan of the show (and Seinfeld) and maybe i was expecting too much with all those funny characters reuniting. Just seemed kind of flat. The cast was somewhere between their “real” selves and the roles they played on the show, but not sure where. I also just can’t look at Michael Richards the same way anymore. That funny, quirky, insane but lovable character was kind of forever destroyed by his racial scandal. While the rest of the crew was all there, Kramer was not, he just can’t be. I was also confused when I saw the preview for next weeks Curb and didn’t see any of the Seinfeld cast on it. Was that it or is there more to come? I’m not sure I even care. The regular episodes of Curb are much funnier than this was.

The Cleveland Show is probably restrained next to what Family Guy is now–which is to say, it’s basically like Family Guy a few years ago–but agree with your general point. The funny thing is, Fox has American Dad, which actually IS an alternative to Family Guy, yet doesn’t really seem to know how to promote it. I’m getting new respect for American Dad–not that it’s the best comedy on TV, but it’s The freaking Wire compared to Family Guy.

Curb was great. Classic Larry David humor. The scene between Jason and Larry was hiliarious because..well..if you get ‘Seinfeld’ then I don’t have to tell you why. Michael Richard’s was kind of lame though for his character. What the he!! has he been doing for 10 years?

GOLD JERRY GOLD!

Thought it was good. One of the many beauties of Curb is that you get the feel of an inside look at real actors living candidly with LD. I didn’t think the Sein cast was supposed to be over the top–for them to have been anything other than their normal selves would’ve have blurred the line between their Seinfeld characters and them as people outside the show. I appreciated three scenes in particular:
1) Jason and Larry’s tip altercation
2) Michael’s inability to focus in a cafe laden with images of topless women
3) Larry’s initial refusal to apologize to the NBC exec–it vaguely reminded me of Jerry’s belated thank you to Alec Berg for the hockey tickets, which ultimately ended in nose bleed seats with Puddy (except kind of in reverse–I said it vaguely reminded me)

I have to say, I didn’t buy it. You work with someone like Larry David for 9 years and then act surprised when he interrogates your daughter or your waiter? At the very least there should have been something said along the lines of “same old Larry”, or “this is why we stopped at 9″ or something. I would have enjoyed it more if we’d have seen how four people who worked with someone as belligerent as Larry coped with him all those years, as I can’t believe they would have a mass squabble every week and still survive for so many seasons. Something like Julia reminding her kids “we don’t talk to Larry”.

That said, the usual Curb stuff was all good and in place, the fight over tips, the demand for thanks, the decision as to where, between begrudging and sincere, the apology should be. Favorite line of the night, from Larry to the head of NBC, post-apology: “I guess my question is, was it sorry enough?”

I thought last night’s episode was good & I was thrilled to have the Seinfeld cast back together for a non-reunion reunion. I do agree with the previous comment about Michael Richards however. I was hoping to love him again…that his comedic timing and zany character would restore my opinion of him since I last saw him perform. Instead, I was just reminded of his disgusting comments. His acting even felt apprehensive to me and I was not amused at all (or just missed the joke) when he couldn’t concentration because of the nude photos.

I did enjoy how all the Seinfeld characters played themselves yet still had very Seinfeld-like banter, such as the “you shifted!” Looking forward to seeing how this storyline plays out.