TV ON DVD Shandling’s Larry Sanders is great fun with substance

— What is it? The Larry Sanders Show, the complete series, 89 half-hour episodes on 17 discs from Shout! Factory. The series aired on HBO, 1992-1998.

How much? $149.99.

When? Tuesday.

What is The Larry Sanders Show? Well, there are two. One is a fictional late-nighttalk show with host Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling) delivering monologues and interviewing celebrity guests.

Then there’s The Larry Sanders Show, which follows the chaos and comedy backstage as Larry and the staff contend with overbearing network suits and those celebrities, whose egos, demands and insecurities rarely fail to cause complications.

The vain, neurotic Larry is surrounded by equally odd, neurotic characters including gung-ho producer Artie (Rip Torn); dim, needy sidekick Hank (Jeffrey Tambor); reliableassistant Beverly (Penny Johnson); and caustic Paula (Janeane Garofalo), who’s in charge of booking the show’s guests.

The parade of famous faces (all portraying themselves - or exaggerated versions, anyway) passing through the show includes: Chris Farley, Ben Stiller, Tom Petty, Sharon Stone, Alec Baldwin, David Duchovny and Carol Burnett, just to name a few. And they all seem to be having a great time lampooning their own images.

Is it any good? The series has made several “best TV comedies of all time” lists and it is hysterical, with dry, fast-paced humor delivered by talented actors and comedians.

But it’s not a gag-fest. There’s a certain amount of depth and complexity at work here and, while funny, the series feels genuinely and sometimes uncomfortably real.

It is a bit dated, naturally, since Larry riffs on current (that would be 1990s) events in his monologues and some of the celebrities were much bigger 15 years ago than they are now. But that hardly matters. It’s funny stuff, even if you’ve forgotten, for instance, that Arsenio Hall once had a talk show.

Are there extras? Absolutely - a pretty full roster, too. In addition to outtakes and deleted scenes for each season and five episode commentaries, there are:

Interviews: There are individual interviews with cast and crew, as well as Garry Shandling’s “personal visits” with some of the more memorable guest stars.

The Making of The Larry Sanders Show: A thorough, hour-long documentary full of clips and interviews. Be sure to stay until the end for a funny and bittersweet gag featuring the late actor Bruno Kirby.

The Writers Process: An eight-minute segment in which writer Judd Apatow and Shandling debate a joke that didn’t make it into the show.

Rip and Jeffrey Visit Gary in His LivingRoom: Eleven minutes with the three actors talking candidly about their memories of the show.

Emmy Print Campaign: Creative ads that ran to promote the show during awards season.

There’s also a booklet with essays and episode synopses.

Also new: Beverly Hills, 90210, Season 10; Cadfael, complete collection; The Facts of Life, Season 5; The Fugitive, Season 4, Volume 1; Mad About You, Season 5; Nip/Tuck, complete series; The Pacific miniseries; V, Season 1.

Next week: The Boondocks, Season 3; Californication, Season 3; The Golden Girls, 25th Anniversary Complete Collection; Lie to Me, Season 2; Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, complete series; The Tudors, Season 4.

Style, Pages 58 on 10/31/2010

Upcoming Events