 
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Fourth Season The Office: Season One Steve Martin once said, “comedy is not pretty” and he just might have been referring to either or both of these shows. When it was announced that NBC was going to produce an American version of the short, but successful British series The Office, howls of protest were heard around the country from fans believing this new show would suck. As it turns out, we were all pleasantly surprised – Ricky Gervais, star and creator of the BBC series, wrote and helped produce the U.S. version, insuring the ‘mockumentary’ would have plenty of awkward moments and pregnant pauses. The choice of Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) was also inspired, as he brings his own style of boorishness to the project. All of the characters are Americanized versions of their British counterparts and some of the scripts are virtually identical as well. Although ratings weren’t particularly high, NBC has given the go-ahead for a new season that should be on air before too long. Curb Your Enthusiasm and its creator Larry David, provoke severe reactions from both fans and detractors. It’s truly a love or hate relationship with this show, much like Seinfeld, his other major creation. David is the king of the misanthropes and manages to screw up everything he comes in contact with except for his marriage, thanks to his forgiving wife, played by the wonderful Cheryl Hines. In Season 4, Mel Brooks hears Larry perform at a karaoke bar and asks him to join the Broadway cast of “The Producers” alongside Ben Stiller. This and his upcoming 10th wedding anniversary, set in motion a series of gags that serve as jumping-off points for all ten episodes. Season highlights include Larry picking up a hooker, in order to use the carpool lane and get to the Giants game on time, inviting Colby from TV’s “Survivor” to a dinner to meet ‘survivors’ of the holocaust, stealing a prized golf club back from a deceased buddy’s open casket and attempting one last extramarital fling with an Hassidic dry cleaner’s wife, played by Gina Gershon. Like The Office, it’s often painful to watch and extremely politically incorrect, but in the end it hurts so good. The new season on HBO begins September 20th. - David Bassin
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