Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” ran for over 100 episodes, so it was hard to pick only five. This show has had a large impact on my life, and it is something that I can always put on in the background and still have a laugh!
5. “The Larry David Sandwich” (S5, E1)
In this episode, Larry discovers that he has his own bona fide at his local sandwich shop! This excites Larry, however when he discovers what exactly in his sandwich (Whitefish, sable, capers, onions & cream cheese), he is mortified. He is so disgusted and disappointed with his sandwich that he complains to the owner of the sandwich shop in order to change his sandwich. When Larry is met with resistance by the owner, Larry strikes a deal with which will allow him to switch sandwiches with someone else’s famous sandwich.
Larry seeks out Ted Danson (who has an infinitely better sandwich) to switch with him, and is also disgusted by the nasty sandwich. Ted Danson is so disgusted by this sandwich that he refuses to switch with Larry. At the end of the episode, Larry is taken off the menu; and Richard Lewis is given the sandwich on the menu. I love this episode because Larry has such a vendetta for this sandwich. Larry’s father has a stroke while he is eating the sandwich; and this leads Larry to convince himself that the sandwich caused the stroke. My favorite part of the episode is when Larry tries to convince Ted to take the sandwich, because Ted initially agrees; but takes it back when Larry tells him what is in the sandwich. I also love this episode because fans of the show on the internet have recreated the sandwich in real life; and the reviews have not been great to say the least. Great episode, awful sandwich.
4. “The Tivo Guy” (S6, E7)
Here in this episode we see Larry and his wife Cheryl’s (Cheryl Hines) almost eleven year marriage end all because of a phone call! Cheryl uses an emergency phone on the plane to call Larry and tell her the plane may crash and wants to say goodbye. However due to the loudness of the plane (according to Larry) and Larry’s obvious distraction with the Tivo guy doing work on their tv at home, Larry is unable to understand what Cheryl is saying. This goes far enough to a point where he tells her to call back later! When Cheryl makes it home, she says to Larry that they are separating because she is done with Larry’s emotional unavailability and his endless antics.
I love this episode mainly for the ending, wherein which Larry’s television still glitches out while he watches a basketball game; never solving the issue that caused his marriage to fall apart. That being said, this is not the only reason that Larry’s marriage ended; he is someone who never learns his lesson!
3. “The Black Swan” (S7, E7)
At the country club that Larry belongs to, there lives (or lived) a black swan. This black swan was Mr. Takahasi’s, the country club owner’s prized possession. If anything was to happen to it; there would be dire consequences. Larry, of course, kills the swan in self defense on the golf course. Takahashi finds out that Larry and his foursome were out on the course at the time of the swan’s death. This leads to Larry inevitably being caught as the swan killer, although he does throw Takahashi’s trail off prior by giving a waiter at the country club a $500 tip.
I love this episode because of the B-plot, which ties into how Larry is caught and exposed as the “swan killer”. Larry’s mother had recently passed away, and Larry’s father wrote out “past away” instead of “passed away” in order to save money. When Larry finds this out he calls the stonemason at his mother’s graveyard to fix it, and gets into an argument over a baseball player. This escalates to a point where Larry’s mother’s tombstone reads “Swan Killer’s Mother”, written by the stonemason out of spite. Perfect ending to a great episode.
2. “The Ugly Section” (S10, E7)
This episode makes me crack up everytime I watch it! Larry and his friends are constantly seated in a section of a restaurant that has not-so-good looking people around him. This makes Larry uncomfortable and insecure by his own looks. When he confronts the waiter about this so called “ugly section”, the waiter denies its existence; every time he is confronted. Finally, the episode ends with a restaurant patron choking; causing the waiter to yell “Help! Someone is choking in the ugly section!” and Larry has his ‘a-ha!’ moment.
I love this episode a lot because of the cameo appearances from Nick Kroll, Jane Krakowski, and Skyler Gisondo. This is one of my favorite things about the show, the endless cameos prove to help shape the world that Larry David has created for us. I love the idea of a plot point for an episode where a restaurant discriminates based on looks and appearances. It is so ridiculous that if it occurred in any other show, it would seem off.
1. “The Survivor” (S4, E9)
Finally, we have come to my favorite episode of the series. In this episode, Larry and Cheryl are getting their vows renewed! The rabbi that is hosting the event for them asks if he can bring a ‘survivor’ to the dinner. Larry also invites a Holocaust survivor, Solly to the renewal, because he thought it would be nice for the survivors to meet. This backfires however, due to the rabbi’s guest being a former cast member of the TV show ‘Survivor’. This causes the dinner to be a mess, with our two survivors comparing horror stories; endlessly trying to one up each other in traumatic experiences.
This is an episode that I always put on first in order to introduce my friends and family to the show, I think it is a perfect introduction to the show. It is the perfect amount of absurdity for a new viewer to soak everything in. Recognizable faces (Kaitlin Olson, Allan Rich) really help solidify the approach-ability to the show because this series has endless cameos and legendary cast members. This is without a doubt, my favorite episode to this day.
Here is a link to a video of a video essay that breaks down how and why Curb Your Enthusiasm works so well!