Larry Sanders

So, slowly and with great relish I’ve been working my way through the collection of “Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show,” and it’s no great surprise–to me, nor I imagine to any of you–how awesome the series is. And the collection, which cherry-picks 23 episodes from the entire run of the season, is excellent ‘though not quite the full run we fans might hope for, and we all (non-fans and fans alike) deserve. But it’s what we got. I recommend.

But I want to put in a plug for the extras, which… well, get pretty astounding. There are deleted scenes and some commentaries–intriguing, slightly illustrative, not bad. But still ye olde extras. There are some interviews with various cast members, done by a faceless interviewer, and those too can be fun–but this is all conventional stuff. Then there are these often very long, often quite moving, always strange and personal interviews between Garry Shandling and various guest or co-stars. I’m only into disc 2, but just disc one has this session between Garry and Alec Baldwin, who popped up for a cameo in season one, that is worth seeing even if you skip the shows.

Who knows why Baldwin–there’s a ‘handwritten’ note preceding the interview that says Garry was always just intrigued by Baldwin, and thought they could’ve been friends, but he resisted. (These interviews are full of personal reflection, and a good deal of apology and self-loathing, from Shandling.) He meets Baldwin in a boxing ring, where they spar, or talk while jogging in place and punching the air, and a coach occasionally comes in and gives them tips. Shandling digs and digs–like he’s a therapist–trying to get at some emotional truths from Baldwin. It’s very funny, very edgy, seems entirely authentic. And it’s dazzling.

I’ve liked the other personal interviews, too–and I’m keen to see the ones with David Duchovny and Rip Torn. But … wow. The Baldwin piece, particularly for fans of his, is great, great stuff.