(S06E05) "Happy birthday... Becker!" - Charlie, the limo driver
The trend continues! That's two weeks in a row with a solid episode and the grotesque and morbid themes have carried on as well. Last week it was Larry's bowel movements and this week it's Larry's new favorite book (Mondo Freaks) and cemetery plots. He's definitely exploring the darker side of his humor in this season.
Next up is the freak book. I tried searching for Mondo Freaks with no luck, so I doubt it's the actual title of the book. That being said, Larry must have based this off something he saw or read. So what's it called and where can I buy it? I realize stuff like that is horrendous, but who doesn't want to see a picture of some guy with four noses on his face?
Once again, the way the episode had numerous moments that tied-in was very well done. Even though that's the bread and butter of this show -- it's not always done well. It was here. From Larry posing as the limo driver and making the same poor decisions with alcohol to the opportunity to get rid of his cemetery plot at the end, it all folded together nicely.
Stuff I'm still wondering about:
- Whatever happened with Ted Danson and Cheryl? They were being awfully flirty early on in the season. I wanted to see that go somewhere. Larry doesn't want to be buried next to Ted now. Imagine if he found out that Cheryl was sleeping with him?
- Did Larry actually drive a limo before like he said? I know he sort of made a joke about some blind lady as his passenger, but was her serious about the actual driving? Because he sucked at handling that thing.
- Was there any point to Cheryl mentioning that Paul McCartney and Heather Mills might get back together? I know this show is largely improvised, but sometimes lines get left in that really just don't add to anything and that was one of them.
The Cheers episode Ken Levine's still writing in his head
Giveaway Tuesday: Fastlane - The Complete Series
Giveaway Monday: The X-Files: Revelations on DVD
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-08-2007 @ 10:28AM
kev said...
the point of Cheryl mentioning that Paul McCartney and Heather Mills might get back together was to give a reason why she'd be at the McCartney pre-show party. She was the off-camera girl who got so offended that Larry was going on and on about the freaks.
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10-08-2007 @ 10:28AM
kev said...
dammit Sarcasto beat me to it as I was waiting for my conformation e-mail. Well played, sir
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10-08-2007 @ 10:28AM
bubbalove said...
And of course, just make to sure that the full connection is made, don't forget Heather Mills only has one leg, thereby her reaction at them yelling "What a freak!"
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10-08-2007 @ 10:28AM
BobbyBuz said...
Some "freak" offerings at Amazon.com:
Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit
Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others
Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination
and many more.........
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10-08-2007 @ 12:09PM
LD said...
Um, maybe they should put someone else on these reviews. Is JT even watching these episodes? It would certainly affect MY review and discussion of something if I didn't understand it. Also, enough with the comments about the dark humor of the show. We get it. There are plenty of more interesting and funny topics to discuss about this episode - Larry ruining Ted's birthday party, the mourners getting into McEnroe's limo, Larry freaking out about Susie not wanting to be buried next to him ("I want some peace and quiet when I'm dead"). All great moments.
By the way, did anyone catch that the actor who played Charlie was "The Whiz", Elaine's boyfriend from Seinfeld?
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10-08-2007 @ 12:42PM
Sarcastro said...
Yes, Larry used to drive a limo.
The Heather Mills comment set up Heather Mills coming into the party and getting outraged over Larry and Mac's freak comments.
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10-08-2007 @ 12:47PM
Sarcastro said...
Toby Huss. Known for a sensational Sinatra impersonation and the voice of several characters on King of the Hill, as well as a recurring role as Big Mike on Reno 911.
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10-08-2007 @ 1:03PM
mfoerster said...
I'm wondering if I missed the payoff for a couple other setups:
1) Larry was specifically asked not to look in the glove compartment of the limo.
2) The bow tie never came full circle?
BTW, the limo driver was played by Toby Huss who did those wonderful Frank Sinatra commercials on MTV.
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10-08-2007 @ 1:39PM
Power of Bauer said...
"Hey Mac, I'm shitfaced" my favorite episode of the season.
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10-08-2007 @ 11:14PM
freak fan said...
Also on amazon:
American Sideshow
americansideshow.com
A great freak book. Larry would love it.
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10-09-2007 @ 9:49AM
steve said...
I was hoping for the glove compartment to come into play as well ... also i was hoping when charlie told larry he had to pick someone up at the airport that he would have to wear a bow tie ....
and yes someone has said it but larry did drive a limo. he was a driver to a blind woman. he has a few interviews where he has said this, it's pretty funny, typical Larry David. she would ask him if he was wearing his suit or if the car was clean and he would lie to her because he was blind
when he stormed off into the limo and hit the garbage cans "fuck!" i lost it.
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10-09-2007 @ 9:49AM
James said...
I know that Larry and Ricky Gervais have become friends, and that Gervais' erstwhile sidekick Karl Pilkington used to carry a book of "the top 50 freaks" around with him at all times in case he "needs something good to read". Maybe LD was inspired after he heard RG's podcast?
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10-09-2007 @ 9:52AM
SJ said...
^ Pilkington is one of the funniest men alive.
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10-09-2007 @ 9:53AM
davidlarry said...
one question i have for larry...where did the limo driver get drunk...did he get trashed at the party or did he drink at the limo? either way that is one dumb fucking driver...pretty good episode i thought though ..whe larry argues with susie pretty classic... "i wouldnt have let u leave the house dressed like that"
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10-09-2007 @ 6:44PM
davidlarry said...
ps. ted dansons a douche for making that guy wear a bowtie.
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10-10-2007 @ 8:12AM
seinfeld_rules said...
Two things...the whole time i am watching the limo driver i am thinking of Elaine's b/f...nobody beats the wiz and did anyone notice the voice of the limo driver's wife father, it sounded like bubble boy from the famous "moops" episode.
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10-10-2007 @ 8:12AM
JF said...
I thought this was a great episode overall and a major upgrade from last week. John McEnroe was excellent.. really didn't seem like he was acting. I also liked how this episode actually ended on a relatively happy note for once. I always love seeing old seinfeld characters pop up on different shows. This was just an added bonus.. "I'm the wiz and NOBODY beats me!"
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10-11-2007 @ 2:08PM
Verbal said...
I couldn't get past the Whiz, that's all I thought about when watching him. His line about Becker, that was quoted at the top was priceless. Although the one thing I didn't like was that the whole limo driver waiting outside thing was reused from the season 2 finale. I thought that was kind of lame.
Nonetheless, this episode had me laughing all the way through. Definitely the best of the season so far. I'd repeat what I believe about this season but it's shaping up to be the third best season of the show behind 3 & 2.
I don't know if this is available everywhere but in Comcast ON Demand in the Curb section there is a 7 minute interview called "Curb on Cue" where Susie interviews Larry. During this he explains why he decided to do a sixth season. He first decided to end the show and write a movie. While writing the movie he wasn't enjoying it and decided to have some fun and take time off by writing more Curb episodes. He said he basically missed the good times of Curb.
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1-23-2008 @ 12:11AM
mustapha said...
not to be rude, but we probably have all checked 'mondo freaks' on amazon....
that's not difficult...
we wanna know where the MONDO Freaks book is!!
:-)
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