Curbs Returns

No, not that Curbs, he's still enjoying a well-earned holiday in New Zealand. I'm talking instead about this week's UK release of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Series 5.

In my view, Curb Your Enthuiasm (CYE) is the most outstanding sitcom of all time. Ironically perhaps, it was never meant to exist - it began as a one-off 'mockumentary' in 1999, but has now run for five series and fifty episodes, and has developed a relatively small but fanatical following (a little like Charlton if you will).

For those that haven't seen it, Larry David (co-creator of Seinfeld) plays himself, a wealthy but unfulfilled Jewish writer/producer living amongst the plastic of Los Angeles. Each episode sees Larry caught up in an intricate web of excruciating social situations thanks to his uncanny ability to offend and refusal to conform to social norms. Once you learn to love Larry, you will fall in love with CYE.

Larry is at the epicentre of everything great about the show, but he is assisted by a talented cast whose tolerance of him ranges from the low (his manager's wife Susie) to the high (his long-suffering wife Cheryl). At various points, in a technique used successfully by Extras, real life stars from Ted Danson to Ben Stiller play themselves.

Some of the advertising posters for earlier series suggested that, "Deep inside you know you're him." The key difference is that most of us have learned to keep our true feelings to ourselves in the name of decorum and social protocol; Larry however just can't button his lip and as a result I'm constantly willing him on. I would often like to voiciferously criticise some aspects of American life, from its materialism to its religiosity but politeness prevents me from doing so; luckily Larry acts as my secret spokesperson.

The show doesn't contain killer one-liners and shuns canned laughter (unlike Seinfeld), but instead simply sets up the brilliantly conceived situations and allows the actors to interact virtually unscripted. The instrumental soundtrack meanwhile is a common theme throughout the show and a key element to its success. The result is a warm and natural sitcom which simply gets better the more often you watch it.

I am generally underwhelmed by most television shows, but CYE has certain things in common with some of my select other favourites. Like Fawlty Towers it plays upon the chaos that inevitably ensues when different cultures mix, or snobbery is present in the company of someone willing to challenge it. However whereas Fawlty Towers had elements of farce with its characters constantly moving across a fixed set, CYE is more subtle and uses diverse locations although at times its situations are similarly farcical. Meanwhile in The Office (the British one, not the dire American version), Ricky Gervais also avoids canned laughter to create a realism that can leave you cringing whilst you laugh. CYE however supercedes both of them in my view.