Get Enthused! 'Curb' is changing the sitcom

The big TV networks have a big problem: the kiddies aren't gobbling up their sitcoms like the old days. Of the top ten shows (according to Nielsen Media during the week of Feb. 16-22), only two, "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" (both well past their prime) are situation comedies. The rest of the top ten is rounded out with both nights of "American Idol," drama series and reality shows. \nThe numbers are even more staggering when it comes to the young adult demographic. Simply put, once "Friends" concludes at the end of the season, hardly any of the coveted 18 to 25-year-olds will be watching primetime network TV. \n"Curb Your Enthusiasm," a unique spin-off of "Seinfeld," one of NBC's most profitable and popular shows, which defined the "Must See TV" 9 p.m. timeslot (the most coveted slot in network TV at the time), is in its fourth season and continues to gain steam as TV's funniest half hour. But rather than a spin on one of the show's four main characters (or even Newman for that matter), it goes into uncharted waters: a spin-off on the show's creator: Larry David. \nLarry, who has gone from a middle-class struggling comic to someone who never has to worry about money for the rest of his life after the incredible success of "Seinfeld," now must uncomfortably make the transition to Los Angeles socialite. Even his wife and closest friends, Richard Lewis (playing himself) and his agent Jeff Greene (played by comedian Jeff Garlin) can't fathom his antics at times. But more often than not, they end up joining him. \nLarry proves one thing over the course of the show: no matter how drastic the environment, you still can't change him. He continues to drive a basic, compact car and wears unassuming, no-name clothing. The only luxury he truly does enjoy is the country club, of which he is eventually kicked out. \n"Curb" can obviously be associated with "Seinfeld." It nitpicks people's daily insecurities and Larry's good deeds often turn bad. But then again, "Curb" and "Seinfeld" could not be further apart in other aspects. Frankly, it may just change the way the situation comedy, a dying breed, is made. \nWhen the concept of the sitcom was first devised, the leading show in the genre was "I Love Lucy," which set the stage; entrances and studio audience. For the next half century, the plots, characters and settings have changed, but the basic fundamentals of the sitcom have stayed the same. \nWhat's the deal with the studio audience, anyways? A half-century after its introduction, doesn't it seem to be a little out of date these days? As an avid TV viewing culture, do we still need to be told when to laugh? Or is the studio audience a way of perhaps helping an audience get over its insecurity of laughing by reassuring them, "Yes! Laugh! When Will told Grace to stop being so 'gay,' that was funny because in fact, Will is gay!" "Curb" has proven you can in fact have the masses rolling on the ground laughing, even if no laugh track is encouraging them to do so. \nWhile sitcom pilots continue to get shot down by networks in favor of reality shows and contests, "Curb" is one half of cable TV's most watched hour (the now concluded "Sex in the City" being the first half of the Sunday 9 - 10 p.m. timeslot) despite its spot on a premium channel which has far less subscribers. \nBut "Curb" is reality TV done right. It's reality in the sense that it is filmed not on a stage but in real homes and buildings, and with scripts which are used loosely, and substituted for a casual, lifelike vernacular. But it is given a story line, so as to actually provide comedic results deeper and funnier than, say, Paris Hilton sticking her hand up a cow's rectum (see "The Simple Life"). When watching, you get the feeling this is what Larry goes through each day of his real, miserable life. \nOne advantage "Curb" has over the competition is its ability to be original and experimental being on HBO. Unlike the networks and even cable, censorship isn't an issue. This doesn't mean it shows gratuitous bosoms every once in awhile like most HBO series (in fact, "Curb" never shows nudity), but they can get away with a few vulgarities and discussions with prostitutes over how much work they can get in an hour, and the price difference between "chronic" and "schwag." This is something the conservative networks couldn't do (OK, maybe Fox could). \nAs network ratings continue to decline, and the young audiences continue to shift to cable for its regular dose of comedy, the networks will have to decide whether they should continue with the current, slowly dying formula of sitcoms, or perhaps step outside the box, like Larry David and HBO did, by doing something not so outdone and cliché. After all, the worst that will happen is no one will watch -- which already is the case.