Season two of 'Curb' ups the ante

The first season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" was great, the second is classic.\nJust like Larry David's "other" big show, "Seinfeld," "Curb" is getting better with age as Larry grows more agitated. \nThe two-disc set has Season Two in its entirety: ten episodes split between two DVDs. Somewhat of a bummer, however, is the lack of any extras, such as interviews or episode analysis. \nSeason Two, which is defined mostly by Larry struggling to find a new gig in L.A., has some of the best "Curb" episodes to date. \nThe opener, "The Car Salesman," fulfills Larry's lifelong dream of selling cars. After running into a friend of his agent who owns a Toyota dealership, Larry gets an audition in the showroom, which of course doesn't last longer than zero sales in two days. \nThroughout the first episodes of the season, which like all "Curb" seasons follows a specific theme throughout, Larry teams with Jason Alexander to pitch a new show. Larry strikes gold when he realizes he and Jason (who played George Costanza on "Seinfeld") could play a distraught actor struggling to find work following the success of a mega-hit series, much like the real-life scenario. However, plans are never solidified, because the two can't decide in who's office to meet. \nL.A. Lakers fans, despite their recent drubbing to the Pistons on the hardwood, even have something to cheer about in Season Two. Larry gets two front row tickets to a Lakers' game, only to trip Shaq when he stretches his feet. Shaq is sidelined with a foot injury, but lucky for Larry, he's a huge "Seinfeld" fan. The two end up bonding in the hospital, watching reruns of "Seinfeld" and playing board games. \nThe true brilliance of "Curb" isn't in the plotlines themselves or the twists and turns, which almost always resort to Larry defending himself. The brilliance is in the fine detail Larry picks from everyday life, whether it's cut-off times for calling friends at night or why he shouldn't have to give candy to teenagers without costumes. Larry is the consummate conservative, stuck in his ways until he is exiled out of the Hollywood inner circle.