Larry's on Vacation

This fourth season jumps away from the third a little bit and in a way I was glad since I thought maybe that the relationship with Roseanne would be a hindrance in terms of being a narrative that had to be serviced rather than something that worked. Fortunately this is not the case and the new season brings that up and closes it out very well. This gives the rest of the season to have lots of good self-contained plots which are generally funny and effective. The main thing I liked is that the show keeps the energy level and pace which it started getting into during the third season.

While the comedy retains the cynicism and the nicely acerbic edge, this energy really helps it limit how much the tone is dragged down by this. This is most evident in the character of Larry himself. In the early seasons I found him to be a bit of a drag but here he is downbeat enough to work but not so much that he hurts the light comedy. This is generally the case throughout all the writing as well – things move very well and while cynical, the material is never allowed to wallow or be delivered in a sluggish way. I really enjoyed this season as a result and laughed regularly and loudly. The cast are a big part of this: Shandling is strong but as always I love the delivery of Tambor and Torn as both have great lines, great timing and their side-character status means they have less pressure on them in terms of narrative in most episodes. Johnson, Garofalo, Langham and others are all good in support as before.

It took me a few seasons to really feel this show was as good as people say but with the tone and pace more to my linking I have really enjoy this and the previous season a lot.