Hank Kingsley vs George Costanza
ur pick.. whose ur fave?
shareBoth had the ability to make you feel embarrassed for them
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MovieChat Forums > The Larry Sanders Show (1992) Discussion > Hank Kingsley vs George Costanza
George was funnier but Tambor's acting was better. My fave was definitely George. So many of Tambor's scenes were painful to watch they were so uncomfortable. At some point his naivety starts to get old; felt the same way with McBride in Vice Principals.
shareI think that's an interesting question, not so much because of George and Hank per se, but because--intentionally or not--it compares Seinfeld with Shandling, and compares the shows.
I think Hank and George are actually quite different characters. I couldn't chose between them unless more specific criteria was used.
The better question is Jerry or Larry, and for me, it's Larry every time. And as for the shows, Larry Sanders beats Seinfeld, and I have a great deal of affection for Seinfeld.
Whenever I watch Shandling, Seinfeld comes powerfully to mind. They look similar, and have many of the same acting tells. As characters, Sanders has a more dramatic role with some genuinely poignant--and dark--moments that raise that show above what we've come to expect from sitcoms. Seinfeld is more surface, glib, and he's supported by at least two equally shallow characters in Elaine and George. Kramer is slightly different in that he seems more genuine which is often lost in his wackiness.
And as for the shows, Larry Sanders beats Seinfeld, and I have a great deal of affection for Seinfeld.
I couldn't disagree more. I have seen every episode of Seinfeld so many times and I still love it. So many things in life remind me of a situation on Seinfeld and so I also laugh when I am not even watching the show, just when something happens that reminds of the way it went on Seinfeld. Larry Sanders was a brilliant show. In fact I just binged on a few seasons and loved it again. But I am in no hurry to see those episodes again. It will be years before I might go back to it. The constant whining does get old. There are huge laughs, but less laughs than Seinfled and unlike you, I did not appreciate the serious stuff. Also, the prolonged performances by musicians on the show was very annoying. I wanted to just FF them but then they would cut to Larry (or someone else) talking during the performance and I would not want to miss that.
I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be. share
Well, see, you're obviously a huge fan of Seinfeld, but a casual fan of Larry Sanders. You say you don't appreciate the combination of drama and comedy. But that's a defining aspect of the show. Remove that and you don't have Larry Sanders qua Larry Sanders. And you found the musical performances annoying, particularly because they were intercut with dialogue, but once again, that was a key aspect; the goal wasn't to show you musical performances but to reveal the show within the show.
I adore both shows and my point was that if I had to choose, on balance, I'd go with Sanders since there's far more depth there and far more to be learned about the human condition, which in the long run is always more satisfying.
As I've said elsewhere, the easy mistake is to think of Sanders as a sitcom, but it's not really. It's more of a satire with dramatic elements. Now, all satire is comedy, but not all comedy is satire. Seinfeld is straight sitcom comedy. It just happens to be a great one.
I don't know if I'm a casual fan. I loved the show. And everything you said about it in your first paragraph is rather obvious. I know what the show was. But we are comparing them and that is why we point out the differences. At the end of the day, which did the viewer enjoy more and come back to again and again?
And I totally disagree that it is more about the Human Condition then Seinfeld. Quite the opposite in my opinion. Seinfeld covered so many different life situations and how people react to them. The show also contained a great deal of satire. In fact it was essentially pure satire of the human condition. Much like Curb Your Enthusiasm in which Larry David plays a satirical version of himself. George was playing that character in the show Seinfeld albeit not the rich guy who created Seinfeld yet. Kramer was a satirical version of a former neighbor of Larry David. Jerry played a satirical version of himself. Most episodes were based on satirical version of every day situations. Soup Nazi? Pure satire of a little food place so proud of their own food that they are extremely arrogant about it. (one could compare it to ordering a cheese steak in South Philly). The Chinese Restaurant - too much satire to even begin to discuss here. The car park where you cannot get your car. The mechanic who scolds you for not taking care of your car (ends up stealing it). The car dealer who tries to sell you all the extras. I could go on and on. Pick an episode!
Larry Sanders was a great satirical show about some egomaniacs in Show Business. I don't see what was so deep about it and how it enlightened the viewers so much about The Human Condition. Especially when compared to Seinfeld.