Curb Your Enthusiasm season 7 – He’s baaaaack!

I’ve never seen Curb. Well, that’s not entirely true: I saw ten minutes of the season six premiere, “Meet the Blacks,” when it aired the other night. Why? I’m not a Larry David fan (despite my love for Seinfeld), and David looks like an old boss of mine. A nice guy, but still. Oh, and David made Ari yell at Drama on Entourage, which, while always funny, was undeserved. That time.

So, what the hell am I doing, right? How can I talk about this show — in which David stars as a fictionalized, albeit still very neurotic, version of himself — if I don’t know anything about it? I’ll tell you exactly where my mind is on this one: the Seinfeld four have a major arc on the coming season of Curb, and I plan on being there to watch.

Here, however, is where not knowing much about Curb comes into play — it will make it very interesting to theorize on what, if any, overarching theme the four will address. If they’re coming in as fictionalized versions of themselves, they might as well be the un-caring group they were on Seinfeld, playing parts about, well, nothing. Or they could be a totally different ball of wax. What will they be up to? Let’s start speculating.

Jerry Seinfeld’s success will continue to crush whatever little self-worth Larry has. Seinfeld made $225 million (to David’s $200 million) selling the syndication rights to Seinfeld, and yet he continues to rake in upwards of $60 million per year, largely from Seinfeld-related activities — David doesn’t do too badly himself in that respect. Nevertheless, Larry will develop some sort of visible tick whenever he sees Jerry … David will sell the funny in it. Seinfeld will be the version of himself that appeared on 30 Rock two seasons ago. The man’s funny just being himself.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be a starlet incarnation of herself. I imagine Julia to be rather like Debra Barone, but I think David will have written her with all of her post-Seinfeld success having gone to her head. You know, the Emmy, plus three noms, for The New Adventures of Old Christine. Anyway, Julia will be too busy to be around much, because she’s a working actress. Plus, after all those years working together, a newly single Larry will make a very poorly-advised pass at the very married Julia. She will proceed to crush the rest of his self-esteem.

Michael Richards will beg Larry’s manager, Jeff (Jeff Garlin), to help resuscitate his career. I’m not sure if the racial tirade, or The Michael Richards Show, hurt it more. Be forewarned: Richards is NOT Kramer in any way, shape, or form. He actually is rather soft-spoken and contemplative. Plus his millions buy slightly better clothing than vintage, moth-eaten crap.

Jason Alexander’s story is a tough guess. You see, George Costanza is Larry David, so both Alexander and David on Curb have played fictionalized versions of Larry David. And I think that will play a role on the show. Maybe Jason will date Larry’s ex, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), who David wants back? Will Jason be Jason, or George/Larry? I saw the scene Alexander did on Curb years back (forgot about that!), and they almost went there without quite going all out. They could do better.

Of course, this all ignores the idea of a Seinfeld reunion, which I think I’ve heard is actually the premise for the stars’ turn. I assume David will be against the idea while everyone else is supportive.

There’s your fiction — Jerry Seinfeld would NEVER agree to that!

Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s seventh season swings into gear on Sunday, September 20 at 9:00. Curious about when your other favorite fall shows make their debut? CliqueClack’s guide to the 2009-2010 fall season‘s got the answers.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Aug 30, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT