Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series (DVD Review)
A lot of people recognize Larry David these days. Back when Curb Your Enthusiasm debuted 25 years ago with a little special, nobody realized that the show would not only last as long as it did, but even outliving Seinfeld, the phenomenon that David created with Jerry Seinfeld, which lasted 9 years. Yes, the loophole is that David and his crew of castmates and writers could take their time. This was no yearly ordeal and that makes each season feel timely and even timeless now. Read more about the incredible Curb Your Enthusiasm and see if this complete series set is the way to go! It is pretty….pretty…pretttay….pretty good….
Series 
Larry David has quite the life. Taking place after Seinfeld has ended, Larry can spend his time with friends, dining out, enjoying domestic life with his wife and just enjoy himself. Or can he? From the first episode to the last, Larry David has no good luck at all! Whether it’s something he may have said or an action, movement or behavior, Larry always causes a ruckus.
Each season of Curb Your Enthusiasm has a basic premise, and the world-class cast of characters then goes for it with incredible improvisation that leads to incredibly funny situations. Season 1 is the one season with no concrete story arc. In the first season we find ourselves becoming familiar with Larry and his wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines). Cheryl is a very patient person. She lets a lot of Larry’s issues slide off of her, walking away from the destruction scott free. Larry’s best friend is his loyal manager Jeff (Jeff Garlin), who finds himself in many of Larry’s mix-ups, but remains ride-or-die to the friendship. He is married to Susie (Susie Essman), who is abrasive and sees through every aspect of Larry’s typical BS.
Subsequent seasons deal with Larry dabbling in restaurants, theater, housing hurricane refugees, trying to make new shows, reuniting with his Seinfeld family and all manors of relationships. The dialogue is always hilarious and to see how Larry tries to emerge from each mishap is a hysterical treat. The whole idea of the show mostly being improvised makes the humor so biting, so sharp and so instantly hilarious. Don’t even get started on the insanely huge list of guest stars. These guests only enhance the hilarity.
I love Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry as a caricature of himself is someone I can totally relate to. He wants to take it easy, have a laugh and just live. He also can’t speak his mind, he can’t say anything without offending people, and often finds himself at the receiving end of some sort of consequence. There are too many memorable moments to come back to, but I can say that The Doll, The Car Pool Lane, The Grand Opening, Palestinian Chicken, The Christ Nail, The Freak Book, The Black Swan, The Bare Midriff, A Disturbance in the Kitchen, Happy New Year and so many more prove to be essential viewing. My mentions here actually barely scratch the surface.
I am treading very hot water by saying that Curb Your Enthusiasm began my journey with Larry David. I never watched Seinfeld and found Curb to be downright hysterical. I never saw the show in sequence and I loved seeing the craziness unfold. When I finally saw the show in sequence, I also began my journey with Seinfeld, and thus my love for the humor of Larry David continues to this day. His characterization in the show is somehow so relatable, and even now, I find some of his ideas and thoughts to be so very relevant. Whether this was the intent or not, a lot of Larry’s thinking is very common sense and that definitely steps on a nerve for many of those he offends in these 12 seasons.
Audio/Video 
Video and Audio quality are of the DVD variety. The first 6 seasons are framed in 1.33:1, while the last 6 are 1.78:1. The audio for the first 6 seasons is Dolby Surround, with the last 6 seasons getting a 5.1 mix. The look of the show is one that is shot in HD and at times has a very simple look to it. Softness is apparent, as it’s all on DVD, but comparing these discs with their HD, 1.78:1 Max stream counterparts shows the differences aren’t as drastic as they may seem. The first 6 seasons are blown up on Max, so we do miss some screen info on the stream, and this is currently one of the only ways to see the show as originally intended. The audio is mostly dialogue and the incessant, super catchy music that has been an icon of the show since 2000.
Extras
Extras are ported from previous releases with the seasons 2, 4, 7, 11 and 12 having no special features at all. Features often are commentaries, roundtables and cast discussions. There is a set tour for the Seinfeld reunion season.
The series is held across 24 discs, here placed in a large plastic box. Note that each season has its two discs stacked on top of each other.
Summary
I love Larry David, and I love Curb. If you’ve never collected the show, this is the way to go. I’m a little bummed out that we don’t get Blu-ray editions of these seasons, but until then, this DVD set will do the trick. It includes all episodes and ported over special features as well as the final season showing up here and being a big part of the packaging too. Here’s hoping we see a Blu-ray someday, but until then, this DVD set comes recommended!
Purchase Your Copy of Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series HERE
Adam Toroni-Byrne
Adam is a lifelong physical media collector. His love of collecting began with a My First Sony radio and his parent's cassette collection. Since the age of 3, Adam has collected music on vinyl, tape and CD and films on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray. Adam likes to think of himself as the queer voice of Whysoblu. Outside of his work as a writer at Whysoblu, Adam teaches preschool and trains to be a boxer although admittedly, he's not very good.
