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After nearly 25 years on the air, Curb Your Enthusiasm has cemented itself as one of the greatest comedies in television history. It’s almost unbelievable that Larry David managed to create not one, but two iconic shows about nothing — first Seinfeld, and then Curb Your Enthusiasm. Known for Larry’s neurotic humor, brutally honest rants, and painfully awkward situations, Curb has become an HBO staple. But there was one moment that truly transformed Curb Your Enthusiasm from a great comedy… into a legendary one.
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0:00
I know you took the doll's head, where is it
0:04
Where's the f***ing head? This is Season 2, Episode 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm
0:09
Since its inception 24 years ago, Curb has been churning out awkward situations and huge laughs
0:15
But even after all this time, Season 2's The Doll remains one of the most memorable episodes
0:21
It's the rules. The sign says no food or drink in the theater. I'm sure we would all like to have a water
0:26
Oh yeah, we're all dying of thirst. What are you, the hallway monitor here? While there are plenty of reasons to like this early addition to the show's comedic catalog
0:33
the main one is that it contains the exact moment that turned Curb Your Enthusiasm
0:37
from a good show into a great one. Curb Your Enthusiasm began its life as a one-hour special on HBO in 1999
0:45
The special took the form of a mockumentary about real-life Seinfeld creator Larry David
0:50
and his return to stand-up comedy. The heavily meta-plot surrounds Larry approaching HBO to do a special
0:55
and then subsequently getting into trouble after becoming too nervous to follow through
0:59
It's a tongue-in-cheek jab at the entertainment industry that doesn't pull its punches
1:04
even when it comes to the creator, writer, and star himself. And though the framework of being embedded into Hollywood culture was out of reach for most viewers
1:12
the inclusion of the humdrum details of daily life meant just about anyone could relate
1:17
Seeing it all through the lens of a crotchety contrarian man in his 50s
1:21
only added another layer of hilarity and awkwardness. The special was met with a warm critical reception, and HBO apparently saw value in the public humiliation of the Hollywood machine
1:31
So, Curb Your Enthusiasm was quickly spun into a full-on 10-episode TV show, which first aired on October 15, 2000
1:39
Seinfeld was famously a show about nothing. Curb is largely the same, taking the premise from the special and wringing it out to its barest essentials
1:46
You're looking at my girlfriend's breasts. First of all, they're not breasts. They're not breasts. They're just big chemical balls, okay
1:53
In the early seasons, the show shined most brightly when it used its LA setting as a backdrop to tell more human stories about life idiosyncrasies Like Seinfeld it often relied on callback humor for a big portion of its laughs But there more to curb than that
2:16
The signature irony-poisoned approach to comedy permeated each episode, making the jaded audience
2:22
of the new millennium feel right at home. The jokes were vulgar but quick-witted. The characters
2:26
were unscrupulous but likable. And Larry managed to handle even the most indecent subject
2:31
matter with a lighthearted touch. It was funny, clever, cringy, and charmingly irreverent
2:35
Of course, you can't lay all the praise at Larry's feet. The rest of the cast was just as instrumental in Curb's success
2:41
Since the show is made up of mostly improvised dialogue, everyone had to be on their toes the minute
2:46
the cameras started rolling. Cheryl Hines and Jeff Garland carried a significant amount of the comedic burden
2:51
as Larry's wife and manager, respectively. as did Susie Essman and the late great Richard Lewis and the parade of guest stars
2:58
But throughout the first season and the beginning of the second, Curb was still trying to find itself
3:03
While it was a good show and a worthy addition to HBO's lineup, there was room for improvement
3:07
And on November 4th, 2001, it would get it in the form of season two's The Doll
3:12
Consistently ranked among the best episodes of the show, the seventh episode of season two begins with Larry and Julia Louise Dreyfus
3:19
pitching a show to ABC, not dissimilarly to the way he did in the 1999 special
3:24
ABC loves the pitch, and executive Lane Michelson, played by Zach Grinner
3:28
invites Larry to a screening of the first episode of an upcoming miniseries. Nobody actually wants to go, but to maintain their relationship with the network
3:35
Larry agrees to attend. This scene is also where we're introduced to a key element of the episode
3:40
Larry's constant need to drink water on his doctor's orders. Later, he, Cheryl, and Jeff go to the screening
3:46
and Larry gets in a fight with another attendee over whether he's allowed to bring his water bottle
3:51
into the theater. Excuse me, Mrs. Cantor. We've got homework. You forgot to give us homework
3:56
We eventually learn that the other attendee is good friends with Lane Michelson's wife
4:00
who played by Rita Wilson When the gang finds themselves at the after party at the Michelson home the awkwardness ramps up at an accelerated pace as Larry less than stellar reputation has clearly preceded him
4:11
An unlockable bathroom door forces Larry to seek privacy upstairs where he meets the Michalsons' young daughter
4:17
Sammy. Upon the little girl's request, Larry gives her doll a haircut and heads back downstairs
4:21
to the party. While Larry guards the bathroom door for Cheryl, Sammy comes running down the stairs
4:26
distraught that her doll's hair hasn't grown back. Larry tries to defend himself in front of the gathered crowd, which diverts his attention away from the bathroom
4:34
allowing Lane to accidentally walk in on Cheryl on the toilet. There's lots of screaming, crying, and incredulous faces before we finally cut away from the cringe-inducing scene for a brief bit of levity
4:45
The second half of the episode becomes a quest to repair Larry's relationship with the Michalsons, and more importantly, with ABC
4:52
He and Jeff decide that the best way to do that is by replacing the doll. Luckily, Jeff's daughter has the same doll
4:58
and so Larry does what anyone would do in his situation. Rip the doll's head off, shove it down his pants
5:03
and hide it from Jeff's wife and take it back to the Michalsons. Further hijinks ensue, and we get some of the best line deliveries
5:09
in the episode courtesy of Suzy Essman. The kid is home hysterical because her doll, Judy, has been decapitated
5:18
But it appears that everything works out for the best. The gang decides to show up for the screening of part two of the miniseries
5:24
and before they head into the theater, Larry once again needs to use the bathroom
5:28
Since the men's restroom is a mess, he asks his wife to keep watch so he can use the women's instead
5:33
As payback for the incident at the Michelson's, she leaves her post. Anticipating another fight about his water bottle
5:39
Larry decides to stuff it down his pants to sneak it into the theater, since it works so well with the doll head
5:43
And before he can make the swift exit from the restroom, Sammy comes in
5:48
And then this. Oh, you're welcome. this was the moment that made curb your enthusiasm truly great as we established up top the show had always been cringy and irreverent those were its best elements but none of the earlier episodes would reach such a high caliber of quality and none of them were able to blend those elements as well as Larry did here The taboo nature of the subject matter isn abnormal for Curb but
6:18
it's still a shock to the system, yet it's addressed in a way that doesn't dwell on the
6:22
worst of the uncomfortability. Instead, it leaves you laughing as you watch Larry try futilely to
6:27
escape out a window. Sure, Larry may not be a particularly good guy
6:31
You know, like, I'm okay. I'm not one of the bad ones. And he makes a lot of grievous mistakes in this episode
6:39
but Larry's inherent likability ensures that you still feel for him as a mob begins to form off-camera
6:45
ready and willing to burn him at the stake after an episode's worth of character assassination
6:50
And though callback jokes had become an expected part of any given episode
6:54
the final moments of the doll are a mastery of the idea that we had never seen in the show before
6:58
It's a more complicated iteration of the setup and payoff formula, relying on the audience to keep track of the entire series of unfortunate misunderstandings that build up to an ultimate chaotic crescendo
7:09
It's the brilliantly interwoven culmination of every plot thread in the episode
7:13
It's a perfect demonstration of Curb at its absolute best. It marked a turning point for the show, one where audiences' expectations were raised
7:22
Luckily for us, those raised expectations have been consistently met. At the time of recording, Curb Your Enthusiasm is airing its 12th and final season
7:30
After almost a quarter of a century on TV and several extended breaks in between
7:34
Larry and the rest of the cast are making us laugh just as much today as they did 24 years ago
7:40
Even though other arguably better episodes have come out of Modern Curb
7:44
like The Carpool Lane from Season 4 or Palestinian Chicken from Season 8
7:48
they're all standing on the stellar foundation that the doll laid on November 4, 2001
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The show found its identity on that day. It's been unwavering and unapologetically itself
7:58
since then, leading to a lasting legacy that can best be described in a single word. Great
8:03
Or in the immortal words of Larry David, Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good
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