Obits are laying it a bit thick, aren't they?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Garry Shandling
!!!deleted!!! (49761343) — 10 years ago(March 25, 2016 06:15 PM)
So I've been reading all the obits online, and one thing that's striking me is how over the top they are. Yes, Garry Shandling was a great comic and the producer behind two equally great sitcoms, but do we have to start saying stuff like he was a creative genius or one of the top three influential comics of his time? (Top three? Really? Of the 1980s and '90s?) Or claiming that the Larry Sanders show was so influential that it paved the way for other equally creative shows that came out after it (like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, etc.)
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TexasGreek — 10 years ago(March 25, 2016 07:08 PM)
You have not seen much of his work, have you? "Larry Sanders Show" is pure comedy gold. Not a bad episode in the entire series. So popular and creative that it had imitators like "30 Rock", "The Office", "Modern Family". Shows with the same brand of sarcastic comedy, without acting sarcastic.
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!!!deleted!!! (49761343) — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 07:39 AM)
You have not seen much of his work, have you?
Don't be a pretentious millennial hipster doofus who thinks he's the only person in the world who's seen something or is aware of something. I know a lot more about Gary Shandling than you do. I was watching Gary Shandling do stand up and host the Johnny Carson Show during the 80s and an avid fan of "The Gary Shandling Show" while you were in diapers. I'm well aware of the Larry Sanders show, enough to know that it was nothing more than a darker, more cynical 90s version of the "The David Steinberg Show." (
http://www.imdb.com/board/10068063/
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My point was that we can appreciate a person's accomplishments without overstating them. Neil Simon was one of my most favorite comic playwrights, but I would never say he was the most influential or The Odd Couple the most influential play of the 1960s. Same with other people that I like. Saying stuff like they were the best and most influential, or that they s5b4ingle handedly transformed a medium is crossing into fanboyism territory.
So popular and creative that it had imitators like "30 Rock", "The Office", "Modern Family". Shows with the same brand of sarcastic comedy, without acting sarcastic.
So any show that has sarcasm in it is a rip off of The Larry Sanders Show? Wow!
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dkgambler — 10 years ago(March 27, 2016 03:21 PM)
I know a lot more about Gary Shandling than you do.
Yep, you know so much you can't even properly spell his first name. Anyway, I think it's part of the natural order for celebrity obits to be laid on a bit thick so to speak. In Shandling's case I don't think it's too terribly thick, he did create two unique and very funny shows. It's easy to find comedic hacks, Shandling most certainly was not one of them. -
!!!deleted!!! (49761343) — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 08:03 AM)
Who's on your top three list? Just curious
Top three? Hell, I'll give you four.- 1980s George Carlin (as opposed to his earlier versions)
- Dennis Miller
- Chris Rock
- Sam Kinison
All of these guys influenced stand ups in some form or another. For example, "angry" comics like Lewis Black are basically incarnations of George Carlin, and any political comic that has a laid back, snarky, yet intellectual air can be traced back to Dennis Miller (for example, Bill Maher).
Who did Shandling influence to such an extent that we can argue that he was one of the top three influential of the 80s and 90s?
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!!!deleted!!! (49761343) — 10 years ago(March 30, 2016 08:21 PM)
- Redd Foxx
- David Letterman
- Johnny Carson
Good choices, but the reason why Ida0 didn't mention them is that Letterman and Carson were never standups (obits were calling Shandler the most influential comic), and Redd Foxx spanned back to the 1950s. He wasn't really part of the 80s standup scene.
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CanSteve3 — 10 years ago(April 04, 2016 09:57 AM)
The word genius is probably thrown around too loosely about many people. But Shandling was a brilliant guy, Larry sanders is the smartest, darkest, funniest sitcom ever, but not in the typical broad way. It was incredibly influential on Curb, Louis, and others.
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JuniorMints — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 08:20 PM)
Top three? Hell, I'll give you four.
- 1980s George Carlin (as opposed to his earlier versions)
- Dennis Miller
- Chris Rock
- Sam Kinison
OKgood. As I said.just curious.
Pretty good list there. (80s Carlin was my favorite version of him as well)
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!!!deleted!!! (49761343) — 10 years ago(March 30, 2016 08:22 PM)
OKgood. As I said.just curious.
Pretty good list there. (80s Carlin was my favorite version of him as well)
Yeah, that was when he was beginning to get angry, but didn't become the bitter misanthrope that he became in the 90s.
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dkgambler — 10 years ago(March 25, 2016 06:15 PM)
Top three? Hell, I'll give you four.
- 1980s George Carlin (as opposed to his earlier versions)
- Dennis Miller
- Chris Rock
- Sam Kinison
Good list. I would remove Rock / Miller and add Pryor, or at least the pre freebasing accident Pryor (He got too preachy after that and allowed himself to be in a bunch of garbage movies). Not saying Miller / Rock aren't good but I wouldn't put them at the top of my list.
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!!!deleted!!! (49761343) — 10 years ago(March 30, 2016 08:24 PM)
Good list. I would remove Rock / Miller and add Pryor, or at least the pre freebasing accident Pryor (He got too preachy after that and allowed himself to be in a bunch of garbage movies). Not saying Miller / Rock aren't good but I wouldn't put them at the top of my list.
I added Rock because obits were talking about comics from Shandling's era, and Pryor was at his peak before then.
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