No laughing matter ... Garry Shandling and David Duchovny in The Larry Sanders Show. Photograph: Larry Watson/AP
I'm gradually trying to make my way backwards through the TV comedy cannon. I've seen most of this decade's best shows and have just completed the box set of Seinfeld. I missed Seinfeld's initial run on account of being too young and it being shown at bizarre o'clock on Sundays on BBC2 throughout the 1990s.
The Larry Sanders Show followed Seinfeld on the BBC in a double-bill of stupendous quality. So, after finishing nine glorious seasons of the latter's box sets, it made sense to get cracking on season one of Larry Sanders.
Alas, the only region two DVD releases of the HBO classic are cheap Best Ofs taking in episodes from throughout the show's run. I bought it anyway, figuring a mixture of that and ITV4's repeats might give me the chance to gain at least some authority on Sanders. But in a world where Joey, Two and a Half Men, King of Queens, Jackass and various other inessentials can earn releases over here, why isn't one of the best ever US sitcoms available?
I'm sure we don't need reasons for The Larry Sanders Show's greatness listed at length but, for a start, regular players on the show include Garry Shandling, Jeremy Piven, Janeane Garofalo and writers include The Simpsons' David Mirkin and current Hollywood golden boy Judd Apatow. It would be enough just to just paste those names on the box and get Ricky Gervais's patronage on the advertising. Surely it'd sell just as many in the UK as Seinfeld, or the similarly styled Curb Your Enthusiasm. Go on Columbia Tristar, make a blogger happy ...
Are there of any other US sitcoms of note that haven't been released properly over here? What about Taxi or Undeclared? Any suggestions?
