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The show works on so many different levels, oftentimes commenting on the polarity of modern city living and the absurdity in people’s everyday behaviors. Every episode is gut-busting funny, but a few episodes really stand out as exemplary.
10 The Nanny From Hell (Season 3: Episode 4)
Guest stars and cameos are a huge factor in the show’s success. Its ability to weave hilarious one-off characters into larger jokes is magnificent. This episode has so much chaos it is hard to stop laughing and actually pay attention to the plot.
Larry gets his friends Jeff and Susie to hire a nanny (played by Cheri Oteri) after accidentally getting her fired, but things get silly when she turns out to be much crazier than she originally seemed. The subplot is even more uncomfortable, following Larry’s poorly phrased remarks to a fellow restaurant investor about his son.
9 Opening Night (Season 4: Episode 10)
Every season of Curb follows an underlying plot that guides each episode of the season. Season 4 follows Larry’s attempts to make it on Broadway as the star of Mel Brook’s The Producers.
Of course, Larry drives everyone involved in the production insane and causes more trouble than anyone could ever expect, but it all culminates in the season finale which takes audiences to the opening night of the play. Without giving too much away, Larry manages to mess things up in ways not even he could imagine.
8 The Ida Funkhouser Roadside Memorial (Season 6: Episode 3)
Another great example of how stellar the writing is for Curb is, this classic episode follows Larry’s scatter-brained attempts to ditch a gross $50 bill, apologize to a school administrator he insulted, and avoid being detected while stealing flowers from his friend Marty’s mom’s roadside memorial.
As fans might have already guessed, things go south and Larry is left scrambling to clean up his messes. The way each subplot weaves together is truly brilliant.
7 Palestinian Chicken (Season 8: Episode 3)
An amazing episode that really shows how deep Larry is in his own little world. After getting caught up in the socio-political turmoil of going to a Palestinian chicken restaurant, Larry actually begins having a fling with one of the employees there, much to the chagrin of his fellow Jewish friends.
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But Larry being Larry carries more weight than any religious connotation and he finds himself quite literally caught in the middle of a situation much bigger than he ever expected. Larry’s marching to the beat of his own drum is as rewarding as it is frustrating.
6 The Survivor (Season 4: Episode 9)
Communication breakdowns and misunderstandings are a foundational part of the show’s comedic brilliance. In this unbelievably funny episode, Larry finds himself in hot water when his dad brings a Holocaust survivor over to dinner, while someone else brings over a cast member from the show Survivor.
Things get silly as arguments are made over who suffered more and Larry’s reaction to the whole matter is just perfect.
5 The TiVo Guy (Season 6: Episode 7)
Slight spoilers ahead: Larry being married to Cheryl for as long as he was always seemed far-fetched, given how many uncomfortable situations he put his wife through, but it isn’t until this episode that she actually leaves him. When the TiVo guy finally shows up, Larry is too focused on fixing the machine than communicating with his wife over the phone as she experiences a horrific moment on an airplane.
The fallout is immense and Larry finds himself at odds with everyone over the separation, from his friends to the wait staff at a local restaurant. Larry always speaks before he acts, but this is one of the first episodes he seems incapable of fixing the problems, with hilarious results ensuring.
4 The Black Swan (Season 7: Episode 7)
Anyone who is a fan of the show knows that Larry’s one true love is golf. But Larry’s antics are always getting him in trouble over at the club, especially the time he killed the beloved black swan of the club’s owner.
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Throughout the episode, Larry challenges the rules of the club and finds himself in increasingly awkward situations as his lies start to pile on and he drags his friends into his schemes. Larry’s devious plotting will never cease to amaze audiences who will always be wondering what stunt Larry will pull next.
3 The Doll (Season 2: Episode 7)
In terms of jokes per minute, this episode could easily be the best Curb episode. After Larry accidentally messes up a TV executive’s daughter’s doll, he and Jeff replace the head with one of Jeff’s daughter’s dolls – sending Susie, Jeff’s wife, into a hysterical frenzy.
Jeff is the perfect sideman for Larry’s antics, always being dragged into something he knows he shouldn’t be doing. Susie is incredible and her furious attitude is unmatched by any TV character. “Where’s the doll head, Larry!”
2 The Car Pool Lane (Season 4: Episode 6)
Perhaps the best episode to represent how original the show’s style of humor is.
This frantic episode involves Larry scheming from beginning to end. His attempt to get out of jury duty by being racist, his plot to buy marijuana for his sick father and his purchase of a prostitute for the purpose of using the carpool lane – every scheme manages to blow up in his face in such a spectacular fashion it is almost surreal.
1 Vow Of Silence (Season 8: Episode 5)
One of the most perverse and twisted episodes of any TV show ever, this is a great episode to get any new fans invested in the show. Larry fumbles from one interaction to another as he criticizes poor parking jobs, messes up a dog’s final meal by eating its ice cream, and openly discusses the “chat and cut.”
It’s an episode that has everything a Curb fan could want: Larry in increasingly cringy situations, Jeff’s bumbling goofs, and dilemmas that might make fans actually slightly agree with Larry despite his bombastic approaches. This isn’t just one of the best Curb episodes, it’s one of the funniest episodes of any TV show ever.
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