"Curb" pokes fun at Michael Richards fiasco

The recession has hit a lot of people hard -- and this TV fan, in particular, had to give up HBO as a result. Now, I know that's not worthy of your sympathy, but I have missed the entire "Seinfeld" reunion storyline on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as a result. Let's not be so cold as to ignore that important fact, dear blog readers.

Now, the eventual DVD set will make up for this stinging loss, but I have been keeping up with "Curb's" progression by reading the occasional TV review or searching for YouTube clips. By all accounts, it's one of the best seasons in "Curb" history.

And while I can't give you the show-within-a-show context (apparently there's a nice Groat's Disease callback involved), last night, "Curb" finally tackled the elephant in the room known as Michael Richards' racist rant. It doesn't bear repeating what Richards said during his 2006 stand-up tirade -- and whether it was really worthy of the public outcry -- but the fact remains, Kramer had a bit of a black cloud hanging over his head as a result.

Leave it to Larry David to brilliantly twist the sensitive subject by having Richards approach Leon Black (dressed like Louis Farrakhan) and say, "If only there were a horrible name that I could call you that would make you as angry as I am!" The gallery of gawkers with their cell phones out also makes it particularly inspired.

Yep, "Curb" went there. I wouldn't have expected anything less from David.

Because the clip has some profanity, we can't post it directly on our blog. But if you want to see the exchange, take a peek at this link.

-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com