By Matthew Wood

Breaking up is hard to do, especially when you’re a jackass like Larry David. This week, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) decides she’s had enough and leaves Larry after he hangs up on her during an emergency phone call from her plane that was going down. Well, the plane never did go down, and you can’t blame him. The TiVo guy (Kevin Hefferman) was fixing the cable, and we all know how hard it is to get those guys to show up.

Anyway, the ensuing break-up forces all the friends to choose sides – and you know nobody’s gonna choose Larry. On top of that, Cheryl’s now dating the underwear manufacturer sitting next to her on the plane (he created the flyless underwear , aka the “No Fly Zone”). Ouch.

And to add insult to injury (or vice versa), Larry’s balls get caught in his underwear, meaning he has to wear the damn No Fly Zone drawers, messes up a chance to hook up with Xena Warrior Princess (the Lucy Lawless), and causes Leon to give him the nickname “Long Balls Larry.” The episode ends with Larry on the couch, icing his balls, and watching the TiVo malfunction during the Lakers game. Yeah, it’s bad times being LD these days.

OK, things I liked about the show: The break-up. I hope they go with this some more. I think Larry’s much funnier when he’s not dealing with Cheryl’s condescending looks and comments. She’s been bringing him down for years, and now he can go about being a jackass unfettered. I also like the two guest appearances by Hefferman and Lawless. Hefferman is known from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, who brought us SUPER TROOPERS – a must-see in my video collection. And Lawless is totally hot. I’ve never seen Xena, but maybe it’s time to check that out. Hey now!


Things I didn’t like: the whole long balls plot line with Larry. Just a little forced, when he hurts himself right before the big date with Xena. I know the idea was to bring it back to the underwear guy, but that one was just a little too far-fetched.

All in all, not a bad episode. And let’s hope Larry can keep up his jackassery with Cheryl. I love that guy flying solo.