Hbo Will Treat Comedy Lovers To 13 ‘Larry Sanders’

If you’re a fan of great TV and great comedy, tonight you’ll want to stay up late. Or at least set your VCR for an all-nighter.

Starting at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, HBO presents all 13 fifth-season episodes of the ever-brilliant “The Larry Sanders Show.”

Seen individually, each episode of “Larry Sanders,” which focuses on a fictional talk-show host played by Garry Shandling, is a polished, dazzling gem. Seen collectively like this, in a 6-1/2-hour “Larrython,” “Larry Sanders” is TV’s crown jewels.

Think of the talent at the core of TV’s very best comedies. Think, in particular, of the Kelsey Grammer-David Hyde Pierce duo on NBC’s “Frasier” and the entire quartet on NBC’s “Seinfeld.” They have a chemistry that’s hard to beat and a sense of timing and collaboration that’s a delight to behold.

Great as those teams are, though, the “Larry Sanders” core troika - Shandling, Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor - beats them all.

Those who insist TV audiences won’t accept a central sitcom character who’s essentially unlikable simply haven’t been watching “Larry Sanders.” Shandling’s Larry is a sexist, shallow, self-obsessed, vengeful, spiteful, deceiving, insecure jerk, and yet he’s a riot and somehow even endearing.

Similarly, Torn’s Artie isn’t just Larry’s efficient and powerful producer; he’s also Haldeman to Larry’s Nixon, so devoted to his boss he’ll do anything, however nasty or demeaning, to protect and please him.

And Tambor’s Hank, while an affable sidekick on camera, is a riotously different animal behind the scenes: Disliked and ridiculed by almost everyone on the staff, he’s wildly inappropriate, generally angry and astoundingly profane.

The supporting cast around this core, as on “Frasier” and “Seinfeld,” is invaluable.

Penny Johnson and Scott Thompson as Larry and Hank’s assistants; Wallace Langham as Phil, the head writer; and Janeane Garofalo as Paula the talent booker (who appeared way too briefly last season) all are well-rounded characters, portrayed cleverly and with subtlety.

Add the show’s amazing guest list, and you’ve got the most talented sitcom roster on television.