Curb Your Enthusiasm Coverage: Ice Cream and Bill Buckner

September 8, 2011 Patrick Hickey Jr. TV 0

Episode Commentary: Mister Softee

With multiple storylines that entertain and a pair of solid guest appearances, this is easily the second best episode of this season’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Between the cursing auto mechanic who lets his softball team go to his head, Larry’s erratic car seat and the exploits of former MLB star Bill Buckner, this episode has something for everyone.

In the end however, the final scene, is something Buckner has deserved for 25 years. The fact that it’s funny only adds to its overall eventual pop culture importance. Simply put, this is a scene you’ll remember for a long time. More than a way to help deal with the his world famous error in game six of the 1986 World Series, Buckner has come full circle since this life-changing moment. After watching this episode, you’ll see that he’s dealt with this situation in a way that only a select few can: with a laugh.

One of the best ending sequences in the show’s history, you won’t exactly see it coming, but it’s funny and bittersweet all at the same time.

Guest star Ana Gasteyer, from Saturday Night Live fame also adds an extra level of hilarity to the show, but particularly in one scene that can only be described as “orgasmic.” While a similar segment involving Susie Essman and Larry David is a bit over-acted, it was incredibly suiting, considering the feels David has for her character.

While that would be enough to fuel the average episode of the show, David’s traumatic experience involving the Mr. Softee music is classic. Add in another great performance by JB Smoove as Leon and this is an extremely well rounded episode that proves that behind great writing, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” has plenty of gas left in its creative tank.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14315 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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