A column that resurrects the highbrow gossip of yore.

In the "Seinfeld" episode "The Jacket," which aired in 1991, Elaine recruits Jerry and George to join her for a drink and dinner with her father, Alton Benes. He’s a cranky old writer, distinguished but well past his prime, and he’s impossible enough that Elaine says she needs a "buffer" to spend an evening with him. (This comment might mark the moment when we all started using the word "buffer" in this particular way. "Re-gifting," "double-dipping," "low-talker"—in the lingo of the educated urbanite, all roads lead to “Seinfeld.”) Elaine ends up being late, and Jerry and George face some [...]

This preview for the seventh season of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is only about thirty seconds, but it is the most succinct explanation for why the show works that I've seen thus far: Larry David takes an obvious and hackneyed premise-in this case, the difficulty of opening those damned plastic theft-guards-and still manages to extract humor from it. I laughed, at least. Thank God there's something to look forward to this fall for those of us who aren't counting down the seconds to the new "Melrose Place." [Via]

16. Jason Biggs, Anything Else 15. Kenneth Branagh, Celebrity

14. Larry David, Whatever Works

13. Scarlett Johansson, Scoop 12. Michael J. Fox, Don't Drink The Water 11. Will Ferrell, Melinda and Melinda

Woody Allen's new one: "an artful and often amusing movie" vs. "not an unmitigated disaster."

Remember how Larry David left "Seinfeld" after its seventh season because he felt the show had run its course? Apparently neither does he, because "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is coming back for an eighth installment. This is further evidence for my theory that "Curb" is the darker analog to "Seinfeld."