
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 2, 1990                   TAG: 9006020490
SECTION: SPECTATOR                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GARRY SHANDLING HEADS TO THE END OF A LONG, FUNNY ROAD ON SHOWTIME

Garry Shandling's four seasons of breaking the rules of television come to a screeching halt Friday (10:30 p.m. on Showtime) when he bids adieu in his final episode, titled "Driving Miss Garry."

The groundbreaking comedy series ends with a takeoff on this year's Academy Award-winning film, "Driving Miss Daisy," featuring guest stars Paul Winfield as Garry's chauffeur Hoke and Dan Aykroyd in a reprisal of his Oscar-nominated role of Boolie.

At the start of the show, Shandling crashes his trademark mini-car into the bushes. After seeing the wreckage, Boolie (who Shandling announces is his brother) hires Hoke to drive Shandling around.

Though he initially refuses help, Shandling is coerced into riding in his own car when Hoke follows him around and threatens him with a tire iron. Periodic music resembling "Miss Daisy's" score further enhances the parody as Shandling adopts the stubborn demeanor of an elderly woman. The two are later shown leading the Indy 500 in one of the show's typical "silly dream sequences," as Shandling described.

The episode follows the pair over the years as they become friends and grow old together. When Hoke drives Shandling past all of his familiar sets, the star wraps up the series by waving goodbye to the other characters and his fans in a suitable close to a show that often dropped the fourth wall by addressing home viewers and the studio audience.

Shandling said the innovative half-hour comedy series worked well on Showtime because "it had a specific sensibility. I'm not sure if it would appeal to a mass audience. The few fans I had will get by without it, I hope," he joked. Shandling added that about 100 of those "die-hard fans" remained in the studio until the final scene was shot at 2:30 a.m.

"It's Garry Shandling's Show" was nominated for four Emmy Awards and won five other awards and honors since its premiere in September 1986. Shandling's dry wit defined this series that also gained a reputation for regularly bringing in guest stars, including Tom Petty, Sheena Easton and Gilda Radner, in her last appearance on TV.

"That was a special moment. Everyone was emotional during that show," he recalled.

Although Shandling admitted that he grew "tired of it after 72 episodes," he cited a lack of creative growth as the main reason for ending the series.

"The series changed over time. We didn't know how much more we could've changed it. We didn't want to do the same thing again next year."

by CNB