I’m not one of those Seinfeld series finale haters – upon several re-viewings, I’ve come to appreciate it for really sticking to the show’s “no lessons” philosophy and the chance to see all the crazy supporting characters/actors and actresses we loved along the way.

Still, I’ve also been hoping for a Seinfeld reunion pretty much since the week after the show aired its series finale in May 1998, and though it seems unlikely that we’ll actually get a true, full-on Seinfeld reunion now, the Sein reunion storyline that unfolded throughout the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm has been very satisfying.

And last night’s Curb season finale, the second part of a two-week episode that showed the Seinfeld reunion episode, reunited Jerry, Kramer, George and Elaine as well as Seinfeld, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and made me very nostalgic for the show with the repeated use of the Seinfeld sets, was truly a great capper to what I consider to be, far and away, the best-ever season of Curb.

The highlights (yes, spoilers ahead):

– In a giggle-inducing nod to Larry David‘s trademark quizzical look when he thinks someone is lying to him, he and Jerry had a quizzical look-off when Jerry was trying to suss out why Larry was wigging out on the reunion set

– The reason Larry was wigging out on the reunion set: He suspected that estranged wife Cheryl, who was playing the part of the estranged wife of George Costanza (who, of course, is based on real-life Larry David), was falling for Alexander because he is so much like Larry

– A seemingly harmless request of Mocha Joe, the studio lot coffee cart guy, to carry a set of jumper cables to his office – and Larry’s neglect to tip Mocha Joe (who, hilariously, no one ever called “Joe” … always “Mocha Joe”) – led to a) Larry missing an opportunity to spend time with Cheryl (another example of him repeatedly being hoisted by his own petard, as he pointed out earlier in the season), b) Larry having to tip way more than he would have if he’d just given a small tip in the beginning; and c) Alexander’s dogs nearly getting killed

– After angering Jason Alexander with a script rewrite that led his TV alter ego to briefly drop out of the reunion, Larry insisted on playing George in the reunion episode (so meta!), right down to George’s sweater vests and the George “huh ha!” Hilarity, and potential disaster for the special had Alexander not been coerced into returning, ensued.

– After being accused by Julia Louis-Dreyfus of setting his drink down on her antique table and leaving a ring on it during a party she hosted for Jason Alexander’s book, Larry became obsessed with figuring out who was the real culprit, the person who, unlike him, did not have the proper reverence for wood. After accusing both Jerry and Susie Greene, it turned out his very own Cheryl was the guilty party.

– Alexander’s book: Acting Without Acting, a tome so thin that Larry, Jerry and Cheryl insisted it was actually a pamphlet, and so self-important that it sparked a clever bit from Jerry about acting skills (which was particularly funny since, during Seinfeld‘s early years, Jerry often took critical hits for the fact that he was a comedian who was trying to act and not a “real actor”)

– And the night’s second reunion: After watching the Seinfeld reunion episode together, Larry and Cheryl reunited, and it felt so good … until Larry nearly ruined (or, as Larry would pronounce it, “rooned”) it with his realization that Cheryl was the drink ring perp.

What did you think of the finale? Did you love the Curb season? And what about the Seinfeld reunion-within-the show?

Also, since there’s been no commitment yet by Larry David for an eighth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, do you think this season finale serves as a good series finale if he doesn’t come back for another season?

And, are you still mad about that Seinfeld series finale? Or did this Curb reunion, in which George ended up happily (inasmuch as that’s possible for the neurotic New Yorker) married and Jerry and Elaine had a kid together, finally satisfy you?

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• Filed in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Review - TV
• Tags: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Curb Your Enthusiasm season 8, Curb Your Enthusiasm season finale, Curb Your Enthusiasm Seinfeld reunion, Seinfeld reunion

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Two bits of great news about the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm: It premieres on Sept. 20 on HBO and Larry David has confirmed that all four Seinfeld cast members will reunite for a five-episode Curb storyline arc.

– More HBO: The network has renewed Hung, True Blood and Entourage (which has just not gotten better since its lackluster season premiere).

– AOL TV has my round-up of scoops and spoilers for Mad Men‘s third season.

– Amy Poehler will return to co-host a couple of Thursday night editions of “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live this season.

– Conan O’Brien‘s overall ratings at The Tonight Show continue on a downward spiral.

– Who else thought Sheree was gonna smack that party planner on The Real Housewives of Atlanta season premiere last night?

– Lorenzo Lamas says he hopes the new reality series he and his family are doing for E! will help repair his relationship with his son, who is rumored to have slept with his dad’s ex-wife. Well, if there’s anything we know about reality TV, it’s that it helps bring people together, right Gosselins, Jessica and Nick, Carmen and Dave, Linda and Hulk, Britney and Kevin, Whitney and Bobby …

– PopSugar has high school photos of More to Love bachelor Luke Conley, back when there was less of him to love.

– And this weekend in primetime:

FRIDAY
– In case you missed it, NBC begins re-airing its fab cop drama Southland, beginning with the pilot (8PM ET)
– MTV2 has four classic Beavis and Butt-Head eps (8PM)
– Holly J tells Spinner how she feels about him on Degrassi: The Next Generation (8PM, The N)
– If Superman, a.k.a. Dean Cain, can’t answer yes to the question Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (8PM, Fox), what hope do the rest of us have?
– Bono and The Edge guest on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (8PM, BBCA)
– New Mental at 9PM on Fox
– Actor and real-life Marine R. Lee Ermey hosts History Channel’s new series Lock ‘n Load with R. Lee Ermey (9PM), which examines the history of firearms
– Are Eureka‘s (9PM, SyFy) rivals in bowling also behind a series of pranks in town?
– New weight loss requires new clothing on What Not to Wear (9PM, TLC)
– Whale Wars turns civil – as in civil war – in a new episode (9PM, Animal Planet)
– Poor pup – Cesar helps out with a five-legged pooch on Dog Whisperer (9PM, NG)
– On Say Yes to the Dress (10PM, TLC), a bride-to-be who gave her fiancé a kidney shops for her gown
– The team tries to protect a beer cave made out of hundreds of bottles of ale on Catch It Keep It (10PM, Science)
– Back-to-back My Super Sweet 16 episodes on Style (10PM)

SATURDAY
– It’s a seven-hour Golden Girls marathon (6PM) on WE
– Food Network has a three-hour marathon of Diners, Drive-Ins and Drives with Guy Fieri (8PM)
– And TV Land hosts 12 hours of Roseanne (8PM)
– Dogs are behaving badly on back-to-back eps of In the Dog House on Animal Planet (8PM)
– BBCA has a repeat of the series premiere (8PM) and a new ep (9PM) of its new drama Being Human
– Amateurs try to win big cash from poker pros on NBC’s new series Face the Ace (9PM)
– Bill tries to be romantic on The Bill Engvall Show (9PM, TBS)
– Suze dishes tips on how to explain the current economic climate to your kiddies on The Suze Orman Show (9PM, CNBC)
– SyFy’s guilty pleasure movie of the week: Dragonquest (9PM)
– Nick and Karen admit they’re in love on Dirty Sexy Money (10PM, ABC)

SUNDAY
– Ty Pennington makes over the park in a small British town on Ty’s Great British Adventure (8PM, ABC)
– New Merlin ep on NBC (8PM)
– Ruby‘s (8PM, Style) weight loss means she can get rid of old clothing
– Nominations for the next eviction are revealed on Big Brother 11 (8PM, CBS)
– Shark Week 2009 kicks off (9PM) on the Discovery Channel!
– Admitted gold digger Megan Hauserman tries to land a rich dude on her Rock of Love spin-off Megan Wants a Millionaire (9PM, VH1)
– Sookie desperately needs Bill’s help during her mission with Hugo on True Blood (9PM, HBO)
– Dawson’s Creek star James van der Beek stars in the conclusion of the weather-themed miniseries The Storm on NBC (9PM)
– Jane gets caught up in Deb’s parents’ divorce on Drop Dead Diva (9PM, Lifetime)
– Office Space star Ron Livingston is an astronaut who embarks on a long mission to Venus in the new ABC drama series Defying Gravity (9PM)
– Back-to-back new episodes of Gene Simmons Family Jewels on A&E (9 and 9:30PM)
– Melissa or Jeffrey becomes the Next Food Network Star in the fifth season finale (9PM, Food Network)
– A bride threatens to poison her hubby-to-be on Bridezillas (9PM, WE)
– On Ice Road Truckers (9PM, History), spinouts and unsecure loads plague the drivers
– A male model bites the dust on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (9PM, USA)
– On a new In Plain Sight on USA (10PM), an employee has to go on the run after turning in his shady boss
– Claudia Joy helps Haneen head back to the Middle East on Army Wives (10PM, Lifetime)
– Kendra and Hank get married on Kendra (10PM, E!)
– Amazing Wedding Cakes (10PM, WE) will feature a Lakers cake
– Jesse hopes into a World War II fighter plane on Jesse James Is a Dead Man (10PM, Spike)
– Back-to-back new episodes of Pawn Stars on History Channel (10 and 10:30PM)
– On Hung (10PM, HBO), Tanya goes on a date with Floyd and one of Ray’s “happiness” clients isn’t happy and demands a re-do
– And Ari continues to make Lloyd jump through hoops for that promotion on Entourage (10:30PM, HBO)

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• Tags: Amy Poehler return to Saturday Night Live, Entourage renewed, Hung renewed, Larry David, Lorenzo Lamas reality show, Mad Men season 3 spoilers, More to Love Luke Conley photos, Seinfeld reunion, Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sheree Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Tonight Show ratings, True Blood renewed

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The Seinfeld cast reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm is shaping up to be bigger than it was originally rumored to be. Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the newly-“reformed” (according to Larry David) Michael Richards will reportedly appear in half the episodes of the upcoming season of Curb, which is scheduled to premiere this fall.

– It’s a definite go: Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams are teaming up again, to make Mission: Impossible IV for a 2011 release.

– In addition to tonight’s “The Last Supper” special episode (Bravo, 9PM ET) of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the network is stretching the show’s first season to July 9 with three more episodes, including two reunion eps and a “lost footage” installment. The so-called season finale that aired Tuesday night drew 3.5 million viewers, the highest number ever for an episode of the Housewives franchise.

– Will you really make it to your destination if Homer Simpson is giving you directions? You can find out with a TomTom GPS and the company’s celebrity voice navigator feature, which now includes Homie as an option. Other TV celeb voices available from TomTom: Kim Cattrall, Mr. T, Burt Reynolds and Dennis Hopper.

– T.R. Knight‘s definitely vamoosing from Grey’s Anatomy, which just makes the show even more tiresome as the off-camera dramas continue to overshadow the on-screen action.

– Twin Peaks lives again, as an Internet series? It is if original series star, and current Desperate Housewives baddie Kyle McLachlan, has anything to say about it.

– And, Twitter tip, the always awesome John Lithgow will play a serial killer on the new season of Dexter, and he’s Tweeting about it at @John_Lithgow.

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• Tags: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter, Grey's Anatomy, Homer Simpson, Jason Alexander, Jerry Seinfeld, John Lithgow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kyle McLachlan, Larry David, Michael Richards, Mission: Impossible IV, Real Housewives of New Jersey, Real Housewives of NJ reunion, Seinfeld, Seinfeld reunion, T.R. Knight, TomTom, Twin Peaks, Twitter