Shockingly, the real-life Susie Essman said on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM on NBC) that the real-life Larry David isn't nearly as much of a pain in the butt as his character on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' This, despite the fact that the show's annual renewal hinges on David deciding he wants to come back for another season. But Essman is willing to cut 'Curb's' creative genius a little slack on that front.

"You know what, he's really not [a pain]," said Essman. "He's the one that has to come up with these outlines and he's the one that has to do all the work, so he has to decide [to continue the show]." That puzzled Gifford. "How long could it take?" she said, citing a clip where David and Essman argue about dinner. "Larry walks in with a piece of bread and she's unhappy."

When it comes to gross, time-wasting late-night TV games, 'Watch What Happens Live' (Thursdays and Sundays, 11PM on Bravo) is the clear-cut intergalactic champion. On Thursday's edition, host Andy Cohen and his guests Susie Essman and Jeff Lewis celebrated 'Pit-stille Day' by looking at pictures of a woman's hairy armpit and guessing to whom it belonged.

For the first armpit, Cohen gave them the choice of Beyonce, Rihanna, or NeNe Leakes. "You know, I don't want to say what that looks like," said Essman. Cohen was thinking the same thing. Essman and Lewis both guessed wrong, as it turned out to be Beyonce. For a particularly unattractive patch, they were given the choices of Julia Roberts, Amy Winehouse, or Courtney Love. Surprisingly, it was Roberts.

Essman wound up the champion, and received a $1,000 gift certificate for hair removal as a prize. Lewis was happy he didn't win. "I would never have used that," he said. Cohen said he had heard otherwise. Oh, the dalliances of the Hollywood hirsute.

A couple in their 60s came onto 'The Marriage Ref' (Sun., 10PM ET on NBC) with a dispute about her sexiness. Particularly, the husband wanted his wife to dress sexier and "basically do what I do, and that is to try to look your best all the time."

The video package showed the man working out faithfully -- with a Thighmaster to Tom Papa's delight -- and trying to put his wife in a skimpy red dress. After 40+ years of marriage, the panel just couldn't see why he wasn't satisfied with his wife as she was.

Susie Essman said, "She looks great to me. He's trying to make her feel bad about herself."

Tracy Morgan disagreed with that, applauding the man for still seeing his wife as this vivacious woman who can pull off a sultry little number like that, but agreed that she was beautiful just the way she is.

The TV Guide Network seems to be really trying to increase their original content, and they seem to be doing it the right way. And I'm not saying it because I've appeared on the channel. No, it's because they're really trying to go beyond just having listings scroll on the bottom of the screen and presenting red carpet arrival specials. They're acquiring shows, treating them right, and adding value to them.

Take the case of the network's acquisition of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' Not only did the network decide to run each episode in its entirety in a one-hour timeslot, a good move considering that Larry David would have tore what's left of his hair out trying to edit them, they've decided to fill the hour with panel discussions that relate to the "issues" brought up during the episode.

Among the announced panelists are going to be Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Hamm, Seth Green, Rob Zonbie, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Carolla and Patti Stanger (yes, the 'Millionaire Matchmaker' herself will weigh in on 'Curb's' issues). The panels will be hosted by Susie Essman.

Last November we told you that TV Guide Channel had bought the rights to run repeats of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' Wait, how the heck are they going to show a comedy like 'Curb,' one filled with expletives, on a basic cable channel guide like TV Guide (notice how I used "heck" instead of "hell" - oh wait...damn)? I still don't know how they're going to do that -- I'm assuming lots of bleeps and blurring of mouths -- but we do know that the episodes will run for one hour instead of 30 minutes.

The New York Times reports that the episodes will air complete on TV Guide, and in every episode there will also be a seven to ten minute panel discussion of the episode hosted by co-star Susie Essman, who I assume will swear less than she does in the episodes. The panel will be made up of other celebrities, writers, and, as Essman says, "sports figures, intellectuals, and rabbis."

Seven to ten minutes? I think they should go a little bit longer than that, especially if they get some funny people to comment on the episodes or argue with each other.

(S07E10) "It's the Seinfeld reunion! That's a big deal!" - Cheryl

Yes, it is a big deal. A little over eleven years after we saw Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George behind bars, the reunion we've all been waiting for has finally arrived. I'm not sure if this even counts as a category to classify TV shows, but last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm season finale was easily the best "show within a show" episode I've ever seen... of any show.

Jane was kind enough to step in for me and write up last week's penultimate ep and I actually waited until last night to see that one as well -- I watched them back to back. I was struck by how well it all flowed together; how much it actually felt like we were watching a real episode of Seinfeld, even during the table read. However, seeing it play out, scene by scene, in the finale? Talk about nostalgia.

(S07E09) "You don't loan Jason anything ... anything that can be inserted." - Jerry Seinfeld to Larry David, about the pen Larry loaned to Jason Alexander

It's me, the Fill-In Girl! And thank you so much, Jonathan, for leaving me with the mammoth responsibility of writing a thoughtful review about the Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'll do my best.

First of all, it was really great to see the gang back together again. It's like they've never been apart, and the whole scenario of a behind-the-scenes look at a table read of a Seinfeld reunion show put together by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld was pretty brilliant.

And yet, it fit right in with Curb, bringing in elements like Cheryl being Larry's real wife and are they together or not, and is she a real actress or not...

(S07E08) "Some guy told me to go 'f*ck my face' once. He went to jail." - Officer Krupke

With the Seinfeld reunion coming up quickly (next week's episode is "The Table Read") things kicked into high gear last night on Curb -- especially when it came to the role of Amanda, George Costanza's ex-wife.

It came down to Cheryl and a busy, very popular actress named Virgina Sloane (played by Elisabeth Shue). Right off the bat, that creates a huge conflict since Larry assured Cheryl that she had the role. But beyond that, there were a lot of issues with how "Officer Krupke" played out in terms of conflict. Curb works best when the laughs are organic and too much of this episode felt forced and manufactured.

(S07E07) "Look, it may have been an accident, but you're a murderer." - Marty

Blame is a funny thing. In the absence of facts, the owner of the blame (i.e. the person at fault), is about one thing and one thing only -- public perception. Spin a good yarn and you can make 'em believe whatever you want. However, when you're Larry David, getting past the hurdle of your own reputation can be an issue. If you listen to even half the stuff that Larry says, why would anyone want to believe a guy like him?

(S07E06) "Larry?! You sprayed on Jesus??" - Maureen

For as good an episode as "The Bare Midriff" was, it still had one huge problem that has plagued many past episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm as well. The central conflict -- Maureen's exposed stomach -- was just too much of a stretch (no pun intended). Why's that? The beauty of Curb is how well it sheds light on awkward situations we all relate to. Not so much on this one, because honestly, who in their right mind would think a short shirt like that was work appropriate attire? It wasn't believable, that Maureen thought her shirt was OK for the office. Fortunately, if you were willing to look past the absurdity of the issue, it paid off with arguably one of Curb's top five endings ever.

(S07E05) "Have you noticed if she has any proclivity for chopsticks?" - Larry

It's amazing to me that the main topic of last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm, people in wheelchairs, has never been tackled by Larry before. I'm sure there have been a few wheelchair jokes in the past that I'm forgetting, but this? This was a full-blown, inappropriate mess of incorrectness and every second of it was brilliant. Save for "The Reunion," this was easily the strongest episode of the season. Wheelchairs, wrestling Rosie O'Donnell, and the return of Leon! How can you go wrong?

(S07E04) "Was there a stipulation on the gift certificate? Three hundred dollars and "take me"?" - Susie

I was afraid this might happen. As exciting as it is, even the long awaited Seinfeld reunion doesn't have the power to sustain an entire season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. After last week's reunion, I expected a lull and with that in mind, there's really no reason to be disappointed because this episode had some very funny moments. Unfortunately, not even Christian Slater's caviar addiction could save the day with such fond memories of last week's landmark half-hour still on my mind.

(S07E03) "This is your plan to get your ex-wife back. Pretty f*cking brilliant if you ask me." - Jeff

Larry David a selfish man? Nooooo. How could someone who's never given, nor has any idea how to give, someone the benefit of the doubt be a selfish guy? Wait - don't answer that. Instead ponder this: the moment we've all been waiting for - the Seinfeld reunion - has finally arrived, and we almost didn't get it because for a brief minute, it hinged on what Larry found more enjoyable, a potential funeral or a potential marriage. Selfish? How about sick.

(S07E02) "I don't like you. Why would I want to hug you?" - Larry

Larry David is not all about appearances. It's rare to see him masking his true intentions when most of the time he has absolutely no problem saying how he feels or asking for what he wants. But, much like the episode of this title indicates, when you're talking about a blowjob in a car (or anything crass or uncomfortable), it helps to dress it up a little.

(S07E01) "I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose." - Larry

Larry David is back, and I feel uncomfortable. Awkward moments, off-color comments, and instances of sheer disgust were all there in tonight's season premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm. If you sit back for a second and actually consider all the different elements that made up this episode, it's pretty impressive. More often than not, an episode of Curb is just as intricately plotted out as an episode of Lost.