The Hero
TV-MA | 30 MIN
Directed by Alec Berg
Written by Larry David, Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer
On the plane to New York, Larry sits next to an attractive woman, but is unable to strike up a conversation. He goes to use the bathroom in the coach section, and when he exits, trips over his extra-long shoelaces. He falls right on top of a drunk man, who had been acting abusive toward a stewardess, and tackles him to the floor. The stewardess and the plane's other passengers give Larry a round of applause for his heroism, and as he returns to his seat, the woman, who introduces herself as Donna, shows a much greater interest in him.
Jeff and Larry go to lunch, where they spot Ricky Gervais, whom Jeff would like to sign as a client. Larry offers to get him a bottle of wine, and Ricky orders the most expensive one in the house. Larry and Jeff's waiter is attentive to their conversation, but not to their food, so Larry gets up and gets the food himself.
Larry brings Donna and a stick of French bread to dinner at Jeff and Susie's apartment. Susie rebuffs his contribution-"Don't impose your desires on my cuisine"-and separates the couples in her seating arrangement. She then accidentally reveals in front of Donna that it was Larry's long-shoelaces that made him tackle the man on the plane.
At Ricky's play, Larry and Susie argue the entire time, throwing off Ricky's performance-he gives himself his lowest mark yet, a nine out of ten, though he can't identify the offenders. Backstage, Larry and Ricky exchange tense verbal jabs about paying for the tickets to the show, Ricky's ability to cry onstage, and the artistic merits of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" At lunch the next day, the same eavesdropping waiter from earlier reveals to Ricky that it was Larry talking in the audience the night before.
Larry spots Ricky and Donna entering the subway, and follows them with his baguette in hand. He sees them being robbed and intervenes, bashing the offender with his hard stick of bread. A heroic Larry walks off, but his laces are stuck in the closing subway doors.
