Larry David heckles Seinfeld’s Marriage Ref

Jerry Seinfeld's disastrous television comeback, a reality TV series called The Marriage Ref which has already received a drubbing from both critics and fans, has now been given a very public thumbs down from his long-time friend and former Seinfeld collaborator Larry David.

The Marriage Ref, which sees celebrity panellists advise ordinary
couples on their marital problems, had been billed as Seinfeld's grand
return, 12 years after his hit comedy Seinfeld made him one of the
richest people in television. But when it made its debut earlier this
month The Marriage Ref was described as "pointless" and "painfully
unfunny".

Last Thursday, David appeared on the show's latest episode along with British comedian Ricky Gervais and singer Madonna. But instead of showing support for The Marriage Ref, David attacked both the 'moronic' contestants and the show's format, saying: "What is the point to the whole thing?"

In what seemed like a script straight out of David's show Curb Your
Enthusiasm the curmudgeonly comedian looked aghast as he listened to a man complain about his wife's habit of keeping a five-foot iguana in the house. David snapped: "Can we wrap this up? I have to go to the bathroom." Later, he added: "This is easily the most uncomfortable hour I've ever spent in my life."

The show disintegrated further as David then turned on fellow panellist Madonna for siding with the wife in one dispute, and accused the singer of being "a man hater". As the pair bickered back and forth, Madonna yelled back: "Do not scream at me! I hate you!"

Since Seinfeld finished in 1998, Larry David has gone on to become one of US television's top writers and comedians thanks to the popularity of Curb Your Enthusiasm. While in the 1990s Seinfeld headed the cast of probably the most successful sitcom of all time, David is arguably now the more successful of the pair. A show of support from him could have reversed The Marriage Ref's fortunes.

Yet fellow comedian Ricky Gervais also looked uneasy, at one point stating: "This is a strange programme. I feel like someone's put crack in my drink. What's going on? This is the weirdest show I've ever been on." ·