'Curb': Can it bring peace in the Middle East?

You’ve got to love this story: Renowned legal and political brain Alan Dershowitz recently sent the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode “Palestinian Chicken” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with the suggestion that he invite Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas over to watch it, have a good laugh together, and begin negotiations. “I know that Netanyahu has received the DVD, and he was looking forward to watching it,” Dershowitz told The Current. “So it may be that Larry David will not only win Emmys, but he may even qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize, if his episode could bring together Netanyahu and Abbas, and bring Abbas to the negotiating table.”

Of course, none of us can compete with the potential of that, but I suspect we, the little entertainment-obsessed people, have all used our love of TV to spur conversation in awkward situations. Traveling back from visiting my family for Thanksgiving, I watched episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on my laptop on the train. When I finished, the stranger sitting beside me said he’d thought about asking if he could plug in his earphone splitter so he could watch, too, because he’s always wanted to give the show a try. Getting the feeling that we’d entered the chatty portion of our ride, I asked him what else he watched, and we had a perfectly enjoyable talk about all the procedurals our DVRs have in common. That may sound like nothing, but I do believe I deserve some kind of a medal (okay, a ribbon) for passing two days alone in a room with a fellow alternate juror by talking about the only thing he and I had remotely in common — our mutual appreciation for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Your turn. When has TV talk saved you?

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