In a preview for the upcoming season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," cranky Larry David quite literally bumps into Michael J. Fox on a Manhattan street.
"I suppose that was Parkinson's, too?" David snaps in his typical irreverent, curmudgeonly fashion.
The snippet doesn't show Fox's response. But if it's anything like the actor's life and career, we expect he'll fight back – offering no excuses.
It’s unclear exactly when the new “Curb” season will air on HBO, but we’re thrilled that Fox will be back on TV Tuesday for a return appearance on "The Good Wife." The actor plays lawyer Louis Canning (read: canny/cunning) who will stop at nothing – including using his neurological condition to evoke juror sympathy and lull opponents into a false sense of complacency – to win.
Canning fits perfectly into the show, whose title character (played by Julianna Margulies) warily navigates often intersecting legal and personal worlds of moral ambiguity, where "good" is an ever-shifting, relative concept.
The CBS show, in its second season, has only grown stronger as one of TV's best adult dramas, thanks to sharp, smart writing and performances to match.
The November episode featuring Fox might have been our favorite of the series. As Margulies' lawyer character Alicia Florrick tipsily celebrates a $35 million out-of-court settlement for victims of a pharmaceutical company, Canning tells her he'd been authorized to go to $50 million – and that he pocketed a seven-figure bonus for outwitting her.
It was a sobering “Usual Suspects”-type moment – or at least close as to one as you'll find on network TV. That's why our expectations are high for Tuesday's rematch in which Fox’ and Margulies' characters battle over clients for a class-action lawsuit.
The episode is set to air just days Fox won the prestigious Golden Camera Award for Lifetime Achievement. His first "Good Wife" gig, incidentally, came shortly after celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of "Back to the Future."
But as he closes in on his 50th birthday, Fox, whose foundation has raised more than $200 million for Parkinson's disease research, clearly isn't living in the past.
We're looking forward to seeing additional new work from an actor who can handle a lot more than bumping into Larry David.
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.
