--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Larry David called me and said, \"You can…" description: "\"Larry David called me and said, \"You can never watch The West Wing again. Either the show is going to be great without you and you're going to be miser..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/aaron-sorkin-2826_episode_larry-david-called-me-and-said-you-can-n_1348795.jpg" --- # Larry David called me and said, "You can never watch The… ![“Larry David called me and said, "You can never watch The West Wing again. Either the show is going to be great without you and you're going to be miserable, or the show is going to be less than great without you and you're going to be miserable." So I had them send a tape of the first episode that…” quote by Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/aaron-sorkin-2826_episode_larry-david-called-me-and-said-you-can-n_1348795.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/aaron-sorkin-2826_episode_larry-david-called-me-and-said-you-can-n_1348795.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/aaron-sorkin-2826_episode_larry-david-called-me-and-said-you-can-n_1348795.jpg) > “Larry David called me and said, "You can never watch The West Wing again. Either the show is going to be great without you and you're going to be miserable, or the show is going to be less than great without you and you're going to be miserable." So I had them send a tape of the first episode that I didn't do. I put it in the VCR and I don't think I got 15 seconds in before I leapt up and slammed it off! It felt like I was watching somebody make out with my girlfriend. I've never seen a West Wing episode in seasons five, six or seven.” [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling excluded from a beloved show triggers intense jealousy and a sense of loss, likened to witnessing a betrayal. **In simple terms:** Missing out feels like betrayal. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage envy. Themes jealousy media identity relationships attachment Mood frustrated humorous reflective Type personal media‑related emotional When to use this quote - watching TV - friendship dynamics - personal boundaries - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology media studies self-esteem Questions to Reflect On - What does this jealousy reveal about your self‑worth? - How can you enjoy media without feeling threatened? A Different Perspective The reaction may be amplified by personal insecurities, not just the show. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Episode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/episode/) [Episode Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/episode-didn-1071790/) [Episode Seasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/episode-seasons-4579038/) [Girlfriend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girlfriend/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/larry-david/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [My girlfriend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-girlfriend/) [Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven/) [Tape Episode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tape-episode-4579037/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [West wing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-wing/) [Wing Episode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wing-episode-4579036/) ## Related quotes > [For Democrats, nothing is any less complex than a 'West Wing' episode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bleyer/for-democrats-nothing-is-any-less-complex-than-a-west-wing-episode/) [Kevin Bleyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bleyer/) > [Party Down' is the most fun I've ever had working in my life. 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'The West Wing' isn't meant to be good for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/it-s-important-to-remember-that-first-and-foremost-if-not-only-this/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [I do enjoy the fact that we don't have a king or queen; we have a person with a very unusual temp job for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-do-enjoy-the-fact-that-we-don-t-have-a-king-or-queen-we-have-a/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [To use a basketball metaphor, West Wing cast was a group that liked to pass as much as they liked to shoot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/to-use-a-basketball-metaphor-west-wing-cast-was-a-group-that-liked-to/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [I wrote the show West Wing for the two years before and the two years after 9/11. Suddenly everyone in the world had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-wrote-the-show-west-wing-for-the-two-years-before-and-the-two-years/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [“I like how you call homosexuality an abomination." "I don't say homosexuality's an abomination, Mr. President, the bible does." "Yes it does. Leviticus-" "18:22"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-like-how-you-call-homosexuality-an-abomination-i-don-t-say/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Pretty much up until The West Wing, our leaders had always been portrayed in popular culture as either Machiavellian or dolts. But I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/pretty-much-up-until-the-west-wing-our-leaders-had-always-been/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [I'd been concerned all along that the character of the president in the West Wing pilot would throw the ensemble out of whack, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-d-been-concerned-all-along-that-the-character-of-the-president-in/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [The Monica Lewinsky scandal was happening at the very time I was writing the West Wing pilot and it was hard, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/the-monica-lewinsky-scandal-was-happening-at-the-very-time-i-was/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes. We need gigantic revolutionary changes. . . . Competition for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/education-is-the-silver-bullet-education-is-everything-we-don-t-need-2/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Sometimes I just feel like Larry David walking around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-kahan/sometimes-i-just-feel-like-larry-david-walking-around/) [Noah Kahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-kahan/) > [I don't watch cop movies much. I TiVo shows. I watch every Larry David show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-kelly/i-don-t-watch-cop-movies-much-i-tivo-shows-i-watch-every-larry-david/) [Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-kelly/) ## More by Aaron Sorkin > [Conflict, when used as a device, makes for good television and bad journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/conflict-when-used-as-a-device-makes-for-good-television-and-bad/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Film doesn't have to worry. Movies are awesome. There's no war going on, theaters aren't going to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/film-doesn-t-have-to-worry-movies-are-awesome-there-s-no-war-going-on/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [People don't live their lives in a series of scenes that form a dramatic narrative, they don't speak in dialogue, they're not lit by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/people-don-t-live-their-lives-in-a-series-of-scenes-that-form-a/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [One of the biggest challenges in the past for me in working on the networks was that audiences have grown accustomed to television being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/one-of-the-biggest-challenges-in-the-past-for-me-in-working-on-the/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [You're going to fall down, but the world doesn't care how many times you fall down, as long as it's one fewer than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/you-re-going-to-fall-down-but-the-world-doesn-t-care-how-many-times/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/we-live-in-a-world-that-has-walls-and-those-walls-have-to-be-guarded/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [As an audience member, I like the sound of something that's been written - I like it to sound written. And then, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/as-an-audience-member-i-like-the-sound-of-something-that-s-been/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [She's a person; the doctor pronounces her dead, not the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/she-s-a-person-the-doctor-pronounces-her-dead-not-the-news/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [It's nice that HBO is in business with the audience and not with the advertisers. There's a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/it-s-nice-that-hbo-is-in-business-with-the-audience-and-not-with-the/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [“TOBY: The world can move or not by changing some words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/toby-the-world-can-move-or-not-by-changing-some-words/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [I had never thought of doing television. But my agent wanted me to meet John Wells, who had had a lot of success producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-had-never-thought-of-doing-television-but-my-agent-wanted-me-to/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Government should be a place where people can come together, and no one gets left behind. No one…gets left behind. An instrument of good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/government-should-be-a-place-where-people-can-come-together-and-no/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Television from its inception had the number one goal to alienate as few people as possible. That's why if you look at 1950s, 1960s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/television-from-its-inception-had-the-number-one-goal-to-alienate-as/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [Josh: So, Toby, it’s election night. 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Either the show is going to be great without you and you're going to be miserable, or the show is going to be less than great without you and you're going to be miserable.\" So I had them send a tape of the first episode that I didn't do. I put it in the VCR and I don't think I got 15 seconds in before I leapt up and slammed it off! It felt like I was watching somebody make out with my girlfriend. 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