Meet The Blacks
Curb Your Enthusiasm | Season 6 | Episode 1

Meet The Blacks

TV-MA | 30 MIN

Directed by Larry Charles

Written by Larry David

Larry and Cheryl are awakened by a loud beeping noise and, after trying to ignore it, hunt down the source: a smoke alarm in the kitchen. Larry has to yank the device out of the wall wires-and-all to disable the annoying sound. Later that day, after a slow round of golf with Jeff and Richard, the guys discuss the 7 Stroke rule (1), as well as the recent Hurricane Edna (2) tragedy. When the discussion turns to Ted and Mary's party that night, Larry worries about having skipped the Funkhouser party the night before, joking that he should drop by Marty Funkhouser's and pretend he thought his event was tonight as a way to excuse his absence.

That night, on the way to Ted and Mary's, Cheryl tells Larry how upset she is about the Hurricane Edna victims and raises the possibility of adopting a family to stay with them. But Larry is too distracted by Shmohawks (3) to take her seriously. He insists they try his excuse out on the Funkhousers and a reluctant Cheryl gets dragged along. But the plan backfires when the Funkhousers insist that they stay: "You have no plans. You're supposed to be here and you're here." Unable to extract themselves, the evening gets longer when Jeff and Susie show up with the same excuse and the Funkhousers make them all stay for dinner. The only good thing about the evening is the amazing chocolate log cake (4) they serve for desert. While playing The Newlywed Game (5), Larry further pisses off Cheryl when he answers the question "If you could have sex with one of your friends' wives or girlfriends who would it be?" with "Cha Cha." Things get even more tense when Marty Funkhouser reveals he would only choose "My Little Poofer" (6).

Cheryl is so angry that Larry has to agree to adopt a Hurricane Edna family to get back in her good graces. On their way to pick up the family from the airport, Larry insists they swing by Ted and Mary's to use the same excuse — that they thought the party was tonight — for having missed their party the night before. Once again, they are invited in to stay. "You have no plans. You're supposed to be here and you're here." This time Richard and Cha Cha show up to pull the same stunt and Larry takes him aside and chides him for stealing his excuse. Larry and Richard get into a fight about Larry naming Cha Cha in The Newlywed Game. When the fight escalates into a wrestling match over who should leave, Larry and Cheryl make a break for it.

Arriving very late at the airport, there is one family sitting forlornly in the waiting area. Larry and Cheryl introduce themselves to the Black family: Auntie Rae, Loretta and her children Daryl and Keysha. Larry is impressed to meet the Black family, marveling at how it's like if he were named "Larry Jew" (7). Loretta is not so impressed with this coincidence.

At home, Cheryl decides they should have a welcoming party for the Blacks. Larry grudgingly agrees. The party is a success until Jeff shows up with the same log cake (8) they'd been served at the Funkhouser's. The cake shocks the Black family and brings the party to a halt.

Later that night, after Larry and Loretta Black have a tense discussion, she puts her cigarette out in the trash after Larry asks that she not smoke in the house. But with the smoke alarm disabled, a fire breaks out while everyone is asleep and the Davids and the Blacks are left standing in the front yard, looking at their ruined home.

Keywords:

(1) The number of golf strokes one can hit before being able to just put the ball in the hole, according to Larry and Jeff.

(2) A category 5 hurricane reminiscent of Katrina causing 43 deaths, rendering thousands homeless and costing billions in damage.

(3) What Larry's father calls dumb drivers.

(4) The dark chocolate log cake served at the Funkhousers is a big hit. But when Larry and Cheryl go to buy one, they discover it's actually a black penis cake and the 26th Street Bakery is actually an erotic bakery.

(5) Now also a board game, this was originally a TV game show that Chuck Barris started in the 1970s, hosted by Bob Eubanks, in which newly wed couples have to guess what their spouse would reply to different questions. E.G. Q: "What is the one thing your husband forbids you to put on his wiener?" A: "Ben-Gay."

(6) The pet name Marty Funkhouser calls Nan Funkhouser.

(7) The analogy Larry makes when he meets the Black family, noting that their last name is black and they are Black. "That's like if my last name was Larry Jew."

(8) See footnote 4. Further, Jeff hasn't seen the cake when he brings it to the party, as it's boxed. The site of the large chocolate penis traumatizes the 13-year-old Keysha Black when Jeff presents the cake.

HBO Max