I'm a big fan of the show but I couldn't help but notice that season 5 was significantly worse than the other seasons. The opener and finale were great and more surreal than anything before but the season as a whole was not funny. I hypothesize that in comedy having an audience while you're doing it is essential. This is what happened when Larry was a stand-up and when he did Seinfeld. The audience keeps the comedy rooted in laughs. Larry has been doing CYE so long without an audience that I think he is becoming detatched from what other people think is funny. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but I think he needs direct audience feedback to find his feet again.
