8. The Ben Stiller Sneeze And Shake (S4, Ep 1)
The Context: Larry and Ben Stiller are recruited by Mel Brooks to play the lead roles in the Broadway musical The Producers. The pair meet for the first time in the lobby of the theatre with their respective wives, hoping to get their relationship off to a good start.
The Issue: After exchanging pleasantries and putting on smiles for show, the two are about say goodbye and enter the theatre, before Stiller lets out a pretty ferocious sneeze, the type that requires a double handed clean up operation and a shielded turn away. Once Stiller turns to face Larry, he puts out his hand to say goodbye which Larry ignores, instead deciding to go for the shoulder pat. Some will argue that he should have just bit the bullet and gone for the shake, it would have pleased his new colleague and got him into his good books. I would argue that it is in fact up to Mr.Stiller to recognise when going for the handshake is not an appropriate form of goodbye. As Larry later attested, how was he to know whether it was a dry sneeze or not? You can judge for yourself, at 1:30.