If laughter is enough of a remedy to stave off even the after effects of an 8.8 earthquake, then perhaps the world’s top geologists will want to take a second to talk things over with Ricky Gervais.
In an email to the Brit comedian, who recently saw his hit podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show, picked up for an animated series on HBO, a Chilean earthquake survivor wrote to express his gratitude and praise of Gervais’ comedic chops and smooth, sly entertainment skills – abilities responsible for picking up the trapped refugee’s disparaged spirits.
In the email, which Gervais later posted on his blog, the fan writes:
Ricky Gervais’ audio work really helped me get through the days while keeping me in a good mood, thinking about things other than the horrible destruction of my country. The stories of the round-headed buffoon Karl asking what were the names of “those things in the movie gremlins”, or when Steve was trying to be cool driving a car in his teens only to end up crying because some cooler kids wanted to get a pig in the car, really made the difference to me in that moment of despair.
What i’m going with really is, thanks Ricky and the gang for keeping me laughing and sane for three days.
Cue sappy string orchestra music right about…. now.
The Ricky Gervais Show premieres airs every Friday at 9 pm EST on HBO.
One of the biggest surprises about HBO’s The Ricky Gervais Show comes during the end credits of each episode. That’s where you find out that it takes 17 animators to bring to visual life, Gervais’ world famous podcast. It’s a surprise because the animation of the 30-minute weekly show is understated and largely static. However, we all know amazingly advanced animation does not necessarily make a great animated show.
For an animated show to be artfully successful, at the very least, the viewer needs to feel there’s a reason for the animation. The reason, however, for the animation in the case of The Ricky Gervais Show seems to stem more from logistical and financial reasons rather than an artistic one.
The three stars – Gervais, his writing partner Stephen Merchant and former radio producer Karl Pilkington – didn’t need to show up on set or at a recording studio, since the dialogue is taken from Gervais’ previously produced – and brilliantly funny – podcasts. Combine the relatively easy production process with the amount of cash the show will bring in – DVD sales alone will be huge – due to Gervais’ past successes with The Office and HBO’s show Extras, and you have a no brain business decision to create a new cable comedy show.
The audio content of the show itself is fun, light and incredibly entertaining. Honestly, though, it’s difficult to justify the animation. The majority of the show finds the trio talking into over hanging microphones around a wooden table. Periodically, the scene breaks to act-outs of the conversation, which bring to mind Comedy Central’s ill-fated Shorties Watching Shorties. Like the original podcast, the HBO version of the show would be better heard during a long car ride, treadmill jogs or on iTunes when you’re avoiding work.
After watching three episodes, the formula of the show wears thin. Gervais and Merchant provide the set up (a topic is introduced) and then the pair, with no subtleties, throw it off to the real star of the show, whipping boy Pilkington with a phrase like, “What do you think about that, Karl” or “Karl, you must have some comments on that.”
Karl, a likable and gullible chap, then happily takes the bait and begins philosophizing on all things from implanting babies into 78-year-old women, trying to convince Ricky and Stephen that the first monkey that went to the moon committed suicide or his beliefs in the story of a haunted tankard.
Regardless of Karl’s level of stupidity on any given topic, Gervais and Merchant lay into him with equal fervor: Ricky says things like “I’ve seen [Karl] blossom from an idiot into an imbecile” and “You are brain dead. I’d rather have [a] monkey drive me home than you.” It’s funny the first few times, but since the podcasts have been truncated to 30 minutes, the continual Karl beatings get exponentially meaner and less funny.
The bottom line is this: the animation produced around Gervais’ masterful podcast doesn’t hurt its content. But it certainly doesn’t make it any better.
Worldwide comedy giant Ricky Gervais will be honored this June in Canada as he receives the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award at the Banff World Television Festival.
“This is probably the greatest honour of my career,” says Gervais “Only the Nobel Peace Prize can top this, but I will only accept that in person if the ceremony is held somewhere as beautiful as Banff. I think they Fedex luckily.”
Peter Ustinov was a British actor and comedian, who won a truck load of awards himself; he was a highly respected radio host and diplomat as well, as he served as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Past winners of the award that bears his name are John Cleese, Bob Newhart, Martin Short, Tracy Ullman and Kelsey Grammer. The Banff festival runs from June 13 – 16.
We reported in December that the mighty Ricky Gervais would turn his world famous podcast into an animated series for HBO. As the Feb. 19 premiere date draws closer, we’re finally getting a few previews of what’s to come.
He has high hopes for the show, based largely on the sheer idiocy of the star, Karl Pilkington: “He thinks that a seal is a cross between a fish and a dog,” Gervais has said. “Karl is a bottomless well of stupidity so, unlike my other shows The Office and Extras, which I stopped prematurely through fear of going stale and running out of ideas, I want this to run and run like The Simpsons.”
The Ricky Gervais Show will air every Friday at 9 pm on HBO.
Just wanted to drop a quick note letting you all know that we’ll be providing running commentary during the Golden Globes tonight at 8 pm EST on NBC. Specifically Aparna Nancherla, DC-based comedian, who has one of our most favorite Twitter feeds, will be tweeting. So, be sure to follow us at twitter.com/punchlinemag. And start following Aparna at @aparnapkin.
Although nothing’s 100 percent certain, reports are a float that Ricky Gervais is planning to reprise his iconic David Brent role for the U.S. version of The Office. Despite Gervais’ longstanding denial of such a riveting event, the comedian recently hinted at a change of heart during a press tour in support of his upcoming HBO animated series.
But it’s not just the tabloids who are in on this charade/breaking news. Entertainment Weekly columnist Michael Ausiello, believes that an NBC Office appearance by Gervais in the show’s sixth season is imminent. “I heard an unconfirmed rumor earlier today that Ricky Gervais was seriously considering reprising his role as original Office manager,” he wrote yesterday. Maybe a move like this will have the suits at NBC sweating bullets of fear just a little less than they must have been lately.
It’s become clear that Conan O’Brien will not likely let up on his bosses at NBC. Last night, like nights past, O’Brien laid into the network who he, and most Internet critics believe is screwing him over by strong arming into the 12:05 a.m. spot– a spot that Conan has said he would not take.
The first clip finds the master taunter claiming that NBC will be making some changes to their upcoming coverage of the Winter Olympics. Thanks to some fancy editing, President Obama lends his pro-Conan stance in the second clip. And then after the jump, check out four clips from comedian Ricky Gervais’ visit on the show last night, where Conan takes a break from crapping on NBC and gives Gervais a crack at it. Enjoy!
This Sunday, Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globe Awards, airing live on NBC at 8 pm EST. We wouldn’t normally suggest you watch an awards show, since they’re typically self-indulgent, boring and highlight some of the worst pieces of entertainment the world has to offer. However, Ricky Gervais is hosting. We’ve mentioned that, right? Get yourself in the mood for some Ricky by watching this great interview below.
“I don’t know what the Golden Globes were thinking. I haven’t been a host in over 100 years. They take a chance,” Gervais says.” That’s the fun of it, isn’t it? I like doing things where I don’t know whether it will enhance my career or end it.”
The Office creator has also recently announced live show stops in London and Los Angeles and promises that he’ll be turning this current tour into a world-wide event. “The Office is shown in about 90 countries, so I’ve been promising myself I’ll visit some of them,” he told the BBC. “I’m going to do the first world live comedy tour.” He hasn’t announced where exactly he’ll be touring. Stay tuned!
Ricky Gervais’s star continues to grow, and the huge man behind the huge laughs will appropriately make a huge pit-stop on his current stand-up tour: Wembley Arena, reports Chortle, the UK’s leading sourcing of comedy news.
At a capacity of 12,500, these April 26 and 27 shows at the renowned London sports arena are sure to boost the comic’s rising persona to unprecedented heights. He’ll be headed to States after his stop at Wembley. And we’ll be watching closely to see what Gervais’ next move is. That is, after he hosts the Golden Globes Jan. 17 and after his new animated series debuts on HBO next month. In fact, check out a clip of the show below.
The show is based on his enormously popular podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show. HBO ordered 13 half hour episodes, which will center on Gervais’s hapless and eccentric producer Karl Pilkington, as well cartoon versions of Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant.
By now you know Ricky Gervais is hosting the Golden Globes on Jan. 17 on NBC. What you may not know is that Ricky’s goal for the night is to simply make celebrities’ lives a bit less harsh. Here’s that message in Ricky’s words.
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If laughter is enough of a remedy to stave off even the after effects of an 8.8 earthquake, then perhaps the world’s top geologists will want to take a second to talk things over with Ricky Gervais.
