Posted January 20, 2013 The latest offering from Ricky Gervais, starting Jan 30th on channel 4. I saw the pilot last year which was pretty good. It stars Gervais as a guy called Derek who's a bit simple and works in a care home where Karl Pilkington also works. I quite liked the pilot; it's not obviously a comedy, more mockumentary with funny moments. I like almost everything Gervais produces anyway so I'm probably biased. Karl's inclusion is great too because he's absolutely hilarious. Any non-Gervais haters going to watch this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 I don't hate Gervais, I just hate this. Immensely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 Any non-Gervais haters going to watch this? "non-Gervais haters"? Haters who are not Gervais, or haters, but not of Gervais? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 As in people who aren't haters of Gervais. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 I watched Extras again recently and am more than happy to say that it was still pretty good I don't particularly like the look of this, though, especially with the inclusion of Karl Pilkington because, contrary to the opinion of @Sheikah, I find him to be pretty much the opposite of hilarious.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 I'd love to see more Extras. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 I watched Extras again recently and am more than happy to say that it was still pretty good I don't particularly like the look of this, though, especially with the inclusion of Karl Pilkington because, contrary to the opinion of @Sheikah, I find him to be pretty much the opposite of hilarious.. You don't burst out laughing at Idiot Abroad or their podcasts/The Ricky Gervais Show? Stone hearted! The latest Idiot Abroad series where Karl takes Warwick with him to Venice and they have to dress up traditionally and go to and old fashioned party, I was in stitches. Love it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 You don't burst out laughing at Idiot Abroad or their podcasts/The Ricky Gervais Show? Stone hearted! The latest Idiot Abroad series where Karl takes Warwick with him to Venice and they have to dress up traditionally and go to and old fashioned party, I was in stitches. Love it. I very rarely burst out laughing at anything but I've only seen The Ricky Gervais Show once and strongly disliked it, particularly Karl.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 I can see why some might not like the podcasts/Ricky Gervais Show. On the face of it, it looks almost like 2 intelligent people belittling someone who's a bit dumb and has silly ideas on things. You soon realise though that to some extent it is put on, and that some of the things Karl says are so utterly stupid and/or ridiculous that you can't help but laugh. The Idiot Abroad series is more humorous in the sense that you know Karl is a little Englander that hates to be taken out of his comfort zone, so watching him navigate the jungle or travel around India makes for some great viewing. Sometimes his simplistic way of viewing things can lead to brilliant remarks as well. For instance in the second season of Idiot Abroad he visits some kind of jungle tribe and learns that all of their words begin with 'N'. Trying to comprehend this in his own way, the first thing he asks the guide is "But how do they play eye spy?" Cracks me up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 You soon realise though that to some extent it is put on.. I always thought that it was quite blatantly put on.. and I don't like it Each to their own, though. I seem to be hard to please with most things Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 The fact that the name Derek is used should invoke feelings of honour, but since it's Gervais I find it hard to summon any other feeling than contempt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2013 You soon realise though that to some extent it is put on, and that some of the things Karl says are so utterly stupid and/or ridiculous that you can't help but laugh. Exactly, I absolutely love that programme. They're actually setting up themes and scenarios for Karl so that he can (hopefully) come up with a brilliant punchline. Will try to watch the series of Derek, as I regretted not watching the pilot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2013 The Office was superb, the Extras was great, but Life's too Short was terrible (saved only by the Liam Neeson sketch). I didn't like the Derek pilot for two reasons. 1) Gervais' acting/Derek as a character. Cannot take him seriously. 2) Karl Pilkington being in it. I do find him funny, he's a great caricature, and he's obviously more intelligent than he lets on, but his inclusion smacks of nepotism. The romance was the best thing about the pilot but it seemed to peak within that one episode, and we've seen it all before in Gervais' other work anyway. The man is still capable of writing good comedy, he just needs a better idea for a show, perhaps something that's a touch more subtle and believable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2013 I actually thought he acted pretty well in terms of producing a believable dim-witted character that lacked the capacity to be mean to others. He's going to get hate on account of constantly using terms like 'mong' outside of this, but I ignored what he's done previously and watched it without expectations. I'm going to see how it pans out anyway. Also I think Karl's inclusion was justified if only by some of the funny outtakes for the series they've shown in the series trailer: 2:22 onwards (particularly the joke about his hair). Would love to see any more outtakes like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2013 Was pretty rubbish. Mainly because of Gervais, his acting was terrible. That whole jaw thing he was doing reeked of a 2 dimensional "I can't portray the character properly through my acting abilities so I'll have a gimmick to make it obvious". The writing was ok. Has potential to be a good show, but I doubt it'll deliver. They need to cast a good actor as Derek. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 21, 2013 The thing is though, I've seen similar 'odd' people in real life and they had strange and awkward mannerisms like Derek (hunched back, sticking out their head). In our town there was the slightly off bag lady who acted a bit like this. No doubt he is going off something for this. It's not like we can say it's bad acting to be like that if people can actually be like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 Watched the making of documentary last night on 4od. It's only available for another day, but it's well worth a watch. Not just an opportunity to poke fun at Karl (although that does happen) but also a genuine look at what the series is about. Apologies if I'm wrong about this but it sounds like several people are judging this without having seen the pilot or anything else, simply because its by Gervais. Its not at all like his other stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 I loved the pilot of the show and I think Karl Pilkington is hilarious. The stuff he says is hilarious. I liked his books as well. This video made me laugh though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 Big fan of Gervais here, the dude is always doing something different with his shows and that deserves respect. Gonna be checking this out eventually - pretty sure I'm going to like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 I like Gervais as a comedian, and i loved all his podcast stuff, but i didn't like the Office or Extras as they were too cringey. Not to say they weren't funny, I just couldn't watch them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 Watched the making of documentary last night on 4od. It's only available for another day, but it's well worth a watch. Not just an opportunity to poke fun at Karl (although that does happen) but also a genuine look at what the series is about. Apologies if I'm wrong about this but it sounds like several people are judging this without having seen the pilot or anything else, simply because its by Gervais. Its not at all like his other stuff. Exactly. People are judging this as bad purely because of pre-existing perceptions of Gervais. I really liked it, and I'll check out the documentary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 Big fan of Gervais here, the dude is always doing something different with his shows and that deserves respect. Haha, good one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Haha, good one. To be fair Gervais is pretty up there on a list of detestable comedians. His work is absolutely polarising, never been in a group who all agree on him being great or terrible. Marmite is the best comparison I can make. Ricky really doesn't do himself any favours... but I can't hate a man whose work gave this gift to the world: Edited January 22, 2013 by Guy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 I'm pretty indifferent towards him. I think he's a bit of a bell end, but has done some good work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2013 I'm pretty indifferent towards him. I think he's a bit of a bell end, but has done some good work. I think that's probably the best way to describe him. Following him on Twitter really did make me realise he can be a massive dick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
