Ricky Gervais's After Life series 2

[paruses]

Because I'm a bored glutton for punishment, I just tried watching the recent lockdown interview he did with Russell Brand. Lasted about five minutes before shouting "OH FUCK OFF" at the screen.

His egotism and utter lack of self-awareness are extraordinary to behold. He actually says things like, "There's a lovely line in After Life where I say..." He thinks it's okay to talk about his own work in that way, as if there is nothing remotely weird or embarrassing about quoting things you've written yourself. He's lost the plot.

I like how it's his character that says the lovely line. Really adds to the morbid fascination I have with the man.

[kngen]

Finding artists and creative types that share Gervais' staggering arrogance and pomposity is actually more of a challenge. Jerry Seinfeld maybe?

Barbra Streisand and Val Kilmer[nb]They stick in my head because I think they are shit (aside from What's Up Doc?) and they seem like genuinely awful people[/nb] are two that I've noticed that have quite astonishingly high opinions of themselves despite coasting on their initial success for, well, decades now.

There seems to be an inverse ratio between how they view themselves and their actual cultural relevance. I think that's the delusional loop Oor Ricky has found himself in.

[Replies From View]

Does it continue with a sketched outline of Gervais holding a miniature penguin in a top hat?  Why is his hand protruding from his shoulder?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I find Seinfeld quite irritating whenever he pontificates about the art of comedy. He always comes across as a man who considers himself a font of unassailable wisdom on that subject.

The big difference between him and Ricky the Rickster, of course, is that Jerry Seinfeld actually is (was, whatever) a brilliant stand-up who co-created one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.* So I can forgive him his occasional forays into self-regarding nonsense. He's also very generous when it comes to praising his collaborators, and he's famously self-deprecating with regards to his limitations as an actor.

I don't think Gervais has expressed a remotely generous or self-deprecating sentiment in years.

* The Office was great, but it's not in Seinfeld's league. Few sitcoms are.

[olliebean]

Considering that one of the criticisms most often levelled against Seinfeld is that the protagonists just aren't very nice people, they're fucking angels compared to The Office.

[petril]

inside Gervais' head is just like the actor Kevin Eldon's dream world from Hyperspace, isn't it: a desolate landscape dominated by it's sole feature being a gigantic statue of the man himself.

would be better if it was a statue of the actor Kevin Eldon though

[Sebastian Cobb]

Thinking about this, there's hundreds more too. Philip Roth, Woody Allen, Nas- there's three example right off the top of my head of people with objectively better bodies of work than Ricky who still appear modest, grounded and, crucially in terms of artistic development, well aware of their limitations and flaws. Vince Gilligan, Norm Macdonald, James Gandolfini. Finding artists and creative types that share Gervais' staggering arrogance and pomposity is actually more of a challenge. Jerry Seinfeld maybe?

Yeah he's like a cunt from a Madchester band.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Considering that one of the criticisms most often levelled against Seinfeld is that the protagonists just aren't very nice people, they're fucking angels compared to The Office.

EDIT: ignore.

[Dusty Substance]

Without wishing to re-rail this thread (I haven't seen After Life and I probably won't ever) bu,t out of sheer morbid curiosity, I did watch Humanity last night.

Genuinely one of the worst stand up sets I have ever seen. The last 20 minutes was literally him relaying a Twitter spat he had with a few people. All his other bits are totally out of touch, completely predictable or borrowed from much better comics ten/twenty odd years ago  - His bit about God handing out jobs to dogs was very similar to Eddie Izzard's bit about God instructing animals on their mating technique.

Unbelievably shoddy stuff.

Anyway.... Just wanted to rant. Back to After Life......

[chrispmartha]

Again only caught the bit that was on Gogglebox but it was a scene with a yoga instructor, it just seemed like lazy stereotypical writing to me and a trope that's quite a bit out of date. Also it just seems he puts the word cunt in there for some kind of shock value, but if it's signposted and done for that effect it kind of defeats the point. He just has no subtlety or nuance as a writer or performer IMO

[neveragain]

Yes, it was telling the Goggleboxers got the joke (thanks to the boss saying "See you next Tuesday") before Tony actually used the word 'cunt', rendering it a bit of a pointless line.

[Twit 2]

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norwich-marine-biologist-legal-wrangle-with-ricky-gervais-1-6665240

[ImmaculateClump]

I watched the out-takes and that bit where they're riffing on the nonces other names and the lad goes something like "he's got a shit mum, his mums shit" and then later on calls him "Harold Shitmum", that's great, you wonder what happened with his mam, but Ricky chopped it up in the edit and just left the Harold Shitmum bit in, it really needs that ramp up for it to work. The one bit in the whole sorry mess that would have made me smile and he fucking butchered it in the edit.

Written, directed, editing, ruined by that fat screeching wankstain. It must have been so frustrating for the actors getting the perfect take while it's still fresh only to have him swooping in and squawking all over it like a demented seagull "do it again! do it again!"

[Blue Jam]

I watched the out-takes and that bit where they're riffing on the nonces other names and the lad goes something like "he's got a shit mum, his mums shit" and then later on calls him "Harold Shitmum", that's great

That is a good joke, yes. I still haven't watched that episode, but I'm guessing that it's a bit like Ricky's last Golden Globes intro- some good material ruined by the delivery?

Again only caught the bit that was on Gogglebox but it was a scene with a yoga instructor, it just seemed like lazy stereotypical writing to me and a trope that's quite a bit out of date.

That's another thing that really bothered me. Breathing is very important in yoga and it's important to have clear airways. As someone who is similarly irritated by sniffing and similarly hypersensitive to the sound, yoga studios are one of the few places where I don't hear disgusting individuals sloshing their nasal mucus about inside their disgusting heads.

Also a yoga instructor generally performs the moves along with class so they can demonstrate them. They wouldn't be slacking off drinking green tea while instructing a class. And green tea is another dated reference. And no-one drinks tea while exercising- if Ricky wanted a current reference he could have had all the class bringing those reusable eco-friendly aluminium water bottles, which you really do see in yoga classes, and everywhere else.

It's clear that Are Ricky has never been to a yoga class in his life- in more ways than one, amirite? Hey Ricky, you can have that one for nothing!

It might have been funny if the instructor had shouted after Tony "Well, it's obvious that you've never done a yoga class in your life, you fat fuck" but it's only Tony who is allowed to do the "owning" in this show.

[paruses]

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norwich-marine-biologist-legal-wrangle-with-ricky-gervais-1-6665240

I find these stories very depressing as the guy will go bust trying to fight a lost cause. Am not sure why the article has the quote from the barrister about this being a symptom of a post-coronavirus world as was ever thus.

[Blue Jam]

Re: that yoga class scene, while you won't hear much sniffing in a yoga class, one thing you do occasionally hear is farting. There is even a pose called Pawanmuktasana, which translates as "wind-relieving pose".

Naturally there is humour in people working hard at being graceful and zen and then letting rip. Especially when they're in a silent room. The jokes write themselves. All Ricky had to do was a tiny bit of research.

[Old Gold Tooth]

It's true that you can almost visibly see the lack of effort Gervais has put in.

What annoys me? People sniffing and snorting flem. Right that's going in.
What else can't people stand? Yoga. That's for cunts isn't it? Well it was in the '90s.
Okay those two bits can go together. Now he walks the dog again, inserts some wisdom into a foolish colleague, stares at Godliman on his laptop and that's episode 2 in the bag.

[Blue Jam]

What annoys me? People sniffing and snorting flem. Right that's going in.
What else can't people stand? Yoga. That's for cunts isn't it? Well it was in the '90s.

Was there a character called "Karen" in this series by any chance?

[Jim Bob]

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norwich-marine-biologist-legal-wrangle-with-ricky-gervais-1-6665240

Bit fucking cheeky to be suing and claiming to be the originator for this design...



I hear that Q*Bert is now contemplating legal action against both Gervais and the marine-biologist...



Q*Bert, yesterday, fuming.

[Hand Solo]

Bit fucking cheeky to be suing and claiming to be the originator for this design...

I thought the same when the story was posted but he hedged his bets a bit here:

He added: "Some of my ideas and drawings date right the way back to my childhood, it just took a while for me to get them to a point where I felt happy to pull them together in a book."

Someone surely must have pointed this out to him so then he could move the case over to a weak attempt to sue the makers of Q*Bert if it happened to get brought up in the Gervais case. Probably using fictitious childhood sketch pads he knocked up after the fact. My Dad used to go on about drawing loads of Mr Men type characters when he was a kid then this cunt Roger Hargreaves comes along and makes millions with some shit doodles. Tough luck mate.

[phosphoresce]

It's been remarked on before here, I think in the Derek threads, but it's weird how Gervais downplays the contribution of Stephen Merchant to his work more and more. It used to be "I make narrative comedy with Steve Merchant", now he rarely mentions how we made his best work with the help of his writing partner. It's David Brent the Movie-Derek-After Life now (not to mention how this omits the 2 shows that were actually any good!). It's like collaboration is an affront to his narcissism, so he's rewriting the history of his own output.

[markburgle]

It's like collaboration is an affront to his narcissism, so he's rewriting the history of his own output.

That reminds me of his chat with Christopher Guest, where he says he hates using test audiences - "Why not just make the movie wiv 'em!". Struck me as quite short-sighted - sure, there are ideas that are singular to your vision that other people might not get and mark you down for, but there's also going to be angles - actual weaknesses - that you haven't considered because you're only one set of eyes. But he doesn't seem to give a shit about that

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Gervais cannot bear to acknowledge that The Office, his only great achievement as an artist, was created in collaboration with someone else. It was also elevated by a talented cast, none of whom he ever mentions. He's a rampant narcissist.

Has he ever watched Mackenzie Crook's Detectorists? Probably not. I struggle to imagine him watching anything that doesn't have his own name plastered all over the credits. 

[FredNurke]

He tries, he honestly tries, but after five minutes he starts imagining what it would be like if he'd written it, and midgets, wheelchairs and grief dogs shimmer across his vision...

[Blue Jam]

Detectorists has one single use of the word "cunt" and it's great because it's unexpected, which is what happens when a writer knows how to use swear words sparingly and effectively.

So no, I don't think Ricky Gervais has seen it.

[Old Gold Tooth]

Detectorists has one single use of the word "cunt" and it's great because it's unexpected, which is what happens when a writer knows how to use swear words sparingly and effectively.

Yeah completely agree. I've watched Detectorists through a few times now and that bit still makes me cheer. Perfectly deployed cunt-bomb.

Whereas the entirety of After Life seems like a teenager desperately trying to shock you with material that stopped being edgy in the late 90s.

[idunnosomename]

i had forgotten all about Flanimals and how incredibly shit and lazy it was

oh look it's grumble poopwugwarp. it propels itself around by its own bottomburps. fucking grow up ricky. this is what seven year olds produce and at least they draw it themselves

[Blue Jam]

Roger McGough did An Imaginary Menagerie first and he made all the words rhyme.

[neveragain]

Spike Milligan also had his Milliganimals.

[notjosh]