The Ricky Gervais Guide To Comedy

[alan strang]

Kill me now...

[NobodyGetsOutAlive]

Was just about to post a similar message, after seeing the advert on tv.


Christ almighty, this is bleak.

[fbb bastard]

sorry not up to speed on all this...whats all this about then?

[dan dirty ape]

Edited because it was basically the same post as fbb's

[Munday's Chylde]

Kill me now...

Well stop jumping around then, I can't get a clear shot.

[Purple Tentacle]

As much as I really like The Office, this is fucking bad.

So is anybody going to get this and review it? I reckon this is a Colonel Schenck von Staauffenberg-style attempted assassination of the inner circle of The Chuckle Reich, attempting to induce mass clots and heart-attacks of spluttering indignation.

[alan strang]

I don't know what's worst - the fact that his views on comedy are being considered worthy in any way, shape or form by anybody at all in the world ever...

...or the fact that I'm still going to buy the fucker tomorrow. Just so I can get angry at the sight of him, sitting on his arse, trotting out a load of pundit cliches like "Well, when you look at it, all the best sitcom characters are essentially trapped..."

[NobodyGetsOutAlive]

I know. And I'd defend The Office more than most on here. But really.They've tried to pinpoint him as someone who knows what good comedy is, when infact he's someone who just got lucky and tapped into some winning formula and therefore got a lot of laughs. This does NOT qualify him as someone who can comment on this sort of thing.

[ApexJazz]

and what exactly is this?

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

and what exactly is this?

Ditto.

Would you describe or link to information about the programee/DVD/video that you are slating?

Thank you.

[butnut]

I have no idea what it is either. But I'm guessing from someone's 'I'll buy it tomorrow comment' that it's a free thing to try and tempt you to buy a Sunday Paper.

[VorpalSword]

what exactly is everyone going on about? what is this "ricky gervais guide to comedy"???????

[alan strang]

what exactly is everyone going on about? what is this "ricky gervais guide to comedy"???????

It's an analogy...

[VorpalSword]

what exactly is everyone going on about? what is this "ricky gervais guide to comedy"???????

It's an analogy...

i meant, what is the whole thing about? is it indeed something free with a sunday paper or something?

[alan strang]

Yes - a free DVD, or something similar, with one of the Sunday broadsheets.

The TV ad featured the clip of him doing the dance.

[VorpalSword]

thank you muchly

[Purple Tentacle]

The TV ad featured the clip of him doing the dance.

Firstly I'll re-iterate that the DVD looks like the most abnoxious, pointless waste of shiny plastic ever, but people sniping at The Office because of "the dance" seems rather pointless, especially considering how Gervaise himself has said how sick he is of seeing it.

Do you moan about how crap Only Fools.... and Fawlty Towers are because lazy dullards always cue up the bar falling/Mini beating whenever those two are mentioned?


That's you as in "one" a la Frinky, by the way, I'm sure you were just despairing at the 16 year old chimps who pick the most obvious clips.


It's strange, If I were to show a single great clip from The Office it would be Gareth complaining that Tim had set his stapler in jelly, explaining that "he knows I'm scared of jelly, I don't like the way it moves."

Ah well.

[my brain is bum]

i'm looking forward to that! sounds funky. :-)

which papers it in?

[alan strang]

which papers it in?

The Sunday Times.

It isn't a DVD. Neither is it something particularly similar (except in as much as a CD-ROM is the same shape). It's a clunky, badly-designed Macromedia, PC-viewable audio-visual "thing" called 'The Month', of which the Gervais thing is but a small (although no less irritating) section.

And it isn't really a Ricky Gervais Guide To Comedy either. It's a "Times Comedy Critic Stephen Armstrong Delivering A Load Of Easily Digestable (But Equally Easily Disprovable) Theories About The Current Fashion For 'Tragic' Elements In Sitcom... Guide To Comedy". A 'When You Look At It...' pub conversation passed off as erudite broadsheet-worthy opinion. In this case the opinion is that old favourite: "All 70s sitcoms were Terry & June-style rubbish with vicars and pants (apart from Fawlty Towers which is a classic), but trendy new sitcoms are really great 'cos there's elements of darkness and pathos and real life and swearings and deaths and spastics."

There are Flash video clips. For instance, click on the word 'pathos' in the text and you get a three-frames-a-fortnight clip of the ostrich/Comic Relief cheque thing from The Office. There are 'exclusive' interview clips with Gervais in which he succeeds in saying nothing much of interest. Oh, and 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' is the latest example of 'dark comedy' apparently. In other words, Stephen Armstrong's only just heard of it and needs to fit it in with his pub theories.

Curiously, in December 2002 an edition of Radio 4's 'Front Row', introduced by Mark Lawson, featured exactly the same arguments, theories and blood-boiling ignorance of comedy history - albeit with vaguely longer sentences and more interviews - Iannucci, League of Gents, that twat who wrote The Book Group, etc. The main 'comedy expert' pundit on that show was Stephen Armstrong, and the whole thing was a blatant Office puff-piece. I've no idea what this Sunday Times thing is supposed to be promoting though, apart from an extension of Armstrong's damp aura.

Can't recommend it enough though - buy it. It's only £1.40 and you get a Culture section too.

[Plank]

I don't quite get "The Month". So the Sunday Times cobbles together a load of film trailers, press releases, crap album filler tracks and other promotional odds and sods that "Movies, Games and Videos" would be embarrassed to shit out, and they use it as a selling point? Not content with that, they jizz a load of money at "cool" adverts with that Lock Stock tosser and Dennis Potter's old wank fantasy.

Or have I just misjudged it completely?

[king mob]

I don't quite get "The Month". So the Sunday Times cobbles together a load of film trailers, press releases, crap album filler tracks and other promotional odds and sods that "Movies, Games and Videos" would be embarrassed to shit out, and they use it as a selling point? Not content with that, they jizz a load of money at "cool" adverts with that Lock Stock tosser and Dennis Potter's old wank fantasy.

Or have I just misjudged it completely?

Nope, thats it pretty much really but its actually worse than that.

[benthalo]

Curiously, in December 2002 an edition of Radio 4's 'Front Row', introduced by Mark Lawson, featured exactly the same arguments, theories and blood-boiling ignorance of comedy history - albeit with vaguely longer sentences and more interviews - Iannucci, League of Gents, that twat who wrote The Book Group, etc. The main 'comedy expert' pundit on that show was Stephen Armstrong, and the whole thing was a blatant Office puff-piece.

All of which can be heard via the following link, thanks to Front Row's never ending Listen Again archive:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/frontrow/frontrow_20021227.shtml

[axel]

Just had a quick listen, and it seems ok if a little lazy. This so-called new 'darkness' in comedy has always been there, but it was just one part of larger canvas. 'Reggie Perrin', 'Hancock' and 'Woody Allen' are all pretty bleak, but they also had quality jokes in them. I sometimes feel some of the new programmes (especially LoG) are dark instead of writing anything thats funny. Although this view has already been expressed a number of times at CaB.

Two things really annoyed me about 'Front Row' though, the term 'sit-trag' and no mention at all of Chris Morris.

[Purple Tentacle]

Two things really annoyed me about 'Front Row' though, the term 'sit-trag' and no mention at all of Chris Morris.

"Tragi-com" surely?

[Jemble Fred]

Surely they've been around long enough to escape blame? Plus they have hilarious lines. What you meant to say was 'I sometimes feel some of the new programmes (especially MONKEY FUCKING DUST) are dark instead of writing anything thats funny. Although this view has already been expressed a number of times at CaB.'

Thompson's pathetic waste of animating talent is the one perfect example of darkness before any form of humour.

[benthalo]

Just had a quick listen, and it seems ok if a little lazy.

Try again with this accompaniment:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/sotcaa/comment/sittrag01.html

[TJ]

Have there been any other examples of a hew kid on the comedy block being asked to outline their grand theory of the comedic? The only equivalents I can call to mind are people like Ronnie Barker and Bob Monkhouse who'd been around for about a thousand years. Even Rowan Atkinson was the best part of two decades into his career before he did that series on comic performance.

Edit: a 'new' kid, obviously.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

Excellent Comment, by the way.

[Darrell]

Excellent Comment, by the way.

Seconded. Just read it now, very good stuff.

[Jemble Fred]

I very much agree with the sentiments, and am very glad that SOTCAA exists, but still... http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=950