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Ricky Gervais: SuperNature

Started by Blue Jam, July 29, 2018, 02:09:02 PM

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TommyTurnips

Life's too short was the Gervais production that really made me see the cracks. I was so looking forward to it. I saw all of the trailers, thought it looked really good, and when it finally aired I went "oh dear". I put it down to just the first episode not being very good, you know how a sitcom isn't always good right from the start. So I was kind of chasing the dragon each week going "the next episode will be better" but that moment never came. I started thinking "Is it just me? Or do other people think this is a step down?" So I found forums like pilkipedia and this one. And before too long we were all watching along with "Derke".

Edit: Ricky Newpaige

QDRPHNC

#781
Quote from: Poison To The Mind on May 31, 2022, 07:50:50 AMRicky does not seem to have even attended a comedy club, let alone working up material in front of real audiences, ever?

That would dilute the Work.

Quote from: ImmaculateClump on May 31, 2022, 02:12:45 PMI was very polite and fair in my critique, I thought. I wasn't goading anyone or being a twat.
Very strange behaviour.

It's because - for many people, not all - Ricky is a thick person's smart comic.

olliebean

Quote from: Stigdu on May 31, 2022, 10:47:28 AMSo, did anyone here actually enjoy any of his previous stand-up shows? Animals? Humanity? The other ones?

I didn't mind the pre-Netflix ones, although I'm not sure if I saw all of them. None of the ones I did see (can't remember which) were great, but they were OK for a can't-be-arsed-to-think sort of watch. Humanity, the first Netflix one, I could only take about 10 minutes of. No interest in watching SuperNature at all, despite Netflix's increasingly desperate attempts to shove it down my throat. and I expect I will similarly be avoiding Armageddon when it appears.

Cuellar


Stigdu

Quote from: Dr Rock on May 31, 2022, 01:56:04 PMOh dear. Go watch some Mitch Hedburg on YouTube.

I'll check him out, thanks!

Captain Z

Is it Animals that begins with an awkward, laugh-free VT firstly with some lowest-common-denominator faux commentary over an animal documentary, then a sequence about bringing a woman back to his place at night then deciding to wank to a magazine in the bathroom instead? As if that was some kind of well-observed recognisable behaviour we'd relate to.

I remember ultimately convincing my younger self that the overall show was very funny back then, but that intro always left me wondering if I was missing something, shouldn't a professional comic be opening with something better than that.

Des Wigwam

#786
He's very odd in that for someone who didn't come to fame until quite late in life he seems to have very few life experiences to draw on.

Stephen Merchant's stand up (from what I remember) had relatable (being a bit of a spod and not very suave springs to mind) bits in it. In the one that we watched together he has that bit about his mother dying and the funeral being sad[/i] and [/i]funny (Mind. Blown). Except the thing that sticks in my mind is that he got the funniest line that made people piss themselves (he didn't. His brother's was funnier. His was shit). But the whole bit seemed to lead up to that. Frank Skinner has been famous for as long as he was not famous now and he is able to trot out stuff about pubs in Oldbury and people wearing full face crash helmets, or being burgled and them taking his video recorder that's always a joy to listen to. I know he can be a bit pompous about having read books and awkward when he does his nouveau riche schtick but he knows how to craft a funny story and make it feel lived.

I think that he has such a defence up about being mocked or failing or not being the cleverest that he refuses to draw on real stuff that he could make good. Instead there's just this pseudo-intellectual rubbish and crowd-pleasing faux-outrage and awkward swearing.

Am back to being fascinated by him. I cannot escape.

Schnapple

Politics and Animals are both pretty funny. But that's largely because they're comparatively tightly written and, while none of the material is particularly groundbreaking, it's much easier to swallow Gervais's 'naughty boy' act when he's newly famous and seemingly more humble. But it was also performed in a different time and context, in that end-of-history ether in which it was felt that progress was a guarantee. The likes of Matt Lucas and Sarah Silverman have managed to both discuss, defend and apologise for their contribution to comedy of a similar period, but Gervais' material has remained static, choosing instead to curate an audience and earn plaudits he once would have balked at. Lazy cunt.

Jake Thingray

It might be interesting if Stigdu has any views on Gervais' trajectory from being endlessly lauded in the Guardian and starting his podcast with them, Mark Lawson and others of fashionable opinion talking about The Office as though it had invented the wheel in terms of the sitcom to, in the past week, being effectively and proudly called son by Jim Davidson (who, incidentally, refers to the subjects of the most talked about material in SuperNature as "transvestment people").

Shaxberd

Transvestment is when a member of the clergy dresses up as an official from another denomination.
Disgusting stuff, I hear there's Methodists pretending to be Catholics because they get off on the big boxy hats.

Stigdu

Quote from: Dr Rock on May 31, 2022, 01:56:04 PMOh dear. Go watch some Mitch Hedburg on YouTube.

Just got back from work and stuck on a 'best of'. It was OK. I mean, I smiled and laughed once but didn't think the jokes were very strong. Plus his drawl was a bit annoying.

willbo

I loved The Office, liked Extras and what little I've seen of Afterlife seems at least varied and interesting at times, but I've never found any of Gervais' stand up remotely watchable. It always seems based around him sniggering while telling some long winded gross anecdote around some mate from school, like his mate was wanking and a spider went up his bum or something.

willbo

I act
Quote from: olliebean on May 31, 2022, 03:22:57 PMI didn't mind the pre-Netflix ones, although I'm not sure if I saw all of them. None of the ones I did see (can't remember which) were great, but they were OK for a can't-be-arsed-to-think sort of watch. Humanity, the first Netflix one, I could only take about 10 minutes of. No interest in watching SuperNature at all, despite Netflix's increasingly desperate attempts to shove it down my throat. and I expect I will similarly be avoiding Armageddon when it appears.

I've only seen youtube clips of the Netflix ones, but outside of the gender obsession I thought they looked better crafted than the early 00s ones. At least they seem to have some sort of jokes.

PlanktonSideburns


non capisco

No one in that photo looks like they're actually there if you know what I mean.

Video Game Fan 2000

yeah it looks like a collage from a Dead Kennedys album

Quote from: Stigdu on May 31, 2022, 11:14:43 AMExtras was all about Les Dennis and Keith Chegwin for me. :)

Pop Knob In Fanny bloopers always cheers me up.

God bless ya Cheggers


After Life does contain some of the elements that made The Office successful, in that there's an interesting ensemble cast. Brian, Ken and James always seemed to steal their scenes. The issue was the grating grief (particularly the shite scenes with the old widow on the bench in the churchyard) and the will they won't they crap in the Care home.


grainger

I enjoyed The Office. Extras was poor and to me, it was obvious the tank was already empty. The podcasts, like much of his output, were about pointing and laughing.

This isn't an original observaiton, but it's true. Sometime after The Office, it became clear, in his behaviour and output, that Gervais really is Brent. Not the "he's a good guy really" Brent that he goes on about now, but the nasty, desperate part of Brent who pretends to fire people for a laugh, and who thinks difference is hilarious while insisting he's right on. It's perplexing, because The Office seems to comment on Brent's faults from the outside, by somone who can see them clearly.

More than Brent, he's proudly pig ignorant while simultaneously boasting about being intellectual. Like Brent, he uses the power he has to bully people; the difference is in the level of power. Brent is a monster, for sure, but by comparison with his creator, he's quite sweet.

That's about the sum of it.

dumpster

I read somewhere, maybe on here, how Ricky Gervais needs Stephen Merchant to hold him back.  This is demonstrated perfectly by the Princess Diana song from The Office.  In the David Brent movie you get a second verse, written by Gervais alone, but the song originated in the series written by both Gervais and Merchant.  The two verses are like different songs.  The first verse captures perfectly what you'd get if a terrible, amateur songwriter tried to write a song about Diana's death.  The second is jokes about aids.

Cold Meat Platter

He's got the AIDS and bumming material but he's a bit short on Ethiopian famine jokes imo.

Twonty Gostelow

Quote from: TommyTurnips on May 31, 2022, 02:48:50 PMLife's too short was the Gervais production that really made me see the cracks. I was so looking forward to it. I saw all of the trailers, thought it looked really good, and when it finally aired I went "oh dear".

Here are the two main characters in LTS (apart from Gervais and Merchant) showing how they're just ciphers for Gervais, with no characterisation to speak of.


Captain Z

I've got jokes about all the offensive topics, all the different offensive topics...




Trans...



AIDS...



...all the offensive topics.

Menu

I think it's sad what's happened to him, just in pure comedic terms. I re-watched The Office fairly recently and it's still fucking amazing. Clever and subtle but also very funny. I'd actually enjoyed his 11 O'Clock Show performances as well - which is why I watched the Office in the first place.

I was disappointed in Extras. It reminded me of those Simpsons episodes where the only joke seems to be that a celebrity is on The Simpsons. They think that's enough. Of course there are good moments here and there but the cracks were beginning to show(insert Patrick Stewart reference). The best bits were usually the scenes in Merchant's office.

Life is Short was ok. About the same standard.

Never seen any of his films but downloaded Politics and Animals. I don't remember any specific bits from either but just a feeling that they were pretty shit - especially as I was coming in with fairly high expectations.

The podcast was pretty good though I guess. Although I do probably wish they'd done a few more, I suppose maybe they had pretty much exhausted that particular dynamic. I always felt by the end that Merchant was sort of a third wheel on them. Gervais was pretty clear that it was actually The Ricky and Karl Show. There wasn't really a role for Merchant in it anymore, and when he did chip in it was usually under-prepared and a bit inarticulate and shit. There's also that weird bit when he really screams at Gervais to let Karl finish a thought. I think a bit of tension was coming out there. It's awkward to listen to.

And the clips I've seen of this latest show - regardless of the subject matter - just seem depressingly third rate. A bit like that David Walliams pilot sketch show that was put out one Christmas. Just weirdly sub-standard.

That programme he did with Seinfeld and Chris Rock etc is just painful. You can visibly detect the contempt Seinfeld has for him. Especially that bit up thread where he laughs too loud and for too long. It's almost a prototype Seinfeld episode. The Too Long Too Loud Laugher. The fucking balls to think he belongs in that company. Not that I'm a fan of Rock or Louis either particularly. But, like, have some self-awareness ffs.

Oh and I thought his Golden Globe appearances were really good. I often re-watch them. Probably the only good thing he's done in years. Anyone know who he wrote them with, if anyone?

Menu

Genuinely good he donated that money to the animal charities too. At least he's right on that issue. Is he actually a vegan, does anyone know?

The Giggling Bean

Quote from: willbo on May 31, 2022, 06:41:05 PMI loved The Office, liked Extras and what little I've seen of Afterlife seems at least varied and interesting at times, but I've never found any of Gervais' stand up remotely watchable. It always seems based around him sniggering while telling some long winded gross anecdote around some mate from school, like his mate was wanking and a spider went up his bum or something.

That's been my opinion of Gervais from day 1. He's the school bully who's got famous for never outgrowing his school bully persona. He's the sort of sly prick who'd be pretending to be friends with the younger, less confident kids whilst getting them to humiliate themselves. All the time he's nudging and winking to his gang of idiot mates.

From what very little I heard of the podcast he did with Marchant and Pilkington, it was exactly that. Obnoxiously howling and cackling at everything Pilkington said to demean him.

I did enjoy that show he made where he was in Gary Shandlings house though...probably not for the reason Gervais would hope though.

Old Thrashbarg

It's worth saying for those who haven't listened that the podcast and the XFM shows (especially the first couple of runs) are very different things. The XFM stuff is much more natural - a conversation between the three of them that's mostly very funny and quite boundary-pushing (when you're aware that it was going on on Saturday mornings), even if that was often in a puerile way. The podcasts were much more Karl being told to repeat something (often from an XFM show) that Gervais has heard before and found funny and/or ridiculous. There were still moments that were decent, but that was mostly Karl coming up with content for Rockbusters or one of his ...News segments.

Stigdu

Quote from: Twonty Gostelow on June 01, 2022, 01:14:15 AMHere are the two main characters in LTS (apart from Gervais and Merchant) showing how they're just ciphers for Gervais, with no characterisation to speak of.


You posted this like it's a bad thing. That was absolutely hilarious! The little looks to camera remind me of Oliver Hardy. Brilliant.

willbo

Quote from: Menu on June 01, 2022, 03:25:14 AMGenuinely good he donated that money to the animal charities too. At least he's right on that issue. Is he actually a vegan, does anyone know?

I spent some time googling a couple of years ago trying to find out if he was a vegetarian. I think he's gone back and forth on it and is kind of vague on it.