Gervais Simpsons episode: Discuss whether or not you think he's a cunt, here.

[Little Hoover]

*that's an edited title so my orginal post won't make much sense anymore*

[Little Hoover]

Bloody hell 11 views in about a minute.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Thanks for the info, but..who HONESTLY gives a stuff?

[Purple Tentacle]

Are people still watching The Simpsons?

[thewomb]

Yep. It's still great.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Lowest form of wit, sir, lowest form of wit.

[Little Hoover]

Who says it's the lowest form that's what I want to know.

[The Mumbler]

Gervais joins Simpsons as writer to woo Marge

Owen Gibson, media correspondent
Tuesday March 28, 2006
The Guardian

It's the moment fans of both The Office and The Simpsons have been waiting for. UK viewers will next month see Homer encounter a love rival akin to David Brent in a new episode of The Simpsons penned by Ricky Gervais.

In the first episode of the hit animated show by a British writer, Gervais plays Charles Heathbar, who, like Brent, favours embarrassing jokes and writes toe-curling songs on his acoustic guitar.

Homer wins a tour of the Fox studio lot and, desperate for the money to buy a new plasma screen television, signs up for a reality show called Mother Flipping, similar to Wife Swap.

Gervais has continued the tendency for Simpsons writers to lambast Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and the network itself. Fox was criticised for rushing out a quick copy of the Wife Swap format before it went to air in the US.

Other fictional reality shows featured in the episode include Dwarf or Midget: America Decides and Millionaire Fart Off.

While Homer is forced to take in a controlling wife, Marge goes to live with Charles.

He develops a crush and serenades her with Lady Blue, a song more risible than Brent's Free Love Freeway. "I write the most excruciating love song ever," said Gervais, "if I could get in the Guinness Book of Records for that, it would please me. It's just a dreadful, dreadful drunken attempt to woo a woman."

Gervais, who is also working on a second series of Extras with co-writer Stephen Merchant, was asked to write the episode after meeting Simpsons creator Matt Groening, a big fan of The Office.

The actor, writer and stand-up comic is the latest in a long line of celebrities to have voiced a character. His illustrious forerunners include Tony Blair, Paul McCartney, Bill Clinton, Buzz Aldrin and Pierce Brosnan.

Already the longest running sitcom in television history, Fox recently confirmed that it had commissioned another two seasons of the Simpsons, taking it up to its 19th series and 400th episode.

The episode, shown in the US at the weekend, will be broadcast on Sky One on April 23. It is preceded by a special live action version of the opening credits, which replace the normal animated sequence with a British family replicating the antics of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

The script
Charles Heathbar [playing guitar] Did I tell you that I'm a bit of a songwriter? Words and music ... hold the applause. I wrote this song for a woman ... you

Marge Simpson What an odd thing for a man who's not interested in me to do

Heathbar Yes, not interested ... let me just breathe your scent a moment before I play [takes long sniff and shudders
Lady when you came to me
I was feeling blue
Blue just like your hair you see
Blue just like the moon
But only when the moon is blue
And not when it is cream
And now that you are here with me
I am in a dream
Oh yeah Marge, your dreams can come true
Lady when you go away
I feel like I could die
Not like dye like your hair is dyed
But die like Lady Di
And not like Di like her name is Di
But die like when she died
[takes swig from a bottle of vermouth
But lady just like Lady Di
Be my princess tonight
But don't die
Don't die, nooowee

********

I'm not even commenting on it.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Oh, come on.

The simple phrase "nauseous offal" should do nicely.

[The Mumbler]

Last night, just after the quiz episode of The ****ce, BBC did one of their "We put a sitcom on the air, which was written, directed and acted by someone who'd never done any of those things before"-type trails".

Cut to That Dance.

1) Well Done, The BBC, for discovering him, except...

2) It's not even true that you discovered him.

[Jemble Fred]

"Would you commission a sitcom...."

"From someone who'd been on the shit Eleveon O'Clock Show and then had an even shitter comedy show ofhis own on Channel 4...?"

"We did."

Cue the dance.

It would be more honest.

Although having said that, I hadn't seen last night's episode of The Office before and it was alright.

[neveragain]

To quote the article Mumbler put up, The Simpsons is apparently 'already the longest running sitcom in television history'.. Yes, and I bet Americans do think that! Fuck the fuck fucking off. It hasn't ran over thirty-five years has it?

[Purple Tentacle]

I've been thinking of starting a thread called 'The Office is quite good, Gervaise is a cunt', as I watched the 'quiz night' episode a few weeks back and actually really enjoyed it.

But I just don't have the stomach for the shitfight from all sides when I'm so apathetic to the subject matter.

[spanky]

Is Buzz Aldrin really one of the 5 most note-worthy guest stars in Simpson history?

[Mildly Diverting]

I quite liked it.

*runs like the wind*

[Marv Orange]

There was a couple of good lines. Gervais' voice stuck out like a sore thumb, myabe becasue I am so use to hearing his voice or that he has got a proper english accent unlike the rest of the simpson uk characters. Then there was some "ironic" racism towards the irish. Then some "amusing" gervais songs and a 'Whose line is it anyway' credits bollocks

[TheWizard]

It was probably the best episode of this admittdly appaling season. It ends rather abruptly but I did get some laughs out of me which is something The Simpsons hasn't done recently.

[The Boston Crab]

I didn't even watch it but I congratulate British UK for all the work they put into it.

[Frinky]

That was the worst thing I've ever seen. Everything was shit. Every. Thing.

[Little Hoover]

Oh stop sitting on the fence and tell us what you really think.

[Cack Hen]

As I said in the other thread, it was painful to watch. Just awful.

What I hate more is that Gervais didn't even try and rescue to the show and bring it back to its roots when he had the chance, he's just done what the always do these days-plots based around lazy topical cultural references and boring jokes without proper punch-lines.

[weirdbeard]

Awful.  A couple of decent Homer one-liners but that was it.  It'd be interesting to find out how much of the final draft he submitted was re-written by the Simpsons team.

And it had the UK-shot real life title sequence in it as well.  Sacrilege, surely?

[slim]

To quote the article Mumbler put up, The Simpsons is apparently 'already the longest running sitcom in television history'.. Yes, and I bet Americans do think that! Fuck the fuck fucking off. It hasn't ran over thirty-five years has it?

What has then? I can't think what you're referring to... stoopid hat on today, I'm afraid.

[The Duck Man]

Last of the Summer Wine?

That's been running for 33...

[Brutus Beefcake]

Is Buzz Aldrin really one of the 5 most note-worthy guest stars in Simpson history?

What? Going to the fucking MOON isn't enough for you!?

[TheWizard]

2nd comes right after first

Have the people who have been saying it was awful seen the rest of this season cos that really was one of the better ones.

[The Duck Man]

2nd comes right after first

Goodnight Sweetheart: Gary to his WWII baby son.

"And so Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and the man no-one remembers went to the moon."

Hey, I've just realised. In Goodnight Sweetheart, Gary's son is technically older than him! Jesus!

[Artemis]

Just downloading it now...... I thought I read that Matt Groening liked it so much he'd invited Gervais onto the writing staff.

EDIT: I don't believe my previous sentance in this thread anymore, having watched it. Dire is the word. I smiled three times, no laughs. And I was trying to like it. Best line was Homer's: "When I woke up, Letterman was interviewing Allias."

Worst bits: anything involving Gervais doing his one-trick-pony schtick.

'I'll never get that 20 minutes back' was my over-riding thought at the end.

[gazzyk1ns]

Just watched this... Frinky said it all on the last page.

Have the people who have been saying it was awful seen the rest of this season cos that really was one of the better ones.

I've not seen any others from 17 (at least I don't think I have), but if this was one of the better ones then thank fuck I haven't.

I despise 99% of the few episodes I've seen from seasons ~10-15 ("Awwww, maybe a hug will cork her cryhole." did make me laugh in that otherwise terrible 'Jaws Wired Shut' episode) but I'd honestly not given up on it - I saw a couple from 16 which showed a little bit of promise after being pointed at them on here. The one where Bart starts selling T-shirts with crappy slogans on springs to mind.

But this was terrible, and like I said, if it was one of the better recent ones, then... bloody hell. I assume I'll watch the last ever one (is season 18 definitely the last?) just to see how they end it, but to be honest I think it'll only make me angry.

[Utter Shit]

Jaws Wired Shut was a magnificent episode IMO. The Popeye pastiche is one of my favourite Simpsons moments ever.

*edit* Also gazzy, I think they have decided to make a good few more series now, sure I heard that recently.