Ricky Gervais's After Life series 3 [split topic]

[checkoutgirl]

Tim Heidecker and Limmy have both talked about Derek being shite iirc

Frankie Boyle too. Something like...

"How can Ricky Gervais say there isn't a god when he got a second series of Derek commissioned?"

[Jumblegraws]

Frankie Boyle too. Something like...

"How can Ricky Gervais say there isn't a god when he got a second series of Derek commissioned?"

It was more like "I don't need Ricky Gervais to tell me there's no god, I knew that when Derek got recommissioned"

[Better Midlands]

If you're a stand-up watching him, you feel like, "oh, that's someone doing a version of what we do."

But really, it's that I saw him doing his routine about trans people and I thought it was very lazy.

I would like him to have the same respect for trans people as he seems to have for animals. I don't think that's a lot to ask.

I mean, look, we know Ricky Gervais, he's a brilliant actor, he's a brilliant writer, he's not a f***ing stand-up comedian!

Just 'cause Ricky Gervais self-identifies as a stand-up comedian, am I supposed to say that he is one? It's f***ing political correctness gone mad!

[MrsWarboysLover]

I would like him to have the same respect for trans people as he seems to have for animals. I don't think that's a lot to ask.

Interesting coming from Boyle. He's worse than Gervais for making edgelord jokes and then intellectualising them later to justify it and hide the real reason he finds them funny. To then preach and condemn others for it shows he might have even less self awareness than Ricky. Even if he is right on this.

I have no problem with Boyle making the jokes he makes, or even Rick really, it's just exasperating to hear them try and pretend their edgy humour is somehow noble and making a social point, when it broadly isn't.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Interesting coming from Boyle. He's worse than Gervais for making edgelord jokes and then intellectualising them later to justify it and hide the real reason he finds them funny. To then preach and condemn others for it shows he might have even less self awareness than Ricky. Even if he is right on this.

I have no problem with Boyle making the jokes he makes, or even Rick really, it's just exasperating to hear them try and pretend their edgy humour is somehow noble and making a social point, when it broadly isn't.

And Tramadol Nights is possibly worse than anything Gervais has ever done.

[dannyfc]

Haven't really watched much of Gervais' work beyond the first couple episodes of Life's Too Short, just the odd clips here and there of Derek and After Life are enough for me to have no interest in doing so.

That said in regards to The Office, there's enough in his performance of Brent to indicate he was the driving creative force behind it. I don't buy that it was all Merchant's work and he's just profited on being the leading man for it.  How he delivered his lines, the knowing glances, comedic timing, you can't just bluff that from someone elses writing. 

Which makes it all the more baffling how someone that created something so good and innovative ends up making the most hackiest comedy going. It's not even if he's just phoning in cameos for a payday, legitimately seems like this his proudest work.

[checkoutgirl]

And Tramadol Nights is possibly worse than anything Gervais has ever done.

That Knight Rider sketch, christ. Tramadol Nights would be a great contender for a watch along.

Any time Frankie Boyle pontificates about other comedians people usually see him standing in a very fragile glass house and have done for years. Making very mean, nasty, and frankly baffling jokes about Harvey Price and Rebecca Adlington took away Boyle's moral high ground and credibility for judging others years ago.

I hate to be the comedy police and believe comedians can say pretty much whatever they want, but I draw the line at completely innocent, real life individuals getting the piss ripped out of them for no fault of their own, even worse if it's a kid.

[Blue Jam]

I do wish someone famous or credible would come out and just say After Life is shit,

Brendan O'Carroll said it was "amazing", which probably equates to that.

Seriously, I remember a lot of After Life apologists replying to any negative Twitter criticism with words to the effect of "Oh I suppose Mrs Brown's Boys is more your thing?" which makes this even funnier. And tbf even Mrs Brown's Boys is more structured and carefully-plotted than After Life.

[olliebean]

The last episode of this all but paints him as an actual angel, with good things happening to people just because he happens to be in the near vicinity emanating his newly discovered positive vibes, and then walking off into the distance like The Littlest Hobo.

(Earlier draft of this post said "Like Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven," which would have fitted the angel theme better, but after looking at the ends of a few episodes on YouTube, it seems he didn't actually do that. I think I'd got him mixed up with Bruce Banner.)

[phosphoresce]

The benches should all be inscribed with some Gervais wisdom – "kindness is magic" "being nice is a superpower that's real". We can take some time to sit, contemplate and learn to be kind.

[olliebean]

I guess that would be "Hope is everything."

[checkoutgirl]

even Mrs Brown's Boys is more structured and carefully-plotted than After Life.

I don't think so. I watched an episode of Brown's the other day and it doesn't even have a plot. They're about equal I'd say, except Gervais hires people who were actors before they were on After Life, not just his AmDram friends and family that he can manipulate at will and pay whatever he wants.

[checkoutgirl]

then walking off into the distance like The Littlest Hobo

Or The Quantum Leap, where will Ricky appear next and what will he do to sort out that person's life?

I like the idea of Ricky actually killing himself at the first attempt and the 3 series are his last hallucinations, Jacob's Ladder style. He couldn't pass over to the other side until he'd made his peace. Didn't he mention Groundhog Day at some point? Hmmm.

I don't know why I'm speculating as I'm sure Ricky has explained the whole thing in great detail in multiple interviews and tweets. He's the one person you don't want to do that though, as anyone else's interpretation would almost certainly be better than what Rickboys intended.

[Better Midlands]

Or The Quantum Leap, where will Ricky appear next and what will he do to sort out that person's life?

[Jumblegraws]

That Knight Rider sketch, christ. Tramadol Nights would be a great contender for a watch along.

Any time Frankie Boyle pontificates about other comedians people usually see him standing in a very fragile glass house and have done for years. Making very mean, nasty, and frankly baffling jokes about Harvey Price and Rebecca Adlington took away Boyle's moral high ground and credibility for judging others years ago.

I hate to be the comedy police and believe comedians can say pretty much whatever they want, but I draw the line at completely innocent, real life individuals getting the piss ripped out of them for no fault of their own, even worse if it's a kid.

That Knight Rider sketch would have been overlong, thin gruel even it had been aired a thousand years ago when Knight Rider was actually on TV. And this was from the guy who had previously slagged of Have I Got News For You for making hacky fat jokes about Eric Pickles (and then hosted the show some years after calling it a blight on the British satire landscape).

That said, I still like him better than Gervais, and better late than never if he's discovered comedic discretion, although it would be nice if he copped to his double standards.

[Mr Faineant]

This is nitpicky, but even the color grading is over the top, and they even applied it to the home video clips. Why the duck are there so many home video clips, anyway? It's like they lived in the big brother house.

[TommyTurnips]

It might have been better and more believable if the video clips were made to look like memories of cancer wife. Like maybe for example he picks up a comb and looks at it and it triggers a memory of her combing her hair all nice because they were going out together that evening. Something like that.

[Ferris]

It might have been better and more believable if the video clips were made to look like memories of cancer wife. Like maybe for example he picks up a comb and looks at it and it triggers a memory of her combing her hair all nice because they were going out together that evening. Something like that.

It's like Dean Lerner's directorial ethos in the (in-fiction) Darkplace making-of special. Someone asks him about drinks for characters and he's enraged "no don't fucking bother just get get them ready". Cut to in-show scene, two characters ask for drinks and the barman pulls them, pre-poured, from under the counter.

The lazy shortcut is intentional and who cares about the reduced quality of the output, just fucking do it and move on, per Dean's direction. It would take effort to do more, and nobody involved cares enough, fuck it, whatever.

It's a similar vibe. "Should we maybe introduce a new method of remembering Cancer Wife, Rick?" No don't fuck around wasting time with that, just use the laptop, that's still alright, who cares it'll be fine, let's get this finished.

[Ferris]

Talking of low-effort stink bombs, can anyone who watched the whole thing confirm there was an appearance of the execrable song he recorded?

Edit: ah, it only made the final cut in "instrumental form", but some digging reveals a co-writing credit for the drummer from Razorlight, and apparently the Rickster went as far as shooting a video for the full version which would be worth a watch, but the whole thing seems to have been buried. Someone must have had a word.

[mr. logic]

It's notable that the type of low effort gay banter that got Brent eye rolls is laughed at by the other characters in this. When you consider that it's really quite shocking.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

That Knight Rider sketch would have been overlong, thin gruel even it had been aired a thousand years ago when Knight Rider was actually on TV.

Reminds me of French and Saunders sending up Abba's Knowing Me Knowing You video, years and years after they'd stopped having hits.

[MrsWarboysLover]

Talking of low-effort stink bombs, can anyone who watched the whole thing confirm there was an appearance of the execrable song he recorded?

Edit: ah, it only made the final cut in "instrumental form", but some digging reveals a co-writing credit for the drummer from Razorlight, and apparently the Rickster went as far as shooting a video for the full version which would be worth a watch, but the whole thing seems to have been buried. Someone must have had a word.

thanks for that link, how did this slip by me the first time around?

"'I can put out ironic songs as David Brent but I haven't written a serious song in 40 years, so I'm thinking, "What if it's crap?" — but it's not, it's really good.'"

I worried it was crap, but nah, it's actually REALLY good. amazing

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

The telling thing for me is that, while there's usually a veneer of irony to the scenes - we're supposed to be laughing at them - Gervais is definitely most comfortable writing aggressively unpleasant, boorish characters; reiterations of Finchy, essentially.

His more 'laddish' characters seem to be the ones that yield the biggest reactions from the audience and get the most explosive outtake reels.

[The Ombudsman]

I saw a clip on YouTube of the series 3 outtakes and even they were quite poor. The other two seasons at least had _some_ funny bits in the outtakes. I think I've only ever seen the outtakes and not a single episode.

[MrsWarboysLover]

He should go fully down the Mrs. Brown's Boys route and just leave the outtakes in now. It would make for a funnier show.

[druss]

This is genius.

[mrspangles]

I don't know where else to even ask this, but... The hospice kids. Where the fuck did that come from?! Are these kids who are genuinely ill or did he cast children and shave their heads? And am I the wrong one for even thinking it? This had less of a god complex than Mr Burns being 'truly the king of kings' for giving slave John Wayne a glug of water.

[The Ombudsman]

I don't know where else to even ask this, but... The hospice kids. Where the fuck did that come from?! Are these kids who are genuinely ill or did he cast children and shave their heads? And am I the wrong one for even thinking it? This had less of a god complex than Mr Burns being 'truly the king of kings' for giving slave John Wayne a glug of water.

Hospice kids (or kids in a cancer ward) goes right back to the XFM days. I recall the joke being the tubby funster did a Christmas thing there two years running and remembered one kid from the last time and said something like he was putting it on or whatever. Recycling 'material' from 20 years ago.

[idunnosomename]

At least main one is a child actor whos had one other role

Telegraph article
https://archive.fo/CgwAR

Bald wigs I guess. Not too difficult. Easier than getting a terminally-ill child to suddenly become an actor to please the ego of Ricky Gervais

[Menu]

Merchant probably had to pay off a house or something.

Why? Had he got it pregnant?