Le spectacle de Ricky Gervais

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Having conquered the worlds of TV and film (if not quite pop music!) Ricky Gervais proved he also had something to add to the world of pod cast entertainment, with his regular pod casts featuring long time writing partner Stephen Merchant and, most notably, his former production assistant Karl Pilkington, that all his truly die hard fans would probably have seeked out straight away. Gervais obviously applied his magic touch once again, and proved being funny really seems to be his true calling in life, as they were so successful this off-beat TV spin off show has been created by American giants HBO and not done too badly itself.

The first thing everyone would probably note is the self indulgence in the title, with the most well known member of the trio seemingly held as the main driving force behind the show, when this is an accolade that goes to Pilkington, with his unusual musings on life and how he'd make the world a better place. Despite his opinionatedness, he comes across as a softly spoken, gentle person, while Gervais (made to look uncannily like Fred Flintstone!) shouts his mouth off at the incredulousness of what Pilkington says, or at least how he's phrased it. Merchant is left as the proverbial piggy in the middle, gently trying to mediate between the oddball and the matador. No matter how crazy Pilkington can sound, there is some twisted logic to his words, perhaps a little of the George Bush syndrome of having the odd clever thought, just not being able to communicate it well. Some might well say the animation can never hold up to listening on the pod cast and letting your own imagination run wild, which holds true, but the animation probably shows it closer to how Pilkington himself envisaged his odd thoughts, and so delivers the fuller comedic effect.

For those who aren't, or have no intention of, merging with the cyber age, Gervais and HBO have come together and delivered a highly watchable, always volatile and eye opening expose of the world Gervais works in after his trek to super stardom. ****

Jon Death....that sums you up as far as your humour is concerned. If you don't know funny my friend (which you clearly don't), why bother writing a review. Please ignore this void.

Anyway.....the show is dangerously funny to the point where i was sure i was going to soil myself or cough up a lung!! Its filmed in a studio setting which is then animated over the top (excellently i might add) with sketches of the topics punctuating the set up. The discussions between the three consists of the thoughts and opinions on various topics by Ricky, Stephen and the irresistibly stupid Karl Pilkington. As a concept it doesn't seem that this would work anywhere nearly as well as it does and just underlines the exceptional and original talent of Ricky for coming up with something so new and fresh. This man is truly a history making talent and deserves the monocle of true genius in my book. You only have to look at the past work of this chubby funster to see that this man only operates in the entertaining and unique.

I cannot recommend this show more. Its funny funny funny. Anybody who thinks otherwise really needs to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror and go back to watching there 'Friends' box set and leave the real comedy to the people that appreciate it.

Byeee

There's something so irresistible about Karl Pilkington. I discovered him through the books first. Then I enjoyed watching An Idiot Abroad. I'm not a fan of Ricky Gervais usually, but that doesn't matter here. Karl takes all the teasing in his stride and can give as good as he gets. He's not a victim, although it may come across that way to some viewers. Ricky & Steve both love him and if Karl wasn't happy, he wouldn't keep on working with them. The animation is brilliant. The title sequence alone pulls you in. I don't believe there's that much acting involved. Karl is a unique person and his outlook is refreshing. His Diary is always a highlight. One of the funniest series ever, whether or not you heard the original podcasts.

This show is absolutely hilarious, after watching the first episode out of boredom with nothing else to do, i was impelled to watch the other three so far in the season, and then download all of the pod-casts and the audio- book. Karl, very much reminds me of myself, and will definitely either remind you of yourself, or someone you know, he seems to actually have good points and opinions, but they way he words the, makes them absolutely dumb sounding but hilarious, and with Ricky and Steven mocking his every thought this show is definitely worth watching. It had me holding my sides and with an aching stomach from laughing so hard none stop through every episode. 10/10

This show is brilliant. It is funny. The fact that one of the reviewers on here downed this show and then, in all seriousness, recommended that you go watch "two and a half men" for good comedy should tell you all that you need to know about that reviewer's tastes. It's not about whether you find Ricky Gervais funny. It's all about Karl. I would say, if you have above average intelligence you will find this funny. If you have below average intelligence, then by all means go watch some of that comedy genius, Charlie Sheen.

Watch this show. You will love it. And if you don't, well, there is something wrong with you.