Sunday, 4 October 2009

Mr Ricky Gervais- New Hero of Comedy

I have just watched a re-run of the fantastic homage to Ricky Gervais that is 'Ricky Gervais- New Hero of Comedy'. If one didn't consider the man to be a comedy genius before you certainly would after watching this.

It's cleverly crafted to take a look at the time line of Gervais' career with specific sound bites and clips of his funniest moments in his live stand-up as well as his radio and television shows. To add more comedy and also a somewhat humbling feel to the programme there are some very insightful interviews with some of Gervais’ closest colleagues and friends such as Steven Merchant, Karl Pilkington, David Baddiel and Ashley Jenson.

“He’s a total original. They’re very rare these total originals and they should be celebrated with flags in the street”
- Billy Connelly, ‘Ricky Gervais: New Comedy Hero (2008)

Gervais is often admired for his observant nature and his bravery to mess around with the issue of political correctness. We live in such a time where there is a lot of confusion over what is allowed to be said and what isn’t that it’s amusing to see someone cross the line and just basically take the piss.

“Some people say oh you can’t have a go at dwarfs. You can have a go at them really. Fundamentalist terrorists I’d stay away- dwarfs; what are they going to do?”
-Ricky Gervais, Fame (2007)

His intelligent and observant nature has enabled the man to create brilliant comedies such as ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’ in which he has perfected the art of creating embarrassing moments and making his audience cringe!

Check out this video- it features some of the best bits of 'The Office':




Yet another classic example of cringey scenes this time from 'Extras':



“Ricky’s performance in it is one of the greatest performances we’ll ever see on British television....David Brent is Ricky Gervais as he would be without self-awareness.”
-David Baddiel, Ricky Gervais: New Comedy Hero (2008)

Along with the cringing and the laughing Gervais also appeals to our emotional side and encourages the audience to feel pity and sorrow for some of the characters without making it cheesy which really adds a sense of originality to it all.

Of course at this point I have to say that Stephen Merchant should not be left in the shadows. ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’ would not have been the same without the addition of his wit and astuteness.

I could rant on about Ricky Gervais and his brilliance all day long, however I don't have to because this programme says it all. It's well worth a watch!!

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