The Ricky Gervais show podcasts
Remember “The Office” and all those painful, fist in your mouth, achingly long moments of embarrassment the you saw, well extend that into a 30 minute show and you’ll have a typical episode of Extras. It’s now out on HBO as is the new US version of the Office on NBC.
I watched a few episodes of the Extras with my girlfriend and some mates one night and I had to get up to get a drink. When I walked back to the sofa, I could see this gallery of faces agog and wincing; slightly stunned by what was on screen. Funny to me, is seeing someone like the Andy Millman’s agent, Darren Lamb, struggling to answer his phone with a bluetooth headset.
It really is some of the best television around.
But this is not what this post is about. It’s just background. The real purpose of this post is to get your attention to Ricky Gervais’ new show, sponsored by The Guardian (a UK newspaper). It’s free, there’s twelve episodes in total and we’re about half way through.
The format is simple.
Ricky and Stephen say something.
Karl says something in response.
Ricky says ‘You’re talking bollocks’.
Hilarity ensues.
I think I cried from laughing for about 20 minutes straight when I heard the first one. Listening to the show while riding the El, I’ve made myself look like a nutter giggling manically for no apparent reason.
There’s pretty much nothing scripted, with the only regular ‘feature’ being Monkey News which is perfect Karl Pilkington domain. Now where do I begin explaining Karl Pilkington. Is he an idiot savant, or just an idiot? Somewhere between a fully grown school boy and a petri dish of stem cells, lies his comic genius.
This show has made my life richer.
Be warned; if you’re not au fais with rich English dialects (or just strong Mancunian accents) then some of it might get missed. Thankfully BBC America have thoughtfully put together a slang dictionary for situations like this.
So go to the Guardian to listen to the show. Or go to the iTunes music store to subscribe.
