The Ricky Gervais Show - Preview
It's been some time since Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant graced our screens, but they return this Friday, Channel 4 at 10.30pm - albeit in a rather different form. HBO have produced an animated version of Gervais's celebrated podcasts, and I'm happy to report that it works really well. The animation is pure 1950s, Hannah-Barbera stuff, reminiscent of The Jetsons and - especially in the case of Gervais's character - The Flintstones (his "avatar" is a dead ringer for Fred) .
The characters do catch a real likeness, especially when it comes to those little mannerisms that sum them up: Stephen Merchant's disbelieving arch of the eyebrow, Ricky Gervais's hyena laugh and the emotionless blink of Karl Pilkington; the third podcast presenter who, for many, really made the show something special. His twisted yet somehow logical view of the world is, apparently not an act (if it's an act, he keeps it up 24 hours a day, Ricky tells the assembled journos at a preview screening) and constantly provides fodder for Ricky and Stephen to turn into something weird and wonderful; these podcasts are so ripe for animation precisely because they take his memories and stories and spin them into vivid flights of fancy.
The episode we saw - not, I believe, the first - was surprisingly saucy, and covered the usually unconnected topics of nudists and charity, incorporated the regular 'Monkey News' section and contained a truly classic line from Pilkington on the subject of sex: "it serves a purpose." It's entertaining stuff, and, importantly, the stylised animation means that it is always visually interesting. Gervais does, at the Q&A, constantly refer to this as "an experiment", though and it feels that way - enjoyable as it is, I can't see the interest going beyond a series, and maybe the podcasts' original home, the internet, is where this programme really belongs.
To that Q&A, then, which all three hosts attended, though Karl Pilkington told us with his usual straightforwardness that he'd really rather not be there. Gervais is at his most passionate, engaging and appealing when talking about his work - he could never be accused of not taking comedy seriously. Asked whether they will return to TV after all the Hollywood glitz, Merchant goes as far as to say that telly is "the great medium", but Gervais is positively rhapsodic: "Most films are terrible. There are things you can do on TV that you just can't do on film - it's so grand, so operatic."
They are less unequivocal when it comes to a discussion of reviews and the press; understandably so, given the rollercoaster ride Gervais in particular has been given by critics over the course of his career. Merchant sensibly says "you can't cherry-pick; if you listen to the good press, then you have to listen to the bad" and Gervais poetically muses that "to complain about critics is like a sailor who doesn't like the waves - stay on the beach." There is a combative edge to this philosophy, however; he continues: "The bad critics give themselves away. You see that they just don't like you... then I feel like I've won. I actually quite like it."
Karl Pilkington remained relatively quiet during these exchanges, but perked up considerable when a lady from Zoo magazine threw him some Munchies. Gervais: "He's like an idiot savant!!" Merchant: "I think 'savant' was generous..."