THE NEW YORK TIMES
The podcast is the ultimate symbol of modernity, a hipster alternative to the creaky, top-down formalism of conventional television. So it’s piquant, to say the least, that “The Ricky Gervais Show,” a new animated series which begins on HBO on Friday, echoes the early days of radio and television. These absurd and funny cartoon sketches are podcasts reworked for premium cable. They are described as “pointless conversations” and the riffs, musings and improvisational give-and-take recall in cruder form the routines of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and George Burns and Gracie Allen. And also “A Star Is Born.” While Mr. Gervais and his longtime writing partner and friend Stephen Merchant are well known to fans of “The Office” (the original BBC version), the comedy rests almost entirely on the third man, Karl Pilkington, a laconic former radio producer with weird views on things like space travel, evolution, charities and, most of all, monkeys. In a quiet, working-class monotone, Mr. Pilkington argues that there must have been a banana dispenser on the rocket that carried the first monkey into space, that Benjamin Franklin’s phrase “waste not, want not” isn’t catchy enough, and that the homeless should collect their own donations, since they have more time on their hands. His podcast persona is a cross between the deadpan comedian Steven Wright and Cliff Clavin of “Cheers” — transposed to a Manchester pub. Mr. Gervais and Mr. Merchant don’t do much besides goad, taunt and mock Mr. Pilkington mercilessly (Mr. Gervais calls him a “little, round-headed buffoon”), and he just chats, without taking offense or cracking up. He says that everything worth inventing has already been invented, and that life would be better if progress had come to a halt a century ago. Airplanes, for example, haven’t done much for anyone except take passengers to places they shouldn’t visit. "People go on holidays to places where you’ve got to have an injection before you go there,” he says. “Forget it then.” ( His accent is hard to transcribe — pub is pronounced poob — but to an American ear he sounds a little like Ringo Starr under water.) At this point, after the success of “The Office” and “Extras,” his show about striving (and somewhat delusional) actors, Mr. Gervais should need no introduction, but there are plenty of people who had no idea of him until he hosted the Golden Globes award show in January. So these comedy routines, which began as a radio show and were turned into podcasts for The Guardian’s Web site (guardian.co.uk) in 2005, are a huge Internet hit that have escaped the notice of most American television viewers. They better get used to Web-spun programming. On Friday HBO will also begin “Funny or Die Presents,” a new half-hour series that compiles clips from the comedy video Web site that Adam McKay and Will Farrell created in 2007, funnyordie.com. It features amateur video sketches with professional comedy bits by the likes of Mr. Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and cast members of “Saturday Night Live.” On his original podcasts Mr. Gervais and his colleagues sit around small rooms in front of a jumpy camera. For their debut on HBO, the producers decided to add animation. In the opener the three men walk into a recording room and sit down at a table beneath hanging microphones, then are replaced by Hanna-Barbera-style cartoon figures who utter their voices and debates. Inane ideas are illustrated in sidebars: when Mr. Pilkington delivers his addled take on dinosaurs and evolution, the screen goes to a mock Fred Flintstone clip to illustrate his thinking. Podcast purists may despise the cartoons as pandering — animated subtitles for slower audiences — but they don’t detract from the comedy. The series is essentially a radio show transposed to television, much like the early comedy shows of Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle. In real life Mr. Gervais, who acts, writes, produces and directs, is more like a latter-day Carl Reiner, a brilliant creator of comedy who keeps moving from theater to television and movies without overstaying his welcome in any one field. Mr. Gervais pulled the plug on his version of “The Office” after only two seasons because he didn’t want it to go stale. The NBC adaptation starring Steve Carell was as good in its own way as the original at first; now in its sixth season, it has lost steam. “Extras” also ended after only two seasons, and Mr. Gervais moved on to the radio show, stand-up comedy specials and movies like “Ghost Town” and “The Invention of Lying.” This latest venture, “The Ricky Gervais Show,” is another sign of his dexterity. The show is his in name only. He serves as a bullying sidekick to Mr. Pilkington and steps out of the way, letting his strange and funny collaborator take the lead. The series is not a full-blown comedy show; it’s a collection of Web-styled sketches and proof that big laughs can come in small doses. |