End of Season Review: The Ricky Gervais Show

Before Steve Carrell and team brought it to America, The Office was a two-season series in the UK created by and starring Ricky Gervais. Though I would argue that the dark wit, and genuineness, and the ending of the original outshines the American version (though both versions have their strengths), the show, followed by his other successful show “Extras,” propelled Gervais into stardom. Before and after the success of his TV shows and movies, Gervais, along with his writing partner Stephen Merchant, hosted a netcast* that eventually evolved into featuring the oddball opinions of their produce, Karl Pilkington. As the comedy duo moved into films and hosting awards shows, the broadcasts aren’t as regular as they used to be, but with several “seasons” of material in the can, there’s a wealth of information available for the producers of The Ricky Gervais Show, HBO’s other new Friday night show that animates the previously-recorded netcasts.

*Also known as “podcasts,” though I’m with Leo Laporte’s contention that the term “podcast,” applied to all online broadcasts, can be misleading.

The format is one that should be familiar to those who used to watch Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist on Comedy Central. Whereas the squiggly TV show was mostly just a sounding board for comedians to come and perform a few jokes from their act, RGS shows the three guys sitting at a radio station console, talking to the words originally spoke by Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington, and animating a scene when something interesting is talked about. Dr. Katz wasn’t completely rehashed material, though – there was a storyline and improve conversations that permeated the episode, and while it usually wasn’t as funny as the jokes of the comedians, it kept things interesting, especially if you were already a fan of the comedian of the day. The Ricky Gervais Show is nothing but a straight 25 minutes from the podcast.

Like Funny or Die Presents, HBO’s other new Friday night show, I can’t really understand why this show needs to exist – it serves as a sampler of the podcast, and the animations can be chuckle-worthy at times, but it doesn’t really justify viewing again if you’re already familiar with the material. I can understand why HBO wants to keep it around, though – it’s dirt-cheap to produce, it only needs a small amount of viewers to keep it profitable, and all the writing was accomplished several years ago. It’s been renewed for a second season, and with the three boys still putting out regular podcasts today (at a rate of about one a month), the show has the potential to be around for quite a while.