Learn English with Ricky Gervais

[tommy83]

On a side note, the colour grading really bothered me on the podcast. It seems whoever did the grading (I suspect Ricky) simply used a colour preset in their chosen software, then sat back thinking the podcast looked expensive and film-like. It doesn't.

… Hello.

Yep, agreed.

And similarly, I absolutely hate the banner advert. Ricky's smiling face just looks so cheesy. I don't know what it is, but it's just got that airbrushed, Hollywood sheen to it. It shouldn't irritate me, but it does.

[Chanandler Bong]

I think Karl is very funny on his own and, unlikely as it may be, would love to see him try some standup, just talking through different subjects as he usually does. He already is sort of an observational comedian. In my opinion he'd do very well, although I don't really see him actually standing for prolonged periods of time. He could sit on stage, in a comfortable chair of some kind, which would suit him. And of course he could get up whenever he wished.

[DasLankyGogglEye]

The only trouble with Karl on his own, is that he tends to be lazy. He wants to sit at home doing fuck all drinking tea, eating biscuits and watching insects, if left to his own devices. It's only because Ricky makes him do things that he does them, for the most part. He didn't really want to go around the world, twice; I think he mostly did it for the money. He needs Smervais as a motivation to get him to actually do things. That said, there are probably more original ways to milk Karl than more podcasts.

[EatingGrapes]

tommy83 wrote:

Karl has done really well to cultivate his persona, which I imagine is just an exaggerated form of what he's actually like in private. He plays his role very well indeed and I love him for it.

But let's face it, he owes everything to Ricky. To suggest otherwise is absolute bollocks. Ricky is the one driving all these projects forward, whether it's AIA, Karl's books, or these video podcasts.

Agreed

tommy83 wrote:

For me - and I know most you will disagree - Karl by himself is not very funny and I have serious doubts as to whether he could produce something decent. It's always Ricky's reactions and generally the interactions between the two (or ideally three) of them, that make me laugh. I realised this for certain when I heard Karl's solo podcast where he's reading bits out of book. I know he's just reading bits of his book, but it was just crap - embarrassingly contrived and unfunny.

I agree that Karl needs a foil to get the best out of him, but that doesn't always have to be Ricky Gervais. The interview Karl made with the man who is "immortal" was fascinating (more importantly for Karl) tender and amusing. Karl needs to move away from Ricky to grow and develop. Karls reply "of course it is." (albeit very funny) in the new podcast cemented the fact for me their comedy relationship has grown stagnant. That's not to say I never want them, including our beloved Stilt Monster, to work together again. I just don't always want to see Ricky snorting and falling off his chair when I want to watch Karl.

[having a stroke]

stop whining you mongs

it was funny

[RandyChimp]

stop whining you mongs

it was funny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion

[having a stroke]

stop whining you mongs

it was funny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunt

User was banned for 1 week for this post. See rule 2. mbbb

[RandyChimp]

Says the dickhead calling everyone else a mong.

[BellyBadness]

Hello everyone!

For me - and I know most you will disagree - Karl by himself is not very funny and I have serious doubts as to whether he could produce something decent. It's always Ricky's reactions and generally the interactions between the two (or ideally three) of them, that make me laugh. I realised this for certain when I heard Karl's solo podcast where he's reading bits out of book. I know he's just reading bits of his book, but it was just crap - embarrassingly contrived and unfunny.

I do agree - I think Karl needs someone to bounce off of to really be effective.

As for the show, I thought it was alright... funny in places (they've all been brought up earlier in the thread, I'm sure) but rather tedious in others... especially the roleplay((s), can't really remember)... Ricky sure loves talking about his anus and genitals.

[RandyChimp]

Hi, welcome to the forum :)

He talks about his anus and genitals because he knows it makes Karl feel uncomfortable. The downside to this is that he's overdoing it, so much so that it's gone from "Oh my god, this is hilarious, thats a fucking weird character" to "Oh GOD, why the hell does he keep dragging this character out?"

Karl does need someone to bounce off to be really effective, but I don't think Karl is unfunny. Idiot Abroad is great when he's just whinging and getting confused at other peoples lives.

[Märkus]

I think Karl is a great people-person, every time he interacts with someone it comes across that he's easy to talk to and he can get people to open up to him.

Karl doing standup would be atrocious, it's simply not his world.
I would love to see a reincarnation of "Pilkington" as an interview program.

Perhaps he could travel around and interview people who fascinate him (mainly freaks I imagine) on their own terms, just as he did with Harold the immortal man.

[DasLankyGogglEye]

I finally got to see this on Youtube today (been having massive problems with iTunes) and in general I thought it was pretty good. The over-enunciating was a little distracting at times but overall it was very funny, especially the rant at the end about the shit and the foxes.

My only minor concern is whether this will hang up for an entire series of podcasts or if its going to be the same sort of thing all the time - if so it might have been better off as a one-off. But that's me being needlessly pessimistic and I am pleased to get new content.

8/10

[ThePilkinator]

stop whining you mongs

it was funny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunt

User was banned for 1 week for this post. See rule 2. mbbb

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOL

[FlytipperRosa]

Does anyone know when the next one will be out? I've not seen anything.

Thank you.

[Dam Helder]

Ricky said something like "when the first one gets a millionty hits" or something