Sometime over Christmas break (when my blogging was at an all time low) I got really into the British version of the Office. I knew that it came out before the American one and I wanted to see the differences. I found that the shows were very similar... But Ricky Gervais (the boss in the British version) really makes the show.
If you compare the first episodes of both versions, the plot and many of the jokes are exactly the same. They have all the same type of characters and they all act the same way. Both bosses are incredibly "out-there" but Ricky Gervais who created the Office really takes the character farther. The show is done as if it is a documentary of a real office in England, and all of the characters are "aware" of the cameras. The best part is just how much everyone hates the boss, and how annoying and self centered he is. He tells plenty of jokes, that aren't funny but what is funny is the agony and silence of how not funny the jokes he tells are. The same goes for the US version. Both are extremely funny, and worth checking out.
After the office ended Ricky Gervais did another excellent show called Extras. In this one he plays an extra on a movie set, and he's allays trying to get a line in the movie he is doing. This show follows more of the traditional "TV show making" methods, but what is great about both shows is that there is no laugh track after something funny happens. In my opinion a laugh track these days just makes a show seem cheap, and if anything the makers use it as a kruch when they want audiences to laugh (as if we cant figure it out for our selves). Extras was showing on HBO in the US, and the second season is coming soon.
Finally Ricky Gervais did a podcast with his co-collaborators where they had all sorts of funny segments, and a great character named Karl. After about ten episodes they had a quarter of a million subscribers, and then they started charging about six bucks per show. I have stopped following the show, but I would imagine that they lost more then half of their subscribers, and I just hope they make it free again. If anything, podcasting should be free and should only be ad-supported.
Thats all I have about Ricky Gervais right now, I would appreciate it if you click on the google ads, and definitely send me an e-mail at hosvos@gmail.com, until next time its irreversible progress.
Related Tags: ricky gervais, the office, extras, podcast