Ricky Gervais

To tell you the truth, I'm not a fan of what Ricky Gervais has become. Mixing it in Hollywood with his A-list mates, swanning around in big blockbuster movies with the cream of the crop, throwing his lavish lifestyle and massive wads of cash in our faces. That's not what all this was all about, now is it Ricky? In fact, Gervais has become a complete parody of himself. David Brent was the most hysterical character of all-time because he thought he was big time. Gervais took the piss out of celebrity culture by devising a character that was obsessed with thrusting himself into the limelight, grabbing any opportunity for (what amounts to in The Office) a pitiful fifteen minutes of fame. Now, in the face of his own creation, Gervais himself has become the character he so brilliantly depicted. A self-centered, greedy, fame-hugging muppet. Unfortunately, however, this still doesn't stop him being, in my opinion, the funniest man alive today. Shit.

Me and my mate The Gingerbread Man, who I worked with for several years and and one point house-shared with, became obsessed with The Office shortly after its release here in Britain back in 2001 . At first nobody knew if it was a genuine documentary or a sitcom since, in the age of reality TV, anything is possible. When we realised that it was in fact a sitcom, or what has become known as a 'mockumentary', and could then enjoy David Brent for the complete knobhead he was supposed to be, me and Ginger found it utterly hilarious and engrossing. A genius conception by Gervais and his writing partner Stephen Merchant, in which the daily grind of office life is juxtaposed against the strained relationships that so often happen within these places of work. The statistics for office affairs are frightening in this country: 70% of people who work in an office will at some point in their careers become romantically involved with A.N Other. The sexual tension between Dawn (played by Lucy Davis) and Tim (Martin Freeman), which culminates in a rather emotional and heart-rendering final episode at the death of the second series, plays on this human floor brilliantly. Gareth (Mackenzie Crook) is your stereotypical office wanker; full of himself, a liar, a jobsworth, and all round unlikeable guy, he portrays the person that we have all met during one of our stints in an office. Keith (Ewen Macintosh) is the middle aged, over weight loner and nerd, Chris Finch (Ralph Ineson) the womanising, foul-mouthed tosser, Jennifer Taylor-Clarke (Stirling Gallacher) the brilliantly executed, classy area manager, Neil Godwin (Patrick Baladi) the suave Brent-nemesis, and Lee (Joel Beckett) the rough and ready, jealous boyfriend of Dawn. In short, Gervais and Merchant covered all the bases. Their pool of characters in The Office is incredibly accurate and fantastically executed by all concerned.

It is not so much what happens in The Office that creates such an appeal. It is more what doesn't happen that is so fascinating. Brent's cunning glimpses towards the camera; his constant attempt to look cool in the face of filming; Tim's constant despair; Dawn's dizziness; Gareth's pathetic disposition. It is meticulously crafted into, in my opinion, the greatest and most hilarious, and often believable show ever made. It left me, and I'm sure millions of others, thinking my God, I bet there really are David Brents out there, and I bet all this really does happen. . . . .

The highlights? The Red Nose Day dance, for sure. Brent's insistence on getting the guitar out. The Office Party celebrating 'no redundancies'. Brent's 'motivational' speech. Gareth's investigations surrounding the pornographic image with Brent's head super-imposed. Jennifer's countless, cringe worthy meetings with Brent. Keith's 'minge' comment before devouring a giant scotch egg. Bones (I refuse to elaborate - you just have to see it). Brent's eventual redundancy. Brent's blind date and guest club appearance. The return of Dawn for the Christmas party, and her subsequent move for Tim. The whole two series are absolutely genius, and I complement Gervais and Merchant for their insistence on ending it there. That decision has preserved a legend, and stopped them pulling it down by flogging a dead horse. The fact that Gervais has taken it over to America and contradicted everything the British series stands for only bolsters my initial charge at the start of this article. It is not an American concept, for Christ sake! Never mind, Ricky, you just keep that cash tumbling in.

So, what came next? Well, the two funniest stand-up comedy performances I have ever seen, that's what. Animals (2003) and Politics (2004), two outrageously bright, observational performances that are, quite frankly, deliriously funny. He takes on a variety of controversial subjects including, at the start of Animals, the creation of man - one of the most amusing sketches ever on the stand up circuit in my opinion. Both performances are controversial, thought-provoking, laugh-out-loud-funny, cringe worthy, and constantly entertaining. Gervias brings a piece of Brent to the stage to deliver his witticisms, which is, to be honest, a clincher for me. Both tours were huge sell-outs, gained massive critical success, and will live long in the memory as ideal follow-ups for The Office. So, what next?

Extras (2005) was the second mockumentary style double series to emerge by the Gervias/Merchant writing team. I was initially convinced that it had to be a flop. I was so obsessed with how good The Office and Gervais's stand-ups had been, I was sure that they must at some point run out of steam. I was wrong. Extras, in a slightly subtler way, is every inch as funny as The Office. It was a brave move using so many celebrities (or, on the other hand, a vehicle for Gervais to display his new-found importance within the industry), but I've got to say, a stunning success. Taking on the role of a ailing 'actor' Andy Millman, Gervias plays a watered-down, but every inch as effective role as Brent throughout the tremendous double series. I wont name the A-listers that feature, since Ricky's ego is, I'm sure, already through the roof - but what I will do is complement all of them, firstly for their sense of humour and integrity to feature, and secondly for their hilariously self-effacing deliveries.

So, the highlights here? Well, Millman's bizarre relationship with the ditzy but hugely loveable Maggy Jacobs (Ashley Jenson), who throughout the two series cannot help but put her foot in it. Look out for the head in the soup. David Bowie's genius cameo with the 'Pug Man' song. Maggy's hysterical 'Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, what are these' clanger. The racist test. Yet again, Maggy with the golliwog, and Maggy with the shits. Darren (Steve Merchant, and Millman's hopeless agent) and Shaun Williamson (Barry from Eastenders who plays himself) wanking over a pen. Les Dennis' outrageous episode. Millman playing a genie in Aladdin. Keith Chegwin's foul mouth. Bunny, the camp theatre director. I could go on and on forever - it's just bloody brilliant!

Since then Ricky has embarked on two more sell-out stand-up successes - Fame (2007), that myself and The Gingerbread Man went to watch live from the third tier of Blackpool's Opera House, and Science (2009), which I couldn't get a ticket for for love nor money. He also has a podcast with Merchant and the now notorious Karl Pilkington, which has also proved frighteningly successful - everything the man touches turns to gold.

So, it seems like that's it: Ricky Gervais is the funniest man in the world. However, the man is a sell-out. All this fucking Letterman shit, Hollywood movies, hosting the Golden Globes, getting his own American Chat Show. Fuck off Ricky. Stick to what you're good at - making us all laugh. Even Brent would be grimacing if he saw you now. . . . .