Rolling UK Comedy Thread - "Ricky Don't Lose Larry David's Number

It's not like that at all. The fact that it's called An Idiot Abroad is misleading — it's actually meant to be read as Gervais's and Merchant's view of Karl. Karl himself does a lot of incredible things, moans a bit, learns an awful lot and says three or four dumb things per episode. There's even quite a big deal made of R and S wanting to call the show An Idiot Abroad and Karl being annoyed about it.

Basically it's a travel show with a witty star and a misleading title.

Also Karl willingly does a load of things that I would never do. As a viewer my respect for the man skyrocketed.

Ah, OK. So shitey false advertising then? The trailers don't give that impression AT ALL, nothing even close, which is why I've given it a very wide berth.

I was the same, tired of this "lol ignorance" shtick and Gervais's trying to play it both ways.

xp to ailsa: Yeah. The whole Karl thing (including books and podcasts) is framed by R's & S's view of him (balding manc, head like a fuckin' orange &c.) so you go in expecting a moron and come away feeling quite different.

yeah karl's thing isn't "lol stupid", his is more of a childlike view that lets you see a different surprising/amusing perception on things.

a big part for me is the working class northernness of it all. when he speaks about his parents and childhood, he uses names, terms and places that i experienced a lot growing up, ie. "elsie from little hulton going on holiday in wales". he has that ultra-practical no-bullshit outlook that i can appreciate and can see in most of my relatives. my parents went to egypt a few years ago and when returning didn't have anything to say about the wonder of these massive monuments, just that it was "too dusty and too busy". the lack of reverence and spirituality is refreshing, amusing, and shows how much these people value comfort and simplicity in life - the new globalised world where you're encouraged to travel everywhere and anywhere just isn't for them, they'd be much happier at butlins watching a knobby knees competition and that's completely fine but sticking them out of their comfort zone can bring some great lols.

funniest parts of karl's schtick for me comes when he gets angry, like when he's talking about his boiler breaking down or finds out the production team have stuck him on a nude beach. it's those moments when any playing up is gone and he's just an angry little man battling against forces he can't control. there's probably an element of bullying to it but like he said himself "i'm nearly 40, i can look after myself so don't worry about me. and anyway if i am being bullied why aren't you coming to help me? where's esther rantzen?"

but yeah, it's not quite as cruel as gervais's usual stuff, and karl isn't as ignorant as the title suggests. hands down the funniest british comedy series i've seen in years.

The Trip is a bit repetitive though...By episode 3, I was feeling I'd seen all this in episodes 1 & 2.

It knows its repetitive, Brydon explicitly acknowledges that in one scene. I don't think that's a fault.

Think #teammiranda are serving up some next-level challops here. Watched the new episode last nite and tho she herself is weirdly likeable (she sounds just like erstwhile Ilxor Lixi), the script was like one of the skits they used to do at the end of Crackerjack.

It knows its repetitive, Brydon explicitly acknowledges that in one scene. I don't think that's a fault.

― Matt DC, Monday, November 22, 2010 10:45 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

i am still watching it and the highs are very high, but this is what annoys me about it -- 'ah, it's meant to be _______'

15 Storeys High was the best BritCom of the OOs.

The one episode I saw was great, need to download the whole thing sometime.

Think #teammiranda are serving up some next-level challops here

Nope, I really did laugh pretty much all the way through. Sometimes there's no explanation for what one finds amusing.

i will give 15 Storeys High, An Idiot Abroad and maybe even Miranda a real go now having read these posts - thx all

Yeah, me too. Except Miranda, I did try with the first series, but it wasn't for me.

Definitely going to try An Idiot Abroad.

What channel is an idiot on? I like karl p I just wish he was with different people

Sky One.

the poster with gervais' horrible gurning of hilarity - literally the most punchable face i have ever seen.

http://www.escalantebloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AnIdiotAbroad-500.png

Moyles (lol autospell got 'moulds') and Clarkson > Gervais

no

i've just developed a natural aversion to anything ft. that gervais expression (reminds me of martin keown for one thing)

gervais is nowhere near as bad as clarkson/moyles. gervais is a smug rich sometimes-unlikeable chap who can be damn funny at times (office, extras, his standup has its moments) and crap at other times (simpsons, his hollywood film career (i assume)). but clarkson and moyles are hateful right-wing dicks who have never ever done anything of value, not even close. you might find gervais's ribbing of pilkington distasteful but it isn't done with malice, you can sense he has a genuine affection for the guy and can see precisely what makes him so amusing.

as for idiot abroad, do a google with the words megaupload or filestube and it should be easy to find.

NI otm.

Watched the first Idiot abroad and yes it is very funny. Pilkington is definitely in on the joke, though I think his persona and his real personality are probably quite similar. To me he doesn't seem to be stupid, rather a guy with an extremely dry and fairly confrontational sense of humour.

And crucially he's not in the least bit frightened of coming across like a dick.

Ah, see, this sounds all OK. It is absolutely marketed as "lol at the stupid person who is stupid".

It's kind of like the Merton travel docs, except the presenter's bemusement isn't nearly as genteel.

NI otm. Also dickishness is what gets him attention. He's a showpony, he loves it.

The best part of Idiot is Karl's dry humour. There's a particularly memorable moment when he's floating in the Dead Sea and suddenly goes into a blind panic because someone's 'guzz' has found its way into his navel.

hehe i was already out-loud laughing when he thought it was a merely cig dimp, crippling pain when it was revealed to be gozz. unforgettable image of him flicking it out of his bellybutton then looking at the cameraman with outraged horror. same when he's grumbling about the litter flying about in the air in egypt: "they don't mention that in the brochure.. shitty old nappy flying through the air." he has amazing comic timing, how he doesn't crease up laughing himself is beyond me.

speaking of which i think i've only him laugh twice (once when germaine greer makes a joke about him having a shit, and once in a podcast when ricky gervais firebombs him with knobjokes). i almost don't want to know how much is an act and how much is genuine as it'll ruin the magic. im going to check out some of his older radio shows (with russell brand and early days with gervais/merchant) where apparently he's a bit different, more chatty and keen to laugh, so it's clearly an act that he's honed over time, with pointers from g&m no doubt.

best idiot abroad though, is episode 7 when he goes to stay with the tribe. like bruce parry magically replaced by one of your grumpy mates. too many brilliant moments in that one, i shan't do more spoilers.

sadly he's adamant there won't be a second series but fingers crossed the immense pressure that's bound to come from sky/ricky/the GBP will change his mind.

See, now I reckon he just sounds like Rhod Gilbert's flatmate in Ask Rhod Gilbert, and I've gone off the idea of watching again.

2nd episode of Idiot Abroad - the bit with the Swami is actually really sweet. Karl obviously liked him a lot.

'the trip' was sort of shit, really

oh gosh, fourth episode of The Trip - whole new spaces opening up, in between the folds. so lovely.

best thing on tv right now.

im going to check out some of his older radio shows (with russell brand and early days with gervais/merchant) where apparently he's a bit different, more chatty and keen to laugh, so it's clearly an act that he's honed over time, with pointers from g&m no doubt.

― NI, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 07:27 (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

He is exactly that. R & S would just chat idly to him between the music/ads and he'd be off-mic responding like a normal producer, laughing self-consciously etc. At once point he let fly with one of his lol observations (which clearly is the real Karl btw) and R very quickly responded with the whole 'you are an idiot' thing. It escalated rather quickly from there.

In a nutshell, it's clear that the Karl-idiot persona is 100% authentic Karl, but very much a magnified/high-frequency version of Karl for comedic effect. He knows it, he plays it up and he loves it.

once point = one point

Watched the 1st 3 episodes of The Trip last night, I'll watch the 4th episode tonight. Laughed a lot at Steve Coogan doing Popcorn on his throat. Really enjoying the antagonism/respect/envy etc thing going on with the principles, it's a lot of fun. It may be a little self indulgent, but I could watch those two dick about chatting bollocks for hours. The "pathos comedy is pathos" bits are a little tiresome and lazy, I hope they go somewhere with it by the end of the series. The shots of england being gorgeous is a bit tourist board, but still looks great in HD. Enjoyed in incongruity of Joy Division against england's green hills, reminded me of listening to Kraftwerk while driving through craggy scotland.

But yeh, best thing on telly atm by a long way.

oh gosh, fourth episode of The Trip - whole new spaces opening up, in between the folds. so lovely.

best thing on tv right now.

― sean gramophone, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 6:25 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

this isn't saying much tbh

the fourth ep had a few good jokes, but a lot of it was hateful. really not moved by the plight of shallow, uninteresting media folk like the photog, and i thought it was dickish to make brydon hit on the talentless, how-is-she-ever-employed woman from 'nathan barley', really out of character. after a good decade-plus run, the comedy of awkwardness thing has cashed its cheque many times over.

at least they didn't cast julia davis.

Enjoyed in incongruity of Joy Division against england's green hills

Liked the bit in the first episode where Atmosphere started up and I thought "lol soundtrack", then suddenly Brydon's voice cut in, "what the hell are you playing this for?"

the fourth ep had a few good jokes, but a lot of it was hateful. really not moved by the plight of shallow, uninteresting media folk like the photog, and i thought it was dickish to make brydon hit on the talentless, how-is-she-ever-employed woman from 'nathan barley'

You're not doing that "hates women in the media" image any favours here dude.

Did anyone else watching really think they were supposed to be moved by the plight of the photographer? She was there to make Coogan look like a guilty coke letch.

I thought having the women at the table worked because it changed the dynamic of the weird competitive friction between the two of them - Brydon trying-too-hard even more, Coogan looking alternately embarassed and jealous. But yeah, Brydon hitting on the PA at the end just didn't ring true with me at all.

The "tomorrow we leave at dawn!" bit in the car at the start was the best though.

About to watch ep 1 of this show but I'm worried now.

Really loved the fourth episode. I would say best episode by far, but this show's pleasures are so subtle that I may have just missed out in previous weeks (not that I disliked them, except for maybe sections of the second one, when I felt it was all a bit repetitive). But this was the week it really took off for me.

The pacing and editing on the restaurant scene was just brilliant. Loved loved loved the dynamics between the four of them.

Must say, the Brydon pounce was so weird I almost dismissed it as a joke.

I suppose you could read it as Brydon being a bit jealous of Coogan and trying to emulate him, but actually as a viewer I don't want him to be jealous of Coogan, I want him to be the comfortable assured foil to Coogan's weird insecure midlife crisis. Might be why they did it.

The "tomorrow we leave at dawn!" bit in the car at the start was the best though.

yeah this was immense

an internal siren goes off when i hear a comedy is so subtle large stretches of it are unfunny, tho

the reason i didn't like this one is mainly coz while the women being there changed the dynamic, i didn't like the way they changed it -- didn't believe brydon would be that much of a tit (even without hitting on the PA). it would have been better if the women had been more than an audience for the stars, but i guess 'irl' they have to fawn over the talent, so winterbottom gets his get out of jail free card there.

This was the first episode that really had me lolling, too.

What are the quote marks around "irl" doing? Is it that you're questioning whether that happens in real life, or being resentful about real life, or what?

I don't think fawning over the stars is a PA's job but whatever.

What are the quote marks around "irl" doing? Is it that you're questioning whether that happens in real life, or being resentful about real life, or what?

― Alba, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:15 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

it's because im uninterested in what's real, im interested in what's funny or true. the PA was a completely insipid non-character, the photog was boring -- and sad in a way the show didn't want to explore. couldn't they have been funny? i don't think the agent is either funny or accurate, but they at least try to make him a comedic character.

Given it's a comedy about comedians, I can see why they reduced them to substitute-audience, because throughout the series we've only seen them "performing" in front of an audience of one another.

oh gosh, fourth episode of The Trip - whole new spaces opening up, in between the folds

I have no idea what this means.

The "tomorrow we leave at dawn!" bit in the car at the start was the best though.

This was good, but went on too long, like much in this programme. I think I might prefer to watch the feature-length cut actually.

^^ yeah i've wondered about that