RB-Scotland Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Having a child's grasp of theology and taking pictures of yourself in the bath was probably getting old tbf. You could see the beginning of the end in the second series of Extras when he was adding a soundtrack to highlight if the scene was a sad one and using it as a platform to share his own opinions on everything. The episode with Kate Winslet and the Big Brother episode are probably the best examples of the latter. I'd have to disagree, loved the second series of Extras(would even say the finale rivals that of The Office), and I thought the soundtracks were used well, particularly the montage of clips of Maggie falling around in the mud working as an extra while Andy's driving around and playing tennis with Jonathan Ross, set to Wouldn't It Be Good, as well as the scene set to The Smiths in the finale. I didn't really have a problem with the way he used the show to broadcast his own views, but I suppose it's easy to say that when I found it all pretty agreeable. I think it's after that that the success went to his head a bit. Derek's fine if a bit 'one-note' and self-congratulatory, but Life's Too Short, despite having some funny Extras-style scenes with the celebrity cameos, was dreadful; felt really mean-spirited, lazy and seemed to be written around Ricky's ego. Warwick's quite funny but making him into a Brent rip-off was just the wrong way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stimpy Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Every time I see Gervais on anything he appears to be channeling his David Brent, one trick pony and the trick is shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Genuinely thought this was a spoof designed to look shit. WTF is the laugh he never did that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim O'Grady Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Time will tell I suppose but I'm excited to see it return. I know what point FF was trying to make, but one laugh from a joke didn't feel like acceptance for Brent in the last episode IMO. It wrapped up the Dawn and Tim nicely but for me I didn't feel Brent had finally saw the light or been accepted in the way he hoped. I can only assume Gervais thought something similar as he's hardly coming back with Brent as he's strapped for cash and he hasn't got a record of milking a series just because it's doing well. With regards to Gervais's other works. Who didn't think Extras was a success?? I thought it was brilliant and in all honesty, the Big Brother monologue from Andy had me in tears more than The Office ending tbh. It was excellent. Derek for me was a success as well in all honesty. I don't think it was ever supposed to be an out and out comedy as there were some real issues raised with regards to the way some folk view care homes. It was another series that did tug the heartstrings at times. I'm somewhat of a Gervais fanboy but I've every faith in him. I've never watched a Gervais production that I've not at the very least 'liked'. ^^^This. I will watch it & who knows maybe it will be shit. But I'll give it a chance. The Office was a brilliant piece of work that seemingly most here are in agreement with. We are all 10+ years older. I think it's quite clever of him to reach out to the next generation & for those that haven't seen TO they've got the opportunity to find it out for themselves. I can't see the trailer giving his best gags, otherwise there's no point going to see it. I understand the "shouldn't go back" argument but Brent was a very funny character. RG has done plenty of other stuff since so I think it will be interesting to see DB now & how he's developed, obviously he's got to be recognizable. I rate RG highly not quite on the same platform as Peter Kay yet but not far off. If it turns out to be shit I'll hold my hand up but I'm hoping it won't be, suppose it's purely sentimental. Grimbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmothecat Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Perhaps it's pure genius from Gervais. He's turning himself into one of his own creations by becoming so desperate to repeat success that his own self-awareness is eroded. He is Brent in reverse. Or he's desperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Every time I see Gervais on anything he appears to be channeling his David Brent, one trick pony and the trick is shit. You're at it. David Brent is roundly lauded as one of the greatest comedy characters of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 You're at it. David Brent is roundly lauded as one of the greatest comedy characters of all time. My issue with Brent (apart from I can't stand Gervais) is that the character hasn't evolved. Take Alan Partridge for example, Coogan has kept changing the set up and as a result, in my opinion anyway, the character still seems as fresh as it did nearly 20 years ago. I am biased somewhat in that I did like The Office up until it became apparent that he wasn't really acting and just playing a thinly disguised version of himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stimpy Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 You're at it. David Brent is roundly lauded as one of the greatest comedy characters of all time. The problem is it's the same joke all the time, everything I've seen Gervais do it looks like a variation on Brent. As I said, a one trick pony regardless of how roundly he is lauded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 I don't think his Andy Millman and David Brent characters are even remotely similar tbh. Or Derek for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throbber Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Looks shit but don't see the harm in it coming out, the Office is still a thing of the past and I doubt any of the previous characters will be mentioned so it won't tarnish the series in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim O'Grady Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 I don't think his Andy Millman and David Brent characters are even remotely similar tbh. Or Derek for that matter. They all look similar, like they could be related? Grimbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The OP Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 I am biased somewhat in that I did like The Office up until it became apparent that he wasn't really acting and just playing a thinly disguised version of himself. What a load of shite. Next you'll be telling us with unwavering certainty that Merchant was the brains behind The Office and clearly the better writer, despite the fact he also wrote 'Hello Ladies'. Gervais criticism bingo. Aye Derek and some of his more recent work is shite, but David Brent is a brilliant character. And, aside from sharing a face with him (which has been pointed out) he is very little like Gervais. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throbber Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 I have seen Gervais himself say that Brent is a parody of himself, like a version of himself if he was socially unaware of how ridiculous his thoughts/behaviour was. Probably how quite a lot of posters on here act tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetwiseHercules Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 I loved the Office and Extras. The XFM podcasts too. But since Extras Gervais has been poor. He's lost touch with the reality that gave him his source material. When I see him at the Golden Globes or whatever doing that lazy thing of "hilariously" slagging of celebrities I just feel sad. Hope this is a return to form but I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergie's no1 fan Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 I loved the Office and Extras. The XFM podcasts too. But since Extras Gervais has been poor. He's lost touch with the reality that gave him his source material. When I see him at the Golden Globes or whatever doing that lazy thing of "hilariously" slagging of celebrities I just feel sad. Hope this is a return to form but I doubt it. The XFM stuff is brilliant. There is still some folk that think Karl Pilkington is a made up character . Not really a fan of idiot abroad and all of that but the radio show and podcasts were incredible. So have Steve Merchant and Ricky Gervais fell out? They must have. If Merchant was involved with this movie I'd be much more excited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB-Scotland Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 The XFM shows are superb, it's completely absurd the stuff they were getting away with on an afternoon radio show. Aye I think they have fallen out, I read a while back that Karl had anyway, and I remember in an interview with Steve, when Ricky/Life on the Road got brought up, he just said something along the lines of "I don't know what he's up to nowadays". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I'm not sure anybody thinks Karl Pilkington is made up. He certainly plays up to his persona though and will be at least partially scripted on idiot abroad etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB-Scotland Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 He's definitely much more self-aware than he used to be, and shows like An Idiot Abroad are a mixture of putting him in situations where they know his reactions will be funny, and having him go back to talking about things he's spoke about before on XFM and the podcasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamdunk Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 While I liked those podcasts, they do come across as the bully, the bully's mate egging him on and the bullied. Was that the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetwiseHercules Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Just coming back to this trailer again, I can't believe how bad it is and how far it is from what made Brent funny and endearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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