@davyjames I think Gervais losing it is more of a reference to his constant atheist propaganda and assumptions that people are attacking Life's Too Short because its offensive rather than accepting that its utter shite. @tebyanian252 is right, life is imitating art and he's morphed into the prick David Brent was
I love all the people saying Gervais is losing it because of this video... NEWSFLASH: this was filmed BEFORE he wrote The Office and Extras... explain that geniuses?
who the F is Stewart Lee and why the F are we talking about Stewart effing Lee on a Ricky Gervais video, if you don't like Ricky then F off, Ricky makes comedy that is funny to him. A whole bunch of people happen to have the same sense of humor as Ricky and Steve, and they are called Ricky fans and do not have to justify anything to anyone.
I'm not a huge fan of the whole "Derek" idea, but it certainly has the potential to be another heart-wrenching story that will make me change my mind. We'll see.
I'm a massive fan of Gervais (and Merchant and Karl etc) but this is just weird. I don't hate it or like it, it's just very weird, not really funny, just fucking weird.
PS Shut the fuck up about offensiveness and what is and what isn't. It's just boring now.
I see potential in this. The character has probably (hopefully) evolved over the last 10 years and the show will probably be less about the cheap one-liners and more about the character. In worst case he could do a show about one of his more three-dimensional characters instead. How about Holy Fuk?
I thought of Barry Humphries' Sandy Stone character ... but Gervais always pushed the transgression thing back to his 11 O'Clock Show days. The intention here is unclear, maybe to him as well.
So I take it all of you people who are so against this will be going straight over to all of Angelos Epithemiou's videos to voice similar protests...?
to be honest, this type of humor will never be funny because it is always drawing humor from the fact that someone is disabled and the way their disability makes them act. if it was a disabled person doing other things that were independently funny, just the way an abled person would, then yes. but this type of humor will always be gross, unfunny and offensive. also, ricky gervais isn't funny anyway, so that makes it even worse.
if you want to see a proper character representation in a similar light, look at robert Popper's Baal character in Bellamy's People. He is like many of the people with high functioning Autism/ Aspergers. He manages to recreate the amusing peculiarities of mental disorder without ridicule or baseness.
@mushroom1212 That's because your thick. By not making them a subject of comedy you are marginalising those with disabilities even more. They hate sympathy, it's more patronising and more degrading than comedy. Have a look a ponseman watch?v=v2PGNZ1tbwk or the female stand-up Francesca Martinez - does it make you uncomfortable watching these people? Good, that's what clever humour and art do: they challenge society.
@phisean *you're. I don't mind that it is about a disabled person, I just don't find this particular sketch funny. Also, I'm a bit ashamed of myself for correcting your grammar, usually I hate that, but you did make the error in a sentence about your assumption that I was thick.
@mushroom1212 Your grammatically correct, but dyslexia doesn't make you thick. Failure to grasp the point might. The point Gervais finds funny is the unique POV people who are different have. Idiot Abroad is the same POV; a guy that's visiting some of the wonders of the world and rather than presenting the usual tourist enthusiasm, Karl gives a very unique and no less true perspective, though maybe not totally logically coherent; hence the idiot part, he doesn't marginalise but embraces people.
@phisean I like how you have chosen to ignore the whole point of my second comment. I didn't claim that you were thick, I was amused at the context in which you made the error. As I have already said, that wasn't something I'd usually point out. I like Ricky Gervais, I understand the reasoning behind this sketch and why it is supposed to be amusing, and enjoy comedy in general regardless of the topic. However, I did not find this particular video funny. Nothing to do with it being a disabled guy
@mushroom1212 Fair enough, like how some people take Morris's dancing seriously but the majority find it comical. I find Gervais and especially Stuart Lee very funny, but they both demand intelligence else you take them seriously. not get what they are doing and not find it funny. Chris Morris is less subtle in his humour and I find him less funny, merely clever, but in the same ballpark. That is all. The way Lee de constructs observational humour is genius.
@phisean To call Stewart (not Stuart) Lee a genius is going a bit far. People are to quick to lavish the genius tag these days.
Lee is great, of course he is, but limited. Morris has shown that he can be diverse and multifarious. And he's even created new genre of comedy.
Gervais on the other hand has lost it. Life imitates art, and he's become the Andy Millman character from the Christmas Extra's special. His new show is as funny as the one he parodied.
@sevensixsixtwo If you listen to the podcasts (Which iv'e listened to evey one) He hasn't changed since the Office. If you would not be so thick, you would not judge him on his tv persona.
@GaringCat Of course I understand the humour, anyone could. As I said, 'The Office' was probably the greatest sitcom of all time. I'm sorry you're so bitter about something, not quite sure what! If you can't see that he's changed and cant understand that, then it's fine :-)
@GaringCat You've listened to every one of his podcasts and we're supposed to take your comment seriously? Try reading or expanding your brain every once in a while, and then give an opinion.
I don't agree with everything the OP said, but fuck me, at least he's not being a baby because someone disagrees with him.
@Nobbheader2 It's that he is saying it likes it's a fact, when really it's just his judge of Ricky Gervais's character.
I'm not obsesst with Ricky Gervais or anything, I just hate it when people just believe everything they read in the press and spout it out like it's fact.
this is not funny for no other reason than a complete lack of any form of character acting. boom. there you go, critique in less than twenty words. but seriously, mutha fucka cant act (in this role) btw the brackets were for fanboys, everyone else knows he cant act period. (because he has no vagina) boom again etc.
I don't really find Ricky Gervais funny, but I believe that comedy should have no taboos. You can't pick one thing and say "You're not allowed to make fun of this.", everything should be treated the same, because inevitably, people are going to break those rules anyway. Those who want this type of humour can enjoy it, those who don't can avoid it, simple.
Ricky could push a down syndrome down some stairs then run to the bottom and set it on fire and I'd laugh. I laugh at everything the man does. Fuck Richard herring, fuck the guardian and fuck god. cunts.
My brain is in knots trying to work out if I'm here because I'm a part time Gervais fan who's been searching for this for ages or if I'm a part time Lee observer who wants to see his clever clever public put the boot in. One thing I do know, if Ricky gets Alzheimer's in 25 years time, Mr Dilkington (a mate of his for the Lee crowd) should go round with a camera crew and document his attempts at writing a new one man show. Should be funnier than Life's Too Short.
I'm a fan of Gervais and Stewart Lee, and I saw this Derek thing quite a while ago. I didn't particularly like it then and I still don't think it's very good. I love most of Ricky's stuff but this is definitely weak for him. I hope he doesn't develop it further.
The question is not whether this is offensive, comedy can be very offensive and very funny but this is weak and tedious, especially for Gervais. You'd think he'd have more sense than to release this but he seems to be increasingly transforming into one of his own grotesque creations.
Shame, The only bit that was fresh and made me chuckle was when he picked up the bottle and said "Squid", apart from that i think i've heard it all before on 'Animals' and the early podcasts. saying that i do still think he's a funny and intelligent comic with a lot of past success to back that up.
And anybody finding this offensive to the disabled is looking at it the wrong way... You just don't get it! may i recommend some Lenny Henry?
@YouNewb100 In fairness, this was pre-animals and it was unreleased until way after animals, so he probably didnt think reusing material would get noticed.
I used to work in a shop where a regular customer was openly stalking the actress Pauline Quirke. He'd show me photographs he’d taken of her, and describe (in a booming monotone voice) the circumstances in which he’d taken them. Undoubtedly, this guy had mental health issues. But did that stop me taking the piss out him once he’d left the shop? No. Should it have done? Hmm.
My point is; I think Derek Noakes is supposed to be a send-up of a personality type, rather than a handicapped person.
This isn't offensive e it's just tedious... This is nothing like a comedy rendition of someone with learning difficulties it's just like Ricky gervais being a cock... It's no great departure from his regular image
The problem is - is this isn't a 'good' i.e. a true or realistic representation of people with learning difficulties. Instead its a decent impression of people's ideas/prejudices of what a person with learning difficulties is like. It may well be that this is a far to subtle portrayal for Gervais's fans to understand.
I think this misses the mark. It's not pointing up taboo with delicious irony, it's abusive. Gervais is a premium comedy talent but it's to much to extend the courtesy that here again, he knows what he's doing. His brilliance doesn't need to be pushed to such extremes to prove itself. His excellence would be just as obvious if it mellowed a little.
Alright boy?That wasn't very good.I'm with Mr Lee on this one.Least Ricky decided to pursue doing David Brent rather than this or things coulda been alot different...
@unknownpleasures100 Put as gently as I can - irony is that you felt the need to explain the comedy - perhaps explaining/understanding this poorly represented topic might be better use of ones/ RG's time. - who needs more help? the thousands of disabled struggling to function in the system or one overpaid comedian who, as we have seen in the past, is capable of much better work? If this offends please accept my apologies in advance.
@stuarttrewern He is well aware of the issues surrounding disability. He once said in an interview that he only feels he can make jokes that he fully understands the background behind. Often the aim is, by doing so, to make fun of those who perpetuate the prejudices.
When an actor who doesn't have to use a wheelchair uses a wheelchair, there's some offence about not using the talented actors who are in wheelchairs. However, generally people are okay with it, because its representation.
But this... what the fuck. Learning disabilities aren't things to be made fun of. I'm all for whacky humor and also talking openly about sexual abuse, but this... thing making fun of people with learning difficulties, what a monumentally stupid and crass thing to do.
The Office was pure, diamond-tipped genius, and still stands as such today. Extras relied upon the Celebs, but was funny because this. Life's Too Short (so far as episode 1 can be any indication of the whole) is an unfunny Extras with a few slightly uncomfortable jokes about height thrown in for good measure. This is something else. How is it ever okay to make a joke out of sexual abuse, when it appears the joke is on a man without mental capacity? All my respect for Gervais is gone.
Does no-one read uploaders' info? This was made in 2000. It was an early attempt to move on from the "11 o'clock show". It didn't work out for him (well, it never really was going to be a big comedy vehicle, was it). Instead, they went for "The Office".
The fundamental problem with portraying a stupid or mentally disabled person is that there's unlikely to be a great number of things you could do with the character. You'd just offend people who cared and leave those who didn't unimpressed.
Truly dreadful, surely the creator of The Office and Extras can't be proud of this monstrosity? If this was intended to be of comedic value it is a failure, and a failure that is offensive, lazy and impotent. If it was intended as a serious piece, it was all the more lazy, offensive and impotent. Unimpressed, a rare blip for Gervais. Please keep up the GOOD work and perhaps take on board what Stew has said - his point in entirely valid in this spectators opinion.
@pilkipediaTV Understood! Just saying that the material is fine, but the character doesn't improve it. It was a good move to drop the character and just let the material stand on its own strengths.
Sometimes you have to make mistakes to grow, but you don't grow without admitting you've made mistakes.
Agree completely with @syknyk101 This isn't overly offensive. It just isn't funny either, at all. If Stewart Lee wants to have a go let him. Gervais has proved with his live shows and The Office that he is talented. This isn't funny. It's painful.
@totalroar I think if he played the character a lot more straight people would find more of the jokes funny, but the unease that he may be mocking the disabled just puts people off altogether.
Compare it to Peter Kay's 'Leonard', which managed to do this but actually be funny and strangely moving. Gervais's take on the same subject is just mocking and cruel, and a lot less funny.
At least Gervais openly mocks people and admits to it being funny. Nothing worse then a public liberal who proclaims him the anti-Christ then has a little chuckle when no ones looking. It's comedy, not politics! He can do what he wants when he wants, just like you or me! If you don't like it you don't have to watch.
Why all the 'he used to be funny', 'its time to give up Gervais' comments? This clip is looks pretty old, it says so in the bloody caption and its proper analog cathode ray crappy quality. Plus the joke about the bald rabbit in Grandad Charlies magic hat, doesn't he use that in Politcs? So I'll bet this predates that. And Robbie Williams as his favourite thing, gotta be late 90's early 00's. Use your heads people!!
Ricky Gervais is a vile human being with no thought for what vulnerable people go through every damn day of their life. Taking the piss out of them, even if you say it's ironic, is a cruel, spiteful way of showing off your comedy 'genius'.
Shit like this is making me start to think that Stephen Merchant was the real brains behind 'The Office' and 'Extras'. I mean, how can someone who wrote something so funny then go and do something this unfunny?
Anyone who knows the work of both men can tell that Merchant wrote the bulk of "The Office". Gervais just happened to be unusually suited to the role of David Brent. Almost everything he did before and after that show was and has been shite. This video is a good case in point. What a load of old bollocks.
Suppose Gervais takes us all for 'haters', which perhaps we are, but wonder if he'll ever progress to asking himself why we hate this sort of rubbish.
It seems that you have to be "offended" by something these days to not find it funny. This just isn't very good. It isn't even good acting. At all. If it was a mate doing this I'd just tell him to stop being a tit.
I used to be faintly surprised that no one was 'offended' by Malcom, Mrs Merton's son in the sitcom who was clearly backward, or whatever you want to call it. This reminds me of that. Gervais has lost it anyway. NEXT!
gervais excuse will be that in the end we will feel empathy with this character and our laughs will be with him and not at him, well fuck you fat little sap
ITS FUNNY COS HE IS DISABLED AND I LIKE LAUGHING AT DISABLED PEOPLE, LET'S ALL LAUGH AT DISABLED PEOPLE IT'S SO FUNNY HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAAH AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
This is why you should never put anyone on a pedestal. Immediate stardom and a seemingly unrequitting, undying loving worship isn`t the fault of the likes of Gervais.
Would the real Ricky Gervais please stand up? Is it the man funny enough yet also emotionally intelligent enough to produce the genius tragi-comedy of The Office, or this video certainly seems to indicate...a rich bully getting cheap, cruel laughs from an adoring fan base of fellow bullies by taking the piss out of "mongs". I really don't know.
A documentary on Joey Deacon aired on TV in the early 80's.The name 'Joey'was used in playgrounds to scorn anyone with poor coordination, lack of sports prowess, general low achievement at school, or odd facial features or ticks. I thought it was hilarious at the time, it was so catchy and whipped everyone into a frenzy of gurning and chants of 'Joey Jooooeeeey err uh uh'. My nephew (aged 10) has aspergers - are kids now sensitive enough not to make his life a misery with constant heckling?
Memo to Ricky Gervais: If you're going to do humour that some people will find offensive, you'd better make it damn funny, or you'll just look like a nob. This one failed the test.
If you dont treat people with learning difficulties as equals among your community or even nationwide then your are branded a bad person.
so could someone please explain why people think jokes of this nature are wrong? they should be accepted into every aspect of our society and need only to be protected from REAL abuse instead of people feeling they have to pussyfoot around them out of fear of offending someone! WE'RE ALL HUMANS!
Before watching this I thought Gervais was an intelligent comedian, but anyone who creates humor through making fun of people with disabilities does not deserve any such accolade.
Very confidence-boosting and life-affirming for everyone who's moved out and can feel superior to Derek, and laugh at him. What most of you don't seem to realise, it that this is tragedy, not comedy.
This really shouldn't offend anyone, these are the characters that Ricky makes. Derek is very strange and appears to have some sort of mental disability, and yes it may seem that the laughs are cheap, but that is really not the end of the story. He is also a lovable little guy, you feel his pain and you want him to do well. He is a very unique person and if Ricky were to further develop Derek you would only realize that he is not someone to make fun of, he is someone to love and cherish.
people saying its dissing peoplw with mental health issues just look at mr bean ...very popular ,was this trouble around when that first came out? lighten up and shut up
@davyjames I think Gervais losing it is more of a reference to his constant atheist propaganda and assumptions that people are attacking Life's Too Short because its offensive rather than accepting that its utter shite. @tebyanian252 is right, life is imitating art and he's morphed into the prick David Brent was
funkyknight1 2 months ago
I love all the people saying Gervais is losing it because of this video... NEWSFLASH: this was filmed BEFORE he wrote The Office and Extras... explain that geniuses?
davyjames 2 months ago
who the F is Stewart Lee and why the F are we talking about Stewart effing Lee on a Ricky Gervais video, if you don't like Ricky then F off, Ricky makes comedy that is funny to him. A whole bunch of people happen to have the same sense of humor as Ricky and Steve, and they are called Ricky fans and do not have to justify anything to anyone.
tebyanian252 2 months ago
@tebyanian252 You can say fuck.
TheMungDuffins 2 months ago
I'm not a huge fan of the whole "Derek" idea, but it certainly has the potential to be another heart-wrenching story that will make me change my mind. We'll see.
KittiMitties 2 months ago
Squid!
Rosvolainen 2 months ago
Why all the hate? I love it!
CrashBangAdam 2 months ago
Why didn't he do this before Life's to Short? cos thats been SHITE so far.
leethomas172 2 months ago 2
robin williams or robbie?
abbigeorgia 2 months ago
Who the fuck is Stewart Lee??
And, this is pretty funny.
LeamanProductions 2 months ago
This is so old he's thin. Holy shit.
IVIegadude 3 months ago
Comment removed
Scottbarclay24 3 months ago
I'm a massive fan of Gervais (and Merchant and Karl etc) but this is just weird. I don't hate it or like it, it's just very weird, not really funny, just fucking weird.
PS Shut the fuck up about offensiveness and what is and what isn't. It's just boring now.
LukeGriffths121 3 months ago
This is from 2000, you fucking mongs.
ImBoyCryWolf 3 months ago
That was a bit of nothing.
gabiotta 3 months ago
Again, what happened between Stewart Lee and Gervais?
Blackbookz 3 months ago in playlist Liked videos
I can't help thinking Paddy Considine could do this a lot better...
WhatR2D2Saw 3 months ago 2
I see potential in this. The character has probably (hopefully) evolved over the last 10 years and the show will probably be less about the cheap one-liners and more about the character. In worst case he could do a show about one of his more three-dimensional characters instead. How about Holy Fuk?
Rosvolainen 3 months ago 7
@Rosvolainen awwww, hurro, hurro!
pilkipediaTV 3 months ago
I wonder if Gervais is losing it. The Gary Shandling thing, the mong thing, a Derek Noakes series .... He has a kamikaze side.
kgs42 3 months ago
No ... not funny but perhaps not intended to be.
I thought of Barry Humphries' Sandy Stone character ... but Gervais always pushed the transgression thing back to his 11 O'Clock Show days. The intention here is unclear, maybe to him as well.
kgs42 3 months ago
full circle
ppauly 3 months ago
Fuck sake, when people say Ricky Gervais isn't funny, I'd always disagree. If they saw this, I'd have no defence.
StupidShinigami 3 months ago
This makes Jim Davidson's "Chalky" character look like a work of comedy genius.
fac191 3 months ago
So I take it all of you people who are so against this will be going straight over to all of Angelos Epithemiou's videos to voice similar protests...?
HopeThisWorksNow 3 months ago
to be honest, this type of humor will never be funny because it is always drawing humor from the fact that someone is disabled and the way their disability makes them act. if it was a disabled person doing other things that were independently funny, just the way an abled person would, then yes. but this type of humor will always be gross, unfunny and offensive. also, ricky gervais isn't funny anyway, so that makes it even worse.
lmfaogetrock 3 months ago
@lmfaogetrock You didn't find The Office or Extras funny? What do you find funny?
DannyFC 3 months ago
if you want to see a proper character representation in a similar light, look at robert Popper's Baal character in Bellamy's People. He is like many of the people with high functioning Autism/ Aspergers. He manages to recreate the amusing peculiarities of mental disorder without ridicule or baseness.
lurcherleon 3 months ago
I watched this because I read about it in Stewart Lee's article. This isn't funny, but Stewart Lee is still an annoying unfunny twat :)
mushroom1212 3 months ago
@mushroom1212 That's because your thick. By not making them a subject of comedy you are marginalising those with disabilities even more. They hate sympathy, it's more patronising and more degrading than comedy. Have a look a ponseman watch?v=v2PGNZ1tbwk or the female stand-up Francesca Martinez - does it make you uncomfortable watching these people? Good, that's what clever humour and art do: they challenge society.
phisean 3 months ago
@phisean *you're. I don't mind that it is about a disabled person, I just don't find this particular sketch funny. Also, I'm a bit ashamed of myself for correcting your grammar, usually I hate that, but you did make the error in a sentence about your assumption that I was thick.
mushroom1212 3 months ago 2
@mushroom1212 Your grammatically correct, but dyslexia doesn't make you thick. Failure to grasp the point might. The point Gervais finds funny is the unique POV people who are different have. Idiot Abroad is the same POV; a guy that's visiting some of the wonders of the world and rather than presenting the usual tourist enthusiasm, Karl gives a very unique and no less true perspective, though maybe not totally logically coherent; hence the idiot part, he doesn't marginalise but embraces people.
phisean 3 months ago
@phisean I like how you have chosen to ignore the whole point of my second comment. I didn't claim that you were thick, I was amused at the context in which you made the error. As I have already said, that wasn't something I'd usually point out. I like Ricky Gervais, I understand the reasoning behind this sketch and why it is supposed to be amusing, and enjoy comedy in general regardless of the topic. However, I did not find this particular video funny. Nothing to do with it being a disabled guy
mushroom1212 3 months ago
@mushroom1212 Fair enough, like how some people take Morris's dancing seriously but the majority find it comical. I find Gervais and especially Stuart Lee very funny, but they both demand intelligence else you take them seriously. not get what they are doing and not find it funny. Chris Morris is less subtle in his humour and I find him less funny, merely clever, but in the same ballpark. That is all. The way Lee de constructs observational humour is genius.
phisean 3 months ago
@phisean To call Stewart (not Stuart) Lee a genius is going a bit far. People are to quick to lavish the genius tag these days.
Lee is great, of course he is, but limited. Morris has shown that he can be diverse and multifarious. And he's even created new genre of comedy.
Gervais on the other hand has lost it. Life imitates art, and he's become the Andy Millman character from the Christmas Extra's special. His new show is as funny as the one he parodied.
sevensixsixtwo 3 months ago 16
@sevensixsixtwo If you listen to the podcasts (Which iv'e listened to evey one) He hasn't changed since the Office. If you would not be so thick, you would not judge him on his tv persona.
GaringCat 2 months ago
@GaringCat A nice response from you there. Thanks for that, very mature :-)
If you can't see that he's changed then what can I say? The writing has clearly changed. He's become a parody of himself.
sevensixsixtwo 2 months ago 4
@sevensixsixtwo Nope. Your'e wrong I'm afraid. You are a very bad judge of character. If you don't understand his humour then thats fine.
GaringCat 2 months ago
@GaringCat Of course I understand the humour, anyone could. As I said, 'The Office' was probably the greatest sitcom of all time. I'm sorry you're so bitter about something, not quite sure what! If you can't see that he's changed and cant understand that, then it's fine :-)
sevensixsixtwo 2 months ago 4
@GaringCat You've listened to every one of his podcasts and we're supposed to take your comment seriously? Try reading or expanding your brain every once in a while, and then give an opinion.
I don't agree with everything the OP said, but fuck me, at least he's not being a baby because someone disagrees with him.
Nobbheader2 2 months ago 3
@Nobbheader2 It's that he is saying it likes it's a fact, when really it's just his judge of Ricky Gervais's character.
I'm not obsesst with Ricky Gervais or anything, I just hate it when people just believe everything they read in the press and spout it out like it's fact.
GaringCat 2 months ago
Meh. I don't mind "edgy" humour, but this isn't funny. It's shite.
Useless2112 3 months ago
this is not funny for no other reason than a complete lack of any form of character acting. boom. there you go, critique in less than twenty words. but seriously, mutha fucka cant act (in this role) btw the brackets were for fanboys, everyone else knows he cant act period. (because he has no vagina) boom again etc.
tmnnerd 3 months ago
I don't really find Ricky Gervais funny, but I believe that comedy should have no taboos. You can't pick one thing and say "You're not allowed to make fun of this.", everything should be treated the same, because inevitably, people are going to break those rules anyway. Those who want this type of humour can enjoy it, those who don't can avoid it, simple.
VxmikeyxV 3 months ago
Ricky could push a down syndrome down some stairs then run to the bottom and set it on fire and I'd laugh. I laugh at everything the man does. Fuck Richard herring, fuck the guardian and fuck god. cunts.
rybekdesign 3 months ago
wow, so poor for Gervais. If you're going to rip learning disabilities it's got to be way better than this. This is just lazy.
microscopic 3 months ago 2
Please may somebody link me to the origins of this Stewart Lee v Ricky stuff?
Blackbookz 3 months ago
My brain is in knots trying to work out if I'm here because I'm a part time Gervais fan who's been searching for this for ages or if I'm a part time Lee observer who wants to see his clever clever public put the boot in. One thing I do know, if Ricky gets Alzheimer's in 25 years time, Mr Dilkington (a mate of his for the Lee crowd) should go round with a camera crew and document his attempts at writing a new one man show. Should be funnier than Life's Too Short.
KangoTV 3 months ago
I'm a fan of Gervais and Stewart Lee, and I saw this Derek thing quite a while ago. I didn't particularly like it then and I still don't think it's very good. I love most of Ricky's stuff but this is definitely weak for him. I hope he doesn't develop it further.
honkhonk23 3 months ago 2
not good.
MrSheepworrier 3 months ago
It's just Ricky Gervais. With an underbite.
bbmcgee33 3 months ago
The question is not whether this is offensive, comedy can be very offensive and very funny but this is weak and tedious, especially for Gervais. You'd think he'd have more sense than to release this but he seems to be increasingly transforming into one of his own grotesque creations.
imnothere24 3 months ago
Shame, The only bit that was fresh and made me chuckle was when he picked up the bottle and said "Squid", apart from that i think i've heard it all before on 'Animals' and the early podcasts. saying that i do still think he's a funny and intelligent comic with a lot of past success to back that up.
And anybody finding this offensive to the disabled is looking at it the wrong way... You just don't get it! may i recommend some Lenny Henry?
YouNewb100 3 months ago
@YouNewb100 In fairness, this was pre-animals and it was unreleased until way after animals, so he probably didnt think reusing material would get noticed.
TheRandyChimp 3 months ago
@TheRandyChimp I see, didn't know that. wish he did more like this as it looks like he has fun doing these short sketches.
YouNewb100 3 months ago
@YouNewb100 dont think a full sketch show like this would work, but I know what you mean.
TheRandyChimp 3 months ago
I used to work in a shop where a regular customer was openly stalking the actress Pauline Quirke. He'd show me photographs he’d taken of her, and describe (in a booming monotone voice) the circumstances in which he’d taken them. Undoubtedly, this guy had mental health issues. But did that stop me taking the piss out him once he’d left the shop? No. Should it have done? Hmm.
My point is; I think Derek Noakes is supposed to be a send-up of a personality type, rather than a handicapped person.
neonatalpenguin 3 months ago
This isn't offensive e it's just tedious... This is nothing like a comedy rendition of someone with learning difficulties it's just like Ricky gervais being a cock... It's no great departure from his regular image
gratex 3 months ago 5
This= Not funny. Stewart Lee= Funny
bobbystips 3 months ago 16
@bobbystips Stewart Lee isnt funny. He is however right a high proportion of the time.
Derm1991 3 months ago
@Derm1991 I'll give it to you straight, like a pear cider that's made from 100% pears- Stewart Lee is funny.
bobbystips 3 months ago
The problem is - is this isn't a 'good' i.e. a true or realistic representation of people with learning difficulties. Instead its a decent impression of people's ideas/prejudices of what a person with learning difficulties is like. It may well be that this is a far to subtle portrayal for Gervais's fans to understand.
Sileceisgolden 3 months ago
I think this misses the mark. It's not pointing up taboo with delicious irony, it's abusive. Gervais is a premium comedy talent but it's to much to extend the courtesy that here again, he knows what he's doing. His brilliance doesn't need to be pushed to such extremes to prove itself. His excellence would be just as obvious if it mellowed a little.
simazar 3 months ago
Alright boy?That wasn't very good.I'm with Mr Lee on this one.Least Ricky decided to pursue doing David Brent rather than this or things coulda been alot different...
chocice 3 months ago
This isn't meant to be L O L type comedy you idiots.
unknownpleasures100 3 months ago
@unknownpleasures100 I was forgetting how fantastically underground Ricky Gervais is.
videowifie 3 months ago
@unknownpleasures100 Put as gently as I can - irony is that you felt the need to explain the comedy - perhaps explaining/understanding this poorly represented topic might be better use of ones/ RG's time. - who needs more help? the thousands of disabled struggling to function in the system or one overpaid comedian who, as we have seen in the past, is capable of much better work? If this offends please accept my apologies in advance.
stuarttrewern 3 months ago
@stuarttrewern He is well aware of the issues surrounding disability. He once said in an interview that he only feels he can make jokes that he fully understands the background behind. Often the aim is, by doing so, to make fun of those who perpetuate the prejudices.
unknownpleasures100 3 months ago
Next to Russel Bland's stand up this is comic genius.
dschesters 3 months ago
I love how in the tags you have included: "Stewart Lee, outraged Guardian readers, ban this sick filth"
NaheemBashir 3 months ago
When an actor who doesn't have to use a wheelchair uses a wheelchair, there's some offence about not using the talented actors who are in wheelchairs. However, generally people are okay with it, because its representation.
But this... what the fuck. Learning disabilities aren't things to be made fun of. I'm all for whacky humor and also talking openly about sexual abuse, but this... thing making fun of people with learning difficulties, what a monumentally stupid and crass thing to do.
derdriui 3 months ago
The Office was pure, diamond-tipped genius, and still stands as such today. Extras relied upon the Celebs, but was funny because this. Life's Too Short (so far as episode 1 can be any indication of the whole) is an unfunny Extras with a few slightly uncomfortable jokes about height thrown in for good measure. This is something else. How is it ever okay to make a joke out of sexual abuse, when it appears the joke is on a man without mental capacity? All my respect for Gervais is gone.
lurcherleon 3 months ago 2
FUCK STEWART LEE!
Lukeeeeo 3 months ago
Ricky Gervais is obviously very bored
soash20 3 months ago
This isn't all that different from Ricky Gervais as Ricky.
HenryMonmouth 3 months ago
He did it 11 years ago. Not that any of you fuckers did anything 11 years ago that you might not be so proud of today.
N4TH4NJ4Y 3 months ago
Totally devoid of comedy.
SonicShock1 3 months ago
Peter Kay's done this except his characters were funny. Gervais is the most overrated "comedian" in history.
m4rk15 3 months ago
Does no-one read uploaders' info? This was made in 2000. It was an early attempt to move on from the "11 o'clock show". It didn't work out for him (well, it never really was going to be a big comedy vehicle, was it). Instead, they went for "The Office".
The fundamental problem with portraying a stupid or mentally disabled person is that there's unlikely to be a great number of things you could do with the character. You'd just offend people who cared and leave those who didn't unimpressed.
anonUK 3 months ago
Not his [*ahem*] best work
fistofonan 3 months ago
it's funny because he's pretending to be mentally ill! lol! i see what he did there!
muffmanmuff 3 months ago 2
Truly dreadful, surely the creator of The Office and Extras can't be proud of this monstrosity? If this was intended to be of comedic value it is a failure, and a failure that is offensive, lazy and impotent. If it was intended as a serious piece, it was all the more lazy, offensive and impotent. Unimpressed, a rare blip for Gervais. Please keep up the GOOD work and perhaps take on board what Stew has said - his point in entirely valid in this spectators opinion.
josephpricey 3 months ago 2
Half these jokes are in Animals. It gains nothing from the character work. Weird that.
JunkerJames 3 months ago
@JunkerJames Well this pre-dates Animals, so that may explain it.
pilkipediaTV 3 months ago
@pilkipediaTV Understood! Just saying that the material is fine, but the character doesn't improve it. It was a good move to drop the character and just let the material stand on its own strengths.
Sometimes you have to make mistakes to grow, but you don't grow without admitting you've made mistakes.
JunkerJames 3 months ago
@pilkipediaTV I don't think that was his point
Artie0293e09 3 months ago
Agree completely with @syknyk101 This isn't overly offensive. It just isn't funny either, at all. If Stewart Lee wants to have a go let him. Gervais has proved with his live shows and The Office that he is talented. This isn't funny. It's painful.
BlueBlood859 3 months ago
I like it. Needs a bit of work. Get some celebrity guest stars and some self-referential mentions about the industry and there's a winner here.
Gr3ant 3 months ago
@pikipedia TV I think it's only fair you add a Stewart Lee tag
thomzas 3 months ago
Thanks for the hits Stew.
pilkipediaTV 3 months ago 22
@pilkipediaTV
lol
chris22110 3 months ago
@pilkipediaTV i came here from your tumblr blog post :)
pkConda 3 months ago
A big welcome to all you socially-conscious Guardian readers.
pilkipediaTV 3 months ago 49
@pilkipediaTV hiya! It is isn't very funny though is it? Im all for a spaz joke but this is not funny.
totalroar 3 months ago 10
@totalroar I think if he played the character a lot more straight people would find more of the jokes funny, but the unease that he may be mocking the disabled just puts people off altogether.
pilkipediaTV 3 months ago 3
@pilkipediaTV Gervais is a great (ok, good) comedian but a terrible actor. He can't "do" anyone other than Ricky Gervais.
dtttttth 3 months ago 2
Watching this with the sound turned off is like watching a boring Mr Bean.
thewraith93 3 months ago 3
Compare it to Peter Kay's 'Leonard', which managed to do this but actually be funny and strangely moving. Gervais's take on the same subject is just mocking and cruel, and a lot less funny.
heyzecore 3 months ago 4
There's been a mistake - someone tagged this as comedy.
buddhafish69 3 months ago 5
There's no actual mention that Derek is disabled in this video. Maybe he's just an idiot?
badash00 3 months ago
@badash00 Yeah, "maybe he's just an idiot."
thewraith93 3 months ago
At least Gervais openly mocks people and admits to it being funny. Nothing worse then a public liberal who proclaims him the anti-Christ then has a little chuckle when no ones looking. It's comedy, not politics! He can do what he wants when he wants, just like you or me! If you don't like it you don't have to watch.
craigdevlin1 3 months ago
It's good to represent the disabled in a comedy piece as to ignore and not include this group is to say they don't exist - which is possibly worse.
danielpolak77 3 months ago
Tell me when the funny bit starts.
robcutforth 3 months ago
Guardian readers are mongs!.
HopeThisWorksNow 3 months ago
This is the funniest thing I have ever wanted to unsee in my life. It's not offensive to anybody apart from Gervais. It's ballicks.
MrAGB83 3 months ago
this is better !!! 64X0eFbWUCU
benofkent 3 months ago
Why all the 'he used to be funny', 'its time to give up Gervais' comments? This clip is looks pretty old, it says so in the bloody caption and its proper analog cathode ray crappy quality. Plus the joke about the bald rabbit in Grandad Charlies magic hat, doesn't he use that in Politcs? So I'll bet this predates that. And Robbie Williams as his favourite thing, gotta be late 90's early 00's. Use your heads people!!
racheljg1 3 months ago
It's funny and poignant. A lot of the criticism seems to come from the type of people who get their opinions read served up by the media.
This is far from being the first time that someone with less than average intelligence has been used for comedic purposes. Anyone watched Mr Bean?
BTW, ltsaint911, I came here from a link in the Guardian. I think you are confusing us with Daily Mail readers.
rojash 3 months ago
Ricky Gervais is a vile human being with no thought for what vulnerable people go through every damn day of their life. Taking the piss out of them, even if you say it's ironic, is a cruel, spiteful way of showing off your comedy 'genius'.
katedeaves 3 months ago
mong! hahahaha
saltemann 3 months ago
first ricky gervais thing i've seen which isn't funny at all, gutted
seedysonics 3 months ago
Oh, a swarm of unoriginal Guardian-readers in the comments section. I could tell you were Guardian-readers because you're all miserable and hateful.
ltsaint911 3 months ago
Shit like this is making me start to think that Stephen Merchant was the real brains behind 'The Office' and 'Extras'. I mean, how can someone who wrote something so funny then go and do something this unfunny?
GiantSandles 3 months ago
Anyone who knows the work of both men can tell that Merchant wrote the bulk of "The Office". Gervais just happened to be unusually suited to the role of David Brent. Almost everything he did before and after that show was and has been shite. This video is a good case in point. What a load of old bollocks.
1984ekul 3 months ago
Suppose Gervais takes us all for 'haters', which perhaps we are, but wonder if he'll ever progress to asking himself why we hate this sort of rubbish.
jrowen81 3 months ago
Is this new !! How is this even funny !! What an idot !!
AlphaDog147 3 months ago
Gervais you are an arse. You used to be funny. Tragic.
thegollys 3 months ago 2
Is this supposed to be funny? Can someone tell me which bits?
valderamma69 3 months ago
It seems that you have to be "offended" by something these days to not find it funny. This just isn't very good. It isn't even good acting. At all. If it was a mate doing this I'd just tell him to stop being a tit.
jcjohncurtis 3 months ago
I used to be faintly surprised that no one was 'offended' by Malcom, Mrs Merton's son in the sitcom who was clearly backward, or whatever you want to call it. This reminds me of that. Gervais has lost it anyway. NEXT!
pollmeister 3 months ago
It's neither offensive nor funny. Probably why none of us have seen it sooner.
syknyk101 3 months ago 42
Comment removed
BerryHogan 3 months ago
gervais excuse will be that in the end we will feel empathy with this character and our laughs will be with him and not at him, well fuck you fat little sap
podger9999 3 months ago
It's not actually very entertaining, is it?
David Brent was a great comic creation. Everything else he's done is cack.
CharlesEngelmann 3 months ago
ITS FUNNY COS HE IS DISABLED AND I LIKE LAUGHING AT DISABLED PEOPLE, LET'S ALL LAUGH AT DISABLED PEOPLE IT'S SO FUNNY HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAAH AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
goldfishwars 3 months ago
@goldfishwars Wheres richard the hamster hammond when you need him.
jayshiz 3 months ago
Oh dear looks like Stewart Lees sent a load hummus eating guardian readers this. way.
I fail to see any difference between this character and Gervais is normal person.
jayshiz 3 months ago
Stewart Lee complaining about internet trolls made me write this: "Gervais, have a word with yourself. This is toilet."
jmewhyte 3 months ago
This is why you should never put anyone on a pedestal. Immediate stardom and a seemingly unrequitting, undying loving worship isn`t the fault of the likes of Gervais.
Stop idolising people for fucks sake!!!
PhilipPorter 3 months ago
at last people realise the emperor has no clothes? Talentless waste of space.
rorshach13 3 months ago 8
at last peop
rorshach13 3 months ago
Respectfully, a waste of great intelligence.
poetperson1 3 months ago 2
Give up Gervais.
Give.
Up.
kevinmatthewjones 3 months ago 5
Would the real Ricky Gervais please stand up? Is it the man funny enough yet also emotionally intelligent enough to produce the genius tragi-comedy of The Office, or this video certainly seems to indicate...a rich bully getting cheap, cruel laughs from an adoring fan base of fellow bullies by taking the piss out of "mongs". I really don't know.
clevergirllovesyou 3 months ago 4
Please move to America for good, don't come back. Just not funny at all. You've lost the plot mate.
clarky8888 3 months ago 5
This isn't offensive, just embarrassingly unfunny. Gervais is a prat
seanyboyrebel 3 months ago 3
Run Derek, run!
Rosvolainen 3 months ago
[Tongue in bottom lip] Derrrr, Joey.
TheDoosh79 3 months ago
A documentary on Joey Deacon aired on TV in the early 80's.The name 'Joey'was used in playgrounds to scorn anyone with poor coordination, lack of sports prowess, general low achievement at school, or odd facial features or ticks. I thought it was hilarious at the time, it was so catchy and whipped everyone into a frenzy of gurning and chants of 'Joey Jooooeeeey err uh uh'. My nephew (aged 10) has aspergers - are kids now sensitive enough not to make his life a misery with constant heckling?
chunkbutler1 3 months ago
Memo to Ricky Gervais: If you're going to do humour that some people will find offensive, you'd better make it damn funny, or you'll just look like a nob. This one failed the test.
Terraxos 3 months ago
Ricky Gervais has become a rather tragic figure.
mathnawi21 3 months ago
Guy just loves taking the piss out of "mongs" doesnt he?
jsmash10 3 months ago
Grim. Do the dance Ricky, go on, do the bloody dance.
Rubbish,
WrestleTheDecibel 3 months ago 5
If you dont treat people with learning difficulties as equals among your community or even nationwide then your are branded a bad person.
so could someone please explain why people think jokes of this nature are wrong? they should be accepted into every aspect of our society and need only to be protected from REAL abuse instead of people feeling they have to pussyfoot around them out of fear of offending someone! WE'RE ALL HUMANS!
philcollinz666 3 months ago
Gervais is really hit or miss with his comedy. This missed except the rabbit in the hat part. That even has been done before though.
jparkeriv 3 months ago
anyone tell me what the piano music at the end is called? been racking my brains for hours...
philpowpow 3 months ago
@philpowpow Trouble by Coldplay
benhudson18 3 months ago
Loved the Uncle Charlie's rabbit gag!
CaptainSmeg 3 months ago
Haha, look at all of the people getting offended. Got nothing better do do, eh?
xILambyIx 3 months ago
Such an insufferable prick...
myHEADisAtv 3 months ago 4
Before watching this I thought Gervais was an intelligent comedian, but anyone who creates humor through making fun of people with disabilities does not deserve any such accolade.
HannahSolMusic 3 months ago
Very confidence-boosting and life-affirming for everyone who's moved out and can feel superior to Derek, and laugh at him. What most of you don't seem to realise, it that this is tragedy, not comedy.
BitzanBobs 3 months ago
Is this supposed to be funny?
jonthemagicmelon 3 months ago
This really shouldn't offend anyone, these are the characters that Ricky makes. Derek is very strange and appears to have some sort of mental disability, and yes it may seem that the laughs are cheap, but that is really not the end of the story. He is also a lovable little guy, you feel his pain and you want him to do well. He is a very unique person and if Ricky were to further develop Derek you would only realize that he is not someone to make fun of, he is someone to love and cherish.
SiriusFisherman 3 months ago 8
Comment removed
jackarts 3 months ago
If you want a great comedy, watch The Hunt For Blair, total genius!
jackarts 3 months ago
Comment removed
jackarts 3 months ago
lol "lobster crab"
jgcfc58 3 months ago
Loving the use of Trouble by Coldplay at the end. I wonder if they took permission for that
funkyknight1 3 months ago
*wiggles fingers*...lobster-crab.
bigboots 3 months ago
@bigboots hahahha. you clocked that too.,...ahhaha
MrMarkBartlett 3 months ago
Comment removed
bigboots 3 months ago
Who cares if the laughs are cheap? If it makes you laugh, surely it's a good comedy?
des0connor 4 months ago
Brilliant.
undrugged 4 months ago
lol did make me giggle a bit. What the piece of music called at the beginning?x
TheBerht 4 months ago
@TheBerht
gymnopedie #3 by erik satie - one of the most beautiful pieces of music - gymnopedie #1 is very famous, you'll recognise it
tripe2004 3 months ago
What a mong. Tee hee
larrybagina 4 months ago
people saying its dissing peoplw with mental health issues just look at mr bean ...very popular ,was this trouble around when that first came out? lighten up and shut up
bensimps123 4 months ago
"ive got one for one foot in the grave"
"i dont believe it."
JHamilton44