# Ricky Gervais: Nope **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081 "2019-09-12T01:26:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/21 "2019-09-12T13:45:24Z")
I like him but I agree he’s not very funny. But, there are things I’ve seen him in that I have humorous memories of, but I’m sure I didn’t laugh out loud at the moment. Like when he was on Louie as Louie’s doctor and he always tells him he has Aids or something. When I think about that it seems like it was pretty funny. But, I don’t think I laughed at the time. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/22 "2019-09-12T13:47:23Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > I like his comedy. Y’know, when I opened this thread I was afraid it be about how he’s “problematic” or offensive and has to stop doing his sets and apologize. The sort of thing most places on the internet seem to say about people they don’t like. It’s nice to find civilized dislike. When I opened this thread I thought it was about a new series he was in called “Nope” and I was intrigued. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/23 "2019-09-12T14:10:44Z")
I love him in The Office, Extras, Derek, Afterlife, An Idiot Abroad - he was even funny in that game show with the little kids. But I don’t like his standup. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/24 "2019-09-12T14:15:51Z")
I did like him in the Office, but I really like him in Derek. I was just going to say I might be the only board member that knows about this, but thought I better search before making the claim. Nope, I’m not the only one: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=702543&highlight=derek](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=702543&highlight=derek) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/25 "2019-09-12T21:18:06Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > The only time I laughed at Ricky Gervais was when he was with Jon Stewart and they were talking about screwing raccoons. > > And I was mostly laughing at Jon Stewart. This. I can still picture Gervais going up and down with his arms. ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/26 "2019-09-12T22:03:23Z")
He’s a comic genius, in my eyes. I was brought up on a council estate just as I was, dirt poor. I see him as a great social commentator. Watch Derek, actually sit and watch it. It’s beautiful. As is the way he speaks of his upbringing. He’s not ashamed of it. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/27 "2019-09-12T22:03:41Z")
I can’t stand The Office, which just made me wince, and I steered clear of the later sitcoms also. But I saw him doing standup a couple of months ago and he was hilarious. Strange. j ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/28 "2019-09-12T22:13:23Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I can’t stand The Office, which just made me wince, and I steered clear of the later sitcoms also. But I saw him doing standup a couple of months ago and he was hilarious. > > Strange. > > j The British version of the office is hilarious imo. His stand up is amazing as are his podcasts. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/29 "2019-09-12T23:13:02Z")
I know nothing of Ricky Gervais, but [is the Will Kempe character in the Shakespeare players in the BBC show _Upstart Crow_ really like him?](https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-05-02/new-ben-elton-comedy-about-shakespeare-takes-a-pop-at-ricky-gervais/) I think that character (played by Spencer Jones, about whom otherwise I also know nothing) is funny. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/30 "2019-09-13T16:58:56Z")
He’s funny once in a while and not funny quite often and just awful, bad, horrible a surprising amount of time. _Extras_ was a classic example of bad humor. He used what I call the “man in the green hat joke” a ton of times. The idea is this: The Idiot says something like: “You know what I hate, men who wear green hats.” etc. Of course just then a man with a green hat walks by, is offended, The Idiot cringes, etc. A trite, stale, predictable joke category and it’s Gervais’ stock-in-trade on _Extras_. He also overdoes the “embarrassment” humor like too many British people. Oh, I just said/did something embarrassing, time to cringe and wince, and now I’ll be embarrassed about being embarrassed so I can drag this dumb thing out even longer. Stephen Merchant also relies on this stale trope. One would think after Spike Milligan and Monty Python British comedy would have steered towards fresh, original humor. But even Cleese went retrograde with _Fawlty Towers_. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/31 "2019-09-13T18:02:59Z")
I enjoyed his stand up. The TV shows, not to much. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/32 "2019-09-13T19:31:23Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > One would think after Spike Milligan and Monty Python British comedy would have steered towards fresh, original humor. But even Cleese went retrograde with _Fawlty Towers_. Sometimes, I don’t don’t even know what to say to such Grandpa-like rantings. Monty Python did inspire lots of new lines of comedy but you’re asking “why didn’t all other types of comedy die?” Because people think it’s funny, that’s why not. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/33 "2019-09-13T21:48:22Z")
I wish to keep the lines clear between the person and the work as well. I’ve never seen any of his Britcoms like Office, so I can’t say anything about those. I saw some promos for Afterlife and that looked OK, but I never did find that series here in the US. I didn’t look that hard. Didn’t he host the Oscars once? Or one of those award shows. I watched that for a while, found him very funny part of the time, but more often cringeworthy. Maybe because he grins at his own jokes too much (if you’re going to skewer someone, I prefer deadpan). Maybe because he was going after cows that are sacred to me, I don’t remember details, just that I stopped watching well before halfway. I’ve seen him on Graham Norton a few times, and have never liked what I saw there. If that is the real him vs. being his “work” then I don’t think much of him as a person, he seems very full of himself. If that is his “work” then again, mostly not funny. Compare that to Stephen Merchant. Perhaps I prefer self-deprecating to vicious. I don’t think I have ever seen him when he wasn’t “on” so I can’t say if he is really kind and warm and sweet or whatever other qualities he is alleged to have. In conclusion, I guess my jury is still out on his work, if something crossed in front of me I might watch it to find out more, but I’m not going out of my way to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/34 "2019-09-13T22:46:52Z")
The first time I saw his [Noah’s Ark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6omFJhKr6o) bit, I laughed so hard I could hardly breathe. I’m usually pretty well in sync with his sense of humor, but I can understand that he may not appeal to everybody. Which is fine. A comedian nobody dislikes is probably not a very good comedian. ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/35 "2019-09-14T09:27:29Z")
New waver [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZxV5b60mI_k/hqdefault.jpg "Embarrassing 80's - Ricky Gervais & Seona Dancing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxV5b60mI_k) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/36 "2019-09-14T15:20:26Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sometimes, I don’t don’t even know what to say to such Grandpa-like rantings. Monty Python did inspire lots of new lines of comedy but you’re asking “why didn’t all other types of comedy die?” Because people think it’s funny, that’s why not. So preferring newer stuff to older stuff makes one a grandpa? Right. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/37 "2019-09-14T15:21:47Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I’ve seen him on Graham Norton a few times, and have never liked what I saw there. If that is the real him vs. being his “work” then I don’t think much of him as a person, he seems very full of himself. If that is his “work” then again, mostly not funny. Compare that to Stephen Merchant. Perhaps I prefer self-deprecating to vicious. That seems strange to me, being “full of himself” seems absolutely to be an act. The central theme of “Extras” was a ordinary guy who gets a big break, starts to act like the big man and alienates his friends before coming to his senses. I don’t think you write something like that without at least a degree of self-awareness. Heck, in the series he got David Bowie to seranade him with a song that mocks him and his lust for fame. To be honest, all the celebrity appearances in Extras hinge upon them playing exaggerated and piss-taking versions of themselves, playing up their idiocy and often their self-importance. That seems to be be clearly what Gervais does to himself as well. I confess it surprises me when others don’t see that. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/39 "2019-11-01T03:23:34Z")
Reported. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081/41 "2019-11-05T21:44:05Z")
Reported [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricky-gervais-nope/840081.md?page=1)