# Simpsons 3/26 - Featuring and written by Ricky Gervais **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980 "2006-03-26T18:50:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/41 "2006-03-27T14:35:55Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > **jjimm** : Watch _any_ episode of “Extras” and you will find that “joke” in it. If you want to defend Gervais’s career, at least watch a few of his shows. Old chap, I’ve watched everything Ricky Gervais has ever produced, from way back when he was on the _11 O’Clock Show_ and I couldn’t stand him. Silly hyperbole aside, I do concede that a) this scenario did happen on the Ross Kemp episode of _Extras_, and b) _Extras_ is definitely not his best work. That said, since you also dislike Larry David - whom I also think is a genius - this must be merely a matter of taste and not worth pursuing, since there’s no objective measure. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/42 "2006-03-27T15:02:45Z")
Great ep. Not the best of all time, but damn funny. And **ftg** switch to decafe slick. If all you want to do is decry the show, and those who think its funny, do it, and leave. No need to come back just to complain some more. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/43 "2006-03-27T15:31:56Z")
> [@Dob](#): > > And **ftg** switch to decafe slick. If all you want to do is decry the show, and those who think its funny, do it, and leave. No need to come back just to complain some more. Good point, I fully agree. However, I am somewhat curious – if **ftg** hates Ricky Gervais, Larry David, Seinfeld (by entension); surely despises Fawlty Towers (predictable situations), Blackadder (predictable), even the Marx Brothers – what, pray tell, does he consider the height of comedy? Or maybe he just steers clear of that whole sticky quagmire…Oooh chimpanzee that! Bart: Help me cameraman! I let you smoke a cigarette in my room! Cameraman: That was a joint. And I have a name, it’s Doug. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/44 "2006-03-27T16:30:24Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > Good point, I fully agree. However, I am somewhat curious – if **ftg** hates Ricky Gervais, Larry David, Seinfeld (by entension); surely despises Fawlty Towers (predictable situations), Blackadder (predictable), even the Marx Brothers – what, pray tell, does he consider the height of comedy? Or maybe he just steers clear of that whole sticky quagmire…Oooh chimpanzee that! > > Bart: Help me cameraman! I let you smoke a cigarette in my room! > Cameraman: That was a joint. And I have a name, it’s Doug. Right: I was curious to see what ftg thinks is funny as well. Also, he didn’t just come to complain some more–note he was responding to comments in the thread. He was continuing the conversation. Ftg, I’ve never seen Curb Your Enthusiasm, but your description does not suffice to show that it is not funny. I am pretty sure it’s not so much supposed to be funny _that_ Larry is misunderstood and messes up when trying to clarify it. It’s funny _how_ Larry is misunderstood and messes up when trying to clarify it. In other words, what’s funny is not the broad description of the event, but rather, the experience of watching it unfold. Bad actors with bad timing, given a bad script by a bad writer, could screw up a situation like the one you describe and make it unfunny. Talented actors with good timing, given a good script by a good writer, can make a situation like the one you describe extremely funny. “Predictibility” doesn’t _automatically_ make something un-funny. Especially if what’s predictible is merely a very broad description of what’s going to happen. I can predict the ending of every Aristocrats joke. That doesn’t make them unfunny. Of course, its _really_ good when someone comes up with something really funny which no one would ever have seen coming. It’s just not _required_ that this be done in order for something to be funny. As I said, I’m curious to know what you think is funny. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/45 "2006-03-27T16:47:19Z")
> [@Dob](#): > > And **ftg** switch to decafe slick. If all you want to do is decry the show, and those who think its funny, do it, and leave. No need to come back just to complain some more. So those who thought the episode sucked are only allowed one post per thread, while those who didn’t are not limited to one? That’s an interesting interpretation of how message boards work. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/46 "2006-03-27T16:53:59Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > “Predictibility” doesn’t _automatically_ make something un-funny. Especially if what’s predictible is merely a very broad description of what’s going to happen. Indeed. There’s a classic sketch in _The Fast Show_ where a perpetually unfortunate character explains that there’s a hole further down the road, and knowing his luck he’ll probably fall into it. The rest of the sketch is just him walking slowly down the street - before the inevitable happens. Though written down it doesn’t sound funny at all, it’s one of the most hilarious things I’ve seen. It’s down to the quality of the actor, the script, and immaculate comic timing. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/47 "2006-03-27T18:07:15Z")
> [@](#): > > So those who thought the episode sucked are only allowed one post per thread, while those who didn’t are not limited to one? That’s an interesting interpretation of how message boards work. Yup. Seems easy enough eh? ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/48 "2006-03-27T18:28:13Z")
Never quite understood what the motivation is with the people who just come in to these threads and just compain about the poor quality of whatever the subject is. It’s not just the Simpsons, but seemed to come up all the time in the Matrix threads. Someone starts a thread asking a plot-related question and invariably someone comes in to say that the whole thing is preposterous and the second two movies were terrible (or don’t even exist). Similarly with Star Wars – always somehow boils down to Lucas’s bowel movements or Jar Jar Binks. Don’t get me started on the Family Guy threads. A little different in this case since we are actually discussing reactions to the particular episode. You’re fully entitled to your opinion, so you come in here and say the episode was crap, the show’s been crap for the last 6 years, and Ricky Gervais is crap. OK. Opinion noted. Anything else? What more can you say? Keep in mind, I’m someone who was particularly underwhelmed by the episode, considering my newfound regard for Gervais. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/49 "2006-03-27T19:06:56Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Eh, that was pretty funny. Better than most Simpsons these days. I felt just the opposite. I’ve quite liked this season, and this was my least favorite episode in quite some time. I didn’t know the husband was being voiced by Ricky Gervais until I saw the end credits, but I’ve never seen any of his shows, so I doubt it would make it any more funny for me if I had known that. Some of the jokes, like his genie one, seemed like a long, pointless, unfunny waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/50 "2006-03-27T19:25:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Some of the jokes, like his genie one, seemed like a long, pointless, unfunny waste of time. Very definitely agree. Pepper Mill and I tried to watch **the Office** one night, and couldn’t do it. We are definitely not their target audience. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/51 "2006-03-27T19:58:52Z")
> [@Dob](#): > > Yup. Seems easy enough eh? If you adhere to this philosophy your time here may not be the happiest. If you (or if **Jayrot** ) want a Simpsons 3/26 Appreciation thread, in which only glowing comments about the episode are allowed, then you’re free to start one. Otherwise, you’re just going to have to suffer along with this one and find a way to deal with the idea that the same person might actually make two (or even more) negative posts. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/52 "2006-03-27T20:16:07Z")
Chalk me up as another one who hated this episode. I’ve enjoyed every other episode I’ve seen but this one left me slack-jawed and wondering, “Huh?” The live opening was great though. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/53 "2006-03-27T20:25:55Z")
Not because I have anything to say but just for the sake of providing one additional data point, I’ll come in and say I found this episode to be… about average. Neither particularly good nor particularly bad. If I hadn’t known ahead of time that there was a “special guest writer” I wouldn’t have suspected that there was anything special about it. I enjoyed it, and laughed at a few things, and nothing really made me wince, but it was hardly Comedy Gold. And for the record I’m aware of who Gervaise is but have never seen _The Office_ or anything else he’s been involved in before. (Except for reading the page in _Entertainment Weekly_ where he picked his five favorite Simpsons episodes.) ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/54 "2006-03-27T20:36:59Z")
> [@Amok](#): > > Some of the jokes, like his genie one, seemed like a long, pointless, unfunny waste of time. Wasn’t that sort of the whole point? Meta-joke? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/55 "2006-03-27T20:54:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Wasn’t that sort of the whole point? Meta-joke? Why did he hit us with it, multiple times? Is the idea that if you keep repeating an unfunny meta-joke it becomes funny? Never works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/56 "2006-03-27T20:57:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Why did he hit us with it, multiple times? Is the idea that if you keep repeating an unfunny meta-joke it becomes funny? Never works for me. That, and that his character thinks _this_ is the way to win marge over. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/57 "2006-03-27T21:36:55Z")
I thought this was a great episode, very funny. Except at the end it fell flat a bit. I haven’t seen 10 minutes of the British version of “The Office”. I could not figure out whose voice that was. My best guess was Mick Jagger, but the voice didn’t sound old enough, and when he sang I was sure it wasn’t Mick. Then at the ending credits I saw Ricky Gervais and thought to myself “Ok, never heard of him…” ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/58 "2006-03-27T22:06:27Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Indeed. There’s a classic sketch in _The Fast Show_ where a perpetually unfortunate character explains that there’s a hole further down the road, and knowing his luck he’ll probably fall into it. The rest of the sketch is just him walking slowly down the street - before the inevitable happens. Though written down it doesn’t sound funny at all, it’s one of the most hilarious things I’ve seen. It’s down to the quality of the actor, the script, and immaculate comic timing. Ohh, _bugger_. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/59 "2006-03-27T23:05:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Why did he hit us with it, multiple times? Is the idea that if you keep repeating an unfunny meta-joke it becomes funny? Never works for me. Whattaya gonna do? Snakes on a plane, man. Snakes on a plane. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/60 "2006-03-27T23:19:10Z")
I had no idea who was doing the voice of the other husband–for some reason I thought it was Eddie Izzard–and I’ve never seen _The Office,_ so I believe I came to the episode with no preconceived notions. That said, I found the episode to be consistently funny, a notch above many of the episodes of recent years. Given that I also liked the “stories with stories” episode from a couple of weeks back, I’m almost ready to say that the show is on a hot streak. I don’t know what the haters were seeing, but I’m encouraged. And I might even look into checking out a few episodes of _The Office._ And that beginning sequence was awesome. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980.md?page=4)