# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**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, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/61 "2006-03-27T23:29:35Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > . I don’t know what the haters were seeing, but I’m encouraged. The haters are seeing the continued manifestation of everything that’s been wrong with the show – flavor of the month guest stars, absurd and unrealistic characters, etc. The lovers are seeing a glimmer of hope that the show can once again return to it’s greatness – taking each joke on it’s own, when they’re pretty funny (e.g. Homer’s report on CSI Miami). ---
**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:** [March 28, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/62 "2006-03-28T04:04:23Z")
I noticed years ago a funny thing in disputes with a Certain Type of Person. They would invariably falsely accuse me of doing what they themselves were doing. E.g., they would refuse to budge on their position in the least and so they would call me obstinate for only offering a partial comprise instead of agreeing with them 100%. So… **Dob** , **Jayrot** : I don’t drink _any_ caffeinated beverages at all. None. Zip. Zilch. Methinks you two are the ones who need to lay off the Buzz cola. Hint for defaming a person on a message board in the future: If the poster mentions falling asleep, then perhaps you should have thought of going the _other_ direction. If you’re going to fire a shot, at least use the right ammo. Sheesh. I also note the “great leaps of pure guessing” people are making. I still like the Simpsons quite a bit. In particular I _loved_ “The Seemingly Never-Ending Story” and posted here in response to the thread about that episode. Lots and lots of false assumptions being made here. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/63 "2006-03-28T05:05:38Z")
“Defaming a person on a message board” ? :rolleyes: Lay _on_ the coffee perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/64 "2006-03-28T05:40:07Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > 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._ I assume you mean the BBC version. It’s not for everyone, as is clear from some of the above posts, but I happen to think it could be the best television sitcom ever created. If you enjoyed the humor of this episode, I’d guess you would respond to _The Office_. The lead character is Ricky Gervais’s “David Brent” - essentially the husband from this episode but at work - but the real joy of the series are the other supporting characters. The episodes are a half hour and I’d recommend watching at least a couple of them to see if you like the humor or not. I think it just gets better as you keep going. And, because there are only 14 episodes in the entire series, you can watch the whole thing in a weekend if you like it. I’ve only seen a couple of episodes of the NBC version. It’s not bad. It has a lot of the same timing, mood and spirit as the BBC version, but I haven’t fallen for the characters in the same way. [/hijack] ---
**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 28, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/65 "2006-03-28T17:11:57Z")
> [@vaderspal](#): > > I assume you mean the BBC version. It’s not for everyone, as is clear from some of the above posts, but I happen to think it could be the best television sitcom ever created. If you enjoyed the humor of this episode, I’d guess you would respond to _The Office_. The lead character is Ricky Gervais’s “David Brent” - essentially the husband from this episode but at work - but the real joy of the series are the other supporting characters. The episodes are a half hour and I’d recommend watching at least a couple of them to see if you like the humor or not. I think it just gets better as you keep going. And, because there are only 14 episodes in the entire series, you can watch the whole thing in a weekend if you like it. > > I’ve only seen a couple of episodes of the NBC version. It’s not bad. It has a lot of the same timing, mood and spirit as the BBC version, but I haven’t fallen for the characters in the same way. > > [/hijack] Yeah, I think I’ll take a look, especially at only 14 episodes. I will, as they say, check my local listings. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/66 "2006-03-28T19:12:35Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > Wasn’t that sort of the whole point? Meta-joke? It may very well be, but the overall effect still has to be funny, right? Otherwise, it’s not a successful joke. And I didn’t find it funny. It reminded me of some of the things they do on _Family Guy_, where they stretch out a joke well beyond how long you think it would normally last (e.g. Peter fighting with a giant chicken, or Stewie asking Brian about his novel), and the absurdity of how long the joke is lasting, and how it messes with your sense of comic timing, makes it funny. The classic Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes bit is another example of that. But that doesn’t mean every joke of that type is going to work. And for me, the genie joke fell flat. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/67 "2006-03-28T21:51:38Z")
I think my problem was that a cartoon Ricky doesn’t painfully embarrasss me the way the real one does. If I had seen the guitar overbite IRL, I would’ve been laughing and cringing. The cartoon one? Slightly amused me, but only because I was picturing Ricky. I can see why someone that wasn’t a Ricky fan wouldn’t be bowled over ny this epi. I’m going to watch it again and see if it’s any better upon reviewing. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/68 "2006-03-28T22:19:11Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > Yeah, I think I’ll take a look, especially at only 14 episodes. I will, as they say, check my local listings. The BBC Office is available on DVD. It is a total of 4 discs including 1 of only special features (season 1) - which are amusing but skippable - and the Christmas Special which completes the series. The Christmas special is the best (2-part) episode, IMO. Available for rent or purchase at establishments both IRL and on the Interwebs. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/69 "2006-03-28T23:56:08Z")
Could someone please explain the scene with the Irish maid. ---
**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 29, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/70 "2006-03-29T01:24:34Z")
> [@vaderspal](#): > > The BBC Office is available on DVD. It is a total of 4 discs including 1 of only special features (season 1) - which are amusing but skippable - and the Christmas Special which completes the series. The Christmas special is the best (2-part) episode, IMO. > > Available for rent or purchase at establishments both IRL and on the Interwebs. Or at my local library. I just placed the hold for the season 1 discs. Thanks for the heads up. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/71 "2006-03-29T05:04:40Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > Could someone please explain the scene with the Irish maid. The kid’s being tormented by having to spend a boring/morose night with his drunken housekeeper while his dad tries to bed Marge. If there’s more to it than that, then I’m not getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/72 "2006-03-29T05:22:01Z")
> [@](#): > > **Originally Posted by ftg** > Gervais’s “humor” is the classic “see it coming 10 light years away” British crap. Expect every single “joke” to be a) predictable, b) already done by the usual hacks (Benny Hill, Two Ronnies, etc.). > [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Wow. That’s like equating […] Curb Your Enthusiasm with Carol Burnett and Friends. That’s an unfairly harsh comparison, IMO. From what I’ve heard, _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ can be quite an amusing little show. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980/73 "2006-03-29T15:11:06Z")
> [@BraheSilver](#): > > The kid’s being tormented by having to spend a boring/morose night with his drunken housekeeper while his dad tries to bed Marge. If there’s more to it than that, then I’m not getting it. I think that it was also supposed to be some sort of joke about the Irish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-26-featuring-and-written-by-ricky-gervais/349980.md?page=3)