I’ve just watched the Ricky Gervais Netflix special. If you haven’t seen it yet, then I’d give it a miss.
There’s a school of thought that he’s a writer rather than a standup but, on the basis of this, he can’t even write: he peppers the act with vaguely controversial observations about “wokery” which he is incapable of turning into an actual joke and constantly falls back onto lame stereotypes.
I was actually bored half way through and ended up browsing on my phone.
I did notice that there’s a new Trevor Noah special on, so I’m hoping that turns out better.
I know it isn’t not new, but I finally got around to EDIT - Russian Doll last week. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but it just never grabbed me, but finally gave it a try. It is really good. It’s a good take on the time loop concept, but also just genuinely funny and well done. At least the first season is. Will give the second season a go in a few weeks.
I forget which comedian I heard say it, but the point made was that a lot of comedy is about the dance made around “the line”. Where the line is doesn’t matter, what matters is the craft that goes into teasing people into venturing up to it. His point was then that the comedians who complain about comedy “going woke” and “not being able to say anything anymore” are the ones who either stepped too far and didnt do the core comedian thing of recalibrating the joke, or the ones who have become too tired and lazy to bother with the dance.
I don’t think there are many things that can’t be joked about. But you at least have to put the effort and hard work in to make it funny and make it clear which way you are punching, and what the butt of the joke is.
No, Jimmy Carr. That doesn’t mean shrugging your shoulders and making a funny face.
Ricky Gervais is a classic example of a comedian who is terrified of ‘them’ telling him he can’t say something any more, while not really understanding that he can say whatever he wants if he makes it genuinely funny and fair.
As always with these things, they are at railing against being cancelled. They are raining about consequences.
It was a weird juxtaposition to be aware of the reaction Gervais was getting for this new standup at the very same time as feeling warmly nostalgic at realizing it was the 20th anniversary of Tim and Dawn finally getting together in the christmas special.
Shane Gillis’ success and positive reception really puts a dampener on all those comedians whose whole act has become “you can’t joke about anything anymore”.
A comedian whose success was largely achieved after being “cancelled” for the content of his older stuff. Yet again evidence that even legit cancellations (as in his was fired from SNL) are just not career ruining events for people who just go back to work.
And its not like he changed his style or anything, he just worked at honing his craft so he can make the jokes work.
His Netflix special is brilliant but he still touches controversial jokes - hes just actually doing it in a funny way not spending the whole time complaining that his previous jokes have been badly recieved.
I think this in part goes back to something @RedWhippet already picked up on - he has never really been seen as a comedian (at least a stand-up variant) but as a comedy writer who does stand up - and I think most stand-up comics think of him as doing that quite poorly…
I remember when Channel 4 used to do these listical type TV shows “100 greatest albums”, “100 greatest films” etc and have talking heads come on to talk about each one. It’d last like 3 hours.
I seem to recall them putting Ricky Gervais in the Top 10 of Greatest Stand Up Comedians of all-time (after his first stand up show!).
I think that was also the TV show that inspired Stewart Lee’s next tour to be called “The 41st Greatest Stand-Up” after his ranking on the show.