3 posts tagged “comedy”
So we're half way through the second season of Ricky Gervais' Extras and quite frankly, while it's not terrible, it is certainly one of the most self indulgent comedy shows I've ever seen. Gervais' character is the writer of a popular yet shit sitcom and he gets to hangout with celebs and go to awards shows. It's very off putting to know that the writers are sitting at their computers and saying "this how we might have been if we weren't comedy geniuses."
What makes this show even harder to enjoy is that the writers have a very limited range of voices resulting in different characters all sounding the same. Oh look here's Chris Martin and he sounds like Ricky Gervais being Chris Martin. Here's Orlando Bloom sounding like Ricky Gervais being Orlando Bloom.
And the jokes are getting predictable too. Would you tell your ditzy mate any secrets if you know perfectly well they'll blab it to exactly the wrong person?
Still, the bit with Diana Rigg last week was pretty funny.
A much better bet if you are after laughs is the show that currently follows extras: That Mitchell and Webb Look. They're currently best know for starring in Peep Show, a very funny sitcom about two flat mates. It turns out they can also do an inspired sketch show. Unlike Little Britain or The Fast Show they don't rely on repetition of catchphrases in different settings but on constantly offering outlandish and surprising ideas.
Here's one of my favorite sketches. Enjoy.
