Ricky Gervais vs Peter Kay

Gervais has made me laugh, Kay hasn't

Things to consider here:

BBC's marketing department vs Channel 4's marketing department; The Sunday Show versus The 11 O'Clock Show; mugging to the camera versus going "garlic bread" repeatedly; releasing the same DVD in four slightly different formats versus not shutting the fuck up about how some Americans have heard of you; celebrity wank-off that is Extras versus celebrity wank-off that is Britain's Got Ice Talent Factor Pop.

both have turned out a decent TV show. would not pay to see either do stand-up although from what i have seen, Kay is significantly worse. overall, not willing to give the approval of a vote to either.

Gervais, mildy amusing occasionally (though he sucked totally on the 11 o'clock show). Kay, ZZZzzzzzzzz.

feel that Kay is a better comic actor than Gervais (maybe it's just that Gervais tries to punch above weight too often) but Gervais is a better comedian than Kay if that makes sense. I don't like either's writing now but both so great in the first half of this decade.

kay, unquestionably. has done some superb comedy.

I'd take Kay as well, I think he has humanity which is something that's really lacking from all of Gervais's work, both his good stuff (first series of The Office), and his bad stuff (absolutely everything fucking else).

Weird how when you google "British pride" the images are either of far right white power groups or Asians.

Gervais's good stuff (first half of this decade) >>> Kay's good stuff (same timeframe pretty much). Actually Gervais is better even when they're both crap.

yeah, RG is just too obviously a screamingly horrible cunt in every interview as well

xp

Who didn't? (xpost suck on the 11'oclock show, ok, apart from Ali G, etc)

XPOST * 11! Bloody hell, busy thread or what!

Kay, done some genuinely funny and inventive stuff (check "That PK thing", specifically the bingo caller one, but skip the Phoenix Nights one it was chronically dull, and had I seen it at the time, I'd have been amazed they chose that one to base a series on, but they changed it enough and made it fine)...

Gervais, never thought him *that* funny on TV, on stage has this "self-satisfied" air that is obviously meant to be a put-on. Having said that, went to see "Ghost Town" against my better judgement, and actually it's really good.

So, I vote, um, Russel Brand?

Actually, no.

Kay's much-overlooked TV debut, "That Peter Kay Thing", has some really good stuff in it. "The Ice Cream Man Cometh" is particularly good.

Who didn't? (xpost suck on the 11'oclock show, ok, apart from Ali G, etc)

IIRC that thing whereb Daisy Donovan interviewed people and tried to put as many double entendres into her speiel was funny, like, twice. Everything else, apart from Ali G was rotten! I never understood how it kept going on for so long.

Gervais more media-savvy and better at working his profile. this in turns makes him harder to avoid or so it seems (which is bad news if you're kinda sick of him). might have to side with Kay just on that basis.

Phoenix Nights at it's best is as good as The Office. Extras was better than Max & Paddy tho yeah. I bet That Peter Kay Thing would stand up well now tho - I keep half-remembering the Bob Carolgees service station one.

Ghost Town: another case of the trailer being so awful it makes me never want to see the film

Does Peter Kay get the same annoying critical free pass as Gervais though? I find myself totally unaware of anything Kay does until it suddenly becomes massive and inescapable.

Richard Dawkins having a go at Peter Kay make me like Kay a bit more, obviously

I never understood how it kept going on for so long.

because people kept watching it despite slagging it off so much then and ten years later.

it wasn't half as bad as people claim.

Richard Herring having a go at Peter Kay made me like Kay a bit less

I'd take Kay as well, I think he has humanity which is something that's really lacking from all of Gervais's work

Dom = soft as shite

wow i caught an old episode of Hercule Poirot on ITV3 recently, and none other than Daisy Donovan starred.

Kay's stand-up (although milked beyond belief) much funnier than Gervais'. However Ricky Gervais has not realised any "comedy" singles (opinions on the merits of Seona Dancing notwithstanding). First series of the Office better than anything Kay has written, but I can't help feeling it would have been even better still had Gervais not cast himself as Brent, he is an utterly dreadful actor.

Sub-question - sidekick legacy: Stephen Merchant vs Paddy McGuinness

Um, released, not realised.

Phoenix Nights is by far the best thing that either of these two have done, so Kay.

also John Smith's kick-ups advert made me lol the first time

Can I just challop the fuck up here and say that Kay's "wedding disco" stand-up routine is probably one of the best stand-up routines by a British comedian ever?

I spoke to Ian Lee about the 11'oclock show, about 2 weeks after he packed it even though he'd done pre-publicity for it. Apparently, the scripts were 'shit' and they wouldn't go back and rewrite.

xpost yeah, Gervais' "Free love freeway" was realised, but not released as such.

xpost it was funnier when Lee Evans did it.

Lee Evans has never been funny in anything

There is a truly unfunny person

This is the truth! ^^^^^

when i first saw Kay do the taxi driver routine (2 questions you always ask), i was just wowed that nobody had ever mentioned it before.

or had they?

xpost it was funnier when Lee Evans did it.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:14 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Lee Evans has never been funny in anything
― Ich Ber ein Binliner (Tom D.), Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:16 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Not necessarily a contradiction.

Is Kay self-obsessed?
Probably, but not nearly as much as Gervais although Kay's last thing was a laugh free zone. I wonder what he would have been like in Sunshine? Quite good I would have thought. Whereas Gervais would have been rubbish because, American producers who keep casting him in things please note, he cannot act.
So yeah suzy otm.

But I would take Merchant over McGuinness.

Richard Dawkins having a go at Peter Kay make me like Kay a bit more, obviously

Except he didn't really.

I've seen Kay live and he was pretty good though I think I caught him past his late-'90s peak. They're responsible for at least 3-4 hours of great TV comedy each and, although I'm far more well-disposed toward Kay, I think Gervais is the more likely to do something worth watching again. They've both been indulged beyond redemption on chat shows, haven't they? Different chat shows, mind.

but Gervais is a better comedian than Kay

this is cobblers isn't it. i retract. to clarify, it's just that Gervais style of observational humour i tend to find funnier than Kay's.

That interview Gervais did with Larry David made was a wretched affair. The Office was exactly the same as any offices I've worked in; full of weird twats. I didn't find it funny when I worked in one, and I sure as shit didn't find it funny when it was on the idiot box.

Kay is friendly enough. And has even made me laugh sometimes, in a way that isn't through the bared teeth of hatred.

So, um, neither.

because people kept watching it despite slagging it off so much then and ten years later.

reminds me of ilx!

as do gervais and kay, esp ilx's resident "comedians". both are obv the scum on the bottom of my shoe. ugh, comedy.

I never understood how it kept going on for so long.

― The Plastic Fork (Pashmina), Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:08 (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

How many series of it did Baron-Cohen do? The first two? There were four at the end, the final one had "humorous animations" done by the drummer from Blur. Halcyon days for British telly.

*four series by the end

Different chat shows, mind.

― Michael Jones, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:20 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

This is a good point. Is this just a class thing at the end of the day?

Gervais is as working class as Kay, he just doesn't expect you to pat him on the head and chuck him under the chin for it

Gervais grew up on a council estate, right?

I was thinking more in terms of reception than base though, although I'm hesitant to say "Parky = working class, Ross = middle class". May just be north versus south again.

No, I know what you mean

It's an age thing rather than a class thing, maybe a gender thing as well. Kay is consciously aiming for as wide an audience as possible, Gervais isn't.

I think it's loving England versus loathing England, in many ways. Amazingly enough, I'm in the 'love' camp.

It's not North v South either - TS Matt Lucas vs Johnny Vegas.

Different chat shows?

They've both done the same ones.

Jonathan "Funny Man" Ross?

They've both done the same ones.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:40 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeah, but you say "Gervais chat show" you automatically think of Ross, you say "Kay chat show" you automatically think Parkinson.

RG and PK are a pair of wankers. But Gervais wouldn't have fucked up Parky's last proper show.

On the other hand, Ricky has a lot of tossbag celebrity friends.

I should say more tossbag celebrity friends.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/laurz1985/upload.jpg

peter kay has never done a single remotely funny thing.

gervais is a complete tosser these days but the office and extras are both great.

Some guys I know saw Paddy McGuinness doing an after dinner speech thing at a Celtic (FC) do in Glasgow and said they have never saw anyone die on their arse so completely

Not even Sarah Silverman

I love Gervais and have never heard of Peter Kay. I just googled PK and still have no idea.

Other comedians hold Gervais in high esteem. Not one has a kind word about PK. Word is, he's a bit of a git.

most comedians are

Peter Kay on Jonathan Ross
Quite endearing actually, appears to be slightly drunk.

Johnny Vegas?

I wonder what he would have been like in Sunshine?

I also wondered about what Kay would have brought to Sunshine that Coogan didn't. Not much, is my considered opinion.

Peter kay because phoenix nights made me laugh a lot, having said that not much of his other stuff has but pretty much none of gervais's stuff has.

Peter Kay. I loved the office but everything else gervais has touched has stunk. Kay at his best is effortlessly funny.

Peter Kay, because he knows a few jokes.

And here's a truth bomb for you all: The Office was crap but would have been watchable if they made a version without that fat fucker Gervais. Thankfully, they did.

That'll be more or less what I said then, except I didn't say it was crap, just that it would have been way better if Gervais' ego had allowed him to cast someone else.

(First series of the Office better than anything Kay has written, but I can't help feeling it would have been even better still had Gervais not cast himself as Brent, he is an utterly dreadful actor.)

I guess you have to go for Kay.

Gervais just does the same jokes over and over. It was classic when he bombed at Live Earth.

I guess you have to go for Kay.

Gervais just does the same jokes over and over.

uh wait a minute

mugging to the camera versus going "garlic bread" repeatedly

this swung it for me, i think. that and the fact that the episode of "max and paddy" where they steal the bus still totally slays me ("aw no! that's proper wack!")

max and paddy wasn't too good, apart from the episode where max admits he'd created crime fighting comic characters. That was hilarious.

Kay wins for Das Boot alone.

Yeah, but you say "Gervais chat show" you automatically think of Ross, you say "Kay chat show" you automatically think Parkinson.

― Carrie Bradshaw Layfield (The stickman from the hilarious 'xkcd' comics), Wednesday, 29 October 2008 01:42 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

He was a thoroughly self-absorbed bell-end on Parky's final show.

Gervais plays the Russell Crowe/Paul McCartney 'look at me I'm down-to-earth and normal!! NORMAL!! SEE ME BEING NORMAL!!' etc. try-hard humility card with such regularity that it's clear even he doesn't believe it.

^^^ I can just hear Gervais saying in a whining voice "I've tried so hard to break America/write this sitcom/lose weight/try so hard"

'I saw (famous person) at the (awards ceremony) last week, yeah, nothing really, just walked away, can't be doing with that'

Comments like that being frequently non sequiturs betrays the fact that nonchalant reactions to such pivotal encounters define him.

I want someone in an interview on Ross' show to say "I met Ricky Gervais. It was like meeting Jesus". But there's no chance of that now. Alright then, less chance...

That's if Ross is even working next week.

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ha

We are pleased to announce that Ricky Gervais (UCL Alumni) will be appearing
at the Bloomsbury Theatre on Sunday 15th and Monday 16th February:

PME Presents 'RICKY GERVAIS' Work in Progress -
http://www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/1288

The Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award-winning co-creator of The Office and
Extras tries out some new material, for a forthcoming tour. With support.

Over 18’s only.

Start – 7:30pm

Tickets - £10

Latecomers will not be admitted.

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Tuesday 3rd February and will sell out very
quickly (i.e. 30 minutes). To get tickets visit:
http://www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/1288

work colleague once basically forced me to borrow his peter kay live dvd. shameful shit. would have voted gervais.