Ricky Gervais Stand-Up Special on HBO, Saturday Night

The Flaming Nose has been a fan of Ricky Gervais for a long time -- you might even say that we have a crush on the guy -- and we couldn't be happier to see that HBO is premiering the very first U.S. Ricky Gervais special this Saturday night.

Ricky Gervais -- Out of England: The Stand-Up Special airs at 9pm et/ 10pm pt, and promises to show another side of this multi-talented writer-performer. Like the best of his kind, Ricky combines a keen wit, an absurd sensibility, an immense intelligence, an unbounded empathy, and a uniquely British appreciation for life's eccentricities that makes him unparalleled. We have loved him in his series The Office and Extras, and especially the Extras: Extra Special Season Finale which was one the finest productions of last year, drama or comedy.

No doubt you recall his bit on September's Emmy Awards; he was the highlight of the ceremonies and shook the place up like nobody else could. If you've followed his career you might have read some carping about some of his UK live gigs, but the clips on YouTube are quite hilarious so we'll chalk some of that up to the inevitable sour grapes.

Here is a delightful bit from Ricky who appeared on Late Night with David Letterman last week to present the Top Ten:



And here's a promo from tomorrow night's special:

We'd recommend reading the Ricky interview on the special's HBO website, plus you might like to visit the official Ricky Gervais website, and there's a syndicated column on the special showing up that's also worth a read.

Ricky Gervais - Out of England: The Stand-Up Special is a don't-miss event!