Spend April Fool's Day with Karl Pilkington!

Science Channel brings an appropriate April 1st treat to us today, a marathon of the Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant/Karl Pilkington humorous travel program An Idiot Abroad, beginning at 2:30pm this afternoon with the intro show and continuing on until 3am tomorrow morning. If you caught these previously, you'll know that these are ripe for repeat viewing; they don't get dull and I think you'll appreciate Karl's droll presence even more as you re-watch.

Each of the episodes -- China, India, Jordan, Mexico, Egypt, Brazil and Peru, and the "Karl Comes Home" hour -- offer something different. Sometimes slapstick, often absurd, the humor in An Idiot Abroad transcends the obvious and Karl frequently ends up being more a philosopher than a clown.

If you don't know who Karl is yet, you're missing something wonderful.

Flaming Stumble: An Idiot Abroad

I'd like to introduce a new feature for the Nose. I shall call it The Flaming Stumble. It's for the odd program we stumble upon and may never watch again, but recognize that its inherent weirdness might appeal to someone out there in television land. Hence, it's worth a shout out, however brief.

As my inaugural Stumble post, I'd like to recognize An Idiot Abroad, a strange little reality/comedy/travel program now running on (of all places) the Science channel. I don't actually get the Science channel on my too expensive HD Comcast line-up. I found the Idiot accidentally while sniffing around On Demand.

An Idiot Abroad features round faced Brit comic Karl Pilkington, as he travels to exotic places around the world. He's xenophobic, politically incorrect, mystified and miserable wherever he goes. His clueless persona has developed a cult following in the UK, as well as on XFM, and Gervais himself has proclaimed the hapless chap "the funniest man alive in Great Britain today". I watched an episode where Mr. Pilkington was sent to China, where he marveled more at the street food (roasted toad and scorpions on a stick) than the Great Wall. His head is as round as a billiard ball, and it is sort of riveting to watch him trudge through alien lands. Ricky and Stephen call him on a satellite cell phone occasionally to offer advice or howl with glee at his exploits.

Ubiquitous comic Ricky Gervais hosts An Idiot abroad along with his friend (and Extras regular) Stephen Merchant. He calls the show "the most expensive practical joke ever". The Science channel has buried it on Saturday nights at 10pm, where only the lonely, the curious and seekers of human oddities will find and love its eccentric charm.

Piers Morgan on CNN Snags a Ricky Gervais Interview: Post Golden Globes!

CNN's popular new Piers Morgan talk show scored another big coup (it premiered with Oprah as the first guest last week) by getting red hot Ricky Gervais to come on and explain himself following his controversial hosting of the Golden Globe awards a few nights ago. Is there anybody left on the planet who hasn't weighed in on his funny but dark skewering of Hollywood's elite at the loosest, drunkest award show on the planet? I mean come ON, it's not as if the GG's are the Academy Awards, for heaven sakes. It's not as if he swallowed a live hamster on stage or had a wardrobe malfunction. He basically did a comedy roast while most of the celebrities in attendance laughed uproariously and a few looked mildly uncomfortable. Some (Robert Downey Jr most notably) even nipped back at the great Gervais and offered up their own cutting words of wit . I can't believe that days following Lisa's post on the subject, folks are still humming and buzzing and tweeting themselves into a frenzy over a comedian doing the job he was hired for.

Piers gave Gervais his first shot at explaining himself in depth and it was a very thoughtful interview. I like the Piers Morgan style, it's very low key and unassuming...he really lets his guests shine. I was charmed by Ricky's goofy laugh, which is genuine and irresistible. I've always loved him, and although there were a few minutes at the Globes that made me cringe (poor Cher!), I don't think he should go to jail for his comments. Everybody has taken it far too seriously. What would have been unforgivable at the Oscars was pretty much OK for the Globes. And besides, a few years back, nobody cared about the Golden Globes or even watched them on TV. They've only recently become a big hairy deal. The producers should be glad for all the publicity.

The best part of tonight's interview was when Piers asked Ricky which 3 other American comedians he would bring with him to a deserted island. And one of his picks was our own beloved Flaming Nose favorite Louis CK! Apparently Gervais is to appear on an upcoming HBO special featuring Louis CK as well as Jerry Seinfeld, talking about humor. Now THAT will be funny.

Catch the new Piers Morgan show on CNN, Weeknights from 6-7pm. Tomorrow night (Friday) he'll feature George Clooney.

Did You Watch Ricky Gervais Host "The Golden Globes" Last Night?

I've got it DVRed to watch today. I read a couple of things about him being quite savage, which is understandable perhaps, and he can do that easily. I have to say I liked his opening monologue here. I'm looking for the whole show online, but until now, this will have to do, and it's pretty good. And kinda mean.



Just on the edge of being unsuitable -- expected for Ricky Gervais. I recently watched his newest HBO comedy special and there was less of the charm and more bile, which maybe is his thing now that he's so popular. Though he's coasting nicely on his The Office residuals and his Extras was incredible TV, he's made a couple of movies which were quite good but he's yet to break much ground as a big screen performer. (The Invention of Lying is highly recommended.)He's got a lot of heart and maybe that's not what's on order these days, but let's not hope he's going to lose his whimsical Everyman personality forever.

Has all his success just made it easier for Gervais to stop playing nice and be the bastard he was all along? I can't quite fathom that's the case here, but there's more than a pint of bitter brewing in there...

Revisiting Ricky Gervais' "Extra Finale" -- Still Unparalleled!

Yes, we said it here three years ago, and we're going to say it again -- Ricky Gervais is incomparable. After catching up again with his Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale on one of the HBO channels, it's abundantly clear that nobody else comes close. I was once more caught up in the pathos, intelligence and insight offered up by Gervais and his co-writer (and castmember) Stephen Merchant in the holiday-set (but not Christmas-y) movie-length episode about struggling actor Andy Millman and his grapple with fame when he found finally found success on a sitcom. Ashley Jensen as Andy's pal Maggie was nominated for an Emmy for her work in the special, and it was richly deserved.

Hilarious and heartbreaking, the Extras series finale is timeless in its message and endless in its entertainment. It's airing a couple of times next week on HBO Comedy on the 29th, so look it up or rent it. I offer, as a tantalizing reminder, Gervais' stunning speech at the end of the show. It's a brittle indictment of the world's obsession with celebrity, still as relevant as it was three years ago -- probably more so -- and it will take your breath away. To set the scene, Andy has been appearing on a Big Brother show as one of the resident "celebrities" and has a revelation.

Only the British -- or maybe it's only Gervais -- can combine (and with such incisive brilliance) so much sentiment, intelligence and wisdom, and dare to offer it up in a comedy. That's genius, TV fans.

Gervais & Merchant Present "An Idiot Abroad" with Karl Pilkington

If you're a fan of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and their frequent partner-in-comedy Karl Pilkington, you're going to wish you lived in Britain right now. Those of you familiar with the trio's radio show (or the HBO animated series based on it) know how much fun these guys generated together, and now Gervais and Merchant have sent their friend around the world to make a travel docuseries for the Sky1 Channel entitled An Idiot Abroad.



I love Karl; he's got a wonderful sense of whimsy and absurdity -- listen to some of those radio shows and if you don't laugh at his contributions the most, I'd be surprised -- plus a hangdog non-extrovert persona that should prove a welcome contrast to the usual TV travelogues with their perky "I'm going to this resort for free so of course I'm loving it!" hosts.

As soon as we can figure out where we can watch these, we'll let you know!

Ricky Gervais -- We Love Him!

Hope you caught HBO's new Ricky Gervais special on Saturday night, and of course it's repeating many times coming up. There's something so amazing about Gervais, and most of all that he's an incredible actor, in addition to having a gifted comic mind. He has a vulnerable quality -- very much on display in The Office and on Extras -- that's irresistible, along with the perfect absurdist bent that colors his take on the world.

In his special, Gervais displays his fascinating mixture of endearing arrogance, savage empathy, prodigious brainpower and undeniable humanity as he offers up a consistently amusing show. There's something brave and yet gentle about Gervais' stance with an audience; he doesn't command their attention but rather beckons them along. You're not always sure that his bits are going to go over, either, at least I wasn't. He was in front of a NYC audience, and his material is often quite British. I wonder if most Americans know that the word "podge" is an English slang for fat; one of his jokes relies on that. Maybe they do.

Here's a short clip from the special, which we offer with a warning that there's explicit language and all that other good stuff:



All we can say is watch the special. Ricky Gervais is something, all right. Sigh....

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!

Worst Emmy Awards Show Ever?

Wow. If it was as painful for the attendees as it was for those of us watching at home, our condolences. Other than a few bright spots, this was a dull-as-dishwater Emmy telecast, a curiously bland affair which gave lipservice to the idea of the 60th anniversary of the awards but did nothing to evoke any emotional response to the notion.

I'm sure those who advocated for the new Reality Host category were tickled pink, but to repeatedly hand over precious minutes of the telecast to the wincingly unfunny blathering from the five-headed do and know-nothings was a crucial mistake and sunk the awards. What was up with the timing of the show, anyway? Some people were hurried on, some winners hurried off, as if preserving those awkward host bits were job one. More of those hosts rather than something from Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris? I don't think so.

There were a few bright spots -- Ricky Gervais, who unfortunately didn't take home any awards from his superb nominated Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale, was droll and unexpected, a bit confrontational and fascinatingly so.

And every time Tina Fey was on, she was a delight. Boy, if she isn't a terrific role model for smart girls everywhere! I also liked the interaction between Fey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus during her Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy acceptance speech, when Fey joked that her husband had told her to act like J L-D, and that it was working out for her really well. To which Julia did a hilarious thumbs-up.

As our correspondent Scott noted, the Josh Groban TV theme song medley was pretty good, not exactly a sentimental walk down memory lane, but an interesting pastiche of eras.

In terms of the awards themselves, biggest disappointment for us was Stephen Dillane not getting the Emmy for his Thomas Jefferson in John Adams, and that Tom Wilkinson got it for his Benjamin Franklin. It was that beaver hat, I tell ya. They went for the flashier performance, not that Wilkinson wasn't excellent, but hmmm...still think Dillane should have gotten it. And we also desperately wanted Ashley Jensen to get hers for her supporting role in the Extras finale.

Nice showing for John Adams overall, excellent wins for Mad Men, both well-deserved. And when that Mad Men cast went up on stage -- what a stunning ensemble. It's a really different looking group, not blandly glamorous, but so very interesting to look at. Let's get more people hooked on this tremendous show!

What were your Emmy impressions? Loved the Awards, hated the show? We did.

Catch Up with Extras on HBO This Week!

What a treat -- comedian Ricky Gervais' absurd and hilarious behind-the-scenes comedy Extras is reprised all this week -- two episodes per night -- on HBO2 East at 11pm ET/PT, beginning Monday 12/10. This festival leads up to the premiere of Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale next Sunday night at 9pm on HBO, and rerunning many times throughout the month. (Of course, this puts it in direct competition with our favorite Dexter which must take priority, but there are plenty of opportunities to watch both of these top-notch pay network offerings.)

Many of you are probably already familiar with Gervais as creator and star of the original British version of The Office, the both achingly funny and nearly heartbreaking comedy which actually managed to spawn a U.S. version every bit as great as the original. Extras, his next series, premiered in 2005 in the U.S. on HBO with its first season of six episodes, then came back with six more. The Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale is 80 minutes long -- more to love -- and is sure to bring more cringeworthy moments as only Gervais and and his cast can.

Filled with celebrity cameos, Extras chronicles the struggles of actor Andy Millman (Gervais) and his attempts to batter down the doors to stardom. Along for the ride are his best friend and fellow actor Maggie (played by Ashley Jensen), and his hapless agent played by Gervais' co-writer and co-director Stephen Merchant. They are all superb.

TFN correspondent Jane has been a big Extras fan from the beginning, and let's look forward to her take on this newest episode and the whole Extras world that she loves so much! But it's never too late to get in on the hilarity -- do the catch-up thing this week just in time for the series finale next weekend! (Those of you who have HBO on Demand or the HBO Comedy channel have even more chances to watch the show, but then you're just plain lucky! DirecTV is to be chastised for still not offering HBO Comedy while bombarding subscribers with every manner of shopping and religious channel out there. Ick.)

Ricky Gervais is some sort of a comic god, creating awkward everyman characters with savage moments of hilarity that are sometimes painful to watch. Ah, perfection....

Check out the Extras HBO Website for more information and the complete schedule.