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!