Comedian Ricky Gervais scores huge laughs with the DVD release of the Ricky Gervais Show : Complete First Season by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Gervais who made a name for himself with the British version of The Office and Extras has taken the popular podcast series he did with his writing partner Stephen Merchant and has created a sidesplittingly funny series.
The show draws on the strength of the performers and underscores the gift Gervais has take seemingly normal characters and situations and take them to absurd levels that never do lose believability. While his portrayal of David Brent in The Office set new standards for the boss from hell, it also showed Brent as a very real and flawed human being who was utterly believable and sympathetic in his toiling.
Merchant and Gervais continued this formula in Extras where an everyman finally gets a shot at stardom and realizes it is not everything that it was cracked up to be and just how fleeting and fickle fame can be.
The performers don’t shy away from controversial material as anyone who witnessed the Golden Globe Awards can attest to. It is this the reverent humor and the ability to take the unexpected turn with the material that really sets it apart.
Topics ranging from face transplants to religion are all fair game and the cast doesn’t hold anything back. A real favorite of this show is the Monkey News segment or popular news talk segments are given the business.
The animation for the series of simple but yet doesn’t distract from the humor of the show and thankfully the sound and video quality of the DVD release is exceptional.
Bonus material includes storyboard segments and Gala animation which are not to be missed.
Very impressive release that will provide countless hours of laughter and is not to be missed.
