WillLybrand.com

Southpark recently aired the 200th episode, which featured a highly controversial story in which the founder of Islam, Muhammed, is touted around town in a bear suit during a super-hero hostage crisis. The episode was somewhat well received (I loved it) but it was just the beginning of a two-parter.

Unfortunately, the creators of the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, were both targeted the day after by a radical Muslim website (covered here by Entertainment Weekly). The group, revolutionmuslim.com, stated, ”They will probably end up like Theo van Gogh”. Theo van Gogh was the political cartoonist and murder victim after he published a controversial depiction of Muhammed.

The big issue here though is that the 201st episode that Comedy Central aired was heavily, heavily, edited. It was so heavily edited that the effect of the show was pretty much neutralized. Every time the word Muhammed was uttered, it was bleeped. To top it off the end of the show, which often features a monologue that attempts to teach a funnily hashed together morale message, was entirely bleeped out. There was about 30 seconds of a constant beep when Kyle started to explain the message of the show. Then, another 15 seconds from Santa Claus. Then, another 15 seconds from Jesus.

For a show like South Park there is no bigger a news story than it being censored by its very own network. Trey Parker and Matt Stone subsequently made a special announcement:

In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too. We’ll be back next week with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll see what happens to it.

I hope, really hope, that they succeed in finding a way to air episode 201. Rumor has it that the message that Kyle, Santa Claus, and Jesus convey at the end of the episode essentially covers exactly what Comedy Central did to South Park. Oh the irony. THE IRONY!

I know that this is a controversial topic, and that there are valid points to both sides of the issue, but I think that Comedy Central should have aired the entire episode. South Park is controversial. They push buttons. Occasionally they offend. That doesn’t mean they should be censured. There is no basic human right to always be free from offense. I wish Comedy Central would come forward and explain their reasons as I am sure there is some logic to it, despite my feelings.

Ricky Gervais is a British comedian who is most well known for creating The Office and Extras. If you haven’t heard of him by now, get out from under that rock. Most recently Ricky hosted the Golden Globes, where he made fun of Mel Gibson by saying Mel drank more than he did. Yeah, he went there. This is one of many reasons why he is my favorite comedian.

Ricky got his start on a radio show you’ve probably never heard of called XFM, broadcast in the UK. The BBC took a chance on him by letting him create a pilot for a new series during their comedy hour. The resulting show was the first incarnation of The Office. The BBC version of The Office is one of my favorite television series of all times. It’s humor is both subtle and blunt, embarrassing and oblivious. Unlike the American version of The Office it was limited to a total of 12 episodes over 2 series of 6 each, and 2 Christmas specials each about 45 minutes long. Despite that, I still believe that it is far and away better than it’s American counterpart.

Ricky Gervais as David Brent

Gervais stars as David Brent, the bumbling moronic boss who can’t do anything right, but will do anything to be idolized, and is oblivious of others’ emotions. Steve Carell does a good job of channeling David Brent as his own Michael Scott, however the more subtle approach from Gervais ultimately pays off more. If you are a fan of the American version of The Office, I couldn’t possibly recommend to you enough that you should give the British version a chance. (Check out the BBC version of The Office on Wikipedia and IMDB)

After The Office Ricky Gervais spent a good spell doing some podcasts while writing the series Extras for BBC/HBO. In Extras, Gervais stars as a downtrodden film extra that isn’t happy with his life, doesn’t know what he wants, and doesn’t know what he’s got. The great thing about this show is that every episode a different celebrity/movie star makes a cameo appearance, often interacting and clashing with Gervais.

Extras

Extras is just as good as The Office, but I would never go so far as to say it is better. However, my boy Patrick Stewart stars in one episode in a truly unforgettable role as a more sexist version of himself. Extras has the same format and length as Gervais’ previous series, 12 episodes and a Christmas Special, in which Gordon Ramsay makes a guest appearance… bonus. (Check out Extras on Wikipedia and IMDB)

Gervais’ almost-regular series of podcasts stars Stephen Merchant (co-creator of The Office and Gervais’ partner in crime) and a bumbling anomaly of  a man known as Karl Pilkington. Karl, who’s head is shaped like a f*cking orange, is a man with little education, says what he wants, and is capable of taking absurd amounts of abuse from his podcast co-stars. The majority of each episode features Karl talking endlessly about bizarre topics or explaining half-baked theories on the world, all while Ricky and Stephen both push him to go further and rip into him for being a dullard. If you listen to podcasts at all, you need to make sure you give these shows a listen. At one time this podcast was the most downloaded podcast in the world, making an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. There are over 40 different podcasts, over several different seasons, for you to catch up with. You can get a start at the Guardian podcast site. You could also just search for him on iTunes. Unfortunately some of the series do cost money, but with all the time that has passed they are extremely cheap.

Gervais has also been involved with a handful of movies, such as Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying, each featuring his typical comedic approach. None of them have done particularly well or been praised by critics, but if you appreciate Gervais’ humor you’ll love his movies just the same. In the long run, his style of comedy may not appeal to movie going crowds in the same way it has appealed to the television-going audience.

In addition to films, podcasts, and TV shows, Gervais has done a fair share of stand-up appearances as well as authored books. Surprisingly enough most of his books are children-oriented. And let’s not forget that he made a great appearance in Grand Theft Auto IV.

A Digitized Gervais in Grand Theft Auto IV

Unfortunately Gervais’ own web site is a bit of a hodge-podge of links and media information. He blogs frequently, however it’s not accessible by any sort of an RSS application (If you don’t know what that means, I both pity and envy you). Whoever his webmasters are need to get on that… welcome to 2010. Booooo. He often shares some of his favorite music, insights into what he is working on, and funny stories from his travels as a hotshot comedian-actor-producer.

If you are interested in trying to see one of his infrequent stand-up shows, your best bet is to regularly check out his website. Whenever (and however) he chooses to do live shows he makes announcements about tours, which often have internet ticket pre-sales. Fortunately for me he’s coming to Hollywood in May!

One great thing about his blog is that he regularly uploads pictures of himself making bizarre faces. It’s high brow stuff, can you handle it?

Ricky Gervias - A Collage of Faces

As of this writing, Gervais has a new series coming out on HBO called The Ricky Gervais Show. Its not truly “new” in that they are animating scenes from the legendary Gervais Show podcasts. However, from the clips that I’ve seen, bringing these audio snippets into a new animated format will prove to be absolutely hilarious. Finally the rambling incoherency of Karl Pilkington will make it to our television sets. The show premieres this Friday on HBO.