152

What's one highly extolled piece of media that you absolutely cannot stand in any way shape or form. (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 days ago by SwissArmyKazoo@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

336 comments fedilink hide all child comments

For me if I had to pick a good contender it would be the UK version of The Office.

I know many tend to debate how Ricky Gervais really fell off and how he repugnantly acts like a whiny centrist edgelord but me personally IMO I actually don't think he was ever funny not even a little.

His big break through television was just so painful to sit through it's so charismatically boring the characters are completely generic at best (notably Tim) or straight up insufferably unlikable at worst (especially the protagonist David FUCKING Brent) and most importantly the humour is just embarrassing.

Always seemed like The Thick Of It but without the nuisance tongue in cheek and charming satire.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 18 points 5 days ago

You're right and you should say it. Ricky Gervais has always been weird and off-putting and the idea that he was ever good has always baffled me. I never enjoyed The Office. When my dad tried to get me into Extras I just found all of Ricky's parts annoying. When my sister told me how great Derek was, I just found the whole thing simultaneously tasteless and bland, like it couldn't commit to being offensive but didn't put the work into being real. His standup is often clever, but always the kind of clever that is let down by a complete lack of emotional intelligence. The man just does not understand people, but thinks he really does.

[-] bangupjobasusual@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

The hbo animated Ricky Gervais show won me over. I would have agreed with you before that but it is actually hysterical.

[-] bangupjobasusual@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

https://youtu.be/luL5gdSsaig?is=U4I7KkIGsyqM1ImN

Pure gold lol

[-] justaman123@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

I've never seen this before, but the way that they make fun of him is quite mean, and like the way they dismiss him out of hand is kinda fuct. His movie idea is ridiculous but it's kind of interesting too. Like the man with two brains but with lesbian sex, maybe a trans element too. It's actually a bit like that Robert Heinlein book I will fear no evil.

[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 2 points 4 days ago

That's what I always found. Sure Karl is an idiot, but Ricky bullying him isn't funny. I know it's an act, but that knowledge doesn't make it funny. I'm just left wanting to punch Ricky.

That said, I do like Extras. Mainly the first series before "When The Whistle Blows" became an allegory for The Office.

[-] justaman123@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

I really like Ricky Gervais in general, the invention of lying was great. And I really liked the episode of extras with Patrick Stewart. I realize it's an act and Karl probably does owe his career to Ricky but it's pretty awful how they never give him the benefit of the doubt. He is really quite dumb though, but in a really relatable way, like he's some kind of neurodivergent right?

[-] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

I think I first encountered Ricky Gervais' work in those YouTube videos which took clips of his podcast and animated them as cartoons. They were being passed around like the best thing ever for a minute or two back in the day, and I watched a bunch and didn't get why it was supposed to be funny that two guys were being assholes at a third guy over and over.

[-] aesthelete@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

Karl Pilkington was the funniest one out of them in my opinion. Derek went down in flames when he left the show.

this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026

152 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

40133 readers

1177 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online

7) No Hit-and-Run questions.

Please don't delete your post for no apparent reason. If you plan on deleting a question later, say so in the post, or if you feel that you have a good reason to remove it, message a mod beforehand. It's not fair to the ones who took their time to answer, and it's not in the spirit of the community.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.