To those of you that haven’t heard of the Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and (Oh I’m grinning already) the delightful Karl Pilkington podcasts, you’ve been missing out.
We all know Ricky. He is the extremely clever writer, producer and actor of The Office (Where he played pathetically funny David Brent) and Extras (Playing wannabe star Andy Millman), along with being in recent movies like Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying. He is also an amazingly successful stand-up comedian. Stephen is the lesser known but equally talented (Also award winning) writer and producer of The Office and Extras, and together with Ricky has recently written a script for a new movie called Cemetery Junction.
Karl on the other hand… Well. Different story really. Karl Pilkington was an unknown radio producer that happened to be placed as the producer on a new show with Ricky and Steve. It didn’t take long for them to see gold in Karls bizarre, nonlinear and, to be honest, downright stupid ideas. (Also, that he had a head like a f@cking orange!)
And so the podcasts were born. Five seasons of absolute hilarity, along with one-off podcasts focusing on different topics (e.g. Medicine, Natural History, The Arts) all which feature the three men discussing their thoughts on any given subject. Sounds a bit boring? Well, I promise, it isn’t!
Despite a sort off halfcocked structure, the basis of the podcasts are Ricky and Steve trying to get Karl’s opinion on things. And Karl’s view of the world is idiotic, inane, completely warped and so hilarious that I cry with laughter listening to him.
Hard to explain in a blog, but here are a few gems to get you on the Karl Pilkington track:
“If I was [Noah], I would have gone, “Hang on a minute, I’ve just seen somethin’ that looks a bit like this, let it drown”, have a bit of a clear out, but he was messin’ about savin’ everythin'”
“Why didn’t evolution make a giraffe good at carpentry so it could build a ladder?”
“You know how they say people have six senses? There’s loads more than that. [The ability to feel someone looking at you], that’s been around since man and dinosaur were knockin’ about.”
“We came from the sea originally, now we’re going back in it. Don’t go in it, unless you’re in a boat.”
“Does the brain control you or are you controlling the brain? I don’t know if I’m in charge of mine.”
“They say it all started out with a big bang. But, what I wonder is, was it a big bang or did it just seem big because there wasn’t anything else drown it out at the time?”
(On fun-sized chocolates) “I don’t know why they’re called fun-sized; I mean, if I called a midget fun-sized, they’d kick off”
“It’s like the panda, they say that’s dying out. But what do they do? When you see them they’re just sitting in the jungle eating”
“People who live in a glass house have to answer the door” – Karl invents his own phrase based on “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”
“You don’t get anything done by planning”
“Any problem solved is a new problem made.”
Ahhh, I was just cracking up reading all of them! And it’s not just Karl. Ricky and Steve are truly brilliant, funny guys with a wealth of knowledge. I have spent many an hour listening and re-listening to these podcasts. Makes me laugh every time.
They are available to download on iTunes or Audible.com
Three Wise men: Ricky, Steve and... Oh... Karl.
Gazing through the empty orange
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Cathartic Expressions 