The Pandorica Opened
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As has been said before, I like to be positive: if there's one thing Ricky's work after 2010 has shown us, it's that Stephen Merchant is a fantastically talented human being.
Stand up comedy, post your fave clip
- Thread starter crublue1
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As has been said before, I like to be positive: if there's one thing Ricky's work after 2010 has shown us, it's that Stephen Merchant is a fantastically talented human being.
mexico1970
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What a duo ehh ?
5 Hit Gibbon
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I'd never heard of him. Just watched a clip and he's shite. So is Gervais though.
meltonblue
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Problem with Gervais without Merchant is he forgets the satire at times, it was a fine line at some points anyway.
Thats partly why even when he does explain his actual viewpoint, you still get some people saying “you tell ‘em Ricky!”
The Pandorica Opened
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I'd say he manages to be funnier than Gervais going through all the Nu-Atheist lines that you could have found on Reddit a decade ago or indeed in literally anything he's ever been on for a decade. I'd also say he manages to clear the bar set by routines like "I identify as a chimpanzee haha get it, trans people" and "imagine if my religious friends told me they wanted to shut down chemotherapy lol, I'd be smarter than them even though they don't want to do that and I just made it up".
The clever thing Ricky has done, though, is dressing up his material with greasy-high-schooler edginess so that the people who don't like criticism of him can go on their little "hahaha offending people he's so offensive are you offended yet snowflake some people can't handle being offended, it's so offensive, it causes offence hahaha get rekt people who are offended, I'm not offended, I like offence haha are you offended don't be offended it's good because offendedness haha offended" routines, which of course, for them, was the whole point of watching him in the first place.
Still, The Office was great. Ricky himself was quite likeable before he became a smug, Americanised avatar for the blandest people on Earth. I don't think my toes have uncurled from the cringe of him unironically doing this photo:
The Pandorica Opened
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^
Better than are-you-offended-yet-snowflake material like that, for instance.
As are things, like, I don't know, being impaled by a javelin or having to suffer through three series of Derek. But like I said, keeping things positive, let's remember when Ricky had actual talent instead of pandering to people who unironically use the word "woke". This remains one of the best scenes I have ever seen in a comedy. The dialogue, performance, shooting, lack of ambient sound, it's all just perfectly realised for a gut-wrenching moment:
Better than are-you-offended-yet-snowflake material like that, for instance.
As are things, like, I don't know, being impaled by a javelin or having to suffer through three series of Derek. But like I said, keeping things positive, let's remember when Ricky had actual talent instead of pandering to people who unironically use the word "woke". This remains one of the best scenes I have ever seen in a comedy. The dialogue, performance, shooting, lack of ambient sound, it's all just perfectly realised for a gut-wrenching moment:
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Hiley rated
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Once watched Jonny Vegas stand up, slagging Wigan off. Had me in bits. Very funny.
The Pandorica Opened
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Back to the topic of the thread, though, I think this is my favourite routine I've ever seen:
I think you need the context of the full show to really appreciate it, though. All the cynicism and darkness that went into his work before ending on such a simple, human note is something that still strikes a chord in me every time I see it. I think Hicks was the GOAT, for me. His delivery is just addictively good, I could rewatch his stuff all day.
I think you need the context of the full show to really appreciate it, though. All the cynicism and darkness that went into his work before ending on such a simple, human note is something that still strikes a chord in me every time I see it. I think Hicks was the GOAT, for me. His delivery is just addictively good, I could rewatch his stuff all day.