Talk:Ricky Gervais/Archive 2

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Archive 1 Archive 2

Huh?!

Under the 'Criticism and controversy' section there's this gem:

"The following week, the Guardian noted that Gervais had responded with "an exhilaratingly foul-mouthed tirade" on his website, concluding with the words, "Yes I am resting on my laurels you cunt!", in this video Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "Resting on his laurels" as Ricky jokingly lashed out by stating he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television and saying "What's the point? What is there to beat?"."

I'd try to make a coherent sentence out of this but it's so bad I honestly have no idea what it's trying to say. Could some kind editor take a stab at it? Mallocks (talk) 22:11, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Reminds of me of the Monty Python sketch which included (IIRC) "would it belie you to deny that you issued a falsehood when you rejected the contention that you falsely averred that you had deliberately mis-stated that you had erred in stating that you had erroneously alleged that you had not been there; or not?". Makes sense to me. --Rodhullandemu 22:51, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Gervais' influences

Whoever keeps reverting the text back to claiming Gervais has admitted being influenced by The Larry Sanders Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm is going to have to do better than the existing reference. Finding an article clearly biased against Gervais and basing your claim on the following excerpt is not sufficient grounds.

Gervais often talks about his admiration for American comedy, and in Extras you can see him striving to match the brilliance of The Larry Sanders Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm, which handle layers of reality with dazzling insouciance. For me, he is not remotely in their league - and maybe he'd be the first to admit that.

If you can find an interview quote, for instance, where he directly cites either of those shows as an influence, that would suffice. Otherwise, it should read: "Some have claimed that Gervais is influenced by..."Geenfietsen (talk) 23:46, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Science

Why was the small bit of information about Ricky's next tour removed?

http://www.rickygervais.com/fame4.php —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.240.165.116 (talk) 21:18, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

You didn't add the reference you've just cited. Feel free to add it, with the website between <ref></ref> tags. --Rodhullandemu 21:22, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

Ricky Gervais as 'Wilson the butler'

Does anyone remember wilson the butler? It was basically a pair of arms that came on screen with Andi peters and Edd the duck in the Broom cupboard. By now american readers will be saying 'WTF?'. But british readers in thier early 30's will be going 'oh, yeah'. Well, over on the wilson the butler page it claims that wilson was, on occasion, played by Ricky Gervais. Does any one know if this was true?

It's unsourced by any reliable sources, so that assertion has gone, and the article itself PRODded as non-notable. Rodhullandemu 15:48, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Bad reference

Cite note #47 refers to an episode of Jonathan Ross which hasn't aired yet. I assume the date is just wrong, can anyone fix it? --—Joseph RoeTk•Cb, 21:21, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

Vandalism

I've been looking at the history for this article, and over thhe past few weeks, there has been a number of edits which have been removed due to vandalism. The frequency of these appears to have been increasing recently, and although I don't think it has reached a level which warrants semi-protection, I thought itshould be pointed out. These edits will continue to increase as he becomes more popular worldwide, and he is a relatively controversial figure in some circles. Jhbuk (talk) 18:01, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Gervais is detested by many folk and that will mean this article will always be defaced. Perhaps semi-protection is the answer? Paul210 (talk) 18:09, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Stan Trolley

Can anyone find anything tangible linking Ricky Gervais to his new persona Stan Trolley (www.stantrolley.com)? I've seen references to that effect on several websites now, but it seems the news is still 'unofficial' since there's nothing on Gervais' main site - perhaps because Trolley is a character rather than a live show or book... The hunt for an official source continues - any help greatly appreciated. Isitwhatitis (talk) 00:29, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Stan Trolley should, if there's any comedic justice, be a Peter Cook character:

--Rodhullandemu 00:49, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

I can confirm Stan Trolley is not Ricky Gervais. Stan Trolley is the creation of a Bristol-based production company and is comedy actor Chris Grimes. I saw these references too but Ricky Gervais a) isn't that funny (IMHO) and b) is nothing like Stan Trolley 81.110.104.217 (talk) 17:52, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

The Simpsons Wikiproject

Why is this article under the scope of The Simpsons Wikiproject? I mean he only participated in one episode of the Series.--Diaa abdelmoneim (talk) 22:17, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

The scope of the project is to include anyone who wrote an episode for the series, which is why the page was added. That being said, he does have a very minimal connection to the show, and I would have no objection to it being removed. -- Scorpion0422 23:18, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Religion

Judging from his performances, he appears to be atheist, or agnostic. Can anyone confirm or deny this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.4.195.82 (talk) 22:09, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Yes, he can. Rodhullandemu 22:15, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Most popular film role?

Is it really fair to say the his role inNight in the Museum was "his most popular"? This suggests that RG was the reason people watched the film, ignoring the fact it was a pretty small role compared to Ben Stiller, owen Wilson and even Steve Coogan. (79.190.69.142 (talk) 12:21, 19 January 2010 (UTC))

Nationality

Can we have English replaced with British?

English isn't an oficially recognised nationality outside of the United Kingdom. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.1.63.147 (talk) 18:17, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Nationality of people from the United Kingdom I can't really see any problem with either to be honest; English is a very common description. I personally don't have much preference either way, although I suppose English is more precise. It depends what other people think. Jhbuk (talk) 18:24, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
He is a British citizen. Nationality is different from citizenship. A citizen belongs to a national community, I.e. the UK. Nationality is place of birth, in this case England therefore he is English. Jamie (talk) 14:04, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

That doesn't make sense. He was also born in the UK, so equally you could say he is British. If I went abroad and met someone who told me they were English, I would think they were think. The passport says British, therefore he is British. 'England' is a non entity which hasn't existed as a country for over 300 years. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.18.81.26 (talk) 15:40, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

Not this again - I'd argue that he is English. It may not be a sovereign state but England is considered a country in the same way that Wales and Scotland are. I see that those born in Wales and Scotland are listed as "Welsh" and "Scottish" respectively on their Wikipedia articles, so the same logic should apply to those born in England. Whether you think it should be British or English, if you were to change all references of "English" to "British" then you'd need to do the same for all Welsh and Scots.--86.15.46.130 (talk) 21:56, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
I say we just call him an Earthling since he is from Earth. Angryapathy (talk) 22:08, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
And if we want to be more specific that Earthling, we can call him a European. Angryapathy (talk) 22:10, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Jane Fallon

The infobox says she has been his domestic partner since 1982; the Personal life section describes her as his partner of 25 years. They can't have cohabited for 28 years but have only been in a relationship for 25 years. Jim Michael (talk) 03:25, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

It should be changed to "partner since 1982" and then it won't need updating ever. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.214.154 (talk) 14:09, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

Appearance in 'Spaced'

The main article does not list Ricky's short appearance in the 2nd series of Spaced in 2001 (episode 6 'Dissolution'). Gervais plays a telephone operator for the property listings in a local paper. Gervais's character miss-hears Marsha's requirements for potential tenants prompting him to write "professional couple only", thereby laying out the premise that Tim and Daisy have to pretend to be a couple on order to live at the flat Rossewing (talk) 02:29, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

Atheism

On January 16 2011, Gervais hosted the Golden Globe Awards and ended the event by proclaiming "...thank you to God for making me an atheist". I added this section to the main article and someone promptly removed it. If that represents his belief, then it is worthy of mention in the main article. Merlin1935 (talk) 04:23, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Only if it is a notable statement and there is some source for it other than your recollection. Is there? Jonathunder (talk) 01:09, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
It is a notable statement. Celebrities professing atheism is a noteworthy item in our contemporary society, especially if such proclamation is made to an audience of tens of millions such as the Golden Globe Awards. Quoting the individual is not a judgment but a statement of fact. It is also not based on my recollection - credible sources are awash with this fact, let alone the Internet. Anyone interested in this fact therefore does not have to rely on my recollection. This YouTube video speaks for itself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Merlin1935 (talk • contribs) 19:08, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
Except that we cannot use a YouTube clip as a reliable source; this might be solved by using {{cite episode}}, but I don't have the broadcast details to hand. Either way, it is obviously a humorous remark and I'm not sure how much credence we can give to his statement; it would be different if he said as such in a serious interview, but AFAIK, he hasn't. Accordingly, I'm going to remove this per policy for now until further discussion either reveals a more reliable source or consensus emerges that this statement is one. If necessary, the matter can go here or here for outside opinions. Rodhullandemu 19:27, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
One cannot imagine any source more reliable than video evidence, unless such video evidence was manipulated which is not the case here. Just for the sake of argument, a misdemeanor or crime caught on video and reported on You Tube cannot be dismissed as "unreliable" just because there are no AP or Reuters reporting on it. Your comment that "it is obviously a humorous remark" is strictly a subjective opinion and cannot be a parameter for determining what is suitable (or not) for Wikipedia. Comments made by public figures are no less important simply because the forum was not a formal interview setting. Besides, Wikipedia is replete with casual quotes made by profiled personalities, including Gervais himself. He made his Golden Globe statement fully aware he was speaking to tens of millions of viewers. It is no less significant than the profile entry that he is an Associate of the National Secular Society - which by the way has no references whatsoever - as well as that supposed Wall Street Journal article. Therefore objections to inclusion of Gervais' Golden Globe Awards statement seems to point to a bias in his favor. Since he fully embraces his atheistic beliefs, this bias is totally misplaced and has no place in Wikipedia. Merlin1935 (talk) 20:46, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
  • "One cannot imagine any source more reliable than video evidence" - unless that evidence is a copyright violation, in which case it cannot be used here.
  • "it is obviously a humorous remark" - is it not? Gervais is a comedian presenting an entertainment programme. Why should he be serious?
  • "Wikipedia is replete with casual quotes..." - WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS applies here. If they're unsourced, either source them or remove them.
  • "a bias in his favor" - WP:AGF, please. I'm happy to see a reliable source for his atheism, but thus far, I dispute that this is one. Remember that WP:BLP applies to this article, and controversial must be reliably sourced. But thanks for remembering WP:BRD, and I look forward to contributions from other editors. Rodhullandemu 20:50, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

I have reviewed Wikipedia's policies on copyright violation - references to YouTube videos are not included as violation. In fact this is encouraged and the contrary appears to be the case. If you have a direct link to Wikipedia policy indicating references to YouTube videos as copyright violation, please provide it. Yes comedians make jokes but they sometimes get serious on current issues and must be taken seriously like everyone else. Perhaps we can as well discount all other Wikipedia entries regarding his atheism as humor? Merlin1935 (talk) 21:14, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Here is an article from The Huffington Post on this topic. Is this credible and reliable enough? Merlin1935 (talk) 21:37, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
There is a profound difference to us between linking to a Golden Globes or television channel website hosting that video, and a YouTube site; in the former case, we not linking to a copyright violation, and in the latter case, we are, since whoever owns the copyright to the broadcast hasn't explicitly licensed the clip for free (as in "of copyright") use. As for the Huffington Post site, it's evidence of what he said, but taken as one of a long list of jokes made by Gervais that night, I'd say that weakens the position beyond that from which it could be regarded as a reliable source for something so critical; however, re-reading the article, his atheism is already sourced to some extent, so perhaps adding one more cite doesn't matter that much. If it were the only source, it would be worth very little. Rodhullandemu 21:48, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
One of the reasons the Golden Globe Award comment is most worthy of quote is not the fact of his atheism but his choice of words in expressing this belief, which in turn has evoked a plethora of commentary in the print media, television and the internet. Such can hardly be dismissed as just a regular joke. If Gervais had advocated child or spousal abuse in his long line of jokes that evening, it is doubtful that this would be seen as "weak" or "worth little", because there is always a line to draw and a price to pay for free speech.
Contrary to your statement above, it is not a violation of copyright to link to copyrighted material (such as the YouTube clip) provided the source is credited, as affirmed here by Wikipedia WP:C in this statement "[It is not necessary to obtain the permission of a copyright holder before linking to copyrighted material, just as an author of a book does not need permission to cite someone else's work in their bibliography]".
As stated earlier, the main article itself contains statements that have no citations whatsoever. This is not a justification for inclusion of just about anything, but it does prove that every instance does not necessarily require a rigid adherence to traditional news agency sources and formal interviews or op-ed pieces. If anything, the recent Gervais statement in question deserves inclusion more so than the unreferenced entries that he is an Associate of the National Secular Society, and had written a Wall Street Journal article. Merlin1935 (talk) 01:32, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
  • Sorry, but you're missing the point here. We are not linking to "copyrighted material"; by linking to a YouTube copy of coyprighted material, we are linking to an unauthorised copy of copyrighted material, and if YouTube removed that content, I wouldn't be surprised. Neither would I be surprised if the copyright holder of that content sued YouTube, it's uploader, yourself, and anyone else who perpetuated its use here, for damages and injunctive relief against its further use. Although we are not all lawyers here, optimism does not, and can not, substitute for proprietary rights here, of which copyright is the major issue as far as the Wikimedia Foundation and its legal Counsel are concerned. It stays out as a source, and that's an end of it. There are other sources, as you've pointed out. Rodhullandemu 01:37, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
Agreed that a direct link to the unlicensed video clip is a violation, the fact of the event having significant value for inclusion here should not be discounted if other credible sources are provided. For so doing is a subjective judgment contrary to precedence as I have shown above. Merlin1935 (talk) 02:09, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
  • Precedence is irrelevant; that other articles are poorly-sourced isn't an argument. There are already arguable sources for Gervais's atheism; the fact that he made a flippant, although sourced, comment in a very public forum is neither here nor there, and this is nothing to do with subjectivity; it's about how far you can take such a comment by a comedian as being a confession or an assertion of beliefs. Perhaps, in the absence of other evidence, that's all we have, but taking it seriously, without appropriate wording in the article, is perhaps a step too far. In other words, please don't necessarily take comedians too seriously; to do otherwise is to deprive them of the reason they have the careers they have chosen. If they want to be honest in other media, fine; but up in front of an audience, you really do have to have a large pinch of salt to hand. Rodhullandemu 02:23, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
Precedence is mostly always relevant for the reason of drawing from experience and making necessary adjustments; to ignore precedence therefore is to ignore experience and repeat mistakes. Which of course one is at liberty to adopt as a personal style but it should not be suggested here as a bona-fide strategy for others to emulate. The reasons given for exclusion (humor) are subjective at best, and certainly are not superior to the argument for inclusion (fact). Considering that the statement generated much reaction, what is wrong with reporting it here as possible humor if indeed that is the case? The fact that the main article already sufficiently addresses his atheism should not close out new reporting on the subject regardless of merits.
Look, Wikipedia is replete with "poorly-sourced" articles (to use your words) and that is okay, because it is not intended to be a scholarly resource. Entries merely need to be as accurate and factual as possible with citations. Articles are not peer-reviewed, but are subject only to editorial control of administrators who may or may not be subject-matter experts. Therefore what is included or excluded is sometimes subjective. That is the beauty of Wikipedia so please spare your arguments on the suitability of Gervais' recent utterances as an entry. I assume you are one of the site administrators here, thus your prerogative as decision maker is a more tenable excuse in this matter. That is, you could simply say, "It's what I wanna do", and that would be more understandable than the actual arguments. In fact I will not be surprised if this entire discussion is deleted for the same reason. I rest my case.Merlin1935 (talk) 08:36, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Picture

I took the liberty of changing the article picture, as the original was rather depressing. The replacement comes from the Wikipedia Commons (it's actually the photo used in the Italian Wikipedia entry on Gervais). Epn10 (talk) 05:05, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I have added a link to Commons so that the other image is available for those interested. Keith D (talk) 12:54, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Ricky Gervais an 80's singer?

I just saw this, _IF_ it is to be believed, then perhaps the link should be added. Ricky Gervais an 80's singer??? Someone else will have to decide if it's real.

LP-mn (talk) 04:39, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Um, have you actually bothered to read the Ricky Gervais article? It's mentioned under Career: Music: Ricky_Gervais#Music. 81.147.150.3 (talk) 16:33, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
Are people on this talk thread crazy? Frightened to quote him where he said (and 100+ million people heard him say) "thank god for making me an atheist". He's said it 100 times in interviews and 1000 times on Twitter. It's not something that should be doubted, even if you don't have a copyright cleared article you can link to for reference. Same story with his 80's singing career in the band Seona Dancing (which have their own wiki page here), but people are questioning whether it's real. All the TV talk show interviews he's done in the last decade where they played the clips of him singing and him talking about his music career - that's not proof? There's wanting to keep things posted on a wiki page backed up with reference evidence if it's in doubt, but when it's common knowledge to anyone who's followed the person even a tiny bit, common sense should prevail.

Nationality

Every comedian or writer from Wales/Scotland is listed as Welsh/Scottish, why is Ricky considered British not English —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.66.175.71 (talk) 18:03, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Those other articles should be changed to show nationality as British but born in Wales or Scotland. However, Scotland has a stronger case because it was never conquered but merged by the Acts of Union 1707. Everyone born there would still hold British passworts though. Nasnema  Chat  06:52, 8 April 2011 (UTC)
Well that is not the case, almost every writer/ comedian is known as English/Welsh or Scottish, except Ricky and Stephen Merchant. Ricky should be stated as a English comedian, in the introduction. In the infobox under nationality it should be British.
You don't understand the difference between a county and a nation. Someone may be Welsh but be British as their nationality. They may represent Wales in international competitions but it doesn't stop them being British. Don't you see? Nasnema  Chat  23:57, 8 April 2011 (UTC)
First of I presume you mean COUNTRY not County, ironic you seem to be judging my knowledge on no evidence. I am not arguing the Nationality section in the box. I am saying the introduction should state him as English just as the hundreds of other articles do for Welsh/Scottish writers. This source proves it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeBlGiqSlc8 Hopefully someone else can help? 194.66.175.71 (talk) 00:14, 9 April 2011 (UTC)
The obvious typo beside, the fact is that the first thing to mention in a bio is the nationality. Nasnema  Chat  00:23, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

an idiot abroad

i think there should be a little more info about the idiot abroad series added under the television section on this article as it is now the idiot abroad series is not mention at all but there is a lot of info about his guest appearance on various shows and other minor appearances--85.228.179.171 (talk) 09:57, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Podcasts

The Ricky Gervais Show is no longer the most downloaded podcast of all time, The Adam Carolla Show now holds the title. On May 18, 2011, Adam announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live that the The Adam Carolla Show has taken the Guinness World Record for the most downloaded podcast ever from Ricky Gervais[1] [2] after receiving receiving 59,574,843 unique downloads from March 2009 to March 16, 2011. [3] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.40.40.129 (talk) 09:59, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/news/a320520/adam-carolla-show-breaks-podcast-world-record.html
  2. ^ http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/news/a320520/adam-carolla-show-breaks-podcast-world-record.html
  3. ^ Guinness World Records (2011). "The Adam Carolla Show" breaks record for most downloaded podcast.

Photo

Is there not a better photo to use for the top of the article? It's slightly unflattering and quite dark. Maybe a portrait would be better. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fred Burma (talk • contribs) 23:27, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree. This could very well be the worst footage of Ricky yet, and I'm including Seona Dancing in this. There should be a picture of him with his jaw wide open, as you're most likely to see him like that. --Helt91 (talk) 18:06, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedians decided awhile back that you're not allowed to use nice, posed portraits in articles for living celebrities; you have to use a random snapshot, preferably taken from a great distance with a low-quality cameraphone. I'm exaggerating, but not by much. The idea is that since the text is created by Wikipedians, the photos should be contributed by Wikipedians as well, which I find asinine, because it's a lot easier and more realistic for an amateur to create encyclopedia-level text than to create an encyclopedia-level photo of a celebrity. Honestly, the Gervais picture is in the upper tier of these photos in my opinion; start looking up random celebrities and it won't take long to find lots of photos that are worse. (For example, Roseanne Barr and Kate Flannery are two I've seen recently.) Propaniac (talk) 21:22, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Not necessarily. All that is required is an image free of copyright, whether taken by a Wikipedian or not. That's because we are, uh, a free-content encyclopedia and shouldn't need to pay royalties to some paparrazo or agency. That would arguably swallow up our entire annual budget. There are many free images on Flickr, for example. All we need to do is to encourage uploading of free images, but some of our editors and readers don't have the technology to do it. I'd have more confidence in your reply if you'd surrounded it by <sarcasm></sarcasm>, but we live in a world in which very little is "free". --Rodhullandemu 21:38, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

I agree with those above. How's about a slightly more candid photo for the page? The existing photographic specimen wreaks of lameness, something not at all representative of Ricky's creative prowess.Weirdly Sawbones (talk) 06:43, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

OK, lads, how's the new photo to you? Kolyarudoj (talk) 10:30, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

I must say I prefer the previous image as the new one is rather difficult to distinguish with the dark clothing merging in with the dark background. Keith D (talk) 10:40, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
Thanks, Keith D, but nevertheless - other opinions? Kolyarudoj (talk) 10:42, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

"Main friends"?

In the personal life section delineates his "main friends". This strikes me as an inappropriate (not to mention silly) topic for wikipedia to cover. Nevermind that the term "main friend" is dubious in itself, but the only "source" cited is "Ricky Gervais... Obviously". [1] — added by 76.170.127.131 (talk) 21:28, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

I have removed the paragraph, you are right that is not encyclopedic. GB fan please review my editing 16:34, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

Whatever happened to his MTV short skits?

I remember some time between 1996 and 2001 Ricky used to do these short roughly 30 second clips that were shown in ad-breaks on MTV UK. It was Ricky in an 80's style vinyl record shop talking Brent-like nonsense to either the camera or other people in the store. They were really funny. I remember when The Office first aired I thought "oh it's that guy from those MTV shorts". I thought that because I'd missed the 11 o'clock show and meet ricky gervais completely. I can't find these anywhere. I bet most people at MTV themselves don't realize they have them in their archives somewhere. 84.155.241.235 (talk) 18:43, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

Also missing is his featuring in an episode of the "Vic Reeves Examines" series, which I think I'll upload to youtube. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.213.90 (talk) 07:56, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Friends

I am removing all the uses of the word "friend" or "friends" where used to describe people he works with. Firstly it is unencyclopaedic, secondly it is rather stuck-up rubbish. You have to be on cordial terms with people in order to work with them, this is not especially notable for Gervais no matter how much of a "luvvie" he is. Andrew Oakley (talk) 08:29, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Nationality again

According to the article, Gervais was born in Reading. Reading is in England, so it would surely make sense to describe him as English, would it not? Is there any particular reason for using British rather than English? HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 21:44, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

WP:UKNATIONALS is our guideline here. If all British citizens were describable by the constituent nation of their birth, then nobody would be described as British; so I don't think that's a tenable argument. It really is splitting hairs to make the distinction between British and English, but it seems to matter to some people. I think that if a particular description has been written into the article, then by analogy with WP:RETAIN it requires a jolly good reason to change it, supported if necessary by discussion, sources and consensus, otherwise people would just come along (as they tediously appear to do) and change it according to their own preference/prejudice. That's no way to write an encyclopedia, in my view. Rodhullandemu 21:54, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Surely there should be some consistency on this? I personally think British is more suitable but this should be applied across the board to all British entries on here. I'm not brave enough to change Sean Connery though. Sue De Nimes (talk) 19:12, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Just like me (I was also born in England of English parents), he's British. It says so on our passports. Our official nationality is British. We may all prefer to mention our sub-nationality, just like someone in Texas might prefer to say they're a Texan, but look on their passport and it will say "American". Ask someone from Scotland or Wales their nationality and they may say Scottish or Welsh, as I might say English, but put an offical form in front of them (me) and watch us write British. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_citizenship — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.213.90 (talk) 07:54, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

You can't compare a state in America with England, I'm Welsh and with others I consistently describe myself as Welsh on forms and no one bats an eyelid, if you don't think England exists I suggest someone tells the English national football team, Ricky isn't mixed race and doesn't work for the BBC or govermment so I presume he calls himself English. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Owain meurig (talk • contribs) 21:45, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

Merge standup show articles

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.
The result was merge into Ricky Gervais. -- DarkCrowCaw 15:07, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

Versions as found:

No offence, but these articles aren't very good in their current state, if they can't be improved I suggest they be merged here.

Support as proposer. MickMacNee (talk) 23:39, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

As I see it, we don't do this for most performers unless the tour/act has achieved separate notability ; Peter Kay is a case in point, so I support merging. Rodhullandemu 23:55, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Comment If Eddie Murphy's Delerious and Dave Chappelle's Killin' them softly have their own separate articles, why not these?--Jeff79 (talk) 19:10, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Because other crap exists is never a good argument to make, because it only creates circular paradoxes. Based on general notability, there is no evidence Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly as an unreferenced stub should really exist at all, and appears to be a just coatrack for a non-free image, and while Eddie Murphy Delirious has more content, it is equally unreferenced, and its notability seems to rest on the uqalified assertion of having been "a big success", and for Murphy having said fuck a lot, apparently. MickMacNee (talk) 20:17, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Support merger. The main article seems strangely incomplete without these included. It's also unlikely that these standup shows are going to be remembered by name separately from the rest of Gervais's career. Acsenray (talk) 18:04, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Support merger. Putting this material in the main Gervais article would improve the main article, and balance the other extensive sections. Keeping these articles separate could only be justified if they were expanded to include a lot of new information (e.g. tour locations and dates, reviews and reception by audience, and so on). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Historymad (talk • contribs) 10:05, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Gervais' infuence - the Gervais principle

Blogger Venkatesh Rao's 4k word post (plus a certain fraction of the 14k words of comments) explains at length the "Gervais principle" he gleaned from The Office: http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/

"The Gervais Principle is this:

Sociopaths, in their own best interests, knowingly promote over-performing losers into middle-management, groom under-performing losers into sociopaths, and leave the average bare-minimum-effort losers to fend for themselves.

...While some may be losers in that sense too, they are primarily losers in the economic sense: those who have, for various reasons, made (or been forced to make) a bad economic bargain: they’ve given up some potential for long-term economic liberty (as capitalists) for short-term economic stability. Traded freedom for a paycheck in short. They actually produce, but are not compensated in proportion to the value they create (since their compensation is set by sociopaths operating under conditions of serious moral hazard). They mortgage their lives away, and hope to die before their money runs out. The good news is that losers have two ways out, which we’ll get to later: turning sociopath or turning into bare-minimum performers. The losers destined for cluelessness do not have a choice...

...The Losers like to feel good about their lives. They are the happiness seekers, rather than will-to-power players, and enter and exit reactively, in response to the meta-Darwinian trends in the economy. But they have no more loyalty to the firm than the sociopaths. They do have a loyalty to individual people, and a commitment to finding fulfillment through work when they can, and coasting when they cannot.

The Clueless are the ones who lack the competence to circulate freely through the economy (unlike sociopaths and losers), and build up a perverse sense of loyalty to the firm, even when events make it abundantly clear that the firm is not loyal to them. To sustain themselves, they must be capable of fashioning elaborate delusions based on idealized notions of the firm..."

Rao concludes by saying he hasn't even scratched the surface, and that "Gervais deserves Nobel prizes in both literature and economics."

Worthy of note? Mothduster (talk) 01:41, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Might be if Venkatesh Rao was noteworthy (and even then, only might be).--Gibson Flying V (talk) 11:04, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

Out of England 2

Is there any reason the article doesn't mention his second HBO special Out of England 2? --213.196.213.139 (talk) 22:39, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

Name pronunciation

I just saw a rerun of Graham Norton where Ricky said his name and I don't think he pronounced the final -s. Anyone know for sure how he says it? 68.185.180.192 (talk) 03:53, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

In that clip, Gervais is making fun of the fact that someone mispronounced his name. Marshmallow1304 (talk) 22:29, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

I think it's more Gervaise than Gervase. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.214.203.236 (talk) 01:44, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Requesting change in the main description

The fourth line, "In 2010 Gervais hosted the Golden Globe Awards; he returned to host in 2011 and again in 2012" has its own paragraph, which doesn't balance well compared to the previous two, which were both longer and covered an array of far more noteworthy items. I'm for moving it to somewhere in paragraph three, but am open to any objections. (Zedell (talk) 18:36, 24 April 2013 (UTC))

main description: 'comedian' or 'standup comedian'?

It's recently been changed, so I'll bring it up here instead of starting an edit war. 'Standup comedian' seems too specific to me. I'd say comedy is integral to everything he does, so I'd have him down as simply 'comedian'. I think this still carries enough implication of 'standup comedy', without appearing to be separate from his other identities. (Zedell (talk) 16:31, 2 May 2013 (UTC))

Comedy

Shouldn't celebrity humour or something like that be listed on it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.28.91.232 (talk) 22:47, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

Why is him pretending it's ok to use "mong" as an insult

then claiming he didn't know it meant Down's Syndrome / used as an equivalent to retard after being called out for it tagged onto the Diana concert/Live earth section when it happened more recently than that (2010 - the concerts were 2007), (should be in a controversy section at least) and why no mention of the fact that he's already been broadcast telling a 'joke' about Susan Boyle looking like "a mong" & following it with "you can't say mong, yes you can it's easy. It's one of the easiest words to say. You just needs lips. Even mongs can say it."

Sources - http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100112084/ricky-gervais-and-mong-if-its-politically-correct-to-think-its-bullying-then-im-politically-correct/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/10/ricky-gervais-no-justification-lazy-cruelty More on the 'joke' http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/ricky-gervais-sparks-outrage-after-1059684

Susan Boyle's responce according to the Sun "SUSAN BOYLE has finally hit back at Ricky Gervais ’ s cruel “ mong ” jibe, calling him a “ wasted ” talent." - can't access rest of article because of paywall :-( http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/music/4172605/Susan-Boyle-Ricky-Gervais-is-the-one-with-the-problem-not-me.html

Another reaction to his use of the word on Twitter http://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2011/oct/19/ricky-gervais-mong-twitter 109.224.137.121 (talk) 23:12, 7 September 2013 (UTC)

TV Talk Shows

I want to add the talk shows Ricky Gervais appeared in, tell me what you think.

===TV Talk Shows===

Year Title Role Notes
2008-2014 Live with Kelly and Michael Himself 8 episodes
2014 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Himself
2003-2014 Late Show with David Letterman Himself 26 episodes
2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers Himself
2008-2014 Today Himself 8 episodes
2014 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Himself 2 episodes
2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Himself
2005-2014 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Himself 13 episodes
2003-2014 This Morning Himself 7 episodes
2008-2014 The Graham Norton Show Himself 7 episodes
2014 The Queen Latifah Show Himself Mar 19, 2014]
2010-2014 Conan Himself 10 episodes
2008-2014 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Himself 4 episodes
2004-2013 Charlie Rose Himself 2 episodes
2013 CBS News Sunday Morning Himself
2011-2013 Piers Morgan Tonight Himself 4 episodes
2010-2013 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Himself 6 episodes
2008-2012 The View Himself 4 episodes
2009-2012 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Himself 5 episodes
2012 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Himself
2012 Dateline NBC Himself
2010-2012 Alan Carr: Chatty Man Himself 2 episodes
2010 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Himself
2010 The Jay Leno Show Himself 2 episodes
2009-2010 The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Himself 2 episodes
2005-2009 The New Paul O'Grady Show Himself 4 episodes
2009 60 Minutes Himself
2002-2009 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Himself 9 episodes
2009 Entertainment Tonight Himself
2009 Inside the Actors Studio Himself
2005-2009 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Himself 7 episodes
2008-2013 Loose Women Himself 4 episodes
2014 CNN Himself
2014 Unscripted Himself

Source imdb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0315041/?ref_=tt_cl_t2 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adyoo3 (talk • contribs) 14:51, 13 November 2014‎ (UTC)

I have moved your contribution to the end, new contributions (sections) to talk pages go at the end so that the page is in chronological order of threads. Also it would help if you signed your contributions to talk pages, you can do this be adding 4 tidle charactes to the end of your post, like ~~~~, which will convert to your username and the time of the post.
On your original question I think that you need to look for a reliable source for the information as IMDB is not considered reliable as it is user generated. Keith D (talk) 20:57, 13 November 2014 (UTC)


Ricky Gervais Articles

Problem with pages Ricky Gervais linked pages

When I finish editing and adding verifications...will you follow me and check all articles?

Sources accepted?

Ricky Gervais's - Blog, Facebook, G+, Vne, Instagram, YouTube - live interview - tv shows websites, - news outlets - magazine, newspapers, webnews, other stars/actors comments/Twitter - photos from Gervais's Blog, Facebook, G+, Vne, Instagram or fans like posted on Twitter - YouTube channels from shows or fans

Does any of these sources need permission?

Thank youAdyoo3 (talk) 06:28, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

The majority of sources listed here are not suitable for Wikipedia and are not considered reliable sources, to reference TV appearances, you should focus on newspaper reviews and television listing magazines. If Ricky was on the Graham Norton show, this could be referenced by a citation from the BBC Programme catalogue. Nick (talk) 12:24, 19 November 2014 (UTC)


Please review.

A copied-and-pasted version of Life on the Road.

Draft:Life On The Road EditStop watching

Life On The Road, a movie produced by BBC Films, will star Ricky Gervais as David Brent: first seen in The Office TV series.[1]

This feature length film will be done mockumentary style, a film crew shadows Brent as he travels up and down the country living his dream of being a rock star.[2]

Gervais explains, 15 years has passed, Brent, a sales rep after leaving Wernham Hogg, is on his music tour. He believes he will be filmed like Scorsese did with The Rolling Stones. Tragically, he will be featured in a 'where are they now' documentary. He takes a holiday to tour with his band and has to use his pension to fund part of his Rock concert, the ticket sales are less than he can afford to pay his band members.[3]

Gervais revealed that he has finished writing songs for Brent's tour.[4] He has been made it clear that this is not The Office movie.[5]

Ricky will also produce and direct this movie. Filming will begin in 2015.[6]


External links

http://www.rickygervais.com

https://www.facebook.com/rickygervais

https://twitter.com/rickygervaishttps://m.

https://m.youtube.com/user/plumplard

http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/ricky-gervais http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/05/ricky-gervais-david-brent-film_n_5651072.html http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ricky-gervais-making-office-movie-723399 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ricky-gervais-finishes-writing-songs-748108?mobile_redirect=false http://www.cinemablend.com/new/How-Ricky-Gervais-Set-His-Office-Spinoff-Movie-Apart-68173.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30123910

Adyoo3 (talk) 05:36, 23 November 2014 (UTC)


New article. Please review. Thank you.Adyoo3 (talk) 13:02, 23 November 2014 (UTC)

A copied-and-pasted version of Draft:Special Correspondents.

B> Special Correspondents


Ricky Gervais will star in this comedy movie with Eric Bana.

Gervais plays an assistant to Bana, both characters pretend to be kidnapped in a rebel thorn country overseas. However, they are safe in New York reporting from a Manhattan restaurant. Their story gains world wide fame and they have to sneak into Ecuador to make their story real [1]

Envoyés très spéciaux is the 2009 original by Michael Simon a member of the Anti-Terrorist Squad and Jacques Labib, a reporter for RTL[2][3]

Bana is returning to comedy after many roles in drama. He was famous for staring in a sketch comedy series Full Frontal.[4]

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/eric-bana-returning-to-comedy-roots-in-ricky-gervais-satire-20141103-11fwkx.html#ixzz3Jtb4hxiS

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired the distribution rights to this remake.[5]

Gervais will star, write, direct and produce the film, shooting will begin in New York and Vancouver in 2015. [6]

External links

http://www.rickygervais.com

https://www.facebook.com/rickygervais

https://twitter.com/rickygervaishttps://m.

https://m.youtube.com/user/plumplard

References

  1. ^ http://variety.com/2014/film/news/ricky-gervais-special-correspondents-remake-1201341524/
  2. ^ http://www.reporter-rtl.com
  3. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/eric-bana-returning-to-comedy-roots-in-ricky-gervais-satire-20141103-11fwkx.html#ixzz3ImUpZ6RD
  4. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/eric-bana-returning-to-comedy-roots-in-ricky-gervais-satire-20141103-11fwkx.html
  5. ^ http://www.moviescopemag.com/market-news/featured-editorial/sony-pictures-acquire-ricky-gervais-comedy-special-correspondents/
  6. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ricky-gervais-comedy-special-correspondents-748625?mobile_redirect=false

No such thing as a Franco-Ontarian

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. His father was a Canadian. Period. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Readerthis2000 (talk • contribs) 15:43, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

It is a valid description that is more accurate than generic Canadian. Jim Michael (talk) 17:46, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

There absolutely is such thing! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.30.159.102 (talk) 02:11, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Social media

I trimmed back a vast amount of trivial material on Gervais's social media presence. Do we need to keep any of it? In order to do so, we would need decent sources. Are there any? --John (talk) 08:57, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Additions to the Article - Ricky Gervais's Cat

I propose adding Ricky's cat Ollie to this article. He often mentions her on social media and is a member of his family.

Gervais has a cat Ollie given to him by Jonathan Ross on air.[1][2]

Adyoo3 (talk) 19:57, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "Ricky Gervais Loves His Cat and Doesn't Care Who Knows It". Catsperella. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Tricky Ricky". W Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2015.

Awards and nominations

The following awards are missing from the Awards and nominations table. I propose adding them as all of Gervais' other award are in it.

Television Critics Association (TCA) award

2003 Outstanding Achievement in Comedy The Office > nominated

2004 Outstanding Achievement in Comedy The Office > nominated

2004 TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy Ricky Gervais The Office > won

2005 Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials The Office Special > won

New York International Short Film Festival. 2012 Best Comedy Derek > won

Adyoo3 (talk) 02:19, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Guest star on television series

On Gervais' guest staring role in Alias; Unable to find any other reliable sources on his comment "I did an episode of Alias, and I can't watch it. Me being serious. I can't watch it". I propose adding the following citation, or removing the comment.

Gervais 67 Success Facts - Everything you need to know about Ricky Gervais by Kimberly Atkins https://books.google.com/books?id=0xIQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT6&lpg=PT6&dq=ricky+gervais+alias&source=bl&ots=bfbaFriZqk&sig=aAdObUuHoT1QJq-rNJZSplYFevQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lZpFVcvUG47doASxi4HoBw&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=ricky%20gervais%20alias&f=false%7Ctitle=Ricky

Adyoo3 (talk) 04:58, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Improve this?

The article is in a terrible mess, full of random trivia. Would anyone be interested in making it into a proper article? --John (talk) 09:44, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

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Height

according to my googling is Ricky Gervais 171 cm tall. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.234.170.214 (talk) 17:58, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

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