Talk:Ricky Gervais/Archive 1

Name
'Richard Dene Gervais?' is that correct!? I'm sure his name is simply Ricky not Richard.

Referencing
Referencing is very poor. Who thinks that "Independent et al (2005)" is the correct way to cite a reference. "Et al" means and all, and usually refers to a journal article having more than one author - not several newspapers making the same point. Also, the date isnt cited only the name and year of publication. This is poor citation. If you are going to use the Harvard referncing system then do it properly. Otherwise just add a link, as at least then you can access it directly.
 * "et al" is short for "et alia", which means "and others". -- Rodhullandemu  (Talk) 02:39, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

The "Criticism" sub-section...
Why is this here? Honestly, this doesn't relate to Wikipedia's standards whatsoever. Fellow comedians Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld, nor Larry David have any such sections in their articles. This should be paraphrased and incorporated into earlier sections or removed entirely. Wikipedia articles are to offer information, not incite personal attacks from unworthy and under qualified critics. If we included paraphrases of detrimental pieces about Dave Chappelle, his article would almost require two pages. 68.47.203.158 (talk) 02:19, 3 January 2008 (UTC)


 * There seems to be a trend in WP of this type of section arising, presumably because of a rather over-enthusiastic interpretation of neutrality policy. Far better, in my opinion, that notable events or properties be dealt with by forms such as "X did/said Y(ref1); this attracted criticism here(ref2) but was countered by (ref3).. etc., up to a point". Problem with this is that it can degenerate into a ping-pong match, and if such ends up on an admin page, it can all end in tears. It is incumbent upon all editors of WP, in my view, to realise that NPOV means, above all, fair dealing with the issues, and stepping back sometimes. Criticism sections have their place, e.g. MacDonalds, Tesco, Electronic Arts; but these are not just venues for venting spleen, especially unsourced and biased spleen. -- Rodhullandemu  (Talk) 23:49, 29 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Even the 'nutshell' summary of the Neutrality policy states: "All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view, representing significant views fairly, proportionately and without bias." The criticism section here is not neutral, in that it is clearly not designed for Mr. Gervais to have any sort of reprieve. Aside from that, it's clear the views aren't fair--as this would be like publishing every 2-star movie review under the "Reception" section of blockbusters. Continuing with that though, how is what's presented now proportionate and quote, "without bias"? It's fairly obvious that the policy is being stretched beyond its own threshold for this section. Funnily enough, the main-header for the criticism sub-section is "Accolades." Accolades refer to praise or expressing approval. I don't know many critics who criticize through praise... Do you? 68.47.203.158 (talk) 02:19, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Just had a quick look through it again. The criticisms are referenced and largely phrased in "X but then Y" terms. WRT to Gervais' perceived arrogance, having seen some of his comments at award ceremonies, it is difficult to tell whether he is actually being arrogant or sending the whole thing up, and it would be easy to assume the former. One problem is that the media will print something which gets quoted and re-quoted, and if I were Gervais I probably wouldn't be bothered trying to descend to that level. It's late here and I can't spend the time now, but I will give it a long, hard look tomorrow and see if it actually needs rewording. "Accolades" should really be limited to awards and positive reactions, but that itself would need to be balanced if there were justifiable "criticisms". Let me spleep on it. -- Rodhullandemu  (Talk) 02:33, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

I believe the Criticism sub-section is valid, and I think Ricky Gervais would be quite happy for it to stay on. On his XFM radio show he (or should that be Stephen Merchant) would often read out E-mails sent in by irate listeners, one listener  Richard Anderson (Dickie Andders) became quite a cult figure on his radio show with his continual criticism of his show. Ricky Gervais even states that he prefers to annoy people then be loved and cherished by people. Maybe a lot of his perceived arrogance comes from the fact he likes to rub people up in the wrong way. Also creating a character on the 11oClock show who was a right wing racist reactionary called 'Ricky Gervais' which he continued in 'Meet Ricky Gervais' opened him up to quite a lot of criticism which even in hindsight Ricky Gervais believed it might of been a mistake to use his own name as opposed to a different one not being the star that he is now he felt people missed the irony and assumed he generally believed in it,infact a lot of what he said on these two shows eventually made its way to his Stand-Up shows, Animals, Politics and Fame. I think there should be more Criticism sub-sections on comedians in Wikipedia, just as there are on music pages or film pages. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.178.23 (talk) 05:15, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Ricky Gervais Meets ...
- A source claimed "The Shandling experience put him off for good."

I'm baffled someone watches that programme and thinks it's not comedy. I think that kind of sourcing humorless tw*ts reflects poorly on Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.12.223.2 (talk) 08:04, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

People over here say that Americans don't get Irony, but people in Britain don't get it either.

Anyone who's watched the Shandling episode can see that Shandling has watched Gervais's work, appreciated it, and used the same techniques of discomfort-inducement in the interview "for real". Gervais gets this early on and appears to enjoy himself greatly. Indeed, when Shandling delivers the "uncomfortable around Jews" line, Gervais says, in mock disgust "are you Jewish?". How this can be misinterpreted is beyond me. 62.244.190.66 (talk) 18:36, 9 September 2008 (UTC)ian.miell [at] gmail.com

Name
He said in one of the old XFM shows that his given name is just Ricky, not Richard.

He also stated in an interview that his middle name is spelt 'Dene'.

Someone has stated in the infobox that his birth name is 'Richard Geservaise' - I'm almost certain that this is utter tosh (particularly since he's never been called Richard, as stated above), but I just wanted to check before removing it. Conrad1on 14:18, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Trivia
His sister was born on September 1st? My god, how fascinating...surely this needs a clean-up?195.172.15.93 09:42, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

First Guest Writer
Surely Conan O'Brien counts as the first "guest star" on the Simpsons who also wrote an episode.69.249.212.254 23:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Second guest writer
famous catchphrase from new series EXTRAS is : are you havin' a laugh? are they havin' a laugh?

Newbyguesses 04:09, 28 March 2007 (UTC)Newbyguesses

That composite photograph looks nothing like Gervais. Conrad1on 19:50, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Based his character David Brent on a man called Jack Thorogood, that he met while at university - I dont think this is true, i have heard him say he wasnt based on anybody —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

Arrested Devlopment
No evidence he was ever on Arrested Development. IMDB says he wasn't on it. I'm removing it. - According to an interview with an actor from Arrested Development they were trying to get Ricky on the show but it never happened, sadly.

Sacked
He was not sacked- he took redundancy- much like david brent. I'm changing it.

Pronunciation of Surname
I've removed the sentence referring to Ricky's surname; it's not pronounced like that. I'll put a corrected version back when I've worked one out jamesgibbon 22:23, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

"nice" and "normal" should be: nice and "normal"

Ricky consistently pronounces his own name as "dʒɜːˈveɪz" on the Ricky Gervais show, despite how the announcer pronounces it (as "dʒɜːˈveɪs"). Therefore, unless anyone has evidence pointing otherwise, I'm changing the pronunciation to "dʒɜːˈveɪz" with a "z". HorseloverFat 13:30, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Perhaps we could include both pronunciations. Chovain 18:22, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Why? Only one way is correct and that is the way that he himself pronounces his name.--ukexpat 13:51, 29 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Is there any human being in this world that understands how those pronunciation explanations are meant to be read? I just look at that in bewilderment and wonder how it's meant to help me know how to pronounce something. It just makes things worse, because instead of not knowing how to pronounce the word, I'm also bemused at who on earth can look at that and say to themselves "oh, it's Ger-vais, not Ger-vaze". I'm sure most people look at it and think, ok there's a d, followed by what looks a bit like a 3 but it's stretched down, and then there's another 3, is that a normal 3 or is that also weird. Then we have a colon ... is it a colon or two little arrows pointing at each other, and then a single quote. Hmmmm, well that's clear now isn't it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.219.243 (talk) 19:57, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * If it's that distressing, avert your eyes! But, I assure you, others find it helpful and IPA is Wikipedia policy. But it seems to have got lost, so I'll re-add it. Nick (talk) 20:28, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

opinion
"The first, six-episode season of The Office aired in the UK in July/August 2001 to little fanfare or attention, but word-of-mouth, re-runs and DVDs helped spread the word, building up huge momentum and anticipation for the second season"

this is a load of received-opinion nonsense. For nearly a month before it's BBC2 debut there were several trailers and teasers running every single day, a luxury denied to the vast majority of new comedy in that period. It also got prominent reviews in the media section of every national sunday paper. Just because the above quote is the sort of insider nonsense parroted by idiots like Alison Graham doesn't make it any more true. If nobody can disprove all this i will edit the above section to remove the untruths it contains. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.202.216.214 (talk • contribs)


 * Thanks. I've added a reference:


 * Described as the "sleeper hit of last summer" it is telling to note that on its first run, The Office attained ratings of only about 1.5 million. That its second series was so widely anticipated and peaked at around 5 million viewers must bear testimony to the power of "word of mouth", and the ongoing ability of British television to recognise a hit series when it sees one.


 * Also see:


 * What is now a landmark in British comedy went by relatively unnoticed at the time. [ ... ] By the end of the first series not much was known about The Office. [ ... ] Second Series starts: Most every magazine had something about The Office somewhere


 * And:


 * Six weeks of filming and a further seven weeks editing resulted in The Office going on-air for the first time in the summer of 2001. The viewing figures, whilst fine for BBC2 at that time of year, weren't spectacular. Importantly though, the show was popular with the critics and was 'pick of the day' in quite a few newspapers during the first run. [ ... ] Then Welsh pop-combo, the Stereophonics released a version of 'Handbags and Gladrags' (the tune over the credits in The Office). BBC2 repeated the series and got lots more viewers and The Office was fast becoming a bit of a hit.


 * chocolateboy 19:07, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Cheers, but i was mainly referring to the huge promotional campaign that was all over BBC2 at the time. The ratings may have just been 'quite good', but it was given a bigger internal hype job than any other *new* BBC2 comedy that year. I guess it's fair to say "..to comparatively little attention" but NOT "to little fanfare"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.213.215.238 (talk • contribs)


 * Hi again. If you can provide some evidence from a reputable source that the promotional campaign for The Office was perceived to be bigger, more expensive or more relentless than that of other comparable BBC comedies, then please provide it so that we can improve the article. In the absence of any such evidence, I've restored the original wording, which is verifiable:


 * The first series emerged, with minimal fanfare, in the summer of 2001 (The Daily Telegraph)


 * It was launched, without any fanfare, into the tranquil backwater of BBC2’s midweek summer schedule. (The Scotsman)


 * &c.


 * chocolateboy 20:56, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

You can't quote the newspapers or anything of that ilk as evidence for anything like this. "Sleeper hit" is one of their most popular phrases along with the likes of "this is a bit of a marmite show". The fact of the matter is that everyone should be able to remember the large run up to the series debut, I distinctly remember thinking it was over-hyped in fact and chose not to watch it after the bbc's last over-hyped "cutting-edge" comedy (The Royal Family). Thankfully I started watching some way in to the series and all was well. My point is that its unlikely we'll be able to find evidence to the contrary because newspapers and magazines all tend to jump on the same bandwagon and simply love dictating how they spotted an early gem.. but if someone can find the bbc's promotional material and schedule for the first series of the Office I assure you you'll see it was heavily hyped.. I know this because just about everyone seems to remember; I remember many people discussing it before it was launched, for example. —Preceding unsigned comment added by sausage (talk • contribs)


 * That's not how Wikipedia works. See Cite sources, Verifiability, NPOV and, in particular, No original research.


 * chocolateboy 21:25, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

I am fully aware that is not how wikipedia works and I never had any inclination of using my own or doing any research (although a pr schedule for The Office series 1 from the bbc would not fall under original research as it itself would be the source). What I thought I made clear was that newspapers and alike cited aren't reliable sources for the very reasons I mentioned (ie. they're wrong), additionally they are by nature filled full of writing that appeals because it is an opinionated piece; art really can't be reported on in a factual way whilst getting to the heart of it either and whilst this obviously doesn't mean such articles go without facts completely those that can be found within articles aside from the very basics are very rarely just facts with no better example than exactly what we're talking about as talked about in the daily telegraph article. I don't think what we're debating over should be removed from the article.. its important to show the varying sides of public opinion on all elements of popular culture but surely it should be presented as such, opinion? Ie. preceding a few sentences with the likes of "regarded by some" and "that many felt". I don't think that would harm the article regardless of which side you fall on this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by sausage (talk • contribs)


 * If you disagree with the policies cited above, please take it up on the relevant talk pages. And, yes, unless you can demonstrate that your sentiments have been published by a reputable source, your interpretation of a PR schedule for The Office would fall under the rubric of original research:


 * Wikipedia articles include material on the basis of verifiability, not truth. That is, we report what other reliable secondary sources have published, whether or not we regard the material as accurate. In order to avoid doing original research, and in order to help improve the quality of Wikipedia articles, it is essential that any primary-source material, as well as any generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of information or data has been published by a third-party reputable publication (that is, not self-published) that is available to readers either from a website (other than Wikipedia) or through a public library.


 * As for "regarded by some" and "that many felt", see Avoid weasel words.


 * chocolateboy 21:35, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Bloody hell, Wikipedia actually prefers to have false information provided by a newspaper than an interesting accuracy provided by a member of the public? That's jolly silly isn't it? I also remember the relentless trailing (as do a lot of people seeing as it was only a few years ago) and this method of covering it up to ensure The Office is made to appear the classic it isn't is very annoying. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Solid Snail (talk • contribs) 13:35, 18 December 2006


 * Wikipedia policies say that we prefer what reputable sources say to what members of the public say. If it turns out that all the reputable sources are wrong, and the public contribution is right, then that's the price of WP:RS and WP:NOR.  In general, they keep the garbage out.  If those policies were not in place, then how would we decide when the reliable sources were wrong, and the public were right?
 * Then again, it seems unlikely that numerous reliable sources would have it wrong, and none agree with the "interesting accuracy provided by a member of the public". That's why these policies are in place.  Can you find a reference that agrees with your views? Chovain 04:17, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Interesting, is it not, how none of the references for this particular bit of opinion all date from late 2002 or later? And none of them are from the period in question? But that's fine. Clearly sources with arguable known bias reporting more than a year after the fact are automatically more reliable than primary sources that happen to not be journalists. —Preceding unsigned comment added by arglebargle (talk • contribs)

Fraudsters
Kenneth Speight, 39, of no fixed abode, was jailed for two-and-a-half years and Craig Reeves, 30, of Alton, Hants, for two years for conspiracy to defraud.

Well at least Kenneth will be pleased he's got somewhere to stay for the next two-and-a-half years, hot meals, hot showers, groups of hot & horny men wishing to get to know him better.

The 'Ricky Gervais Show' podcast
This is referenced in this article. It should have an article of its own. CNETs The Daily Buzz podcast has its own page and it has no way near as big a listenership. According to iTunes and the authors of the show itself, it is the world's most popular podcast. This should be recognised. It is relevant to Wikipedia. (Anon)


 * This podcast only has a limited number of episodes- it's not an ongoing series.  I don't quite see how you could write much about it, but you could always try and see if it survives WP:VFD. Mark1 23:27, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
 * It's up to episode 10 or 11 now, pretty big phenomenon at the moment, definitely big across many online communities I've seen and around my office (and other offices). If anyone wants to have a crack at writing the article by all means do it.  R o  gerthat  Talk  12:46, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

The podcast is being extended indefinitely ...but now they charge for downloads

Spicks and Specks

 * On the Australian TV show Spicks and Specks, the contestants had to watch Ricky Gervais on the music video of Bitter Heart. His haircut was pretty amazing there, especially the part on his left side, which was typically New Romantic. This was for the music video segment where they had to watch and observe. This was the first episode for the New Year: February 15 2006.
 * Just thought this might be interesting for Ricky Gervais watchers especially those like me who didn't know or appreciate he had a life before The Office.
 * --EuropracBHIT 10:03, 15 February 2006 (UTC).

If you liked to know, he also has managed a Queen tribute act called 'Closet Queens', and briefly managed the British Indie band Suede. He supposedly once opened as a support act for them. He has attempted during the 80s to get numerous bands together after Seona Dancing. Whose single which appears on spicks and specks was a chart smash in I believe the Philippines (though I could be wrong). He was also interviewed by Smash Hits magazine during his stint in Seona Dancing which makes bizarre reading considering what he has done since and further to that Seona Dancing also appeared on an ITV 80s music programme rival to ‘Top Of The Pops’ called ‘Razzmataz‘. One more trivial fact, 80s UK Eurovision winners Buck Fizz once tried to sneak Ricky Gervais, who was in Seona Dancing at the time, on to a plane after he had lost his ticket...they failed. Ricky Gervais often states that music is his first and best passion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.178.23 (talk) 04:53, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

"Home-made pilot"
Was the pilot of The Office *really* "home made", as the article states? I was under the impression, admittedly I forget from what source, that it was made as the final project of Stephen Merchant's time on the BBC television director's course? Angmering 18:39, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

They explain it on the documentary on the second disc of The Office DVD Boxset. Not sure how you can reference that.

Driving
I'm sure Gervais can drive - he is seen doing so at least once in the Christmas specials. Sebastian789 15:32, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

-They shot that on a carriage (or whatever the technical term is) which is a standard technique used for filming driving shots, where the car is towed along so the performer doesn't have to act and drive at the same time. In the documentary on the Specials dvd you can see Gervais mucking about and waving at people in passing cars. Mseyers 06:13, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

-He also states specifically in the DVD commentary for the christmas episode that he can't drive.

Simpsons
'The episode was universally slated, though many Gervais fans ranked it as one the best ever in the series.' How was it universally slated if a load of people thought it was one of the best ever?

No one (let alone "a load of people") said it was the best ever episode. Not even Gervais would claim that. Some people claimed it was the best in the current series which is hardly surprising given the low quality of the scripts in the current mass-produced computer generated Simpsons era. But compared to the earlier Simpsons series it was mediocre at best.

See the comments on the following page which show how badly the episode was received by fans: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2006/04/springfield_in_his_step.html

Controversy
"Gervais is wanted by the Quebec City Police regarding an alleged assault upon Radical Conservative Alain Deuph Dephre."

Huh? Does anyone have a link to this that isn't some crackpot's blog entry? Mseyers 23:29, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Picture
Surely there is a more flattering picture of Ricky taken in the context of his career, or for publicity? In the current head picture he looks miserable. Minglex 21:20, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

I see no picture at all now - surely there must be one somewhere - a nice one we can all smile at? YYEM 14:50, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Can someone clarify copyright for the image currently being used (Ricky and Jane) as it's due to be deleted within 7 days. --Durzel 10:52, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Atheist
'"Gervais is a believer of the atheist doctrine."' is an oxymoronic statement. Atheism is the lack of belief and there is no "atheist doctrine". I changed to "Gervais is an atheist."QEDQED 19:44, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Erm.. no.. atheism is the 'belief' or opinion that there is no God - what you are describing is closer to [agnosticism]. Magic Pickle 19:31, 23 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Agnostics don't really believe in any god, that's what makes them atheists.--Steven X 16:31, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Calling atheism a belief is like calling baldness a hair colour. You wouldn't call it a belief is someone said they don't believe in the tooth fairy or unicorns. 87.198.133.90 21:17, 26 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Agnosticism rejects the idea that one can be certain there is or isnt a God. If you are certain there is no God, Agnostics would reject it because it is inherently unknowable. This argument is countered by atheists who say ' well we can't be certain dragons or the flying sgpaghetti monster does not exist' but this does not reduce the validity of the agnostic position - that absolute certainty of knowing whether a supernatural concept like God does or does not exist is untenable. As the wikipedia article says, the question is unknowable by nature. But we need to stick to the article - as long as we know what Gervais' stance is and it is referenced. 'Gervais is an atheist', with a reference, seems fair enough. Magic Pickle 15:11, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Ethanol??
Doesnt this mean methanol? Ethanol is normal alcohol; a small amount might make you drunk but it wont make you blind? yes, whoever wrote this must mean methanol.

Semi-protection request
I've made a request for page protection whilst this is sorted out. -- London UK  ( talk ) 16:32, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Radio 1
Has anyone got any solid information about Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's time with Radio 1? They used to do a show there (considering Ricky met Steve at Xfm, it must have been during the time after they left pre-takeover Xfm and joined the Capital-owned Xfm), but they got fired for insulting Simon Mayo. A little information is given in their 47th show of their 2nd recorded series at Xfm (hear it here, the section entitled "Censorship"). Gtpod 20:39, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

They did not have a 'show' on Radio 1, but used to do short comedy inserts for The Breezeblock, a late-night show hosted by Mary Ann Hobbs, circa 1999-2000 (so around the time that Gervais was also appearing on The 11 O'Clock Show). These usually involved Gervais doing Chris Morris-style 'man in the street' interviews, most of them involving attempting to get old people to say rude words. Their claim to have been fired after insulting Simon Mayo is highly suspect, given that they disappeared from the show around the time Gervais' television career was taking off, and that Mayo is a good sport and has never seemed to mind comic ribbing that much. Merchant also did bits and pieces of comedy on other Radio 1 shows, appearing as 'Steve The Student' on Sara Cox's breakfast show for a couple of months circa 2000.

Hi being a fan of Ricky Gervais since his days on XFM he and Stephen Merchant mention this on one of the stints on XFM. The joke was quite nasty but funny. Simon Mayo had recently broken the record for the longest time Djing. The two went on to say, 'in an air conditioned studio sitting on a comfy chair, with his minions bringing him cups of tea' Ricky claimed that it wasn't a real job as his father was a builder. He said that he would be more impressed if had been some other record, like, 'if he had been thrusted up in a leather harness in some Amsterdam torture garden with ten fat bearded blokes jizzing over him' (his words not mine), both him and Stephen continued adding more ludicrous and horrific records he could of broken. They do claim that this got them sacked and mention that a radio 1 operator had approached them and told them that Simon Mayo was very offended by what they said, as he is a Christian. After explaining the joke to Karl Pilkington, Karl replies 'But why, why did they sack you?' Also they do mention towards the end of there stint on Mary Ann Hobbs show they where handing in more and more shoddy work as they where concentrating on getting 'The Office' up and running.

He joined radio one after being made redundant by XFM in October 1998 and had a brief stint on the Mary Ann Hobbs show also according to a rather woeful cut and paste biography of Ricky Gervais he supposedly did a one off show with Sara Cox promoting the 1999 Glastonbury Festival. Whilst he was doing this him and Steve Merchant where putting together the ‘Seedy Boss’ project, which would become the Office. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.178.23 (talk) 04:19, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Comedy Tumbleweed Award
This is not notable. Please stop adding it to articles. It's a meme, created by a discussion forum. The day they get independent and non-trivial press coverage, they'll be considered notable (and I don't mean the entertainment writer writing about what they saw in their day of blog surfing). Chovain 16:00, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

A link has been provided to an article from Metro. That counts as independent and non-trivial press coverage. Really this just smacks of people being uneasy with the idea that some people out there might not like Ricky Gervais. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 138.253.102.34 (talk • contribs).


 * It was trivial coverage. An entertainment writer was writing about a notable award (the British Comedy Awards), and mentioned on the side that they found these "awards" given out by a discussion forum.  Non-trivial coverage would be if the journalist actually decided to interview a representative of organisation that gave out the awards.  The Golden Raspberries get non-trivial coverage, because journalists can actually be bothered doing interviews.  In this case, the journalist was just reporting on a funny site they saw.
 * This is not a conspiracy against the free flow of information. It's not the Ricky Gervais illuminati covering up the web award that is as big as the Golden Globes (I don't even know or care who he is - I'm not British).  This is just the cold, hard enforcement of WP policies and guidelines. Chovain 16:24, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Quick question: Why is the Tumbleweeds not notable but "His favourite Christmas song is Fairytale of New York by The Pogues" is? --Mister Six 17:13, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Good point. I've removed that line. ArtVandelay13 19:53, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Awesome. Now remove the rest of them. --82.13.194.56 21:02, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 * If there're uncontroversial edits you'd like to make, feel free to go ahead and make those edits yourself. Anonymous users can edit too. Chovain 18:26, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Hen Fap
In "Extras", why does Ricky Gervais say "We want hen fap" in four of the 12 episodes? "Hen fap" is more commonly associated with rapper Kanye West, are they friends?

Date of Birth
The date in the Box is not the same as the date in the text... --84.58.2.55 23:06, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Favourite food
Ricky's favourite food are hard boiled eggs dipped in marmite, in Politics he recounts how Stephen Merchant introduced them to him.

Someone keeps adding this, with different names associated with it, under the References section. It's probably an example of lying for comic effect; but if it isn't, then it shouldn't be put in that section ... Anyway Gervais shouldn't be allowed to keep altering his own page .... Kbthompson 16:57, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Seona Dancing
Can someone provide some real evidence that this band existed? I just can't believe this is true, especially because of that bit about it being really popular in the Philippines. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.198.133.90 (talk • contribs)
 * http://www.seonadancing.com/ - Gervais is quite open about having been in the band, and it's quite well known in the UK. ArtVandelay13 21:24, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

California
Isn't California by 2Pac Shakur, not Snoop? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by The duke of hazzard (talk • contribs) 21:22, 29 March 2007 (UTC).

Girlfriend
I'm fairly certain Gervais met Jane while he was still at university. Conrad1on 18:36, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Spaced
As far as I know, Ricky only appeared in one episode of Spaced, and as the character was supposed to be a bouncer, the supposition that he was actually playing David Brent seems unlikely. Conrad1on 18:43, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty certain he played a "slimy" estate agent in Spaced in a short segment, and there was definitely parallels in mannerisms between that character and David Brent. --Durzel 15:11, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

His part in Space was before any work his is now known for wasn't it? So is it really a 'cameo' - or more of a bit-part? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.136.142.236 (talk) 11:21, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Its more a bit part, but by chance Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are good friends of Ricky Gervais as is Karl Pilkington. At the time he appeared on Spaced 'Seedy Boss' was a project both him and Steve where working on so it might be likely that he was playing it in a David Brent style. The bouncer is a reference to a little seen movie he appeared in after the first series of the Office, 'Dog Eat Dog' it isn't supposed to be all that though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.178.23 (talk) 04:29, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Kate Winslet
Is it really relevant that Kate Winslet is also from Reading? Conrad1on 18:51, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Karl Pilkington
In the 'Books' section, The World of Karl Pilkington is referred to as a collection of transcripts of 'routines performed by the three'. The word 'routine' implies a pre-scripted piece, with people playing a role - something Gervais has always denied about the radio show, essentially claiming Pilkington really is that stupid. Conrad1on 19:49, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Alias
I'm not sure Gervais was supposed to be Irish in that episode. He certainly made no attempt at an accent. Conrad1on 19:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Paul Merton show?
Am I mistaken or did Gervais appear a number of times on the comedy sketch program Paul Merton used to have in the 90's? I seem to recall a regular sketch where Merton would turn up at a trading stall, where Gervais worked, and listen to him spout garbage? No mention in the career history.

Its highly unlikely and isn't mentioned anywhere. Also Paul Merton show was in the early 90s, Ricky Gervais first appearance on TV was in the late 90s after taking over from Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) on the 11 O Clock show. Both shows where on Channel 4, and both have since appeared together on 'Room 101' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.178.23 (talk) 04:36, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Simpsons Writers
Is the Simpsons writers box at the bottom really necessary? He only wrote one episode. If it can't be removed, can it at least be automatically hidden?

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 03:44, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

"Criticisms"
Love this section, essentially just some links to a bunch of people who hate him. All entries in wikipedia should have it. --IceHunter 22:10, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Ricky on Heroes
Two actors promoting NCB's Heroes were on a british chat show right after Ricky Gervais had been interview, and since he is a fan of Heroes he stayed on. During that session he says that he was asked to do a role in season 1 of Heroes, but didn't have the time, but he hopes to make it for Season 2 - currently this can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpfsw3SUPjg Is he the voice of the Geico gekko? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.112.21.249 (talk) 21:47, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

Copy Editing
I cleaned up the 'early years' section. I reworded some of it, and generally cleaned it up for grammar/etc. Please proof and make sure I didn't change the tone/etc.

I also updated the references (per the 'referencing' section here in talk) for that same section.

Sstucker (talk) 16:43, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Early 1998 XFM shows missing from article
In the wiki article about the ricky gervais show, it mentions in the early years that Ricky and Steve did a show on XFM between January and August 1998 from 4-6pm on Sundays. This isn't mentioned on this main page at all. Reading through this page, the first mention of a radio program by R&S is the return to XFM in 2001. It's as if they'd never done a radio show before. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.219.243 (talk) 20:04, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Missing Ricky's MTV Shorts
I distinctly remember seeing Ricky in some short clips on MTV UK in the late 90's. He played a character who either worked, or frequented, a record shop. I don't remember if he would talk to the other visitors or just to the camera, but I think his character would often embarrass himself in front of the camera. Again, it was an early indicator of the mock documentary style. I've seen no reference to these anywhere, but I'm 100% sure it was Ricky. It really was very funny. Note: I just googled "ricky gervais mtv shorts" and found this link which if you search in it for mtv, you find the co-writer of those shorts talking about them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.219.243 (talk) 20:10, 29 January 2008 (UTC)