"....Stalking hesitantly into his quaint local pub, a little late and a lot hungry, Stephen Merchant cuts a disarming figure....." via The Independent
We have seen them come and go, all the Clara Lane's of this world - the continuous roll of comedies from Perry and Croft, yet in this, 2007 we see a lifetime achievement award go to Richard Curtis (which is about ten years over due) and at the same time we find ourselves bowing very low to the ground in front of a geeky guy with floppy hair and NHS specs.
It could be none other than Mr Merchant. Perhaps the time had come for Ricky Gervias to stand aside from his nervously, quake making David Brent and let his side kick take a stand. Through 'Extra's' we have seen a shift in the way we deal with celebrities.
It has occured to me that we may never need to see another Ant and Dec fiasco in an Ozzie jungle again to let us believe that celebs are real people. Stephen Merchant is real, or at least we think he his. His brand of comic talent is the kind we only catch ourselves thinking briefly about in our most private moments, only to snatch ourselves away from the shameful thoughts we have just experienced. Merchant brings forth these embarrassing dreams and shoves them straight into our faces leaving us to cringe slowly leaving a permanent dent in the undentable sofa. Yet if we saw him in the street, we would rather think of him as an assistant manager for the deli counter at Safeway's and not the remarkable, award winning, son of a so and so he actually is.
We can only squerm uncomfortably at him having a play with himself under the desk in his office in one 'Extras' episode. So real was that piece, we could imagine he was probably doing that for real. That's how inspiring his comedy really is. We don't find ourselves laughed at him - we are actually laughing at ourselves...
mduffy 2007
It could be none other than Mr Merchant. Perhaps the time had come for Ricky Gervias to stand aside from his nervously, quake making David Brent and let his side kick take a stand. Through 'Extra's' we have seen a shift in the way we deal with celebrities.
It has occured to me that we may never need to see another Ant and Dec fiasco in an Ozzie jungle again to let us believe that celebs are real people. Stephen Merchant is real, or at least we think he his. His brand of comic talent is the kind we only catch ourselves thinking briefly about in our most private moments, only to snatch ourselves away from the shameful thoughts we have just experienced. Merchant brings forth these embarrassing dreams and shoves them straight into our faces leaving us to cringe slowly leaving a permanent dent in the undentable sofa. Yet if we saw him in the street, we would rather think of him as an assistant manager for the deli counter at Safeway's and not the remarkable, award winning, son of a so and so he actually is.
We can only squerm uncomfortably at him having a play with himself under the desk in his office in one 'Extras' episode. So real was that piece, we could imagine he was probably doing that for real. That's how inspiring his comedy really is. We don't find ourselves laughed at him - we are actually laughing at ourselves...
mduffy 2007
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