The Ricky Gervais Show podcast cartoon

     The Ricky Gervais Show premiered last night on HBO.  Essentially, it is bits of a podcast set to Flintstone-esque animation.  Mostly, it shows three guys sitting around the table with microphones, and then there are little flashes to illustrated whatever one of them has said.  The series stars the British The Office and Extras cohorts Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, along with the real star of the show, a producer named Karl Pilkington.
     Listening to it, one is immediately struck with the idea that Karl is such an idiot that he can't possibly be for real.  He says the most inane random tidbits, and Merchant and Gervais have a ball laughing at him.  No one can possibly be as stupid as Karl comes off as being.  However, both of his co-stars insist that it's all real, and that's really how Karl acts in real life.  It's why they added him to the show.  Gervais even insists the show is being done to make Karl a star, though other articles have speculated it's because Gervais was complaining about giving away this brilliant podcast for free.
     I can't decide if I should give the show a good review or not, and so I won't give it a star rating.  It's laugh out loud funny.  Hilarious in many sections.  The thing is, though, this is a podcast, and the animation is not why it's funny.  I would be just as amused listening to it on my iPod as I was watching the cartoon version.  What is enjoyable is Karl's assertions and Merchant and Gervais tearing him apart, and that would still be as jovial in any fashion that it is presented.
      That being said, it should be apparent that the title of the show is merely to attract attention and play off Gervais's fame.  More accurately, it would be called The Karl Pilkington Show, and in fact, Merchant and Gervais would be interchangeable with practically any two men on the planet.  They really don't add a thing to the project, despite the fact that both have proven themselves brilliant in their own right.
     Tune in to HBO Friday nights at 9pm and see for yourself.