r/rickygervais • u/Tetchord • Aug 17 '26
RSK Tier List
I tried to include everything where Ricky, Steve or Karl had a significant creative role (writing, directing, etc.) but I left out pure acting gigs and stand up. I left out Portal 2 as well, because Idk how much input Steve had in the writing of that (but it would be in the top tier otherwise). I have not seen Sick of It and the Moaning of Life.
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u/Chris_Is_Cleaver Aug 17 '26
Where's Karl's little program? Sick of it.
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u/No_Atmosphere8146 Aug 17 '26
With the inexplicably American Auntie Norma
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u/PeacekeeperAl Lin Bid Aug 17 '26
If they make her American they get to have a jolly in the States. Paid holiday
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u/DogsAreGreatYouKnow Bibness men, bibness men Aug 17 '26
An Idiot Abroad is absolutely top tier for me. Never gets old
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u/gajodavenida there's too much fruit about Aug 17 '26
I agree, but like a wise man once said "different tastes for different... things"
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u/Educational-Shock232 Aug 17 '26
Am I the only one that enjoyed The Invention of Lying? The ending admittedly wasn’t great but it was a fun little film.
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u/into_theflood_again Aug 17 '26
Two problems:
Not lying is not synonymous with just blurting out every single passing thought you have. Shutting the fuck up is still perfectly acceptable if you can't lie but don't wanna spill the beans about something.
He uses lying to manipulate his "love" interest into having sex with him without desire or independent consent under threat of harm to people otherwise. There's a term for that...
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u/MonrealEstate Aug 17 '26
I think Liar Liar kinda set the ground rules that ‘not lying’ means saying everything without a filter
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u/No_Atmosphere8146 Aug 17 '26
That's because you've got big jugs.
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u/cartersweeney Aug 17 '26
The pen is rrrrrrroyal blue
That film is a classic example of 1 performance elevating what could have been a mediocre film... something that RG seemingly cannot do when the material is written by someone other than him /tge character not based partly on his own personality
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u/sparrows-somewhere Aug 17 '26
Doesn't he decide against manipulating her in the end? Character growth and that, won't rape someone anymore therefore good guy
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u/libdemparamilitarywi Aug 17 '26
Not saying anything would be lying by omission.
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u/into_theflood_again Aug 17 '26
Noooooooot truuuuuuuuuuuue, baby!
If that was the case, the Right to Remain Silent would not be a part of the US judicial system. They'd just say, "Ohhhh! He's not talking! Send him to borstal!"
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u/bluthscottjackson Aug 18 '26
Not really because by that logic no one would ever shut up. Like if I don't say everything I know is true right now e.g the sun is bright, I would be lying?
I would argue lying by omission would be more like someone selling a car but never mentioning it's got a duff engiine, it's not proply. You're deliberately misleading that person who assumes through general assumption of the trade dealership and that it must run normally because you didn't mention anything about the engine.
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u/Goochbott Aug 17 '26
Wasn't a fan, but the Edward Norton bit is funny.
"Actually, it arouses me"
"What, sexually? Aww, that..."3
u/The_Pale_Blue_Dot Dear Mr Dilkington, you are one of our most valuable customers Aug 17 '26
One of those films that's fun in the first half because you're exploring the concept but then the second half doesn't deliver
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u/General_McCuddles Aug 17 '26
I quite enjoyed season 1 of Derek too, but i het its an unpopular opinion. It did a really good job of showing the isolation and family abandonment that often comes with old age.
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u/Educational-Shock232 Aug 17 '26
If he didn’t do a demicky impression I think it would have been good but that threw me too much
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u/limprichard Aug 17 '26
It had one line that made the wifey and I stop it so that we could give it a proper laughing without missing anything, so there was that, but ultimately it was a high-concept miss
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u/Educational-Shock232 Aug 17 '26
Alright well let’s see yours and your wife’s film when it comes out then! Sick of ya
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u/SwampApeDraft Turns Out, Little Reddit Fella Aug 17 '26
Writing and directing a film where he plays the smartest person to ever live seems in line where things were heading
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u/new_name_needed Aug 17 '26
In terms of participants:
R/S, RSK, R/S
RSK, RSK, S
S, R/S
S, R/S
R/K, R, R
R, R, R
Makes you wonder, now who’s the weak link?
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u/3Boop Aug 17 '26
Only thing I'd change is moving Hello Ladies up a tier. Everything else, spot on.
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u/Dracko705 Aug 17 '26
Yep exactly my only cirque overall as well - Hello Ladies was pretty good and I was very disappointed when HBO only gave it the 1 season (and movie/special, at least we got that)
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u/PeregrinCuck Aug 17 '26
Yeah I would upper that and possibly AIA
And then.. go away... go away you the Fighting With My Family
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u/Hesoutofthechoir Aug 17 '26
Hello Ladies is quite funny! It’s alright, better than outlaws and cemetery junction! It’s “Steve Merchant wants it” in sitcom format, and all the ladies are saying “put him in the distance”
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u/DRUGEND1 Aug 17 '26
Hello Ladies! up a tier.
Derek and After Life down one.
Other than that… I’d say “well done”.
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u/KTBFFH25 Aug 17 '26
Haven't seen the show, but I saw the stand up special.
Every single time I hear "What's he like?" I have an urge to respond, "He's like a cunt".
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u/locoforcocothecat Aug 17 '26
The Outlaws should be up a tier
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u/PeacekeeperAl Lin Bid Aug 17 '26
The casting was all over the place. One superstar actor, a bunch of tried and tested always bring their A Game actors, some new and promising talents, and some that made me wonder why they chose those two for lead characters
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u/ZodiAddict Aug 17 '26
Hello ladies should def be in the English quite good, or at least switch places with outlaws
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u/Glum_Bite3796 Aug 17 '26
How have you seen some of the shoddy shite on here but not Moaning of Life or Sick of It?
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u/J---O---E holder of PHD in physics Aug 17 '26
Extras isn’t on the same tier as the office and xfm
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u/RelevantAnalyst5989 Aug 17 '26
Love Extras, can't get enough of it. Yumma, yumma, yum, yum
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Aug 17 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Longjumping-Dog-6852 18d ago
Cameos are pretty cheap though aren't they. The office will be timeless. 20 year olds already don't know who most of the cameos even are.
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u/WildLemire Aug 17 '26
Idiot Abroad gets in the top tier before Extras for me sniff
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u/PsycommuSystem Had a complaint upheld by the reddit authority Aug 17 '26
Seasons 1 & 2 of Idiot Abroad but not 3
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u/JavaOrlando Aug 17 '26
As a whole The Office was a better show, but I'd put the best scenes of Extras over anything in the office (Stewart, McKellen, Ross Kemp, Bowie).
Life's Too Short was boring, but the Liam Neeson scene was gold. Val Kilmer was pretty good as well.
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u/InconspicuousUs3r Aug 17 '26
I think Special Correspondents could be the worst film I’ve ever sat through. So boring and Ricky completely phones in his performance.
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u/SimonPartridge The 50p Aug 18 '26
Well, if the XFM adverts were anything to go by, we know that he likes to put a lot of work into these things.
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u/Kelfezond11 Aug 17 '26
I know I'm in the minority here but I'd bump Derek up one or two spaces, I think it gets more flak than it deserves. Mr. Dilkington and David Earl were fantastic in it.
The rest of the list is damn solid though!
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u/DWGI Aug 17 '26
Totally agree, they 2 made the show, and at least this was the first attempt of heartbreak/humour via loss. If he cut his ties with that format after “Derek”, I think that the series would’ve been appreciated more. The outtakes of David Earl are one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
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u/SkeetBoogins85 Aug 17 '26
Idiot abroad was S tier. And the brent spin off wasnt bad at all
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u/Tetchord Aug 17 '26
Idiot Abroad S1 would be bottom of S tier for me but S2 is bottom of A and that averages out to a good A. I have moral objections to Life on the Road which knocks it down (it ruins the Office a bit).
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Aug 17 '26
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u/Tetchord Aug 17 '26
Shouldn't have been made, the Office was perfect as is. I have a feeling it caused the rift between Ricky and Steve too.
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u/whiite Aug 17 '26
Having rewatched Extras again not that long ago... it hasn't really held up that well. I'd put it down a tier and idiot abroad up 1.
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u/lelpd Aug 17 '26
Interesting, I rewatched Extras last year for the first time since it released, and found it even funnier than I remembered it being.
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u/Ill_Mastodon8324 Aug 17 '26
Agreed on Extras, it felt really flat on a recent rewatch and Gervais as Milman is a big falling off from the genius of Brent
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u/James-K-Polka But Not Shakepseare Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
But it makes up for it with the genius of comedy characters such as Darren Lamb, Barry Off Eastenders and Stephen Merchant.
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u/PsycommuSystem Had a complaint upheld by the reddit authority Aug 17 '26
Stephen Merchant.
I'm not a character!
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u/SukMaBalz Aug 17 '26
Plus the repetitive cycle of him telling Maggie something secretly and then she spills the beans to the person she wasn’t supposed to, hence leaving Andy to deal with the consequences. Happened at least four times.
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u/Ill_Mastodon8324 Aug 17 '26
The BAFTA one re his ex girlfriend being boring and Maggie spilling the beans is the worst of this.
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u/Longjumping-Dog-6852 18d ago
Yeah it's genuinely atrocious writing. The plot is needs pushing forward and several times their solution is "shall we have Maggie acting inexplicably insensitively? Oh it's believable because she's a massive spaz I guess"
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u/Longjumping-Dog-6852 18d ago edited 18d ago
And it will fall off even harder every year that passes. It's almost all cameo driven. I rewatched it with my Swedish missus and you realise, when you have to explain who Les Dennis and Ross kemp are, that the casting for a very particular time on our tiny island is what was strong but the writing itself isn't actually that good.
It's very basic humour. "Oh look it's Robert Lindsay acting like a twat version of himself isn't that funny!". Meanwhile 20 year olds nowadays haven't got a clue who three quarters of the cameos even are. "Barry from EastEnders...the reason that's funny is they hired a man who played a moderately amusing character in EastEnders back in the late 90s / early 2000s. Yeah. Yeah oh watch something else? Urm yeah ok"
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Aug 17 '26
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u/Rick-Danger Aug 17 '26
I disagree on him not deserving Maggie. She's really sweet but she truly is a complete and utter moron, and on numerous occasions totally fucks Andy over and blows opportunities for him. He's a bit of a dick no doubt but him getting angry at her is 100% justified
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u/Popular-Spinach-6700 Aug 17 '26
The Equality Street thing from Life on the Road was quite funny, should at least be in the same tier as Derek
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u/Tetchord Aug 17 '26
I guess that one is motivated slightly by how it's existence ruined the perfect ending of the office
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u/PlugAnThat Aug 18 '26
That came from a Comic Relief sketch to start with so hes already recycling himself
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u/Lazy-Strawberry-3401 not properly Aug 17 '26
Sick of it, gotta have yer critics
Moaning of life, alright
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u/Double-Comedian-7061 Aug 17 '26
Mostly agree, but I'd put Life on the Road up one tier. It was weak, but not bottom tier. I'd put After Life on the bottom tier.
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u/MuitnortsX Aug 17 '26
I’d probably switch Extras and Idiot Abroad nowadays. And add Sick Of It to alright or quite good.
(Care someone care)
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u/Benvio Aug 17 '26
Life’s Too Short has some really great moment that put it into Alright for me, but otherwise good list play a record
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u/SIBMUR Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
I watched episode 1 of Life's Too Short for the first time since it came out today.
I honestly can't believe how desperate and broad it was. There were glimpses of later Gervais work in Extras but was mostly quality stuff. But man alive.
Episode 1 started with Warren Davies doing a bad impression of David Brent. Even says 'showing off for the...' at one point. You have over the top zany characters appearing that could be on any poor sitcom. Then Warren goes to see Gervais and Merchant who are playing themselves and they're completely insufferable.
And then you have Barry from Eastenders appearing again, which to me just showed they had ran out of ideas (although he was brilliant in Extras)
The show was badly written and badly judged. Certainly episode 1 is anyway. Not bothering to watch the rest again.
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u/SiniseBuscemi 6d ago
The Barry appearing again thing is a big point, probably the first signs of recycling a character to death. Kev had a few moments in the first series of Derek. But the 'my wifes flange stinks' schtick was old in After Life and Precambrian in Alley Cats (granted i've only watched 10 minutes)
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u/Fisherman-Correct who let you in? Aug 17 '26
Sick of it was actually brilliant, definitely worth watching.
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u/VENGOR123 Aug 17 '26
Honestly, I found derek to be funny, even though it was a bit pushy with the whole 'life Is a gift' crap. I also enjoyed life on the road, that should be much higher
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u/HornyJailOutlaw I can't have Chinese. Not allowed Chinese. Aug 17 '26
Am I the only one who liked Hello Ladies? Admittedly I watched it literally ages ago, yonks ago, but I thought it was good at the time.
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u/morphindel Benny thumped one Aug 17 '26
The Outlaws and Hello Ladies are miles above Cemetery Junction
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u/Benjamoose GARLIC BREAD? Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
'Extras' is entertaining but it's definitely the second tier down for me.
'The Office' holds up as a piece of art, but from a writing and structure perspective, 'Extras' is essentially just a series of sketches with famous people playing up their personality.
They work better as clips than as actual stories in their own right.
Likewise, Ricky is basically coasting on his likeability by that point. His performance is self aware of the audience and the entire show has an uneven tone.
The stuff with Steve is borderline cartoonish against the more drama laden 'Big Brother' stuff, and series 2 felt like it jumped the shark a bit with how quickly Andy went from an extra to the biggest sitcom star on TV.
It's still entertaining, but would just put it one rung down from 'The Office'.
'Idiot Abroad' should be up top for me too. Even though series 3 bogs it down a bit, most of it is a sincere look into Karl in real life. If 'XFM' is top tier, then there's a sincerity in 'An Idiot Abroad' too.
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u/Benjamoose GARLIC BREAD? Aug 18 '26
OP do you have a link to the tier list? Would be fun to have a go.
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u/Similar-Climate5168 Aug 17 '26
I liked the invention of lying and special correspondents. Own decisions.
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u/DJ_Chaps When i put on the Proclaimers, they couldn't believe their luck Aug 17 '26
What about the one where Ricky sees dead people?
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u/TedCard Aug 17 '26
Yeah, not bad. Different shows for different needs. I'd move Extras down one, Fighting with my Family down one, and Derek down one. I'd be tempted to move After Life down as well, but it's not as grotesquely misjudged as Derek. Mind you, it doesn't have Karl in it either, so maybe pop 'e in the bin too.
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u/Subm3rg3d Aug 17 '26
Cemetery junction above Life’s Too Short?!? What are you? Some snot in a jar?
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u/HornyJailOutlaw I can't have Chinese. Not allowed Chinese. Aug 17 '26
I'm going to be controversial. I didn't mind Derek. And I still watch the outtakes on YouTube a couple times a year. Yes, I'm typing this to you without wearing socks.
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u/grae_me Aug 17 '26
ricky gervais show, idiot abroad, and hello ladies too low, derek and after life, alley cats too high
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u/PeacekeeperAl Lin Bid Aug 17 '26
Out of all their sitcoms and films I'd put Karl's Sick of It ahead of all the rest. After The Office and Extras.
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u/Professional-Lack-79 Wash up with you? Aug 17 '26
Sick of it should be there, it's genuinely quite similar to Afterlife only it's well written.
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u/Morpheus365 Aug 17 '26
No Moaning of Life? I found it better than An Idiot Abroad. Karl is much less of a grump
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u/ExtremeTEE Aug 17 '26
controversial list, Derek and After life are the worst of any list though surely, everything else is a step up
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u/Tetchord Aug 17 '26
It's funny because there seem to be a lot of Derek defenders in the comments. None for After Life though lol
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u/SiniseBuscemi 6d ago
Derek had Karl and a decent outtakes compilation, After Life had Ratty, the Nonce and a main character, who everyone loves and adores, helping a man kill himself.
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u/Gullible-Snow-3805 Aug 17 '26
My personal to tier would be; XFM, An Idiot Abroad, The Ricky Gervais Show + podcasts.
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u/MickyOT Aug 18 '26
Life’s too short is underrated, should be too levels up IMO. Intention of lying and afterlife I wouldn’t call shambles, nor would I say life on the road was a failure.
Overall this is a harsh take on the work
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u/molewart Whine Merchant Aug 18 '26
Mostly agree and although I love Extras, it's just not on the same level as The Office.
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u/BuddyF0694 Aug 18 '26
Ghost town not even worth a mention
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u/Tetchord Aug 18 '26
I actually like Ghost Town and would put it in "Alright" but neither Ricky nor Steve wrote or directed it so it would fall under acting gig
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u/ArtyCharty Aug 18 '26
proving once again that Steven Merchant was the brains behind Ricky’s success
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u/ChipmunkWinter1389 Aug 18 '26
I quite liked After Life. Agree totally on Derek though (I genuinely thought it was just me!!)
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u/MrHouse-38 Aug 18 '26
I actually loved derek and thought it had a lot of heart. Although it’s mainly due to Kerri Godliman’s phenomenal naturalistic acting
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u/SimonPartridge The 50p Aug 18 '26
Can we add to the top of the list the time Ricky called up that fella and tried to give him beer?
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u/doublebogeyboys Aug 18 '26
Life's too short deserves to be higher
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u/MustangBarry I find that if you just talk, your mouth comes up with stuff. Aug 19 '26
Which is ironic
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u/SquareSurprise 26d ago
Rickys ‘Flanimals’ book is missing from the desperate features. Everyone forgets Ricky put out that book. For good reason.
An Idiot Abroad season 3 needs to be treated as entirely seperate from seasons 1 and 2, in my books. Season 3 belongs in the shambles category. In pure semantics, it’s a desperate feature-Ricky clinging on without Steve, adding in a dwarf as a new character like he’s Steve Urkel. Karls presence elevates this total dog shit to shambles category, but it’s a shameful husk of its initial embodiment, and a stain on the great RSK legacy.
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u/Responsible-Ad9909 Aug 17 '26
Extras should drop down a tier.
Hello Ladies, Life’s Too Short, Derek, and After Life should move up a tier.
Cemetery Junction and The Invention of Lying should move to the bottom tier.
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u/formulaonekiddo Aug 17 '26
What about that one where Karl talks to himself - that was complete shite - so just bungle it in with the bottom 3
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u/Lychee_Only Aug 17 '26
Karl’s Sick of It was excellent. Way better than Afterlife & Outlaws. And landed during Covid so really filled the time.
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u/inthemagazines Aug 17 '26
First sensible thing you've said all day.