Over the last few weeks I've been working my way through the two-box DVD set of Series 1 & 2 of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's much anticipated follow-up to "The Office", of which I was a big fan. This inside-exposure of a bit-actor's life in "luvvy-dom" is similar but different and requires a bigger leap of faith from its audience in expecting it to relate to this pretend-world of TV & cinema rather than the everyday familiarity of an office environment. The writing artfully weaves stories around drop-in cameo appearances of big-name UK & US stars, never mind pop-stars of the stature of Gervais' hero David Bowie and new-best-mate Chris Martin of Coldplay (I noticed Gervais in the crowd at Coldplay's free live preview of their new album outside BBC Broadcasting House in the summer) but principally focuses on Gervais' own Andy Millman character and his little band of fellow-nobodies, genuine find (although I'm always biased towards a good natural Scottish accent!) Ashley Jensen as man-mad, but dim "not my girlfriend" Maggie, Merchant himself as the completely inept agent and Shaun Williamson as Merchant's sidekick, down-on-his-luck "Barry from Eastenders". I'd go as far as rating Williamson's acting as "best-in-show", his role requires self-humiliation to the nth. degree and he carries it off with clear-eyed pathos as indeed do almost-has-been UK TV celebrities Les Dennis & Keith Chegwin in their guest spots. Williamson's "Barry" in fact is about the only cast member to elicit any real feelings of sympathy or empathy from the audience even if this veers often to downright pity for his pathetic "how the mighty have fallen" plight. But therein lies the problem for me, as the humour is occasionally spoiled by the sheer unlike-ability and unreality of Gervais and his gang of "house-characters". In addition, at least three episodes demonstrate a crassness towards the sick or the disabled, while another belittles a Polish war-refugee and yet another a slow-witted simpleton. Gays get bashed into stereotypical archetypes too, although I'm sure the writers would say I'm missing the irony somewhere. The star cameos do come off well however for the most part, Kate Winslet giving tips on phone-sex dressed in a nun's habit, Patrick Stewart as an old lech, Ben Stiller as a megalomaniac director and Robert De Niro as, well, Robert De Niro and there are numerous hilarious set-piece moments, including Andy's exposure as a non-Catholic dressed as John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever", the "BAFTA Awards Night" fiasco, David Bowie's "spontaneous" song, while the send-up of old-school British comedy antiquities in "When the Whistle Blows", if a few rungs below Victoria Woods' spot-on "Acorn Antiques" still made me think ruefully of the hours I wasted growing up watching dated, stereotypical Brit-coms like "Love Thy Neighbour" or "Hi-De-Hi" topped with an "Only Fools and Horses" - type theme-tune. Like some of the best TV sitcoms, it plays effectively without a laugh-track (c.f. "M.A.S.H.", "Ripping Yarns", "Larry Sanders") but isn't quite in their class. For me then, a bit of a mixed bag if still streets ahead of most contemporary comedies, a less engaging, but if I was being truthful, scarcely less funny successor to its ground-breaking predecessor. And it got me re-acquainted with my moldering Cat Stevens collection too!
