The Best Episodes of The Ricky Gervais Show
Last Updated: Nov 24, 2018
Based on the series of podcasts that Gervais did with longtime partner Stephen Merchant, this comedy team convenes to bring HBO an animated series about their hilarious friend Karl Pilkington.
#1 - The Year
Season 3 - Episode 13
Topics include Karl’s thoughts on the insect world; and Stephen’s embarrassment when buying condoms. Also: entries from Karl’s diary about cutting avocados, dating twins and visiting his parents. Series finale.
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#2 - Freaks
Season 1 - Episode 13
Another question for Karl from "Inside the Actors Studio": "If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you enter the pearly gates?" From Karl's diary: A news report that humans will have spoken to aliens by the year 2025 leads him to worry that aliens will try to read his mind, while a story about a baby who looked like a frog makes Karl think life would be more interesting if there were different types of humans. Plus, Karl's top five freaks.
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#3 - Law & Order
Season 3 - Episode 7
Topics include Karl's views on capital punishment; Ricky's observance of the Ten Commandments; and how Karl would deal with a hostage situation.
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#4 - Doppleganger
Season 2 - Episode 2
A listener's e-mail asks what Karl would do with his doppelganger; Ricky gives Karl a logic riddle to solve; entries from Karl's diary; Stephen discusses his recent trip to Rio de Janeiro.
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#5 - Future
Season 2 - Episode 8
Topics include Karl's thoughts on academics' predictions for the future; and what the guys would do on the day the world ended.
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#6 - World Cup
Season 3 - Episode 12
Ricky and Stephen reminisce about watching the World Cup in a hotel room, and the awkward situation of sharing the bed. Karl, Ricky and Stephen discuss the problem of overzealous sports fans, as well as cheating in sports and life. Ricky shares the story of when he tried out for soccer as a kid; Karl recounts how he recently tested how much saliva he could produce.
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#7 - Noises
Season 1 - Episode 12
Stephen asks Karl questions posed to guests on "Inside the Actors Studio, leading to a discussion of organ donation. From Karl's diary: A news report from India about an elephant who had a giant pair of slippers, and Karl's belief that scientists should give up trying to kill germs because it will only make them stronger and bigger.
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#8 - Natural History
Season 2 - Episode 9
Topics include the value of discovering new species; Ricky's idea for a future car; Karl's speculation about alien involvement in the invention of the computer chip; and a documentary about a pregnant man.
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#9 - Earth
Season 3 - Episode 9
Topics include the origins of the universe and the evolution of creatures other than humans. Also: Karl discusses the downside of recycling; world travel; and restroom encounters.
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#10 - Cobblers
Season 1 - Episode 6
After receiving a fan letter asking what body part he could live without, Karl recalls when he tried to wash the dishes without using his thumbs. Other fan mail questions: If Karl could be anyone in the world, who would he be? What does he think of the philosopher Descartes? What does he make of the saying “a stitch in time saves nine”? In “Monkey News,” a builder complains when he discovers a chimp working at a new construction site, only to be told the chimp is a good worker.
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#11 - The Fight
Season 1 - Episode 10
Topics include: school curricula; physical altercations; human anatomy; whistling and happiness; birds and flight; Karl's thoughts on doppelgangers and the Big Bang; and the origins of the universe. Also: a "Monkey News" segment about eye surgery.
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#12 - Dolphins
Season 1 - Episode 4
Karl admits he's getting a face rub at a spa, but frets he'll end up getting an enema as well. Also: A discussion about the customs of undocumented tribes in New Guinea. Ricky and Karl's recent trip to an antiquities store, where Karl wondered, "What's the newest thing you've got?" An e-mail from an Australian fan insisting there are dangerous armed dolphins ready to do battle. In "Monkey News," Karl recounts the marital regrets of a sympathetic zookeeper who brings home a lonely monkey.
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#13 - The English
Season 3 - Episode 6
Ricky, Stephen and Karl share their definitions of what it means to be an Englishman. Also: Karl explains why, if he wasn't English, he'd rather be Italian.
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#14 - Society
Season 3 - Episode 10
Topics include the laws of society and what Karl would do if he were in a position of authority. Also: Stephen asks Karl how he would have reacted had he been on the bus with Rosa Parks in Alabama in 1955.
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#15 - Charity
Season 1 - Episode 3
Adding to his wish list of improbable inventions, Karl offers up a serum that ages dead people backwards. Also up for discussion: Do African families really want goats as charitable gifts? Is a space flight worth the money and effort? If you could have any super power, what would it be? How rare is it to see a Chinese homeless person? In "Monkey News," a Moscow network fired so many employees it had to hire a chimp to host a talk show, with Cher as one of the guests.
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#16 - Leg Rubber
Season 2 - Episode 10
Topics include Karl's opinion of a science report about blind mice that can see; his visit to a "professional leg rubber"; and his recollection of the time his father scored a huge quantity of a popular candy.
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#17 - Munchies
Season 2 - Episode 13
Topics for the second-season finale include virtual reality, happiness and Karl's wish for the British TV show "Jim'll Fix It."
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#18 - Karl's Day
Season 3 - Episode 5
Karl describes a typical day in his life, which includes spending time alone working on do-it-yourself projects.
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#19 - Beetles
Season 1 - Episode 11
A fan letter asks Karl to reveal the most romantic thing he's done for his girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Another fan asks him to interpret Wittgenstein's statement "If a lion could talk, we could not understand him." From Karl's diary: He creates a jingle after giving a homeless man some change, and describes his trip to Malaga, Spain. In "Monkey News": Karl relates the story of Enos, a monkey who flew in the space shuttle in the 1960s.
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#20 - Insects
Season 2 - Episode 5
Topics include Karl's encounters with insects; optimal animal sizes; "Inside the Actors Studio"; and entries from Karl's diary about a new sea creature and a poem about moths.
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#21 - Wartime
Season 3 - Episode 11
Topics include Karl's thoughts on the importance of historic artifacts and how his book will be viewed in the future. Also: Karl ponders the meaning of popular wartime expressions and what life is like for a soldier's spouse.
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#22 - Bryan's Brain
Season 3 - Episode 1
Topics for the third-season premiere include Karl's theory on museum collections; an invention for a mug coaster; and a fashion-trend disappointment. Also: Karl's movie idea about a man whose brain is transplanted into Tom Cruise's body.
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#23 - The Jockey
Season 1 - Episode 9
More e-mail questions for Karl, such as: If Karl could talk to any animal, which would it be and what would he say? Highlights from Karl's diary, including why he doesn't like meetings, and why he and his girlfriend always get in an argument after she gets a haircut. In "Monkey News": A story from the 1950s about a gangster who bought a racehorse. When none of the jockeys wanted to be involved with him, he got a monkey to race the horse.
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#24 - Mrs. Battersby
Season 2 - Episode 11
Topics include the two sides of the brain and ESP; Karl's childhood encounter with a ghost named Mrs. Battersby; and an entry from Karl's diary about his mother's request to find a UFO magazine.
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#25 - Clive Warren
Season 2 - Episode 1
Topics include Karl description of his recent pitch to a movie studio and, from Karl's diary, reasons why he wouldn't like to travel to Australia, the story of the last time he went camping and a recent visit to his girlfriend's parents.
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