 The show begins with footage of a flirty lioness in heat wagging her tail in the face of the males about her. They respond and copulation begins. All commentated by Gervais in an outrageous French accent with an equally outrageous script. He claims to show us the parts that David Attenborough leaves out, and he does.
But the show isn't all about animals and their sexual habits and takes as many unexpected twists, turns and deviations as any good stand up does. Nothing is too irreverent for Gervais as he takes everything on from the biblical Genesis and why didn't God chuck out the snake from Eden in the first place, to internet geeks with their pointless facts. Not very original I hear you cry, but it is when delivered with the aplomb that Gervais can conjure.
There is something of The Office's David Brent in the show; the slow pauses and the trademark raised eyebrows, but as Gervais says himself, he uses Brent's face and vocal cords.
The additional footage included as a documentary of the making of the live show is equally hilarious, as Gervais shows that he doesn't take himself too seriously while at the same time ripping into Private Eye editor Ian Hislop for giving him a bad review. This is something he also touches on as part of the show, feeding from the good review given to himself by God after he had created the heavens and the earth.
A lot of the material centers around the inane stupidity of the world about us, including the incredible things that parents do to us and the unexpected results of things we say in jest. By far the most hilarious part of the show is Gervais' incredulous review of a book regarding animal homosexuality with only drawings as illustrative proof. All in all a hysterically funny act that shows exactly why this man has won himself two BAFTAs for his unique sense of comedy. :: Sarah Oliver |
