So magnificent and I never thought I'd say these words... GEORGE MICHAEL WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT!

Agreed. It was a wonderful piece of television.

Gervais and Merchant seem to be able to tap into some magic formula with their writing. They produce something to entertain people of all tastes and intellects. Not an easy thing to do.

I cannot wait for their next project, though of course there's no guarantee that they won't lose contact with that magic formula.

Although I worship the ground Ricky Gervais pudgy little feet walk on I HATED the Christmas special.
I don't mind dark comedy, something Gervais is a master of, but I came out of this show really depressed...wondering if it was a comedy at all.
Maybe it's the time of year, maybe it's me, maybe I'm not as in synch with British comedy as I thought I was, which may be the case since I didn't get half of the
Ricky Gervais stand-up routine either. Oh well.

Ah - the thin line between comedy and tragedy is brilliantly crossed.
You often don't know whether to laugh or cry.
That's why I love EXTRAS so much more than The Office.
Plus I've always loved the character of Maggie (Ashley is great in Ugly Betty too).
Some of the people in the Big Brother sequence were clearly not sure whether they were sending themselves up or not.
The sequence ending in TRAGEDY was incredible.
Only Bob Geldof could not appreciate this!

Ricky Gervais is someone I have never found even the slightest bit funny or entertaining.

For those confused by the diametrically opposed views in this thread, it's on BBC2 tonight at 9.

See who you agree with.

Top marks from zoo

Gervais is a surprisingly good actor.

I thought the way individual celebs sent themselves up was handled very well, all too easy for that to get very tired very quickly.