Once upon a time, comedians did stand-up shows. They pushed the line and occasionally offended. There was hand-wringing and some mirth, and, like all such periods of inclement weather, the clouds parted, the sun came out again, and life rolled on.

As the centrepiece of controversy, Ricky Gervais was always hard to cast as the bad guy. This is, after all, the man who nailed Hollywood to a cross at a succession of skewering Golden Globes telecasts. He took potshots at #MeToo arch-villain Harvey Weinstein and even his employer, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Ricky Gervais in Armageddon.Credit: Netflix

“Do I pander to the 200 privileged egos in the room, or do I try and entertain a global audience of 200 million people sitting at home who aren’t winning awards?” Gervais asked at the time. “No contest. I try and make it a spectator sport. I try and play the outsider. I’ve got to be the bloke sitting at home who shouldn’t have been invited. That’s who I’ve got to be.”

For the genuinely curious, there’s a huge clue to his thinking there. That stand-up comedy is not a gig for the faint-hearted. Nor should you expect it to be a safe space. If the fine print on the can says that the 62-year-old British-born comedian will take no prisoners, then picking up a can opener can be the first step towards a self-inflicted wound.

Gervais’ 2022 comedy special Supernature has a withering 31 per cent score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The wider public, unsurprisingly, disagrees. Its audience score is 91 per cent. “Sucked into the self-referential death spiral of the culture wars,” said the UK Independent when it came out. “A detestable combination of smug and obtuse,” declared Paste magazine.

Gervais’ new comedy special, Armageddon, seems to have landed in a more complex moment. The divide is a little more even – 60 per cent from critics and 63 per cent from the audience, admittedly off a significantly smaller sample. (The special only premiered on December 25.) But the Independent called it “just another piece of lazy comedy that plays on the majority’s fear of minority voices”.

Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes in 2020.Credit: AP

In truth, Gervais........

© Brisbane Times