Netflix celebrates Christmas with “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon,” a new stand-up special from the famously caustic comedian behind “The Office.”
One could make the case that “The Office” and its use of a single camera “documentary” style pretty much changed the sitcom template when it arrived in 2001. The critical acclaim for that BBC series and its hit NBC adaptation made traditional three-camera, punchline-driven comedies seem passe. But they survived and even thrived in spite of all of the critical ink spilled on mockumentaries, including “Modern Family” and “Abbott Elementary.”
Chuck Lorre’s many sitcoms, including “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory” adhered to the traditional sitcom format. A taste for the old-fashioned has brought us the return of “Frasier,” and just this weekend, “Extended Family,” a Jon Cryer vehicle so old-fashioned it seems like “The Office” never existed.
In “Armageddon,” Gervais sticks to the deeply offensive style that made David Brent from “The Office” so memorable.
In one already well-discussed bit, he uses the word “retarded” in a joke involving his work for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. When the audience audibly winces, he defends his use of the “r-word” and explains that he never uses it in real life, and that as a man on stage with a microphone, he is playing a “role,” a character given to offensive speech.
Gervais goes on to dare the home and studio audience to challenge Anthony Hopkins for being a cannibal because he played Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Does that “I’m just a comedian” argument hold water? What are the limits to such role-playing? In their Netflix specials, both Gervais and Dave Chapelle seem to have made a game of pushing boundaries for the sake of either free speech or good publicity. Or both.
In a recent posting on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Gervais described “Armageddon” with a warning. “In this show, I talk about sex, death, paedophilia, race, religion, disability, free speech, global warming, the holocaust and Elton John. If you don’t approve of jokes about any of these things, then please don’t watch. You won’t enjoy it and you’ll get upset.”
I have a feeling he’s going to keep his promise.
— A holiday tradition unfolds in a new venue. Long a staple of cable TV — BBC America, to be exact — the “Doctor Who Christmas Special” will stream exclusively on Disney+. Ncuti Gatwa (“Barbie,” “Horrible Histories”) joins the cast as the 15th Doctor. Millie Gibson has been cast as Ruby Sunday. Do young viewers even recognize the pay phone at the center of the series’s TARDIS iconography?
The migration of “Doctor Who” from BBC America to behind Disney’s paywall continues a trend that has gained ominous momentum: the hollowing out of what used to be called basic cable. Once the source of original programming, places like TBS, TNT and USA can now seem like sources of old movies, or just another place to watch repeats of “NCIS” and “Law & Order: SVU.”
Curiously, the rise of such “zombie networks” coincides with the enormous streaming popularity of “Suits,” originally seen on USA.
— Acorn streams a special Christmas episode of its stylish series “The Madame Blanc Mysteries.”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Boris Karloff narrates “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG), a special that has been around since 1966. Almost as long as Cher!
— The San Francisco 49ers host the Baltimore Ravens in Monday Night Football action (8 p.m., ABC).
— Several difficult deliveries coincide with an unexpected snowstorm on the cusp of the holiday season on a special episode of “Call the Midwife” (8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., PBS).
— Filmed at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the 2022 special “Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All!” (9 p.m., CBS, r) features “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and other favorites.
— Jim Carrey stars in the 2000 live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (9 p.m., NBC), directed by Ron Howard.
CULT CHOICE
The 1996 John Grisham adaptation “A Time To Kill” (9 p.m., Pop) pretty much anointed Matthew McConaughey as a major star.
SERIES NOTES
“The Price Is Right At Night” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS), “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC), “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35 p.m., ABC), “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) and “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen” (12:37 a.m., CBS) have yet to announce their guest lists for their Christmas night repeat episodes.
