Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot?

Boba Fett · 02-18-09, 02:35 AM

Am I the only one who suspects that Karl Pilkington is a comedic genius? I've been listening to the Ricky Gervais podcasts, and find it baffling to think he could honestly be as stupid as he sounds. Most of his tangents are way too absurd to be those of a functional adult, and its been proven at least once that one of his monkey stories was legit, despite Ricky and Steven saying it was BS.

So is he a comedic genius or really just a round headed moron?

starman9000 · 02-18-09, 06:48 AM

I vote Genius since Fincher took one of his ideas and turned it into an Oscar contender (Benjamin Button). Have they talked about that at all lately? I haven't listened to the podcast since it went to a pay service.

Sanjuro37 · 02-18-09, 07:01 AM

How does the fact that a couple of Monkey News stories "happened" (the truth is always very different from Karl's embellished version) make him a genius really planning all this? He just reads emails people send him; if one happens to be real, well, it's still full of as much BS as the hoaxes.

He's not a genius, at least not intentionally. That's genuinely his point of view and he really does come up with the strangest ramblings. If you hear him on their old radio show broadcasts, he's the same way (dumber even, because they hadn't yet run over the same topics so many times), and just about nobody listened to their station. So he's never really played it up.

The Bus · 02-18-09, 07:23 AM

Brian Shannon · 02-18-09, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

Who?

Exactly!

dx23 · 02-18-09, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

Who?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon

Exactly!

Ditto!

emptysky · 02-18-09, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starman9000

I vote Genius since Fincher took one of his ideas and turned it into an Oscar contender (Benjamin Button).

I've never heard of Karl Pilkington, but how can it be his idea if F Scott Fitzgerald already wrote the story Benjamin Button? They had aging backwards on Mork and Mindy too.

starman9000 · 02-18-09, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emptysky

I've never heard of Karl Pilkington, but how can it be his idea if F Scott Fitzgerald already wrote the story Benjamin Button? They had aging backwards on Mork and Mindy too.

That's just how much of a genius he is!

He's just a big time buffoon who get's to rile up/entertain Ricky Gervais on his radio show/podcast.

Tracer Bullet · 02-18-09, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emptysky

I've never heard of Karl Pilkington, but how can it be his idea if F Scott Fitzgerald already wrote the story Benjamin Button? They had aging backwards on Mork and Mindy too.

Now that I have heard F. Scott Fitzgerald and Mork & Mindy mentioned in the same sentence, I believe that if I were hit by a bus this afternoon I'd be okay with that.

Bronkster · 02-18-09, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

Who?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon

Exactly!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dx23

Ditto!

Me too also!

crazyronin · 02-18-09, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

Who?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon

Exactly!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dx23

Ditto!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronkster

Me too also!

Indeed!

mdc3000 · 02-18-09, 03:52 PM

other: Idiot Savant

beavis69 · 02-18-09, 03:56 PM

His story about the house is amazing. The reverse impregnation almost made me crash my car i was laughing so hard

doubledown44 · 02-18-09, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdc3000

other: Idiot Savant

Bingo!

fumanstan · 02-18-09, 04:35 PM

Never heard of him. I'll vote idiot.

Jason · 02-18-09, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fumanstan

Never heard of him. I'll vote idiot.

Ditto.

mrpayroll · 02-18-09, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracer Bullet

Now that I have heard F. Scott Fitzgerald and Mork & Mindy mentioned in the same sentence, I believe that if I were hit by a bus this afternoon I'd be okay with that.

Yeah, how dare they confuse the genius that is Mork & Mindy with that hack Fitzgerald

Chris

movieking · 02-18-09, 05:17 PM

I stopped listening to the podcast a few years ago when they started charging for them. So are they still pay only, or can you get them free (legally)?

cungar · 02-18-09, 05:21 PM

For those that are fans of the Gervais/Merchant/Pilkington podcasts there are dozens of hours of recorded radio shows from the trio that they did on a London radio station before the podcasts available on bit torrent sites. I literally listened to them for most of last year while I was falling asleep. My wife wondered why I was chuckling in my sleep.

rabbit77 · 02-18-09, 09:42 PM

Yeah I was going to post about that - search for xfm - there's like 3 seasons out there, with the songs edited out. These shows aired while they were working on The Office. They put the podcasts to shame since the podcasts seem so forced and an obvious attempt to recreate the magic from their xfm days. They've been a staple on my mp3 player.

rexinnih · 02-18-09, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyronin

Indeed!

And another who has not clue who he is.

innocentfreak · 02-18-09, 10:26 PM

Thanks never knew about the XFM shows.

james2025a · 02-19-09, 06:32 AM

He is just a complete act. There have been a couple of interesting points he has made (such as why you never see Chinese homeless people) but his act of playing dumb grew old quick. Added to which Ricky Gervais's laugh on those podcasts is just annoying as all hell. I like the guy, but he needs to stop laughing so loudly whilst on radio. After seeing him on "Inside the Actors Studio" and watching Ghost Town last night i realized that he is an actor who is better off sticking to TV.

ardathbey · 02-19-09, 02:05 PM

His head is like a f**cking orange! lol
Love the Gervais Podcasts. Actually Ricky's obnoxious laugh when Karl makes
him lose it is my favorite.

Here is a link to a story about him:
http://rickygervais.com/karlisacult.php

As to the OP's poll question I am really not sure. I can see where it can all be an act
but my instinct tells me he is far too genuine. He's no genius, he is def a cat of a rare
breed. But he's no idiot either, just kinda simple.

PopcornTreeCt · 02-19-09, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

Who?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon

Exactly!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dx23

Ditto!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronkster

Me too also!

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyronin

Indeed!

Here, Here!

View Poll Results: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot?
Comedic Genius	6	27.27%
Complete Idiot	16	72.73%
Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll

02-18-09, 02:35 AM	#1
Boba Fett DVD Talk Reviewer Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 5,600	Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? Am I the only one who suspects that Karl Pilkington is a comedic genius? I've been listening to the Ricky Gervais podcasts, and find it baffling to think he could honestly be as stupid as he sounds. Most of his tangents are way too absurd to be those of a functional adult, and its been proven at least once that one of his monkey stories was legit, despite Ricky and Steven saying it was BS. So is he a comedic genius or really just a round headed moron?

02-18-09, 06:48 AM	#2
starman9000 DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: MN Posts: 22,742	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? I vote Genius since Fincher took one of his ideas and turned it into an Oscar contender (Benjamin Button). Have they talked about that at all lately? I haven't listened to the podcast since it went to a pay service.

02-18-09, 07:01 AM	#3
Sanjuro37 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 345	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? How does the fact that a couple of Monkey News stories "happened" (the truth is always very different from Karl's embellished version) make him a genius really planning all this? He just reads emails people send him; if one happens to be real, well, it's still full of as much BS as the hoaxes. He's not a genius, at least not intentionally. That's genuinely his point of view and he really does come up with the strangest ramblings. If you hear him on their old radio show broadcasts, he's the same way (dumber even, because they hadn't yet run over the same topics so many times), and just about nobody listened to their station. So he's never really played it up.

02-18-09, 07:23 AM	#4
The Bus DVD Talk Godfather Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: New York Posts: 51,620	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? Who? __________________ Movies: 2002 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 2013 "Too much disclaiming in this post." – Dr. Mabuse

02-18-09, 03:52 PM	#12
mdc3000 DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Guelph, Ontario Posts: 9,451	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? other: Idiot Savant __________________ Armchair Directors - Video Movie Reviews Letterboxd Rank 'Em As You See Them 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Spending Tab 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

02-18-09, 03:56 PM	#13
beavis69 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 579	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? His story about the house is amazing. The reverse impregnation almost made me crash my car i was laughing so hard

02-18-09, 04:35 PM	#15
fumanstan DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 33,351	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? Never heard of him. I'll vote idiot. __________________ 3x Sheep Champion VG Round 1b \| VG Round 7 \| NFL

02-18-09, 05:17 PM	#18
movieking DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 13,072	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? I stopped listening to the podcast a few years ago when they started charging for them. So are they still pay only, or can you get them free (legally)?

02-18-09, 05:21 PM	#19
cungar DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 9,216	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? For those that are fans of the Gervais/Merchant/Pilkington podcasts there are dozens of hours of recorded radio shows from the trio that they did on a London radio station before the podcasts available on bit torrent sites. I literally listened to them for most of last year while I was falling asleep. My wife wondered why I was chuckling in my sleep.

02-18-09, 09:42 PM	#20
rabbit77 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Des Plaines, IL Posts: 6,662	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? Yeah I was going to post about that - search for xfm - there's like 3 seasons out there, with the songs edited out. These shows aired while they were working on The Office. They put the podcasts to shame since the podcasts seem so forced and an obvious attempt to recreate the magic from their xfm days. They've been a staple on my mp3 player.

02-18-09, 10:26 PM	#22
innocentfreak DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 1,733	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? Thanks never knew about the XFM shows. __________________ Humans United Against Robots 360 Gamertag: Nobrumski Steam: Nobrumski

02-19-09, 06:32 AM	#23
james2025a DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 2,253	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? He is just a complete act. There have been a couple of interesting points he has made (such as why you never see Chinese homeless people) but his act of playing dumb grew old quick. Added to which Ricky Gervais's laugh on those podcasts is just annoying as all hell. I like the guy, but he needs to stop laughing so loudly whilst on radio. After seeing him on "Inside the Actors Studio" and watching Ghost Town last night i realized that he is an actor who is better off sticking to TV.

02-19-09, 02:05 PM	#24
ardathbey Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Just South of Nowhere Posts: 604	Re: Karl Pilkington: Genius or Idiot? His head is like a f**cking orange! lol Love the Gervais Podcasts. Actually Ricky's obnoxious laugh when Karl makes him lose it is my favorite. Here is a link to a story about him: http://rickygervais.com/karlisacult.php As to the OP's poll question I am really not sure. I can see where it can all be an act but my instinct tells me he is far too genuine. He's no genius, he is def a cat of a rare breed. But he's no idiot either, just kinda simple.