Zeefster's Hoarding Den

Unpopular Opinion: Stephen Merchant

If some may recall, I posted a few clips from An Idiot Abroad and The Ricky Gervais Show a while back because I saw them posted on Facebook and it fueled my curiosity about all the Stephen Merchant fangirling that was constantly on my dash.  Perhaps my enthusiasm on the subject was spoken too soon, as my opinion of him drastically changed after watching Hello Ladies.

Yes, I laughed while watching that show, but it wasn’t the jokes I was laughing at.  I have a bad habit of getting too distracted by a person’s body language to care about what they’re saying, which is the only reason I managed to stay laughing through the whole show.  About 80% of what I recall Steve talking about is sex and himself, and yes the show is called Hello Ladies but I found that ratio a rather arrogant way to present oneself.  The latter would be okay if the show was meant to be an autobiographical presentation, but for a standup show I don’t see the need except in small doses.

The @Google talk was the first thing Smerch related I watched after Portal 2 and that was both interesting AND enjoyable.  Maybe he just doesn’t make a good standup comedian in my opinion.

And I don’t have room to assume much more because I’ve never watched The Office and I’ve only seen bits of An Idiot Abroad and The Ricky Gervais Show and that’s about it.

The one positive thing I do have to say about Steve is I believe he was a good choice for the role of Wheatley in Portal 2.  He pulled off his bumbling, amiable nature very well.  And then there comes the topic of humanized Wheatleys.  Do I like Wheatleys that resemble Steve?  Yes, but not because they resemble him.  I heard about Wheatley long before I heard about Steve, and I pictured a human Wheatley exactly how he sounded, which happens to look like Steve.  There are Smerch!Wheatley designs I really love even though I think the idea is overdone.

Besides Portal 2, I don’t know.  I’m still left bewildered as to how Smerchettes seem to find this guy absolutely irresistible (besides being an awkward giraffe) to the point where it’s disturbing.  If any of my followers or people I follow are into him, that’s fine.  I will not try to force a change in thought with my observations.