The Ricky Gervais Guide To... Philosophy

The Ricky Gervais Guide To... Series One Episode List

Episodes: Guide to... Medicine Guide to... Natural History Guide to... The Arts Guide to... Philosophy Guide to... The English

The Ricky Gervais Guide To... Philosophy is an audiobook released by Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington. It is the fourth audiobook in the Guide To... series. It was released on 16 March 2009.

Track Listing

1. You Know The Twat. (0:00:00)

The Show's Album Art

We're greeted by the same ol' theme music we've been getting used to these past few months. RIcky again gives us the description of the topic, in an attempt to sound intelligent, and finally the clichéd "Head Like an Orange" spiel gets reinvented for the better.

2. Do I Still Squeeze Your Head? (0:01:06)

Ricky is annoyed by "Cod Philosophy", and that silly bitch, medium Doris Stokes. Then on to Feng Shui. No mention of Fuk this time though. Medium talk including Steve's meeting with a liquid medium, while working at the BBC World Service, whose powers were seemingly limited to reading the sign of the radio station. "I think therefore I am" is discussed in-depth as Karl says his first words of the audiobook, which as always are priceless. Karl had a dream where Ricky interrupted his trip to the toilet, which has influenced his real life excretions. What is reality? Would Karl go into a dream tank where a utopian life exists, such as is the plot of The Matrix, essentially. Karl takes it back to basics, asking whether Munchies would be as good as they are in real life. When Steve confirms this, Karl is converted, with Suzanne having a day off in dreamland. Ricky lambasts his decision to have a normal life in dream life, which Karl rejects as it's only the first day and it takes getting used to. He seems to think of the dream being like a holiday, with a fella taking his suitcase, and him not being familiar with the local currency. What would be Karl's perfect life, apart from Munchies and sunshine, which are a given? Karl changes his mind, and Suzanne is back to work. Ricky suggests that the squozen one could be a spy, but Karl wants to leave everything the same, except that his boiler is easily fixed. Karl wants Ricky to stop squeezing his head upon request, but he doesn't like the idea of the tank. Karl explains his limited knowledge of biology, referencing the "problem hole" in your head, which logically must be located beside the "worry hole" he mentioned before. The problem hole is a standard size on everyone. So if a problem hole has a big one in it, there's not room for little one. Karl has a chocolate egg of a problem compared to Ricky's Skittle-sized ones. Karl continues to confuse things with a problem gene, hole and ball all mentioned, which may be one of the best discussion in RSK history. Can women have problem balls? Maybe a man has 2 problem balls. This reverts to hilarious cheeky innuendo. Karl'd just get in the tank

3. Ooh, Am I Awake? Am I Asleep? (0:18:33)

The topic goes back to Descartes, "I think therefore I am". Steve is angry at Karl for spending all his time "looking at ants", Ricky too for him putting no effort into his books, which reside in both Steve & Ricky's toilets. After inventing the problem hole, the worry hole is brought back. Karl thinks that insects should be given credit for "trying", and he then imagines God giving reviews out to different species, and that humanity would be represented by Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen. Karl is unhappy due to Suzanne killing off a lot of ants, who were causing a problem in the garden. One ant was left, who looked "devastated". Karl has another pop at Descartes to close off the segment.

4. There Was a Funny Smell of Damp (0:24:07)

Karl was being bitten while on holidays.

Reception

Reception to the audiobook has been overwhelmingly positive, with some people claiming it to be the their favourite show in RSK history.

Quotes

Ricky: Karl, how do you know this isn't a dream?
Karl: I haven't been sleeping that well.

Karl: There was one ant left, he looked devastated.

Steve: But if Jim could fix it for you to do anything, what would you have chosen?
Karl: ...That me name was Bret.

Karl: It got near the hole and it's like "Hang on a minute this can't be it 'cause there's no one around." And then it went "Oh, no it is the hole..."
Ricky: Auuh.
Karl: And that summed it up. It's the people that are still living, in life, that are the saddest aren't they... after death.

Trivia

• Karl mentions the "Worry Hole" , which was first discussed in The Christmas Podfather Podcast.

• Doris Stokes is mentioned, as she was in the 1998 Tapes.

• Steve references Karl staring at worms & bugs as he spent the entire summer doing before, and was dicsussed indepth in, Series 3 Episode 1

• Ricky mentions Happyslapped By A Jellyfish: "Austrailia, I've never been there myself"

External Links

The Pilkipedia Forum users' thoughts on the show

The Amazing World of Doris Stokes