Here is my contextual research

1. Contextual Research
By Harry Docwra

2. Ricky Gervais
• Ricky Dene Gervais was born on June 25th
1961 in Reading, Berkshire, England. In
1980 he enrolled in University College,
London where he planned on studying
biology but switched courses and ended
up leaving with a degree in Philosophy.
While studying at UCL he met his future
wife Jane Fallon.

3. Ricky Gervais
• After university Ricky tried to peruse a career in Sedona Dancing, in a
duo with a fellow student, they were a synth-pop act similar to many
duos in the 80s. Despite the act failing Gervais stayed in the music
industry for a while and for some time was the manager of the rock
band “Suede.”
• In the 90’s he made a writing partnership with Stephen Merchant
and in 2000 created “The Ricky Gervais Show” which featured many
popular guests.
• In July of 2001 Gervais and Merchants hit show “The Office” aired on
BBC Two, and lasted two short seasons and a Christmas Special. The
rights to the show were picked up by the American Network “NBC”
and the show was given a reboot set in the U.S. Despite not having a
role in it Ricky Gervais still helped produce the show. He has
appeared in any films as tv shows and still works to this day.
• I chose him to research because of his work on both producing and
starring in the office.
“People confuse the subject of the joke with the target of the joke, and
they're very rarely the same.”-R.G.

4. Stephen Merchant
• Stephen James Merchant was born on
the 24th November 1974 in Hanham,
Bristol, England. He studied film and
television at Warwick University, with his
dreams of becoming a film
director/writer/performer. (He also
hosted his own student radio
programme.) He has been dating actress
Micheal Monroe since 2017.

5. Stephen Merchant
• Merchant began his career as a stand up comedian on Bristols
Comedy Box where he started with a successful then unsuccessful
fist two weeks. He met Ricky Gervais in 1997 where he was hired as
Rickys assistant, the two later formed a writing duo. In 2001
Stephen and Ricky launched their hit sitcom “The Office” on BBC
two which Merchant co-wrote, produced and directed alongside
Gervais. When the show was picked up for an American reboot they
were both credited as executive producers.
• Merchant still works in television and stand up comedy. Since the
start of his career he has appeared in films such as “Hot Fuzz”, “I
Give It a Year” and “Logan”.
• I thought he would be suitable to research for his work on the
office.
“A lot of stand-up comedians are actually very insecure, and they
come on slightly battling the audience. They want to be the superior
person in the room, sneering at the world. That can be very funny. But
to me, what's more interesting is that the world is on my shoulders,
and it's pushing me down.”-S.M.

6. Graham Linehan
• Graham Linehan is an Irish sitcom writer,
he was born on the 22nd of May 1968.
Linehan studied at Plunketts School for
boys and then attended Catholic
University School in Dublin. In 2004 he
married writer Helen Linehan and they
currently have two children, Wendy and
Henry Linehan.

7. Graham Linehan
• In his early career Linehan was a
journalist for Hot Press, an Irish music
magazine. He worked alongside Arthur
Matthews on the Alexei Sayle Show. The
pair created the failed sitcom “Paris” in
1994 and then worked on many sketches
for the BBC such as “The Day Today”,
“The Fast Show” and “Harry Enfield and
Chums”. But it was “Father Ted” that
kickstarted their career, it showed of their
true talent and creativity in their writing.
The show ran until 1998 when it came to
an abrupt end when the main star,
Dermot Morgan, passed away. In 2006
Linehan returned to sitcom writing when
he wrote the hit Channel 4 series “The IT
Crowd” which lasted until 2013.
• He recently gave his view on the
possibility of a Father Ted remake, saying
“Father Ted would be impossible to
remake in America. The whole situation
of being Irish and being a priest Ireland is
so different than anything else in
America.”
• I chose to research Graham Linehan
because I admire his work on Father Ted
and The IT Crowd.

8. John Cleese is a British actor, writer, comedian,
screenwriter and producer. He is most famous for his
work on the farce comedy “Fawlty Towers” which he co-
wrote with his wife, Connie Booth and lasted for two
seasons(season 1 released in 1975 and season 2 released
in 1979). The show to this is still highly praised and has
been voted as the best British comedy of all time.
Connie Booth commented on the show’s success on the
radio times, saying “Fawlty Towers succeeds, I think,
because it allows infantile rage and aggression on a field
day in a buttoned down, well mannered English society.”
I will look at his other work such as the infamous Monty
Python films and shows.
“He who laughs, learns best”-J.C.
John Cleese

9. Monty Python & The Holy Grail
• The film uses morbid slapstick humour in order to entertain the
audience. For example, there is a scene in the first act of the film
where a guard gets his limbs cut off by King Arthur, acts unaffected
by them and refers to them as “but a scratch”.
• Throughout the film whenever they are walking through the
countryside they mimic riding on horses whilst a boy at the back
claps two coconuts together along to the beat of a running horse.
This could be poking fun at the fact that they may not have had the
budget or have been able to get real horses.

10. Contextual Statement
• I chose to do an office sketch show because I am a very big fan of both versions
of the show. I’ve been watching the shows for a few years and the U.S version has
become my favourite sitcom of all time. I extremely admire its style of comedy
and how it tells a story. (With it being a mockumentary and having interviews,
etc.) I have always wondered how the concept would work set in a school, this
will be my attempt at professionally exploring the concept in this environment.
• I chose to make a mockumentary because it is an easier way to draw in an
audience and make them more interested. I like the use of the camera and the
lack of music that allows you to focus on and hear the comedic dialogue better. It
will also be easier for the actors to act because they are allowed to look at the
camera if they like and it will not be considered a mess up.

11. Contextual Statement
• I have chosen to do a comedy(sitcom) because my past two final major projects
have been horror based and I would like to take a turn in a more brighter
direction, in order to push myself in terms of creativity. I wanted to see how
funny I could be rather than how scary I could be, to see if I could have a similar
affection on an audience I have with horror.
• After researching all these different comedy writers and shows I also want to see
if I am able to mix all of those different types of comedy to see if it can blend
together to create something that is still funny. I like the style of comedy that a
mockumentary, where it appears as real but is entirely fictional and scripted. I can
mix it with a farce comedy and other types. I agree with the theory that comedies
are a form of escapism and/or entertainment for viewers and that audiences are
more active than passive and will respond to a more engaging genre.

12. Audience theories
The ‘Uses and gratifications model’ theory assumes an active audience, which chooses the the texts it consumes and where
individuals have different reasons for consuming these texts.
Bluhmer and Katz, 1974 expanded this theory suggesting a series of possible reasons why audience members might consume a media
text:
• Diversion: escapism-from everyday problems and routine.
• Personal relationships: using the media for emotional and other interaction.
• Personal Identity: constructing their own identity from characters in media texts, and learning behaviour and values.
• Surveillance: information gathering.
Denis McQuail suggests a more detailed breakdown of audience motivation:
Information
Learning
Personal identity
Integration and social interaction
Entertainment
This helps me to understand what an audience wants when watching a comedy. I believe it is either escapism or entertainment.

13. Books and Publications
Ricky Gervias, Stephen Merchant (2003). The Office: The Scripts, Series 2. London: BBC Books. 253.
Ricky Gervias, Stephen Merchant (2009). The World of Karl Pilkington. London: HarperCollins Publishers. 240.
Graham Linehan, William Rose (2012). The Ladykillers. Earth: Samuel French. 80.
The following are books
that are authored by the
people I have researched.
The one that appeals to me
the most is “The Office: The
Scripts” as I can use it as
inspiration for my project.