The Ricky Gervais Guide To... Medicine (2009)

The team behind the record-breaking podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show, is back with a brand new series of unrelenting drivel so sidesplittingly funny that I strongly advise against listening to it on public transport for fear of giving the impression that you're actually laughing at the creepy-looking guy sitting directly across from you.

I couldn't even begin to succinctly describe Karl Pilkington, but most of my friends will have probably heard me pass on a bizarre piece of unwisdom from him at some point or another. Prodded by fellow podcasters Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (co-creators of two of the best British comedies of recent years: The Office and Extras), Pilkington shares his uniquely bizarre outlooks on life. Much of what he says is pure, concentrated bollocks, but there's occasionally a strange profundity to what he comes out with.

For those unfamiliar with his nonsensical genius, here are a few of Karl Pilkington's most memorable quotes from The Ricky Gervais Show...

On the mind: "Does the brain control you or are you controlling the brain? I don't know if I'm in charge of mine."
On evolution: "It goes bacteria, fish, mermaid, man..."
On gravity: "Could the world fall?"
On having a doppelgänger: "How would I know which one I was?"
On seeing an ultrasound: "It was an awkward situation because [the mother] was happy with it. I was like 'Oh, God'. It was an odd-looking thing. I couldn't say 'Oh, it looks like you' because that would be a dis."
On getting his girlfriend's attention if he transformed into a slug: "It'd be impossible. I'd chuck myself into the salt pot or something."

While The Ricky Gervais Show was essentially a series of glorious ramblings, The Ricky Gervais Guide To... Medicine is a touch more focussed, maybe even educational. It still contains some hilarious diversions (Karl describing an exhibition on Tutankhamun: "They had some video footage made up; it wasn't from the time"), while keeping in with the theme of medicine (Karl on the possibility that Russia or the US still has a supply of smallpox for military use: "To me, that's like in James Bond, when they don't kill him when they have the chance"). Pilkington summarises the world of medicine with this meaningless gem: "Today's cure is tomorrow's legache."

The Ricky Gervais Guide To... Medicine is occasionally a bit too crass for its own good, but when Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington's ramblings hit the target, it's nearly always a bulls-eye. After nearly eight years of chatter in radio and podcast form, it's amazing that there's still material to be plundered. As amusing as Gervais and Merchant are (which is very), the key to the trio's longevity lies in the fascinating mind of Karl Pilkington.

The show can be purchased from iTunes via the links at rickygervais.com.