Ricky Gervais has another winner

It's taken me three episodes but I've finally fallen for "The Ricky Gervais Show," the latest HBO venture from the British comic who brought us the original "Office" and "Extras."

This time around, the self-titled show flips the traditional chat show on its head, animating actual conversations between Gervais, longtime sidekick Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington. These aren't normal conversations, but discussions triggered by Pilkington's half-sane, half-crazy musings about life.

It's the low-fi animation (more on that in the clip below) that makes all the difference in the world, because it allows Pilkington's ideas to come to life. Gervais, whose animated self looks a whole lot like Fred Flintstone, takes his mocking tone to new heights, puntuated by frequent fits of laughter that have me regularly thumbing down the volume. Pilkington is subdued and slack-jawed when not sharing his wisdom, and mostly immune to the verbal bashings he receives from Gervais and Merchant. 

Merchant, who was brilliant in "The Office" and "Extras," is mostly subdued in an Andy Richter kind of way. I'd love for him to take more of an active role in sharing his wit. We'll see as time goes on.