7. Their Characters Are Believable
The David Brent that's appeared on YouTube in 2013 is exactly the same David Brent that appeared in the very first episode of 'The Office'. There has been progression for the character, but Gervais was born to play him: he was always a classic television character, from Day 1. But it's not just Gervais and Merchant who seem to just "get it" right away; everyone in their shows is believable. They're caricatures, sure, because it's a comedy, but we all know a bloke at work who's a glorified milk-monitor. We can accept that Barry probably gets depression over his lack of work. Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are probably divas off-screen, and we all like to think we wouldn't take crap, like Karl Pilkington's character in 'Derek'. And the fact that Gervais and Merchant set their work in the real world, with real people, real situations and real emotions, only draws us closer to the likes of Brent.