User reviews

It is said the comedy is only funny if the character doesn't "know" he's in a comedy, and Warwick is taking his life really seriously. Utterly desperate for attention, of any kind, he's getting through from day to day, actually broke but pretending to be well off. His "fame" is far in the past, he's out of work, nobody really wants anything to do with him, but he doesn't give up. He's trying to present himself as an important celebrity, or a successful womanizer, but his constructs fail comically.

While other reviewers see a strong connection with The office, I see none, other than they both belong to the same genre. The scripting and the idea of the show are original. Funnier than The office too.

In writing this review, I think it is only fair to remove any influence that successes such as The Office, Extras, The Ricky Gervais Show and An Idiot Abroad may contribute towards it. I find that in doing so, I may avoid the typically predictable droning about it 'being better or worse that his last show'. I find that argument boring and it's narrowing both the potential comparative and the viewers focus when watching.

So, with my 'Gervais' hat now removed, here is my review for 'Life's Too Short', the new mock-umentary from Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais.

Gervais cited a number of ideas that had influenced the making of this show. With an influx of those awful, 'look at me' celebrity documentary things in which a television crew follows one, or a number of deranged, fame hungry socialites doing nothing other than sleeping with each other and shopping for new Ugg Boots and push-up bras.

In Warwick Davies, we have the protagonist, albeit an unlikeable one. Desperate to cling on to fame's back side, he invites a 'film crew' to follow him around, heightening his celebrity status at every opportunity. Much like those awful celebrity docu-soaps, Warwick yearns for all and any publicity, hoping blindly that living his life like an open wound would somehow benefit his career. Only...Warwick is a dwarf actor looking to pay a huge tax bill.

He continually annoys Gervais and Merchant, who both play themselves as conduits to Warwick's celebrity life. Warwick seeks their help in finding his way to higher pastures but is continually berated and mocked, mostly for his size. All in all there is an abundance of misfortune in this man's life, and we're party to all of it.

As you'd expect, there is an abundance of 'short jokes' in this. The casual observer would possibly assume a level of discrimination in doing this, feeling Warwick is somewhat exploited. But that could not be further from the truth. Although we see Warwick's immense difficulty with his stature, it is his small mindedness that we are most amused by. Where some might think forcing a dwarf down the toilet is immoral and wrong, others look at his reasons for agreeing this - trying in vain to impress Johnny Depp. Where some might see his hilarious scaling of a bookshelf and think it is somewhat derogatory, others might point out his ridiculous pride in saving face so not to give his ex-wife's new partner the upper hand. These moments are aptly portrayed in such a way as to mock only Warwick's personality and not his disability. This is a 'small man' in mind alone. He is petty, vain, desperate, small minded and arrogant. He is a small 'Alan Partridge' with the same delusions of grandeur that made Alan such fun to watch.

Most of Life's Too Short is familiar to fans of Gervais. His touch is evidently there, and the overall show is stylistically more similar to The Office as oppose to anything else. The physical comedy is done brilliantly and Warwick has such a commanding grasp on this realm. Yet there is too much missing from the show. The writing is just not funny enough. The incredibly funny parts, such as Liam Neeson's scene are too few and far between. I dare say it, but there is too little of Gervais and Merchant. And once more, Barry, Cheggers and Les Dennis are back to provide the odd laugh inbetween, proving the show needed additional comedy from somewhere. Other than Warwick, nothing stood out. Gone are the level of characters such as Tim, Gareth, Darren Lamb, Barry (who we see too little of), Dawn and the lovable Maggie. Finding incredible characters and creating interesting and brilliant people to play them is what Gervais and Merchant have done brilliantly. Yet there's nothing too special here. It's as though they narrowed their view solely to Warwick and forgot about the outer world he'll exist in.

But still, with my Gervais hat still gone, I will review this show on its merits. Ultimately it is very funny in parts. Watching Warwick scale that bookcase had me in tears. Liam Neeson's bit was one of the greatest scenes the guys have written and the whole idea behind the show is still strong. I enjoyed watching Life's Too Short and it was in no way a bad show. The current viewer rating on IMDb is 7.8/10, a little generous for my liking. If I could be more specific, I'd give the show a 7.4/10...or 74/100...or 74%...whatever works.

All in all - not too bad, not too great. Just good.

Life's Too Short could have been great if it weren't for the fact that it exploits so many previous TV-shows that it's just nothing new. In fact, if you ask yourself the question "What would David Brent be like if he were born a dwarf" you kind of have what this series is about.

It also feels heavily reminiscent of I'm Alan Partridge, and many times it just feels like the same show except with a mockumentary layer around it and a dwarf instead of Steve Coogan. Basically a huge ego that is still in denial about lost glory. And while that can be funny, it just nowhere feels fresh.

Furthermore, Gervais apparently wasn't really sure about which road to pursue. On the one hand, Life's Too Short introduces little people in a more mature, serious fashion, like real actors (for the series itself, not in its universe), but on the other hand, it's short-jokes inbound.

It's an easy and amusing enough series to watch, but don't expect Gervais' next gem.

Hilarious. Ironically, that was all I wanted to write but was told that the review was too short

Gervais can be annoying. Despite this, I am a fan of almost everything he's done.

The Office was outstanding and Extras wasn't bad either.

I kept seeing a few negative reviews about this and for some reason it passed me by.

Recently, I got the chance to see the series. I wasn't expecting much.

Boy, was I wrong! There are so many laugh out loud moments in this series. Soooooo many. At the end of the day, that's what comedy is for...no? Warwick Davis is brilliant in this and shows what a fine actor he really is. He essentially plays a David Brent character in a mockumentary..but really, really well.

Some have criticized the show for being offensive towards smaller people. They just don't get it.

The fact that the main character is little becomes fairly irrelevant. He's just an odious toad! The dumb secretary and the manic depressive accountant are also hilarious characters.

The cringe factor of Gervais' work is always high but this series has a cringe factor through the roof. It can be uncomfortable to watch at times, but you can't take your eyes off it.

I loved it.

A measly 7.7 on here is probably almost as funny as the show.

Watch it and love it.

I would tend to agree with criticism that Gervais and Merchant seemed to have written and directed this "on automatic pilot". There is little evidence of any real effort.

First of all, there is the issue of originality; I am mainly referring to cloned characters, an unfortunate decision on the part of Gervais/Merchant. While LTS may seem original at first glance, what with a dwarf actor playing himself as the main character, it isn't. The show is basically an amalgamation of "The Office" and "Extras", totally derivative hence quite predictable.

Warwick, playing an egocentric attention-seeking head of a small company, is – give-or-take a few things – essentially a dwarf version of David Brent; he is always focused on what the camera is doing i.e. on how he will look to the viewers later, he gives the camera those awkward looks of embarrassment, he gets into the same kind of cringe-worthy situations as Brent, etc. His ditsy secretary, whose stupidity constantly puts him on the spot in front of other people, is basically the Scottish gal from "Extras". The running joke in "Extras" was Ashley revealing secret/embarrassing information about Gervais at the worst possible moments: the secretary does the exact same thing to Warwick, and stupidly enough he never even admonishes her for it, let alone fires her. Warwick's accountant is almost a replica of Merchant's incompetent agent from "Extras"; totally useless, lazy, and unmotivated, but quick to put the blame on Warwick. It's all quite familiar, in fact far too familiar.

As a result, LTS keeps bringing up the same sort of situations we've already seen dozens of times in the two previous Gervais/Merchant sitcoms. Unlike these two, however, you will very rarely find a laugh-out-loud moment in LTS. In the defense of the show, though, the episodes are usually interesting throughout, if nothing else, and Gervais's appearances save the series from sinking into total mediocrity.

Which brings me to another problem. Warwick is vaguely likable, but he isn't a good enough comedian by a long shot to carry a whole series, which is why every appearance by Gervais comes as much-needed comic relief. During those scenes, LTS's quality level rises – but the moment Gervais exists, it drops again.

There are other reasons LTS doesn't work that well. For one thing, the whole mockumentary genre has been almost bled dry by now. Christopher Guest ("Spinal Tap", "Waiting For Guffman", "For Your Consideration" etc.) and Gervais/Merchant had already done this, not to mention a plethora of "The Office" spin-offs around the world, and many other lesser comedies that were made in this fashion, diluting the mockumentary format in the process and making it decreasingly appealing. When "This Is Spinal Tap" came out, back in 1982, it was a totally new type of comedy, very fresh and hilarious. 30 years later, and I don't get particularly excited about anything new mockumentary-wise.

But this aspect isn't as detrimental to the series as this flawed conception: both Warwick's character and the situations in LTS are too exaggerated. Less is more when it comes to mockumentaries, I would have thought Gervais would at least know this. You can't have broad-comedy situations within a "reserved" mockumentary setting. For example, Warwick's speech at the wedding; it is so over-the-top absurd that it belongs more in some idiotic, buffoonerish Stiller/Owen/Ferrell comedy than in a mockumentary which is supposed to be more low-key, subtle rather than ape-ish, clever rather than in-your-face. Warwick delivers a speech so extreme that it loses all credibility in the way it relates to the real world – and a mockumentary simply doesn't work unless its events and characters remain plausible, firmly grounded in reality. It is the mockumentary's strong connection to reality that makes the goings-on in it funny. Once that element of credibility is lost, the gags too are as good as lost.

The series hits its absolute low point in episode 6. Almost nothing works. That whole party segment contains all of the problems I'd mentioned above: the situations are predictable, the characters unrealistic, Gervais isn't present, the gags are too exaggerated, Warwick makes decisions that are out-and-out retarded hence unfunny. Even worse is the fight between Warwick and his accountant, earlier on in the same episode, when the two face Warwick's ex-wife and her solicitor. This scene was embarrassing to watch; moronic and unfunny to the core. The accountant's infantile behaviour made absolutely zero sense. If Warwick had sneaked him out of a psyche ward a day earlier, then perhaps it would have worked.

Nearly all the highlights are with Gervais and Merchant. The scene with Steve Carrell is a rare stand-out. One of the few highlights with Warwick is his visit to the Scientologists. I commend the writers for having the balls to make fun of this "church", because most (comedy) writers wouldn't have had the guts to even entertain such a thought. The only other funny scenes with Warwick are when he trips over a banana peel and when he falls out of the car. (Telling.) I would also commend the team for the casting of Warwick's moronic secretary; this girl can't act to save her life (the daughter of a successful fashion designer, i.e. yet another nepotist) but her appearance and dumb lobotomized facial expression are unique.

The celebrity appearances are problematic. This shtick usually didn't work in "Extras", and works even less frequently in LTS. Helena Bonham Carter, the nepotistic funny-looking little gnome, is a vastly overrated actress, let alone a comedienne; no wonder that episode didn't work. She was just as bad as Daniel Radcliffe (yet another nepotist; yes, it's an epidemic) was in "Extras". Stick an unfunny person in a poorly written part, and the results are nothing less than atrocious.

"The Making Of" is funnier and more entertaining. That's a warning right there.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, if you lose one more kilo, your face will start looking perfectly square-shaped. Another warning.

Life's too short is basically an amalgamation of both "The Office" and "Extras" but sadly not as good as either. That's not to say it isn't good.

There are some underlying problems, one being the character Warwick Davis. This isn't going to be a scathing attack on his capabilities as an actor because I believe his performance is really quite good. However, the character seems to similar to David Brent and Ricky Gervais' portrayal of that character is incomparable. The fault is not with Davis but with the writing. The only thing missing is the ability for the viewer to sympathise with Davis, there is enough to sympathise with his situation (divorce, career down hill) but not with the character, because all you really see are his superficial or self empathising tendencies.

Some of the press reviews have been extremely unfair and seem to have drastically missed the point in terms of where the humour lies. In my view the humour lies in the absurd nature of the people Warwick meets; examples being Depp placing him in a toilet and H B Carter putting him in a bin as if they believe this is acceptable behaviour.

All in all it appears to be getting stronger episode by episode and there are usually a few hilarious scenes in each that make it worth watching.

This show was hilarious. I'm so sorry it didn't come up for a second season. Very disappointed! 😞 this show had me rolling on the floor! I hope at some point they manage to bring it back. I have watched it time and time again and it never gets old and I don't see how anyone can think otherwise. I guess it all depends on your sense of humor, but I think this was definitely his most hysterical work. And Warwick Davis was fabulous!

Kudos guys!

First off, I don't understand why some people are criticising this as being in the same style as The Office and Extras, rehashing old jokes and concepts. So what? Both shows were funny and this is even funnier. What's more, this show is missing the pathos the previous shows had, which reserved some space for us to empathise with some of the characters, and in doing so, slowed the shows down a bit at times. Not a bad thing, by any means, but in Life's Too Short we're offered one great comedy scene after another, with a lovable character who's more than happy to make us laugh at his expense and pulling no punches with the material he's given to work with.

The fact that the show guest stars other various celebrities 'playing themselves' (as in Extras), is an aspect that's always welcome to watch. But what's more important of this type of show, is not just the exceptional writing and cringe worthy situations the characters find themselves in, but the facial expressions and comic timing of every character. And when that's done right, as it is here, then I wouldn't mind seeing this kind of comedy rehashed over and over - for some jokes just never get old.

As the only person in the Universe who thinks both:

a) The Office was not funny and b) Extras was better

I came to this after several negative reviews not expecting much but I had heard Ricky Gervais on Danny Baker and he was:

a) a really nice guy and b) very proud of the series

So eventually I got round to watching it on the iPlayer.

Basically, as everyone seems to be saying, it's similar to, OK the same as, his other work. This is not always a bad thing. When it hits it's spot on, and very very funny, but, because it's the comedy of embarrassment, when it misses it is just embarrassing.

Still, it's well worth the occasional discomfort for the laugh out loud moments.

This show is one of the funniest on television at this point in time.

Warwick Davies plays Warwick Davies as a pompous, self-centred, grandiose showbiz dwarf who has fallen on hard times. He as well as Gervais and many other famous starts play themselves as very unlikeable characters-similar to extras, yet with no sympathetic main characters and thus no saving grace. This makes the show very much like Alan Partridge- wry and funny in its painfulness.

The only sympathetic characters in the show are the dwarfs that are in Warwick Davis' (halfhearted) care, yet they are juxtaposed with carnival-esque clownery slapstick as we don't see on television as it is politically incorrect.

This is one of the first shows to give dwarfs a satirical role on prime time television where they are not just used as props, but as people as part of a larger context of society. The show is a lot smarter than given credit for.

This first season shows the typical handwriting of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. You've got loads of awkward social situations, a protagonist that slowly but surely drifts toward self destruction and famous people popping in once in a while. Honestly it's "Extras" all over again, just with a different flavor.

What surprised me is the speed at which the series looses ideas. While the first two episodes are hilarious (thanks to another great performance by Johnny Depp), later ones loose themselves in the monotony of repetition: Same jokes, same ideas, same plot twists. Worse is that the celebrity actors don't keep their quality. While Liam Neeson, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter satire the public view of their persons pretty hilariously, Cat Deeley only puts a visual highlight on her episode and Sting just plays Sting, which honestly works better in a Guy Ritchy movie.

If you liked everything about "Extras", you still might be a bit disappointed by the slight quality drop in direct comparison. It's still worth a watch though. I personally still have a hard time sympathizing with the prevailing idea in Gervais' stories of the arrogant and ignorant protagonist that ruins his life the fullest. It just makes watching the whole thing quite painful once in a while.

After watching episode 1, I wasn't sure if this was anything special, but episodes 2 & 3 have convinced me that it's excellent. Warwick Davis is a joy to watch.. as he gets himself into crazy, often cringe-worthy situations. He really has a knack for comedy with his expressions and comic timing.

The way it's shot as a fly-on-the-wall documentary, works really well. The scripts are very well-written, so everything flows perfectly, which means it's never anything less than gripping. The celebrity guest appearances are a great idea, with Johnny Depp's scenes being particularly enjoyable.

Overall.. this show feels fresh and full of fun. Sure it's similar to The Office in some ways, but it's much more wacky and amusing. If there's any justice.. it will be a big success. 10/10

HILARIOUS show , non-stop laughter , characters are just so so funny and always come up with the most unexpected hilarious things to say . Much funnier than the Office.

The only negative thing is that there is only one season!!!

10/10.

With Extras finished Gervais and Merchant wanted to mine the same path.

This time Gervais & Merchant play a version of themselves as some sort of comedy producer/agent with Warwick Davis as a showbiz dwarf. Davis is egotistical and selfish but he has also fallen on hard times.

It is a mockumentary and rather absurd. Davis is not likable and we think his heart is in the right place. Although as a talent agent for other dwarfs he takes the best acting parts for himself.

It's hard to sympathise with him but easier to cringe. Davis does offer a lot of physical comedy in the role.

There is also the sidebar of Gervais and Merchant with his usual team of Les Dennis, Keith Chegwin and Barry from Eastenders who are joined by a star cameo each week.

Liam Neeson popping up in one episode wanting more comedy parts which is a throwback to 'Extras.'

Still like Extras there is enough to make it work. The cameos are amusing, Davis is entertaining as he bravely soldiers on. His hapless accountant provides the laughs.

The show only lasted one series and was wrapped up in a special one off episode where Val Kilmer turned up as Batman. Davis was softened up slightly and he understands the need to be less selfish.

I find Life's Too short to be a funny and quirky mockumentary following Warwick around showing us his (not so) glamorous life as an agent for other little people. It seems to me that many English viewers are a bit biased about Gervais, but if you like his other series you'll like this.

Much of the fun revolves around Ricky's office and there's cameos as usual, including Liam Neeson, Carrel, Depp and more. I've watched the episodes a few times to really take them in, and I'd say it grows on me too. Warwick's parody of himself and the comedy Gervais and Merchant add makes him likable and funny. Most of the fun is based on the fact that he's trying hard to present his business and himself as a little person as more glamorous then it is, but then it's apparent to viewers that it's not. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, that's what the comedy is about here.

I think other reviewers show they don't pay attention when they say it's cheap or lazy comedy, and criticize Warwick falling off his heightening phone books and out of the car, it comes right after he narrates that he wants to show viewers that he's a classy guy, and that's just funny. Simple, but funny.

There are definitely laughs going on here but I can't help thinking most of them are in-house with Messrs G and M sharing them behind the scenes at the viewers' expense.

If the deliberate intention was to present this series as a skewed rehash / reworking of situations, lines and characters from what's gone before it (The Office and Extras) then I think it succeeded on that particular level.

With this and a second series in the pipeline some might say that perhaps it's a clever way to wrap up a trilogy?

Perhaps.

Overall though a disappointment for me.

The series lacked that writing masterclass spark that I have come to expect from two of Britain's greatest ever comic writers.

All is not lost: I didn't like the first series of Extras too much but now consider it a classic.

Here's hoping the second series of "Life's Too Short" moves up a gear and that I'm not left with the feeling that Messrs G & M wrote this in a hurry because they had other things to do with their valuable time.

Don't understand the lower ratings , very funny serie , always such a pleasure to watch Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

Such a pity they didn't do a second season.

9/10.

I have to admit when I first started watching coming attractions of this show I wasn't sure what to make of it but after four episodes I am now convinced this is the funniest show on television. I was out one night with a group of friends and we had gone out for a fun time and we all came back at about 2:00am and we decided to watch something on "HBO on demand." We decided to check out "Life's Too Short." We watched one episode after another after another. I have never laughed so hard in my life! We were all dying!! It turned out to be the best night of the weekend. Warwick Davis (star of Willow, Leprechaun, and Ray) turned out to be a great comic actor. I couldn't believe how funny the show was and the situations Davis had got himself into. His secretary is equally funny. His secretary talks very slowly and in an episode after she (his secretary) explained something to him, Davis replied, "Well that took longer than an episode of Columbo." ROFL! Ricky Gervais is a comic genius as he makes fun of dwarfs, the mentally challenged, and just about everyone else in this TV series! It isn't in some people's taste but it really is all in good fun. I give the series ten stars out of ten. It is the best thing on television. Thank you Ricky Gervais!

First of all I never watched Extras and I always have a hard time watching comedy based on deliberatively awful characters. (Though I loved It's Always Sunny in Philedelphia) So this show wasn't really my thing and couldn't even fully watched the last 2 episodes and skipped a couple of scenes. But on the other hand it was an original show and really funny in some of its moments. I guess I didn't like the somewhat downfall of Warwick Davis throughout the show and at the end of it the show started to get a little depressing for me. Still I recommend it, because you can't really anticipate what will happen next and most of the acts will just hit you in the face.

I've been a fan of most of the comedy Ricky Gervais has done, but also because everything has come from what he knows and has experienced. His stand up is brilliant... anyway about the show: It's just not funny. Why does Warwick Davis have to act like a mini David Brent? Many people have said this, but they say it because everyone has noticed, except the Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant. And WHY OH WHY! Do they have to resort to using a cliché stupid blond girl character. They done it in extras, so why do it again. Did they really think "right everything we have made so far has been funny so lets make it again!" and why has someone compared this to Alan Partridge??! This has no depth and all the jokes are easy and revolve around making fun of the fact Warwick's character is short. OK, so it's going to do this as it is about the fact he is short, but it's just too easy. The best parts have actually been the scenes in Ricky's office and the other famous actors. There has only been a few episodes, but they seem to be doing the same thing and that blond girl is already doing my head in with her stupid moronic comments and using the cheap cringe worthy laughs to make Warwick look stupid. The last thing I will say is that with this program they have tried to make it into a mock documentary of Warwick's day to day life, so why are they using known actors that have either already been in previous shows made by Ricky Gervais or have been in other comedy programs. They should be using unknowns like in the Office and extras! This could make it more believable!