Life's Too Short

Life's Too Short, 1.7 - episode seven

There's a certain irony that Life's Too Short is co-produced by Backlash Productions, because it's provoked a lot of negative chatter about Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's careers.

Life's Too Short review: Series ends with a whimper

In the end the disappointing thing about Life's Too Short wasn't that the falling out of cars and not reaching door bells felt like exploitation - it's that they felt like the freshest ideas on offer.

Second series of Life's Too Short planned for 2013

Ricky Gervais reveals that a new series of the Warwick Davis-fronted comedy is in the works.

Ricky Gervais confirms 'Life's Too Short' renewal

Ricky Gervais has confirmed that Life's Too Short will return for a second series.

There's nothing new about this Gervais/Merchant sitcom - Warwick Davis is just a David Brent for little people - but it has still generated some excruciatingly funny moments and more intelligent, self-reflexive comedy. In this series finale, Warwick's desperation to be in with the celeb crowd proves his undoing once again, as he ends up spending more than he can afford at a charity bash just to impress Sting.

Life's Too Short's grounds for Gervais-Merchant divorce

Life's Too Short's penultimate episode saw Warwick Davis' marriage finally come to an end - sadly, we've still got one more instalment of this tripe before we can say goodbye to Ricky Gervais.

Life's Too Short, 1.6 - episode six

I've acclimatized to Life's Too Short, which is a fancier way of saying I don't expect it to be very good, but take whatever goodness it managed to squeeze from each half-hour.

Another week, another queasy mix of comedy and unpleasantness. The latter comes courtesy of a ]Keith Chegwin appearance; he turns up to Warwick's showbiz flat-warming party and makes a contribution to a discussion about suicide (with Les Dennis and Shaun Williamson, both no strangers to the Gervais/Merchant world) that you'll wish you'd never heard. Short of getting a Naked Jungle DVD for Christmas, it's hard to think of anything worse.

Luckily, before that, there's some comedy that doesn't rely on celebrity input, including edgy scenes with Warwick's love rival Ian (Matthew Holness, underplaying beautifully) and a turn by Cat Deeley as an unlikely paid-for guest.

More excruciating humour from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. They certainly succeed at painting a pathetic figure in dwarf actor Warwick Davis, the star of this "mockumentary", but whether you can bear to watch is another question. This week Warwick is beaten up by his accountant during divorce proceedings with his wife. He then tries to drum up some celebrities to come to his housewarming party, but ends up shelling out to book Cat Deeley and inevitably humiliating himself in front of his date. The slapstick provides the comedy while Warwick's eternally optimistic desperation is enough to make you wince.

Life's Too Short, episode 1.5 review

For what it's worth, I thought this was the best episode of Life's Too Short so far.