The Office was consistently brilliant. Extras was sometimes brilliant, and often so in the first series. On the basis of what we've seen so far LTS might occasionally reach the heights of mediocrity.

I didn't think this week's was as good
If it is in the style of a Jordan/Peter Andre type reality show then it works well.
It doesn't have a plot but there are some very funny bits in it.

The one thing that grated a bit with me apart from the rubbish lazy wedding speech thing, was the secretary doing, what seemed to me a Gervais like bit when she was talking to Warwick in the office.

The only one that doesn't act like Gervais is Ricky.

Having said that, I never liked any episodes of Extras much on first viewing. Always preferred them second time when I wasn't on "Is it as good as The Office" watch.

Quote: Steve Sunshine @ November 18 2011, 1:06 AM GMT

I never liked any episodes of Extras much on first viewing, Always preferred them second time when I wasn't on " Is it as good as the office" watch

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Maybe this show improves when you're not on "Is it as good as Extras?" watch?

I think it will be invaluable for those who are going to stick with this to become practiced at continually lowering their expectations. You've all still got a long, long way to go until the end of the feature-length Christmas episode following the second series. Good luck.

And as for the argument, espoused by Gervais and his (admittedly shrinking number of) diehard fans, that the show is not primarily about getting laughs from Warwick Davis' diminuitive stature... Yeah. Right. Of course it isn't. And the fact that Bill Reynolds in Love Thy Neighbour was black was entirely incidental to that show.

As a sometime advocate for people with disabilities. I am aware that there is nothing more damaging than "special pleading" and super compensation. All Star Trek NG's admirals were black or women or both. But it was the white male patriarchal captains who had the adventures. In Sickness and in Health in the 1980s the black and gay charcters were empty vessels, whilst the Alf Garnett character had all the humourous lines. That so many children's cartoons have a character in a wheelchair, but that seems to be the whole of their identity.

Which is a round about way of saying. Don't judge Ricky for making Warwick Davis; dress as a teddy bear, fall out of his car or stand in a toilet pretending to be an evil dwarf.

It's empowering.

Probably.

Well, I enjoyed it and laughed a lot. Better this week; certainly funnier than the first episode and I quite liked the Gervais/Merchant bit, especially as it didn't seem to take up as much time as the Neeson bit of last week. I quite like that he keeps turning up though thinking he's their mate and they seem to think anything but.

Agree with Aaron about the Lord of the Dance bit: the dancing bit was a bit uncomfortable but undone by Depp's hilarious random playing of the recorder.

Despite his Brent-isms, you do feel for Warwick (the character, I mean) trying to make things work and I think he's playing the straight man really well here. Kudos to him.

I like Gervais in this. I think The Office, though superb is not as good as the US version. I (alone, it seems) think Extras Series 2 was much better than its predecessor and his stand-up is very funny. Both series are better than this (admittedly, only two episodes in) but he consistently delivers plenty of laughs, whatever he seems to do.

Dan

I can see this series backfiring. So far for me, it's probably doing more to promote PC, than it is to subvert it, which is its main aim. We all get the short jokes, they're all very obvious and blatant, but a non stop festival of them is a bit peurile and crude, and is already, to me, showing just why PC exists now.

But if it gets Warwick Davis more work, I suppose it's doing some good, as he's a good actor and you can't help but like the guy. Would we have known this without LTS? Probably not, and it must be his first starring role. So in this aspect, Gervais is doing him a good turn. Which is of course, what he wants to do, but while being a naughty boy and sticking two fingers up to PC. Will be interesting if it causes controversy, or a pompous debate in The Guardian, as you know that's what Gervais is itching to do, with this.

Still replaying the Depp scenes in my head; very funny, he was great.

Yes I thought the Depp scenes were funny too, cartoony but funny, like something out of Viz. The opening convention scene I didn't like at all and the wedding scene I found incredibly samey, as I fear I'm going to find with a lot of this sitcom.

Episode two was a welcome return to form.

Depp nailed his cameo role and Warwick didn't come across as just a midget Brent. There were a few niggles but on the whole it was a joy to watch.

If we're going to sit here comparing it to The Office then it's got no chance. Let it breath and be its own thing.

Also, if you're sick of the short jokes then maybe the prejudice lies with you, yeah?

I cannot begin to tell you how disapointed I am with this show. It is as though Gervais and Merchant have not bothered making the original version and cut straight to the embarrassing American remake!

Both The Office and Extras were SUPERB, but this has left me feeling cold. The awkward looks to camera, that worked soooo well in The Office now appear tired and the 'Hollywood Stars' seemed shoehorned in just because they can be!

It pains me to think that the Extras Christmas Special will be the last sitcom by RG and Smerch that I will be able to laugh at. It is ironic beyond belief that RG was on 'Curb' a few weeks ago commenting that the laughter track on 'Seinfeld' reminded you to laugh, well Ricky, all the canned laughter in the world could not make me crack a smile at Life's Too Short!

VERY VERY POOR SO FAR! VERY POOR!

Quote: Matthew Stott @ November 18 2011, 8:57 AM GMT

Still replaying the Depp scenes in my head; very funny, he was great.

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That was so superb. I just love the bit where Depp squeezes out the Twitter joke and Ricky knocks it back, before Depp explodes.

Just ace.

And Depp's a real team player.

Quote: sootyj @ November 18 2011, 6:09 AM GMT

In Sickness and in Health in the 1980s the black and gay charcters were empty vessels, whilst the Alf Garnett character had all the humourous lines.

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Wrong.

As for the height issue, I very much get the impression that, aside from the odd joke made directly at Warwick's stature, the humour is supposed to be coming from the unique predicaments his dwarfism leads him to be in. And, I dare say, the writers would argue that those more direct jokes - such as the bizarre visual of him hobbling around and hopping up onto chairs - are supposed to be mocking the kinds of shots and things that real documentaries put focus on.

It's really hard to say this as a massive G&M fan, but the quality of the show is simply not good enough.

I really have no problem with the premise of the show being a Office-cum-Extras style show, as both sitcoms were brilliant. I can even accept some of the Brent-esque mannerisms that Warwick Davis uses, as he would understandably have been playing the scene as Ricky would have directed him. But to have actual straight lifts of Office and Extras material is really disappointing.

Never once did I get feel during Extras that old ground was being copied - the only thing linking The Office and Extras was the class Gervasian humour and great writing/performances.

Here, it feels as is G&M simply didn't take enough time to write believeable scenarios that would have given Life's Too Short an identity of its own.

The secretary not telling Davis about phone calls is far too similar to Merchant's Extras character neglecting to tell Millman stuff. Davis pointing to the camera telling his ex-wife she is showing off because the cameras were there is a staight lift from Brent exchange with his boss in The Office. Davis dressed as a bear and the ensuing awkwardness at the wedding is remarkably similar to David Brent in an ostrich costume and seemed too easy a tool and too predictable a result.

Personally, I don't think the celebrity A-List cameos add anything to the programme whatsoever. Yes Liam Neeson acted his part well (Johnny Depp was poor IMO), but such scenes feel like entirely separate pieces that don't aid the plot at all and would have worked better at stand alone Comic Relief-type sketches. The whole reason for them coming into G&M's office is just too contrived for any believability to kick in. Where as in Extras the scenes were not only justifiable but integral to the series.

Yes there are still some very funny scenes and well written aspects to the show as you'd expect from a G&M product. But the naturalness, pathos, empathy and story-telling is not strong enough to make Life's Too Short a worthwhile project.

One thing that has stood Gervais's work out from the majority of comedy writers is his pride in having a high level of quality control but, sadly, Life's Too Short has diminished the top-rate body of work that Gervais has produced up to now.

Really disappointed.

If you are going to have a sitcom about being celebrity dwarf then the situations arise from this are going to form part of the humour; Warwick falling out of the car is funny not because he is a dwarf, but because it is ludicrously unsuitable vehicle for him to be driving. This tells you something about his character.

I really am not sure what some posters expect from a sitcom about a dwarf. That his dwarfism should not be mentioned? That the humour should always arise from other reactions, painting him as a victim of others ignorance and intolerance? Dwarfs are human too, and humans are pillocks.

The humour stems from Davis' inappropriate attempts to compensate for his dwarfism, just as almost all classic comedy characters are defined by their failed attempts to rise above their circumstances. Davis' character has a dignity in adversity just as Harold Steptoe or Fawlty or Rigsby or Mainwaring do. After playing elves and ewoks, it must be liberating for Davis to play a dwarf who is an arse but who ultimately has our sympathy.