Ricky Gervais

Stephen Merchant 'too exhausted' to write second series

Stephen Merchant, who co-wrote The Office and Extras with Ricky Gervais, has admitted that he thinks he will struggle to pen the second series of Life's Too Short, as he is too tired.

The sitcom that appears to prove The Office's Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are creatively bankrupt, Life's Too Short distilled everything they've done before (a mockumentary format poking fun at a disabled character, with meta-jokes and celebrity cameos) but did nothing new or interesting with those ingredients. For half the seven episodes, it didn't even feel like a Warwick Davis-starring sitcom, as so much was an excuse to shoehorn in Gervais, Merchant and a guest-star-of-the-week. Things improved slightly for the last three episodes, once the storyline with Warwick's divorce became a bigger focus, but my goodwill was exhausted by then. It just wasn't insightful or clever, as everything here had been done better in Extras, and poor Warwick was forced to play himself-doing-a-David-Brent impersonation. A sore disappointment from two writers who used to demand only the best, but are now happy to devise stupid shows for their friends (see also Karl Pilkington's An Idiot Abroad).

Ricky Gervais moving to C4 after Life's Too Short flops

Ricky Gervais is poised to join Channel 4 after his latest BBC show Life's Too Short flopped.

Life's Too Short's finale was too little, too late

Life's Too Short's final episode was its strongest as Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant cracked out some good gags and Warwick Davis' life slowly unravelled. But is it all too little, too late?

Ricky Gervais plays care worker in comedy pilot for C4

Spoof documentary called Derek also features Karl Pilkington, while Life's Too Short comes to a quiet end on BBC2.

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.

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.

As an avid Radio 4 listener tvBite was pleased to hear that Mark Evans's Bleak Expectations was getting the big money transfer to TV.

But while there are good bits, (As hero Jedrington Secretpast Robert Webb is great at being silly and the names remain excellent) the transition isn't entirely successful. What had been a lovely half hour radio show, at an hour feels stretched longer than Ricky Gervais's joke. Also, while some people liked Stephen Fry being evil, others thought he was too, well, Stephen Fry. Depends on where you stand on Stephen Fry, really.

Surrealist bluffers guide to the British Comedy Awards

Will Ricky Gervais behave like a dick? Will anyone recognise Charlie Brooker as a comic? And will Miranda make anyone laugh, ever? Read on to find out...