Life's Too Short | |
---|---|
Genre | Mockumentary Sitcom |
Created by | Warwick Davis Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant |
Written by | Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant |
Directed by | Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant |
Starring | Warwick Davis Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant Jo Enright |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 7 (+1 special) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant Mark Freeland |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 28 minutes 58 minutes (2013 special) |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 10 November 2011 – 30 March 2013 |
Life's Too Short is a British mockumentary sitcom created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and starring Warwick Davis, about "the life of a showbiz dwarf." [1] Davis plays a fictionalised version of himself, and both Gervais and Merchant appear in supporting roles as themselves. [2] The show began airing on BBC Two on 10 November 2011. Premium cable channel HBO, which co-produced the series with the BBC, has the US rights and aired the series from 19 February 2012. [3] [4]
In January 2013, it was announced that Life's Too Short would end later in the year with a special that would bring the series' closure. [5] The one-hour special aired on 30 March 2013 in the UK and 5 July 2013 in the US.
The genesis of the show was when Davis worked with Gervais and Merchant in an episode of the second series of Extras , in which he co-starred with Daniel Radcliffe. [6] Gervais said that Davis is funny in real life and tells great stories. Merchant said that Davis helped create the idea. [7] Gervais and Merchant approached the BBC about developing a show centred on a character based on Davis. [8]
The real Warwick tells us these great stories. They're comedy gold. (The show) is a cross between Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm and One Foot in the Grave but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny." [9]
In the programme, Davis runs a small person's talent agency and plays a twisted version of himself; quite conceited, arrogant and manipulative. He is supposedly doing a documentary to improve his career, and because he is going through a messy divorce and needs the money. Davis bugs Gervais and Merchant about whether they have any work, much to their annoyance.
In an interview with Jonathan Ross, Davis said that his character is egotistical and suffers from small man syndrome, [10] Gervais said of the character
He refuses to live his life as a disabled person. We're making him empowered but also give him these foibles. [8] Third in our trilogy of TV sitcoms … another naturalist observational comedy, dealing with everyday problems, human foibles and social faux pas … but with a dwarf. [11]
No. | Episode | Celebrity guest star(s) | UK viewers [12] | Original air date | |
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1 | "Episode One" | Liam Neeson & Shaun Williamson | 3.21 million | 10 November 2011 | |
Warwick seeks advice from old pals Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, but Liam Neeson has beaten him to it. The film crew charts Warwick's every move as he tries to maintain his pride and self-respect in some very unusual situations. | |||||
2 | "Episode Two" | Johnny Depp & Shaun Williamson | 2.07 million | 17 November 2011 | |
Despite an awkward appearance at a sci-fi convention, an unsuccessful money-making brainstorming session with his assistant Cheryl, and a humiliating guest appearance at a Star Wars-themed wedding. Warwick's fortune seems to be on the rise when Johnny Depp hires him to research a new movie role until Johnny gets revenge on Ricky for humiliating him at the Golden Globes and storms out of the office. | |||||
3 | "Episode Three" | Helena Bonham Carter | 1.25 million (Overnight) [13] | 24 November 2011 | |
After complaints that he takes all the best roles for himself, Warwick launches a website and creates showreels for his clients. But he still takes on a role opposite Helena Bonham Carter. | |||||
4 | "Episode Four" | Steve Carell, Right Said Fred & Les Dennis | 1.04 million (Overnight) [14] | 1 December 2011 | |
During messy divorce negotiations, Warwick asks Ricky and Stephen for personal advice. Meanwhile, he moves into a new apartment and seeks election as chairman of the Society of People of Small Stature. | |||||
5 | "Episode Five" | - | 0.97 million (Overnight) [15] | 8 December 2011 | |
With mounting anxieties about the state of his work and home life, Warwick decides to explore different religions, and also returns to the dating agency where he met his wife Sue. | |||||
6 | "Episode Six" | Cat Deeley, Keith Chegwin, Les Dennis, Shaun Williamson & Ewen MacIntosh | 1.26 million (Overnight) [16] | 15 December 2011 | |
Warwick meets up with estranged wife Sue and her solicitor—and new partner—Ian to finalise their divorce settlement. But his decision to bring his accountant along for advice and support doesn't work out as planned. | |||||
7 | "Episode Seven" | Sting & Sophie Ellis-Bextor | 1.13 million (Overnight) [17] | 20 December 2011 | |
Warwick attends a charity event in the hope of hanging out with celebrities. However, in trying to impress Sting he ends up spending more than he can afford. Consequently he has to look for a new home and hopes Amy will see him again. |
No. | Episode | Celebrity guest star(s) | UK viewers [12] | Original air date | |
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8 | "Special" | Keith Chegwin, Les Dennis, Shaun Williamson & Val Kilmer | 1.35 million | 30 March 2013 | |
Things are looking up for Warwick when he is approached by Hollywood star Val Kilmer to film a sequel to 1988 dark fantasy adventure film Willow . However, he needs to help finance the movie himself, and he's got other things on his plate—such as balancing the interests of his clients at Dwarves for Hire, and managing a touring cabaret show starring Keith Chegwin, Les Dennis and Shaun Williamson. |
Gervais first mentioned Life's Too Short on his blog in February 2010, when he and Merchant were writing and casting the project. [18] They would go on to select Warwick Davis for the lead role after a number of auditions.
The pilot for the comedy was commissioned by the BBC in April 2010. [19] Gervais reported on progress in his blog. In April 2010 he stated, "Some reports are saying that the Life's Too Short pilot we are shooting in the summer will be aired. It wont [ sic ]. It is a non-broadcast pilot. We will shoot the whole series before anything is aired. We're not sure how many eps [episodes] we will record (probably 6) and not sure when the series will air."
Gervais wrote on his blog in June 2010 that they had "Found the last location today for Life's Too Short. It feels great doing this project. Just like The Office and Extras. Starting from scratch, just me and Steve in a room crafting a brand new show. It doesn't get better than that for me." He later wrote that filming of the pilot was undertaken in June and July 2010. While talking at the Banff World Media Festival in July 2010, Gervais described Life's Too Short as "the funniest thing we've done". Gervais told The Hollywood Reporter "We're having so much fun working with Warwick. Pound for pound he is one of the funniest men I know." Stephen Merchant said of Davis: "Warwick is very funny, a very physical comedian which we really made use of … He's very charismatic, very charming in it … I was really pleased. He's a real comic star in waiting." Gervais went on to say that they had "Finished the pilot for Life's Too Short too. Just have to write the series now".
The series was produced by Charlie Hanson, who previously produced Extras , and Michelle Farr. Gervais and Merchant were executive producers, along with Mark Freeland. [20] On 17 September 2010 the BBC announced, via the BBC Two Controller Janice Hadlow and the Controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning Cheryl Taylor, that the six-part series had been commissioned and filmed in 2011. Gervais reported in his blog on the progress of writing Life's Too Short throughout November 2010: "Had a great week writing Life's Too Short. It's the hardest bit, the most important bit and the most invigorating bit", and in a later entry "Wrote one of the funniest sketches we've ever done for Life's Too Short. Six hours hard labour for a potential two minutes screen time." In January 2011 he reported that he was still working on the scripts for the show, and in February that he and Merchant were trying to finish writing the series.
In March 2011 Gervais reported on his blog "Getting ready to film Life's Too Short." [18] Merchant confirmed that filming would begin in May 2011. [21] Cast members included Jo Enright, who played Davis' wife in the pilot, [22] Shaun Williamson, who played himself (known as "Barry off EastEnders ") in Extras , [23] Cat Deeley, [24] Rosamund Hanson, [25] Kiruna Stamell [26] and Jamie Dodd. [27] Boxer Mike Tyson also asked Gervais to consider casting him in a role. [18] On 31 March Gervais confirmed on his blog that "We've basically got first drafts of all seven episodes of Life's Too Short now. Yes seven!". As the pilot had already been filmed, the series would comprise eight shows. On 1 April he stated "Started casting Life's Too Short this week too. So much fun." [18] On 29 April he wrote "Did the last of the casting today on Life's Too Short. Some amazing cameos too. You know about the [Johnny] Depp one, but hopefully we might be able to keep a couple of the other really big ones under wraps. Not just because of the surprise factor but because it takes the focus away from the real meat of the show." [18] On 11 May the cast had their first read-through of all seven episodes, and rehearsals started on the week beginning 16 May 2011 with Gervais commenting "We've put together an amazing cast so it should be a joy." [18] Filming started on 30 May 2011. [18]
On 22 June 2011 it was announced that Sting and Steve Carell would be filming cameos for the series. [28] The teaser trailer released on the same day featured Keith Chegwin, Les Dennis and Shaun Williamson as well as the three main stars. [29] On 11 July Gervais hinted on his blog that a Doctor Who -related cameo would be in the show, as well as posting a link to a YouTube video of him and Davis filmed on the set of Life's Too Short. [18] Earlier in that week he had blogged about how "Matt Groening's favourite character from The Office will make a cameo in Life's Too Short", along with an on-set photograph of actor Ewen MacIntosh who played Big Keith in The Office .
Principal filming ran for eight weeks ending on 22 July 2011. [18] Gervais and Davis attended a question and answer session to discuss the making of Life's Too Short at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2011. [30] A half-hour-long documentary, The Making of Life's Too Short, aired on BBC Two and BBC HD on 5 November 2011, prior to the start of the series run. [31] After the first series finished airing, Gervais confirmed via Twitter that a second series had been commissioned for early 2013. [32] Gervais joked on his blog, "We are thinking of going straight to the Xmas Special. Lazier and lazier. Now it's down to ONE series and a special. Ha ha." [33] The series finale premiered on 5 July 2013 in the US on HBO.
Life's Too Short was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 22 October 2012 [34] in the UK, 7 November 2012 in Australia [35] and on 15 January 2013 in the US. [36] The Special was released onto DVD in the UK on 2 February 2015.
In the United Kingdom the first series received mostly mixed reviews. Rachel Tarley, of Metro, described the show as "tripe" while David Butcher of the Radio Times introduced his review of episode six with "another week, another queasy mix of comedy and unpleasantness." [37] [38] Many reviews were deeply critical of the writing – Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian felt that writers Gervais and Merchant were "on autopilot", referring to the programme as "strikingly lazy stuff, comprised of little more than a predictable checklist of taboos and social faux pas", [39] and journalist for The Independent Robert Epstein likewise branded it "shoddily derivative" and potentially degrading. [40] T.J. Barnard, writing for WhatCulture , called the show "a mess. It's aimless, indulgent, self-plagiarizing and cold." [41] However, Metro's review of episode 7 was slightly more positive saying "Life's Too Short bowed out tonight with an episode that was more than marginally better than the six previous offerings, not only was the plot stronger than in previous weeks, but there were some genuinely funny scenes too, most notably a discussion between Gervais and Merchant about charity. And Steve Brody as Warwick's ineffectual giggly/depressive accountant continued to shine." [42]
More positive reviews could be found in The Telegraph, where Gerald O'Donovan praised the show for its "belly laughs and cringe-making moments." [43] Likewise, Caroline Frost of The Huffington Post applauded both the writing and the acting following the first episode, proclaiming that though it could easily have overreached, "Gervais and Merchant have pulled another one out of the hat." [44]
While the first episode rated strongly in the UK, the ratings dropped by 40% in the following week, [45] and by the fifth episode the overnight ratings had dropped below a million, to 997,000—35% down on the average audience for its timeslot in the UK. [46]
Critical reaction to the Easter special was more positive, Dan Owen of msn.tv said "this Easter special was one of Life's Too Short's better episodes and provided enough laughs and fun to please most viewers." He felt that the special felt like a new pilot for the show that "fixed a few problems." He felt that Keith Chegwin, Shaun Williamson and Les Dennis were the funniest parts of the hour. Overall he gave the special 3 stars out of five. [47] The Metro agreed saying, "there were laughs to be had here, mainly from the antics of Williamson, Chegwin and Dennis." [47] The Guardian praised the episode and called it "a piece of genius" and admired it for being "done with such a breathtaking boldness." [48]
Harry Venning of The Stage gave a positive review of the first series also gave a positive review of the special "My favourite comedy of 2011 enjoyed a last hurrah. Sadly, it looks as though there will be no second series." He felt that Rosamund Hanson provided scene-stealing support as dippy secretary Cheryl. He concluded that overall Life's Too Short was "Painfully poignant, beautifully played and constantly inventive, this one-hour special conclusively proved that Life's Too Short's own end was also premature." [49]
In the United States, the show received generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show received an average score of 63, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews". [50] On Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds a rating of 55% based on 33 critics, with the consensus reading: "Life's Too Short is enjoyably crass, but borrows heavily from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's previous work." [51]
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, director and musician. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001–2003), Extras (2005–2007), and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) with Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote and starred in Derek (2012–2014) and After Life (2019–2022).
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor and television presenter. Active within the industry since he was eleven, Davis is one of the highest grossing supporting actors of all time and has the highest average gross revenue of all time. He played the title character in Willow (1988) and the Leprechaun film series (1993–2003); several characters in the Star Wars film series (1983–2024), most notably Wicket the Ewok; and Professor Filius Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011).
Keith Chegwin, also known by the nickname Cheggers, was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Cheggers Plays Pop.
Leslie Dennis Heseltine is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented Family Fortunes from 1987 until 2002.
David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer, and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the series. He is the general manager of the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg paper merchants and the boss of most other characters in the series. Much of the comedy of the series centres on Brent's many idiosyncrasies, hypocrisies, self-delusions, and overt self-promotion.
Stephen James Merchant is an English comedian, actor, director, and writer. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series The Office (2001–2003), and co-writer, co-director, and co-star of both Extras (2005–2007) and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) alongside Ricky Gervais. With Gervais and Karl Pilkington, he hosted The Ricky Gervais Show in its radio, podcast, audiobook, and television formats; the radio version won a bronze Sony Award. He also provided the voice of the robotic "Intelligence Dampening Sphere" Wheatley in the 2011 video game Portal 2. Merchant co-developed the Sky One travel documentary series An Idiot Abroad (2010–2012) and co-created Lip Sync Battle (2015–2019).
Karl Pilkington is an English presenter, actor, voice-artist, producer and author.
Extras is a British sitcom about extras working in television, film, and theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom starred in it. It follows the lives of Andy Millman (Gervais), his friend Maggie Jacobs and Andy's substandard agent and part-time retail employee Darren Lamb (Merchant) as Millman muddles through life as an anonymous "background performer" who eventually finds success as a B-list sitcom star.
The Office is a British mockumentary television sitcom first broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, it follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company. Gervais also starred in the series as the central character, David Brent.
The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy radio show in the United Kingdom starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, later adapted into a podcast and a television series. Although named after Gervais, it came to revolve mostly around the life and ideas of Karl Pilkington. The show started in August 2001 on Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004 and mid-2005. In November 2005, Guardian Unlimited offered the show as a podcast series of 12 shows. An animated series based on the podcast and adapted for television debuted for HBO in the United States and Channel 4 in the UK in 2010.
Jo Enright is an English stand-up comedian and actress who has appeared in a number of television and radio comedy programmes. She is best known for her roles in The Job Lot, Life's Too Short and Trollied.
The Office Christmas specials are the two-part series finale episodes of the British mockumentary comedy television series The Office. The specials were commissioned after the series' creators, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, announced that they would not write a full third series of the show. The first 45-minute part was broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2003, and the second 50-minute part was shown the following evening. The episodes are presented in the style of "revisited" documentaries common on British television, in which series such as Airport are brought back for one-off specials several years after the series concluded. David Brent (Gervais), forcibly made redundant at the end of the second series, is now a travelling salesman of cleaning supplies. Tim Canterbury and Gareth Keenan are still working at the offices of Wernham Hogg, and former Wernham Hogg receptionist Dawn Tinsley, now living in Florida, is flown back to Britain by the documentary crew to reunite with her old colleagues.
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An Idiot Abroad is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. The ongoing theme of both the television series and the books is that Pilkington has no interest in global travel, so Merchant and Gervais make him travel while they stay in the United Kingdom and monitor his progress.
The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy animated series produced for and broadcast by HBO and Channel 4. The series is an animated version of the popular audio podcasts and audiobooks of the same name, which feature Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant along with colleague and friend Karl Pilkington, talking about various subjects behind the microphone. The TV series consists of past audio recordings of these unscripted "pointless conversations," with animation drawn in a style similar to classic era Hanna-Barbera cartoons, presenting jokes and situations in a literal context.
Rosamund Abigail Hanson is an English film and television actress and comedian who played the role of Michelle ("Smell") in the 2006 film This Is England and its television sequels This Is England '86, This Is England '88 and This Is England '90. In 2011 she appeared in British television series Shameless where she played the role of Bonnie Tyler.
Derek is a British comedy-drama television series starring, written by and directed by Ricky Gervais. The pilot was produced by Derek Productions Ltd. for Channel 4 and aired on 12 April 2012. Channel 4 describes the show as "A bittersweet comedy drama about a group of outsiders living on society's margins".