Life's Too Short

Life's Too Short
Warwick Being interviewed in 2007
Genre	Comedy
Running time	30 mins
Creator(s)	Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
Writer(s)	Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
Starring	Warwick Davis, Rosamund Hanson, Steve Brody, Matt Holness.
Country	UK
Network	BBC2
Original runs	10 November 2011 – TBA
No. of episodes	6
	[[1]]

Life's Too Short is a sitcom starring Warwick Davis which airs on BBC2 (in the UK) and HBO (in the US). Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant write and direct the show much just as they did with their previous BBC sitcoms The Office and Extras.

Warwick plays himself in this observational comedy based on his real life trials and tribulations being an actor with dwarfism. The show is similar in style to that of Larry David's HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm, and also Gervais and Merchant's previous work (The Office and Extras). When speaking of Warwick in a recent interview Ricky Gervais stated that "pound for pound he is one of the funniest men I know". This project differs from Gervais & Merchant's previous projects in that it focuses purely on comedy rather than the mix of comedy and drama.

In early 2013, BBC2 announced that there would not be a second series and the show would wrap up with a Christmas Special in December [2].

Genesis

The idea first came about after Warwick Davis appeared as a guest star in the second series of Extras. He told numerous stories to both Gervais and Merchant about the trouble being a midget in the acting world.

A quote from an interview with Gervais: "I'd been thinking about doing something with a midget since seeing The Wizard of Oz again a few years ago. Then we met Warwick during Extras. The real Warwick tells us these great stories. They're comedy gold."

Gervais also added that the series was the last in a trilogy of single-camera comedies: "It's the 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."

Production

A non-broadcast pilot for Life's Too Short was shot in July 2010 and was overseen by Extras producer Charlie Hanson. Gervais confirmed via his blog that they would probably shoot six episodes for the first season. In April 2010, Gervais announced that the first production meeting had been held and it was "very exciting". Warwick Davis confirmed on his official website that the show would air on BBC2.

Filming for the six episode series began at the end of May 2011, going on for eight weeks. It ended on the 22nd July 2011, and the filming featured numerous updates on Ricky's Blog that included many pictures of Warwick in precarious positions.

Cast

Warwick Davis - Himself
Rosamund Hanson - Cheryl Wilkins
Ricky Gervais - Himself
Stephen Merchant - Himself
Steve Brody - Eric Biddle

Guest Appearances

The following actors/actresses appeared as guest stars.

Liam Neeson
Johnny Depp
Helena Bonham Carter
Shaun Williamson
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Steve Carell
Sting
Les Dennis
Keith Chegwin
Ewen Macintosh
Cat Deeley

Episodes

Series One

Title	Series	Original Airdate	Buy	#
Episode One	Series 1	10th November 2011	Amazon	1
Warwick introduces us to his life, hires a new assistant and Liam Neeson bothers Ricky and Steve about comedy.

Episode Two	Series 1	17th November 2011	Amazon	2
Warwick is asked to make an appearance at a Star Wars themed wedding. Johnny Depp is in town researching his next role and finally gives Ricky a piece of his mind.

Episode Three	Series 1	24th November 2011	Amazon	3
Warwick's acting clients accuse him of taking all the best roles for himself. When a chance to act opposite Helena Bonham Carter arises, Warwick must decide what to do.

Episode Four	Series 1	1st December 2011	Amazon	4
Warwick has trouble whilst moving into a new flat, attends a messy divorce settlement and runs for chairman of the Society of People of Small Stature.

Episode Five	Series 1	8th December 2011	Amazon	5
Warwick's attempts to find a suitable religion as well as a romantic partner. Both searches are fraught with problems.

Episode Six	Series 1	15th December 2011	Amazon	6
Warwick throws a flat-warming party for himself and hires Cat Deeley to appear in order to "show off" to his ex-wife. Things get strange when he claims Cat is his girl-friend.

Episode Seven	Series 1	20th December 2011	Amazon	7
Wishing to improve his celebrity status, Warwick attends a charity event hosted by Sting. Not knowing Warwick's recent financial troubles, Sting pressures him to give more than he can afford.

Specials

	Title	Series	Original Airdate	Buy	#
	Christmas Special	Special	December 2013	TBA	1
	TBA

Critical Reception

UK

Life's Too Short received mostly negative reviews in the UK.

The Daily Mail concluded that "Ricky Gervais is too short on ideas." [3] The Mirror summed it up: "Life IS too short – to watch Gervais wasting his talent making dull retreads of his former glories like this." [4] The Metro took it a step further saying, "Even when you’re comedy royalty like Gervais and Merchant, there comes a point when you need to realise that the game is over." [5]

Not all reviews were negative. The Metro said that the first episode, "...sees Ricky Gervais successfully pulling off his usual self-parodies."[6] The Independent said of Davis, "...in Warwick Davis, ... they’ve found the perfect vehicle for taking the rise out of egotistical self-delusion." [7] On the Box opined, "...unlike in Extras, there isn’t really a fresh concept on offer" but "[d]espite the fact that the writers haven’t pushed themselves, Life’s Too Short is still a joy to behold in some respects..." [8]

Much of the press analyzed whether the treatment of dwarves was offensive. The Mirror complained that "[Gervais] puts in jokes at the dwarf’s expense ... but then hid behind the argument that he was exposing the way that some OTHER PEOPLE laugh at them. "[9] Writing for CultureNorthernIreland, Fionola Meredith stated, "I expect Gervais and Merchant tell themselves that they're lampooning the stereotypes, but the irony is so heavy-handed it looks more like the original dumb prejudice." [10] The Guardian concluded that "[t]he problem with this new series is not that it's offensive; it's that it's just not very funny [11]."