Best thing about Ricky Gervais is giving us Karl Pilkington

"The Man who Crafted the Original Office" I think you're forgetting about Stephen Merchant who, if you look at his and Ricky's solo work is arguably the more talented writer/director.

Ricky's comedy is only funny when Merchant is co-writer. That's all you need to know about him.

The scene where he pours ashes on the pub floor gets me. Of course the landlord is going to ask what the fuck youre doing 😂 but it's framed like the landlord is in the wrong.

Stephen Merchant’s show Outlaws, was by contrast, genuinely excellent.

He's got such an ego. you can see it in the writing. The other characters' dialogue exists purely to make them look stupid and set up a zinger from Tony.

Ricky has always written what he knows. Unfortunately, what he knows these days are badly written comedy shows that have ham-fisted life messages with absolutely no subtlety, depth or complexity. Stephen Merchent is missing from his post-Life's Too Short shows, and even then the limits of his writing were showing. I love Gervais, The Office will always be a masterpiece of cringe and heart, but damn is he capable of trash.

As of right now even Ricky Gervais's stand up is awful now, he's done so much I love in the past like his early stand up and the office but he's become so out of touch and generic it's judt sad.....He's a former shell of himself and it would be great if he turned it around but with all the money he has and a pre attached audience I very much doubt it

'In real life he seems like a really fun and affable guy.' IMO it's quite the opposite. Most of his shows are quite funny and some are great. Outside of his tv shows he's just another cringy out of touch rich guy.

Whenever I watch new Gervais material, I always think about the bit in the bonus material of extras where merchant talks about working against his laziness. Afterlife feels like his ultimate lazy form. Every idea, character, scene, location feels like a first draft. Like he just couldn't be bothered to write anything more than once.

Im glad you addressed the bit where Gervais essentially killed a drug addict. I fucking despised that bit in the show.

ricky thinks hes the shit when he's not even the fart. KARL was the shit.

I hate how boringly perfect his relationship with his wife is portrayed as being. Like it’s such flat characterisation for Tony to have just had this perfect relationship and life before his wife died. Especially when their entire relationship seemed to consist of Tony pranking his wife and her having this weirdly high level of patience and appreciation for it. I don’t buy their relationship as being real for a moment

The entire problem with Ricky's work after he stopped working with Stephen Merchant can be summed up with one sentence: he stopped working with Stephen Merchant. I don't hate Ricky, Im actually a huge fan of the XFM radio shows and all the stuff he did with Steve/Karl but........it has become more and more obvious as time goes on that most of the good stuff came from Steve. Steve can still make good stuff without Ricky. The other way around......ehh.....not happening so much.

The worst thing by far is that this show is heavily praised by everyone who just discovered Ricky Gervais after his Golden globe speeches apparently... Oh, this guy is so brave and so edgy. Fuck me.

At some point Ricky got very comfortable settling with mediocrity to please Facebook boomers and basic Live, Laugh, Lovers.

I think this says something about Larry David. How you said every scene is just someone does something stupid and the main character fights them about it. That is basically the description of every episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but that show is great. Because Larry is always KIND OF right, but also kind of wrong and a socially inept asshole, so the show is always pretty much laughing at Larry. The other characters aren't just always saying how funny and smart and wise and kind he is, they're calling him out. This show is just kind of pathetic. We're just always TOLD what a great guy he is, and every single scene is evidence to the contrary.

I HATE TONY.

Gervais is one of those people that thinks it’s still cool and rebellious to be an atheist. There’s a scene in the show where this woman is asking him “how he doesn’t believe in god” and he just parrots a load of Christopher Hitchins quotes and acts like he made them up himself. So boring. I say this as an atheist myself.

It's so painfully obvious from the first episode that the whole premise of the show is basically just Rickys fantasy of something bad happening so he has the excuse to be an awful person because boohoo dead wife

I never liked him he has this arrogance about him Peoples praise the office but lets face it the good version of the office was when someone else was writting. This show is like a nut case being a c nt to other bad peoples. Normally the key i. That and make the victimes less likable than the main guy but the truth is he is just an ass to regular peoples

Karl won a Silver at the Sony's by himself and released Idiot Abroad - the greatest travel doc of all time. Steve did Office and Extras......hmmmmmmm

I only recently discovered the psychiatrist is the guy who played Dennis Pennis

Thank fuck you made this video cause I thought I was going mad. (though I did love Phil Kaye)

4:42 Your idea reminds me of a scene from The Birdcage (1996): Armand (Robin Williams) is teaching Albert (Nathan Lane) how to be tough. Armand demonstrates toughness by calling a guy, who's sitting down, an asshole. Then the guy stands up and we see that he's much bigger than Armand. Hard cut to Armand with an ice-pack on his head. If Ricky Gervais wrote that scene with him playing Armand, he'd have the big guy run away from him.

The shows/films i've seen that he's done since the office have all gone down the same path of being fairly humorous in parts with a bit of promise to begin with, then descending into mawkish, cringeworthy dross. I don't know if he thinks his messages are really profound, or if he genuinely has no idea where to go after a certain point and just resorts to tedious platitudes to end on.

Afterlife is one of these best shows I’ve watched.

I had a really interesting experience with this show because I watched the first two seasons when I was in my early teens and at the time I thought it was thought provoking and well made. I was pretty into it and really enjoyed binging it. Then when the third season came out a year or two later I couldn't believe how much I hated it. I wondered if it had a drop of quality in the third season or something but nope. I had just matured to a point where I could see the show was shit despite being a fraction of Gervais' age. It was really weird. I haven't had that kind of experience with any other show.

The weird graphics aren't needed, mate

I actually really liked the show. It portrayed how you feel when losing someone pretty well.

I think you would like the show if you watched it for it's message, rather than commenting on it's inaccuracies.

So. You could have kept it to.. I dont like Ricky Gervais.

It’s total garbage.

It's bizarre, I'm not sure I've ever come across a show like it. It's objectively completely terrible, but gets an 8.4 on IMBb and people love it. I've heard people complement it on how well written it is, it's like a bizarro world TV show. Occasionally, I like to read and watch reviews from people who hate it, just to know that sense still exists in the world.

I don't agree with you. I just watched all of After Life and I think it is wonderful. I am grateful he made it.

You make a point about the Liam Neeson scene as proof that Gervais still has it in him. But you are forgetting something… that was when Stephen Merchant was co-writer / co-director. Merchant was actually the brains of the bunch. Anything Gervais does solo has been godawful.

To think. There are people that say "Afterlife is Genius"

Just came across this video and I couldn’t agree more. I think he absolutely wanted to make this series to appeal to the U.S audiences. I too was a huge Ricky Gervais fan but I believe that getting to a certain level of fame and money does allow him to be who he always was or a reflection of how he’s changed now he has that freedom of wealth and influence. He always wanted to be that performer and when music didn’t work he wrote comedy. The difference is that you can see the evolution of his characters, Brent was a buffoon but had a deep disappointment in his life making him go crazy at the opportunity that a camera arrive at his branch in the Office. Andy in Extras was similar but was more aware than Brent but ultimately had an ego that didn’t match his talent. Derek we were meant to love because of his undisclosed disadvantages and his innocence. The character in After life acts more like a diva. Through the mask of his dead partner he behaves without consequence and is amazing and above everyone. These characters seem like a story of Ricky himself…If you disagree with me you’re a cunt ! Interesting now that he’s always at the center of publicity because of his stand ups. To the point he’s directly addressing criticism made towards him. To me he’s become like that chav lottery winner that everything that he wanted but money just enhanced the person he already was.

Great vid, I do agree with you to some extent but I actually thought the first two series were Ok and the idea of it being a bit repetitive was ok because people greiving or struggling with depression can struggle to grow and move on so repeat similar patterns. My issue was by the end of series 2 it felt like he had moved on somewhat and grown so I was expecting series 3 to be a bit different but it was just the same shit again like the first 2 series had never happened which really annoyed me. One thing I 100% agree with however is how he sets up every confrontation his character has so that he can just demolish them with absolute ease. It became very irritating.

Thank you for this review. Your words were on point about how i feel for the show and Tony

Certainly it is one of the most boring, worthless, drivel-embedded whatever I have come across. I finished the three seasons for the sake of discipline. Horrible stuff.

Absolutely right. Sometimes I feel like the only person who can see Gervais' material for what it is - shit. His office/extras/podcast glory days are long over and he hasn't really been funny since. After life is without doubt one of THE most overrated shows of all time. It's so obviously terrible yet so highly rated and loved by so many. It's absolutely bizarre.

This video is spot on. I just recently watched the series and am baffled by it's extremely positive reviews. Felt like I was going crazy for a bit.

actually... i needed this series bro. i didnt find it funny tbh. i dont think it was supposed to be funny in the first place. it was kinda... rickys point of view at some things. like a poem or smth. there was a little bit of his humour, of his thoughts and thats it. i dont think he aimed at making a comedy, a super deep lesson or even a good movie. he just expressed himself and thats it, take it or leave it. thats my opinion about this show

I agree 100%. So so bad.

Couldn't agree more, mate. If you sat through all of the XFM sessions and the podcasts with Steve and Karl, you'll discover very quickly - as I did - that 95% of the material from his stand-up shows and After Life (the scenarios, insults, arguments) are all from Steve and Karl. In fact, the premise of Alter Life came from something that was said on an XFM episode. The reason there are so many random scenes that contribute absolutely nothing to the plot is because - I genuinely believe - he listened to the shows again and pecked out quotes from Steve and Karl and thought, that's funny, I'll have that. But with more "cunts".

Day Tripper is such a good riff.

I was astounded by afterlife’s positive reviews. I couldn’t get through the first series. Ricky needs to team back up with Steven.

Good summary

Brilliant you mention (albeit in text format) about Lifes Too Short, i think that it's wonderful and doesn't get the credit it deserves

I agree

summarized my thoughts exactly

After Life made me think but it certainly didn't make me laugh unfortunately. The After Life outtakes are funnier than the show itself! Just saying

My very thought. Cheers!

The homeless guy dying... Mad it never got addressed!

Derek is one of the worst things ever made.

Ricky Gervais is just the British version of Vizziepop

afterlife and derek were awful. he obviously needs stephen merchant to rein all the soppy obviousness in

Fantastic review !

Gervais fans are so sensitive 😂 losing their minds in the comments

60% dislike ratio on this video. I agree with the 60% and i have added another 👎

This series was a masterpiece. The writing etc was just on point. I loved it

Wow, I just watched this and assumed you were a major channel. Nice work! And yes, AfterLife is pants - as you very well summed up. The general consensus that it’s a work of genius is baffling.

Why did you bother to watch all 3 seasons? You don't like him. That's ok....but it's weird that you even started the series, and even weirder that you finished it.

Here's what happens when you believe your own hype. Lazy copy and paste BS masquerading as art. Gervais IS the emporers new clothes. NEVER forget the reason the office is a classic is because Stephen Merchant was at the helm.

I liked Derek which was panned by critics but think After Life is as you said boring and formulaic.

always sunny is the bad kind of american buddy it's for people who think yelling every line increases the humor "i enjoyed some of it" "ricky's acting was good" kind of disqualified yourself there man

"a britt-sshh"

The first thing I will say is that this video was made precisely and only to gain popularity by attaching itself to other people's success. Those who do not understand the comic approach and narrative of Ricky Gervais should not comment on his works at all, but simply avoid them. After Life is a true gem of both comedy and drama. It plays with human emotions on a genuine level without imitating stereotypes. The dose of cynicism, sarcasm and dark humor is properly balanced with the emotions that everyone would feel in moments of pain due to the loss of a loved one. Ricky Gervais takes us on a journey between true sadness and comedy, which he finds even in the most difficult moments of facing himself. No series has managed to achieve what Ricky organically achieves with this emotional journey, which provided us with so many funny moments, and at the same time managed to empathize with his character, especially at the end, which so easily confronts us with the everyday fear of transience and loss. This series deserved nothing but positive reviews, especially due to the length of the seasons. Ricky stops with the series when he thinks that the characters are sufficiently developed, three-dimensional and makes us sympathize with each of them. He didn't force a single series just because of the duration, viewership and profit. It stops there when the message has peaked. Anyone who doesn't understand Ricki's humor can't even relate to him, so this review totally misses the point of both the comedy and the true human drama of this series.

Thank you for this. Gervais is fucking awful

He abused his Radiohead licenses in Derek too.

... you just don't get it

how the hell do so many people hate this show? this was by far the best show I have ever seen

After life is amazing.

Absolute hidden gem

A year later, and the amount of views and comments on this video speaks for itself, a 100% fail on this channels part😂😂😂

I think the show is very enjoyable and entertaining and well written unlike this video

Nice work mate

You literally just hate Ricky and that’s it.

after life is great my man.

That was fun

This is a really well put together video! Nice work

Ricky did The Office, then Extras, they won a bunch of awards and thenceforth Ricky started fully huffing his own farts and eating bowls full of sprouts and beans to keep huffing. Meanwhile, Merchant's The Outlaws is pretty good. I always say now, "That last funny thing that Ricky Gervais did... well I can't remember it exactly, but I know Karl Pilkington said it".

Terrible review. I thought it was brilliant.

The really striking thing is that Karl Pilkington of all people managed to create a television dramedy that was much more engaging than Gervais' efforts. Sick of It isn't perfect, but the central concept of the main character interacting with his own internal voice is funnier and a lot more novel than most of Afterlife. Moreover yes the show will certainly will have scenes based around Karl being put off by annoying people; it also very often makes his own idiosyncrasies the butt of the joke, and the program genuinely explores how much of his flawed life is the result of own choices. Even the romantic subtext he has with a younger woman in the second series rarely ever feels over idealized or saccharine in its execution. Not every character in Pilkington's show is necessarily complex mind you, but there's at least a sense that they have lives beyond the show, Afterlife's cast feel like they exist either for him to lecture against, insult, or hear about his late spouse. Its one thing for the story to revolve around him, its quite another for the story's universe seeming to as well. That simplistic characterization makes the its already manipulative attempts at pathos feel even less genuine because nothing at all feels relatable. Finally the lack of anything resembling subtlety in Gervais' current work compounds the aforementioned issues. The constant footage of Lisa eventually has little emotional effect because its use just beats the viewer over the head in its one dimensional depiction of grief. Sick of It doesn't force itself into efforts at tearjerker moments nearly as often, and even then the occasional illustration of Karl's actual loneliness is done with much more restraint via the cinematography (which itself blows away any of the visual work in Afterlife). Essentially in terms of legitimately thoughtful character oriented television shows the one who co-wrote the Office and Extras has been outdone by a man who once did Monkey News. And that's sadder than any fictional dead wife.

Who are you ? What have you achieved ?

I liked it to the core to be honest. It's your own opinion

I always forget, is Ricky religious?

Did you watch each afterlife series, even though you didn't like the 1st one? Also not everyone needs to like every show made. Different strokes for different folks.

Well you cant please everyone... As you know by your 337 likes compared to all the people tuned in week in week out. If you hated it that much why did you watch every episode.....

I searched for this after watching season 3. Thanks for being as disappointed as I am

Stephen merchant carried Ricky, the office and extras, every show he wrote after that was god awful

Gervais has the only form of reverse body dysmorphia I've ever witnessed. He unendingly goes on and on about fat people, while he himself would definitely be over the BMI for his height. I think he "got fit" for about 2 seconds when he was talking about doing that celebrity boxing match 20 years ago, and even then... he was still fat.

Worse than Derek

Well you cant please everyone... As you know by your 337 likes compared to all the people tuned in week in week out. If you hared it that much why did you watch every episode.....

Hate Radio Head but it did seem appropriate for once.

Some begrudgers in these comments along with the snide lacklustre video. Show was both hilarious and moving. Bunch of flakes.

Afterlife is a terrible show. I just don't get the popularity. It's slow, boring, immature and poorly written with unrealistic, pointless characters and scenes that go nowhere. I can't believe it got a second series, never mind a third.

Me and my wife just forced ourselves to finish it The first series is ok but the rest is just a depressing bore to watch nothing happens its mostly scenes of Tony walking his dog his wife dies then he just moans for three seasons about the same things the last season is so bad half the cast from the first two have been replaced Like the actors knew it was shit But dident know how to tell him

I just find it disappointing that Ricky has reduced himself to the standard of Afterlife. Afterlife is the show for people who hated Ricky’s other work.