Television After Life

[Solius]

Anyone planning to watch this? Out on Netflix today I believe.

Basically Gervais' wife dies and he decides he's going to do and say what he wants and then when it all gets too much he'll just kill himself.

Sometimes I like Ricky Gervais and then most other times I think he's a knob. I can't tell if it'll be good or just pandering to those people who long for the 70s and think everyone is offended by everything. I think I'll give it a go at least.

 

[Carlsen19]

Looks right up my street. Will make a start with it after work and report back.

 

[Paxi]

Trailer looks like a shite version of Ps I love you.

 

[Tarrou]

interesting premise

anything Gervais does is worth checking out anyway

 

[LuisNaniencia]

I haven't watched yet but will give it a go.

On Gervais, I thought Derek was a car crash. In The Office and Extras, the balance between comedy and sentiment was absolutely perfect. In Derek he tried to load every episode with sentiment and coupled with his ridiculous impression of a man with learning difficulties, the whole show was so cringeworthy. My assumed conclusion is that Merchant was responsible for a lot of the pacing of the shows and I'd hedge a bet that Merchant didnt like Gervais' idea for Derek which led to their artistic separation.

 

[cesc's_mullet]

I have enjoyed the first 3 episodes so far. It's humorous and a little poignant.

 

[duffer]

Watched the first couple, not particularly blown away.

Feels like I've heard him make the same jokes about religion in at least 3 different films/shows.

 

[Member 39557]

Watched the first episode.

Ricky Gervais walking around being a cnut to people in a completely joyless and witless way. Mostly calling fat people fat, he also calls a fat kid tubby, then his wife calls him fat. Then he has an encounter with a really unconvincing couple of thugs which results in a cringey exchange.

Pretty poor by all accounts. Will watch the 2nd one to see if it improves, then I'll be done I think.

 

[Wibble]

4 episodes in and enjoying it a great deal.

 

[100]

Great example of the saying 'misery loves company'. Enjoyed the first two episodes but difficult at times watching someone in a state of misery. Picked up after that though.

Some of the work scenes are great, makes me miss the office. Is ricky going to shoehorn an atheism argument into everything these days?

 

[Ekeke]

Very good. Funny and makes you care

 

[Solius]

It was pretty good yeah. I’m glad it wasn’t just him being a cnut to people over and over in different scenarios. Had a lot more depth than I was expecting.

 

[Massive Spanner]

I liked it. Not on the level of the Office or Extras but far better than his recent tripe. At times it did seem like a vehicle for him to vent about his biggest hates e.g. religion, fat people.

 

[2 man midfield]

Watched the first one and wasn’t particularly sold on it. It’s just the same humour we’ve seen from him a billion times. It’s like he doesn’t realise sentences like “shoot them in the face and turn the gun on yourself”, or “you fat cnut” have lost whatever shock value they had, because he keeps wheeling them out. I might give the second one a go, but I’m not in any great rush.

 

[Wibble]

Funniest episode was #5

Really enjoyed the whole series though.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Binge watched the whole series and loved it, I do t know if that's because it's good or it just resonated with me having been exactly where the main character is, but either way I loved it.

 

[Carlsen19]

I thought it was brilliant.

 

[Big Andy]

It was good, but it wasn't really a comedy...it was a sentimental drama, with a few laughs thrown in...

It was on the same lines as Derek was in that respect, whereas Extras was hilarious...

 

[SteveTheRed]

Finished it over the weekend, it was very good , enjoyed it but I do sometimes get a bit bored of hearing his religious views shoehorned into every show he has made.

I know the show has to cover it a little because of the subject but it just takes me out of the show and I think "here is his Ricky Gervais bit" ...weirdly I agree with his views, I've just heard them from him/his characters 100 times!

 

[SmashedHombre]

I loved it. I've never liked Gervais in anything before this, though the more I learn of him the more I like him as a person. That said, I was skeptical of this, not being a fan of The Office or any of his stands ups, but there was something quite poignant and raw in this. I felt Gervais was just playing himself and saying everything he's always wanted to say- even if some of it felt a bit too much like he was trying to force his philosophies on us (i.e the scene about discussing god or addiction or the stand up comedian bit).

 

[RexHamilton]

I thought it was excellent. Thought it was raw at times, thought it was funny. His relationship with Lenny was great. You imagine Lenny gave as good as he got before Tony's wife died, but in the show he's happy to be the butt of Tony's jokes. I also thought his relationship with Matt was quite real. His interactions with Anne on the bench were lovely too.

Paul Kaye was good as the psychiatrist. He was probably a little over the top in how much he didn't care about his job but that was funny. I also liked the way the showed Tony's dad. Some of the things he said or was supposed to have said were funny, without going over the top on dementia. It would be an easy topic to overdo, while getting some cheap laughs.

I get what people are saying about Gervais using his shows to spout his own views on religion etc. but I think that you just come to expect it from him. I actually thought the bit with the stand up was funny.

 

[Norris]

Right now at episode 4, and I have to say, I have really been invested in this. Resonates with many people on many levels. It's powerful, at times disturbing, with the occasional silliness thrown in. Really like Gervais' acting in this, very mature.

 

[Brophs]

I really didn’t like it. It’s syrupy, saccharine guff. Almost every character is just used as a set piece for Gervais to bounce off.

Spoiler

Without even mentioning that he encourage a bloke in almost his exact position to kill himself without, seemingly, a second thought.

 

[Oggmonster]

I thought it was excellent. Thought it was raw at times, thought it was funny. His relationship with Lenny was great. You imagine Lenny gave as good as he got before Tony's wife died, but in the show he's happy to be the butt of Tony's jokes. I also thought his relationship with Matt was quite real. His interactions with Anne on the bench were lovely too.

Paul Kaye was good as the psychiatrist. He was probably a little over the top in how much he didn't care about his job but that was funny. I also liked the way the showed Tony's dad. Some of the things he said or was supposed to have said were funny, without going over the top on dementia. It would be an easy topic to overdo, while getting some cheap laughs.

I get what people are saying about Gervais using his shows to spout his own views on religion etc. but I think that you just come to expect it from him. I actually thought the bit with the stand up was funny.

I get the point with this and it can be a bit preachy but it is his show and he has written it. I'm sure plenty of writers get their views in their shows as well. The character is essentially a normal guy with depression. Gervais probably sees himself as a normal guy (albeit he's famous and the character isn't) so they are pretty similar people on a very basic level. He's probably just written it to something he can relate to.

I really enjoyed the show, watched it over a couple of nights and thought it was good, I've not really been that into him since Extras, thought Derek was terrible but I did like this.

 

[11101]

I like some of the dry humour in it but I don't see it having more than one season. It's just another variation on the usual Ricky Gervais theme.

 

[Ian Reus]

him being a cnut to people over and over in different scenarios.

Pretty much the best parts for me.

 

[Lay]

Largely forgettable. The other characters were just.. there.

 

[Ian Reus]

Those last 2 episodes were as predictable as could be.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

I really enjoyed it. Thought it brought the sentimentality of Derek but offered funnier lines and scenes with it on a regular basis. Both handled the sensitive subjects well and touched upon darker elements that everyone can relate to.

Think it would be unfair to judge it against The Office or Extras though. The Office has cult status for its orginiality and brought many great awkward comedic moments while Extras had its comedy largely coming from the guest cameos. I can often go back and watch individual episodes at will. Extras has that quality in abundance. After Life and Derek, are about the series as a whole rather than an episodic view in my eyes.

 

[Keefy18]

I'll definitely be watching this at some point, looks absolutely fantastic!

 

[Rob]

A few episodes in and I’m not really sure what to make of it. I’m not even sure what genre it is. It’s funny a few places but mostly it seems like a melancholic suggestion of how to deal with loss. For some reason I want to keep watching and I don’t know why.

 

[Heardy]

I thought this was really good! Balanced comedy and raw emotion very well.

Unfortunately, the ending was predictable and it wrapped up quite quickly being 6 episodes of 25-30 mins a pop.

 

[17Larsson]

I liked the ideas in it but it was all a bit too formulaic and obvious though

 

[poleglass red]

watched the 1st episode, wasn't great, wasn't bad either just meh. Might give the other episodes a try and see if it picks up somewhat.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Over the last several years I’ve grown to absolutely despise Rickie Gervais and find him deeply, desperately unfunny.

Despite this, against all odds, I’m enjoying this show. Not sure why. Although it helps that all the other cast members are very good/likable.

 

[Redlambs]

I liked the ideas in it but it was all a bit too formulaic and obvious though

Yeah pretty much this.

Standard Gervais fare really. Funny in parts, thoughtful in parts, but every joke and rant been done before. Over and over. Such a boring and incredibly obvious end too.

Still I did find it decent overall, far better than that shite Derek.

 

[Irrational.]

Still I did find it decent overall, far better than that shite Derek.

How dare you, Derek was awesome

I’m a fan of Gervais but didn’t enjoy this. Profanity-laden, unoriginal and just downright depressing (though I suppose that was the whole point of it). He also tries too hard to get his own viewpoints to us via the series, pushing the anti-religion, cynical viewpoint of the world.

I think Karl Pilkington did a better job of portraying what Ricky wanted to in his show Sick of It (check it out if you haven’t already), very similar but executed better.

 

[Lennon7]

I liked the ideas in it but it was all a bit too formulaic and obvious though

I swear I’ve developed dyslexia lately. I read that as ‘I liked the adidas in it’ and thought I’d opened a thread about the new kit.

But yeah, After Life is outstanding. I rarely cry at stuff on tele but I did with this, iirc at the moving scene with the old women in the cemetery and when the junkie goes ahead with it. Brilliant cast, brilliant acting, brilliant idea, well written. Not sure what the second season will be about though, that whole series seemed to complete a full storytelling cycle.

 

[Snow]

3 episodes in and I like it. If you've followed Ricky throughout his whole ordeal then you'll recognize some jokes but as far as him producing content on his own it's the best so far.

 

[francobaresi]

Worst portrayal drug addiction I've ever seen. Rubbish series