I would tend to agree with criticism that Gervais and Merchant seemed to have written and directed this "on automatic pilot". There is little evidence of any real effort.
First of all, there is the issue of originality; I am mainly referring to cloned characters, an unfortunate decision on the part of Gervais/Merchant. While LTS may seem original at first glance, what with a dwarf actor playing himself as the main character, it isn't. The show is basically an amalgamation of "The Office" and "Extras", totally derivative hence quite predictable.
Warwick, playing an egocentric attention-seeking head of a small company, is – give-or-take a few things – essentially a dwarf version of David Brent; he is always focused on what the camera is doing i.e. on how he will look to the viewers later, he gives the camera those awkward looks of embarrassment, he gets into the same kind of cringe-worthy situations as Brent, etc. His ditsy secretary, whose stupidity constantly puts him on the spot in front of other people, is basically the Scottish gal from "Extras". The running joke in "Extras" was Ashley revealing secret/embarrassing information about Gervais at the worst possible moments: the secretary does the exact same thing to Warwick, and stupidly enough he never even admonishes her for it, let alone fires her. Warwick's accountant is almost a replica of Merchant's incompetent agent from "Extras"; totally useless, lazy, and unmotivated, but quick to put the blame on Warwick. It's all quite familiar, in fact far too familiar.
As a result, LTS keeps bringing up the same sort of situations we've already seen dozens of times in the two previous Gervais/Merchant sitcoms. Unlike these two, however, you will very rarely find a laugh-out-loud moment in LTS. In the defense of the show, though, the episodes are usually interesting throughout, if nothing else, and Gervais's appearances save the series from sinking into total mediocrity.
Which brings me to another problem. Warwick is vaguely likable, but he isn't a good enough comedian by a long shot to carry a whole series, which is why every appearance by Gervais comes as much-needed comic relief. During those scenes, LTS's quality level rises – but the moment Gervais exists, it drops again.
There are other reasons LTS doesn't work that well. For one thing, the whole mockumentary genre has been almost bled dry by now. Christopher Guest ("Spinal Tap", "Waiting For Guffman", "For Your Consideration" etc.) and Gervais/Merchant had already done this, not to mention a plethora of "The Office" spin-offs around the world, and many other lesser comedies that were made in this fashion, diluting the mockumentary format in the process and making it decreasingly appealing. When "This Is Spinal Tap" came out, back in 1982, it was a totally new type of comedy, very fresh and hilarious. 30 years later, and I don't get particularly excited about anything new mockumentary-wise.
But this aspect isn't as detrimental to the series as this flawed conception: both Warwick's character and the situations in LTS are too exaggerated. Less is more when it comes to mockumentaries, I would have thought Gervais would at least know this. You can't have broad-comedy situations within a "reserved" mockumentary setting. For example, Warwick's speech at the wedding; it is so over-the-top absurd that it belongs more in some idiotic, buffoonerish Stiller/Owen/Ferrell comedy than in a mockumentary which is supposed to be more low-key, subtle rather than ape-ish, clever rather than in-your-face. Warwick delivers a speech so extreme that it loses all credibility in the way it relates to the real world – and a mockumentary simply doesn't work unless its events and characters remain plausible, firmly grounded in reality. It is the mockumentary's strong connection to reality that makes the goings-on in it funny. Once that element of credibility is lost, the gags too are as good as lost.
The series hits its absolute low point in episode 6. Almost nothing works. That whole party segment contains all of the problems I'd mentioned above: the situations are predictable, the characters unrealistic, Gervais isn't present, the gags are too exaggerated, Warwick makes decisions that are out-and-out retarded hence unfunny. Even worse is the fight between Warwick and his accountant, earlier on in the same episode, when the two face Warwick's ex-wife and her solicitor. This scene was embarrassing to watch; moronic and unfunny to the core. The accountant's infantile behaviour made absolutely zero sense. If Warwick had sneaked him out of a psyche ward a day earlier, then perhaps it would have worked.
Nearly all the highlights are with Gervais and Merchant. The scene with Steve Carrell is a rare stand-out. One of the few highlights with Warwick is his visit to the Scientologists. I commend the writers for having the balls to make fun of this "church", because most (comedy) writers wouldn't have had the guts to even entertain such a thought. The only other funny scenes with Warwick are when he trips over a banana peel and when he falls out of the car. (Telling.) I would also commend the team for the casting of Warwick's moronic secretary; this girl can't act to save her life (the daughter of a successful fashion designer, i.e. yet another nepotist) but her appearance and dumb lobotomized facial expression are unique.
The celebrity appearances are problematic. This shtick usually didn't work in "Extras", and works even less frequently in LTS. Helena Bonham Carter, the nepotistic funny-looking little gnome, is a vastly overrated actress, let alone a comedienne; no wonder that episode didn't work. She was just as bad as Daniel Radcliffe (yet another nepotist; yes, it's an epidemic) was in "Extras". Stick an unfunny person in a poorly written part, and the results are nothing less than atrocious.
"The Making Of" is funnier and more entertaining. That's a warning right there.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, if you lose one more kilo, your face will start looking perfectly square-shaped. Another warning.
