2. Gervais Clashes With Liam Neeson - Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short might not have taken off like the other sitcoms, despite Gervais claiming it was some of the funniest stuff he'd ever produced (Warwick Davis playing the Brent-like character just didn't have the same effect). It did however produce its fair share of classic Gervais moments, not least in his encounter with Liam Neeson. Whilst it's Neeson who steals the show - the Irishman has decided that he wants to get into comedy, despite being painfully unfunny - the scene simply revolves around the utter confusion on the faces of Merchant and Gervais. "He gets away with it," says Neeson, as he can't understand why he can't talk about heavy subjects. "Yeah, we don't know why," Merchant replies, as Gervais himself shrugs. Ricky humours him though, his temper rising at times - "I think the shop's got to be open for us to do the sketch," - and in the end, he just accepts that Neeson wants to talk about his "Full blown AIDs", telling him "You'll storm it" through gritted teeth. It's the highlight of the series. Perhaps the funniest moment without Gervais though comes with Warwick in a bar, as he tells his accountant to "Go over there, and tell those two women I'm dangerous", because apparently, women like danger. When asked why Warwick's so dangerous, the accountant says, "Because he's a rapist." Cringe-inducing television at its best.