'After Life' brings the bittersweet Ricky Gervais comedy about grief to an end

The third and final season of "After Life" doesn't deviate much from the first two, continuing writer-director-producer-star Ricky Gervais' dour rumination on crippling grief and the ability (or not) to carry on. That the series doesn't necessarily follow the template of the comic's earlier shows speaks to a certain maturation, but its themes have become repetitive to the point where "Life" has clearly run its course.

Gervais' wrinkle is to punctuate the serious nature of the protagonist's plight -- trapped as he is in an endless loop mourning the death of his wife, watching old videos as he clings to those memories -- with extremely broad comedy of a very hit-miss variety. As a human-interest reporter for the local paper, his character Tony encounters all sorts of eccentric folks, listening to their odd stories until he can take no more, at which point he cues his photographer (Tony Way) to "Take a picture" and beats a strategic retreat.

The time Tony spends learning about other people's lives obscures his inability to find peace within his own, having put himself at arm's distance from Emma (Ashley Jensen), the nurse he met while she tended to his late father, who initially seemed to be an obvious bridge to lead him back to embrace living.