The Office was superb, the Extras was great, but Life's too Short was terrible (saved only by the Liam Neeson sketch). I didn't like the Derek pilot for two reasons.
1) Gervais' acting/Derek as a character. Cannot take him seriously.
2) Karl Pilkington being in it. I do find him funny, he's a great caricature, and he's obviously more intelligent than he lets on, but his inclusion smacks of nepotism.
The romance was the best thing about the pilot but it seemed to peak within that one episode, and we've seen it all before in Gervais' other work anyway. The man is still capable of writing good comedy, he just needs a better idea for a show, perhaps something that's a touch more subtle and believable.