History YMMV / LifeAfterPeople

* InferredHolocaust: Not just the humans, but the animals that are bound to die in our absence.

* Special Effects Failure: It's clear that the show's CG effects budget wasn't exactly stellar, so most of the cheaper looking renderings are excusable. But in the episode "Sin City Meltdown", when the wax figures are shown melting, it's so painfully obvious that they're just using smudge and liquify tools for the scene, looking like they're straight out of Photoshop.

* TearJerker:
** For pet lovers, the pilot episode of the first month or so takes extra care to mention the millions of cats, dogs, hamsters, and fish all locked inside their houses, waiting for humans that will never show up. And then they had to show cats pawing at the doorknob and dogs scratching at loaves of bread, desperate for food.
** Also the RealLife fate of the animals in the New Orleans aquarium, nearly all of which died after Katrina because the facility was evacuated and nobody was there to keep their tanks' water from turning foul with wastes.

* NightmareFuel:
** Abandoned supermarkets. Especially the meat and deli departments. All that rotting food is going to give nightmares...
** The thought that our precious friends will become vicious hunters. The notion that animals will forget you and humanity in due time. The fact that the smaller and weaker pets, such as toy breeds, will not survive along with some of the more poorly designed breeds.
** Eventually, given millions of years, there will be no trace of evidence that we humans were ever here, save for perhaps some fossils if we get so lucky. All of our achievements, all of our buildings, all of our records now lost and buried with time. Like we never existed in the first place.

* NightmareFuel: Abandoned supermarkets. Especially the meat and deli departments. See above.

*** The ones that don't starve to death in our homes and zoos since we aren't around to either feed or free them, anyway.
*** How about the fact that eventually, given millions of years, there will be no trace of evidence that we humans were ever here, save for perhaps some fossils if we get so lucky. All of our achievements, all of our buildings, all of our records now lost and buried with time. Like we never existed in the first place.
* TearJerker: For pet lovers, at least. The pilot episode of the first month or so takes extra care to mention the millions of cats, dogs, hamsters, and fish all locked inside their houses, waiting for humans that will never show up. And then they had to show cats pawing at the doorknob and dogs scratching at loaves of bread, desperate for food.

* TheyJustDidntCare: One episode goes on about how cats are natural born predators, and will thrive in a world without people because they'll revert to a predator existence. This same episode claims that dogs are screwed because they're too stupid and sheltered to survive. Miniature poodles and toy dogs, maybe, but anyone who owns a working or hunting breed knows that these dogs are highly intelligent and frequently capable of taking care of themselves if need be.
** Even some of the smaller dogs could survive, filling the ecological niche once held by foxes and weasels. Dachshunds in particular are very intelligent, highly adaptable, and extremely aggressive at need ([[AttackAnimal they were originally bred to]] ''hunt and kill badgers in their tunnels!'')
** To be fair, they did praise Lacy Dogs and German Shepherds (although they were fixed).

** The thought that our precious friends will become vicious hunters. The notion that animals will forget you and humanity in due time. The fact that the smaller and weaker pets, such as toy breeds, will survive along with some of the more poorly designed breeds.

* AdaptationDisplacement: Inspired by the book ''The World Without Us'' which, due to its success and also to perhaps because it was named one of ''Time'' Magazine's Books of the Year for 2007, suddenly made this subject very popular. The NationalGeographic Channel also had a [[DuelingShows very similar show]] at the same time called ''Aftermath: Population Zero''.

* AdaptationDisplacement - Inspired by the book ''The World Without Us'' which, due to its success and also to perhaps because it was named one of ''Time'' Magazine's Books of the Year for 2007, suddenly made this subject very popular. The NationalGeographic Channel also had a [[DuelingShows very similar show]] at the same time called ''Aftermath: Population Zero''.

** To be fair, they did praise Lacy Dogs and German Shepherds (although they were fixed).

* NightmareFuel: Abandoned supermarkets. Especially the meat and deli departments.

** Even some of the smaller dogs could survive, filling the ecological niche once held by foxes and weasels. Dachshunds in particular are very intelligent, highly adaptable, and extremely aggressive at need ([[AttackAnimal they were originally bred to]] ''hunt and kill badgers in their tunnels!'')

* TheyJustDidntCare: One episode goes on about how cats are natural born predators, and will thrive in a world without people because they'll revert to a predator existence. This same episode claims that dogs are screwed because they're too stupid and sheltered to survive. Miniature poodles and toy dogs, maybe, but anyone who owns a working or hunting breed knows that these dogs are highly intelligent and frequently capable of taking care of themselves if need be.

* AdaptationDisplacement - Inspired by the book ''TheWorldWithoutUs'' which, due to its success and also to perhaps because it was named one of ''Time'' Magazine's Books of the Year for 2007, suddenly made this subject very popular. The NationalGeographic Channel also had a [[DuelingShows very similar show]] at the same time called ''Aftermath: Population Zero''.

* IdiotPlot: The show essentially makes it clear that humanity ''literally'' disappears overnight, instantaneously without any actual method or cause beyond AWizardDidIt. Many of the show's points (accurate or not) are because of this otherwise impossible scenario, especially the TearJerker mentioned below. Especially important [[FridgeLogic is the problem of ALL of humanity dying without anything else on the planet being affected, despite the fact that humanity would be one of the most resiliant species on the planet in the face of catastrophes and disasters, including biological ones.]] Humanity's relative "immortality" is not our constructions, but our ability to survive and adapt, ''which is why we came to dominate the planet in the first place.'' Thus, anything that wipes out humanity would also wipe out a vast majority of life on Earth as well.
** The idea that most human achievement, with the exception of very sturdy and already long lasting buildings like the pyramids, will have desintegrated or be unrecognizable within a couple of thousand years, if not just a few hundred years.

* TheyJustDidntCare: One episode goes on about how cats are natural born predators, and will thrive in a world without people because they'll revert to a preadator existence. This same episode claims that dogs are screwed because they're too stupid and sheltered to survive. Miniature poodles and toy dogs, maybe, but anyone who owns a working or hunting breed knows that these dogs are highly intelligent and frequently capable of taking care of themselves if need be.

** The idea that most human achievment, with the exception of very sturdy and already long lasting buildings like the pyramids, will have disintergrated or be unregonizable within a couple of thousand years, if not just a few hundred years.

* WallBanger: One episode goes on about how cats are natural born predators, and will thrive in a world without people because they'll revert to a preadator existence. This same episode claims that dogs are screwed because they're too stupid and sheltered to survive. Miniature poodles and toy dogs, maybe, but anyone who owns a working or hunting breed knows that these dogs are highly intelligent and frequently capable of taking care of themselves if need be.

** Also the RealLife fate of the animals in the New Orleans aquarium, nearly all of which died after Katrina because the facility was evacuated and nobody was there to keep their tanks' water from turning foul with wastes.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Abandoned supermarkets. Especially the meat and deli departments.
** The thought that our precious friends will become vicious hunters. The notion that animals will forget you and humanity in due time. The fact that the smaller and weaker pets, such as toy breeds, will survive along with some of the more poorly designed breeds.
*** The ones that don't starve to death in our homes and zoos since we aren't around to either feed or free them, anyway.
*** How about the fact that eventually, given millions of years, there will be no trace of evidence that we humans were ever here, save for perhaps some fossils if we get so lucky. All of our achievements, all of our buildings, all of our records now lost and buried with time. Like we never existed in the first place.

** The idea that most human achievment, with the exception of very sturdy and alreadly long lasting buildings like the pyramids, will have disintergrated or be unregonizable within a couple of thousand years, if not just a few hundred years.

* TearJerker: For pet lovers, at least. The pilot episode of the first month or so takes extra care to mention the millions of cats, dogs, hamsters, and fish all locked inside their houses, waiting for humans that will never show up. And then they had to show cats pawing at the doorknob and dogs scratching at loaves of bread, desperate for food.

*** How about the fact that eventually, given millions of years, there will be no trace of evidence that we humans were ever here. All of our achievements, all of our buildings, all of our records now lost and buried with time. Like we never existed in the first place.

* AdaptationDisplacement - It is actually based on the book "The World Without Us"
** More like inspired, since thanks to "The World Without Us" (and perhaps also to said book being named one of Time Magazine's Books of the Year for 2007) this subject suddenly became very popular. The NationalGeographic Channel also had a [[DuelingShows very similar show]] at the same time called ''Aftermath: Population Zero''.
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel - abandoned supermarkets. Especially the meat and deli departments.
** The thought that our precious friends will become vicious hunters. The notion that animals will forget you and humanity in due time. The fact that the smaller and weaker pets, such as toy breeds, will survive along with some of the more poorly designed breeds.
* TearJerker: For pet lovers, at least. The pilot episode of the first month or so takes extra care to mention the millions of cats, dogs, hamsters, and fish all locked inside their houses, waiting for humans that will never show up. And then they had to show cats pawing at the doorknob and dogs scratching at loaves of bread, desperate for food. ''*sniff*''