User Reviews

I've just watched pretty much all of the episodes on youtube, and I have to admit that this is probably one of the funniest and most sarcastic and at the same time wittiest TV shows I've seen in a long, long time. Ricky Gervais is a marvellous actor and just the last episode, the Christmas special, proved to me that he's not just a comedian but a really good actor, too. The scene in which he's on Big Brother for celebrities and just starts his short but astute speech against the contemporary media and their abuse of power just left me flabbergasted and gobsmacked. It felt as if he talked right from his heart and really meant everything he said. And I'd like to congratulate him on the risky decision to make the last episode not as funny as those before but instead giving it a less light-hearted touch. It moved me and I thought it was really deep.

So, you British people out there, consider yourself lucky for having such great comedians and comedies. You have no idea what kind of stupid comedies we're forced to watch here in Germany. Most of it is just a cheap spin-off of what you do. For example, we have a German version of the Office, which isn't bad, but it's still nothing but a spin-off.

Maybe the German language just wasn't meant to be funny.

So, good bye, and if you ever meet one of us: Don't mention the war!

"Extras" is decidedly not for all tastes, but if you have the taste (and sometimes the stomach) for it, it has lots of priceless moments. The peculiar humor of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant stems mostly from their pinpoint observation of the awkwardness and embarrassments of everyday situations and encounters. Andy, a lowly extra, means well but usually says the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time; his friend Maggie has a good heart but even less social tact. The first season relies more heavily on the famous guest stars; when they shine the episodes shine (case in point: Kate Winslet), when they are weaker, the episodes are weaker (case in point: Les Dennis). The second season is quite different, which is a bold step to take for any sitcom: Andy gets his own show on the BBC, and the focus is on the compromises he has to make to keep his new career afloat. The role of his agent, played by Merchant, is noticeably increased, while the screen time of the guest stars is noticeably decreased (best of all: Ian McKellen, who also has perhaps the funniest line in the entire series: "We need some vaseline over here!"). It took me a while to adjust to these changes, but in retrospect I realized that the second season is on the whole better, funnier, more assured. The series ends with an 80-minute special episode which is as funny and uncomfortable as the rest, but perhaps a tad too depressing. *** out of 4.

Seeing that thus-far there has been such a one-sided response to Series 2 I feel it my civic duty to try to restore some balance in the universe of critical review. In my humble opinion, Season 2 is so far inferior it is frightening. I say frightening because up to that point everything Gervais & Merchant had done, while not perfect, was of such a high caliber that I felt convinced they had their finger firmly on the pulse of not only what makes a comedic concept work but also of the pitfalls so typically experienced by other successful comedy creations that they seemed determined never to fall into it. That is, of fearing the loss of greater public appeal and so resorting to cheap clichéd one-joke formulas to replace genuinely intelligent and insightful comedy. But incredibly after episode 1 which actually maintains the same level of quality and intellect of all of Season 1, the rest of the Season 2 descends into committing this very crime Gervais (semi-autobiographically through Milman) identifies. Every subsequent episode features the scenario of Milman going to the next level of utter humiliation in the most extreme and absurd of circumstances. David Bowie breaking into song of the sorry state of Milman's life to a crowded wine-bar, a standing ovation to the destruction of his sitcom's toy doll at the BAFTA's by Richard Briers followed by his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Potter's angry award acceptance speech revealing embarrassing personal information of his sex life, ruining a stage play by running around trying to avoid the scripted gay kiss while being pushed back on stage by Ian MacKellen... sorry, am I missing something? What happened to the "write about what you know" philosophy both Gervais and Milman so passionately preached and practised up to that point? Granted, Series 1 had its ludicrous comic scenes, but they served as moments of light relief from the weightier themes of the main plot. Series 2 on the other hand seemed to have snatches of the weightier message in a plot of nonsense.

So what happened? Is this simply yet another case of the writer becoming so pressured to maintain the same level of success that rather than taking the riskier line of forcing us to see the world through his eyes, the vision actually becomes adjusted for the perspective and wider appeal of the broader audience? Or did the BBC actually do in real life to Ricky Gervais with Extras what they were doing to Andy Milman with When the Whistle Blows, that of taking the story out of his hands and making it into their own homogenised product? There certainly seems to be an uncannily striking parallel. Somehow I don't think this latter 'conspiracy theory' is the more realistic option as, unlike his fictitious counterpart, in real life Gervais' writing talent had been so well established from the success of The Office and Series 1 of Extras that I doubt anyone would have dared interfere with whatever idea he next concocted. A dangerous recipe. Therefore, and judging by the reviews of the great majority, it seems Gervais' work was predestined to be deemed genius by the BBC, media critics, and general public alike before anyone would ever stop to consider whether it really had any further merit.

Bizarrely though, Gervais committing the very same sin that he had so consistently been condemning in Extras creates such a paradox that it transforms Extras from being a mere comedy series to being more like that of a perfect crime comparable to the one seen in the movie se7en, where self-destruction is the final stroke of genius that completes the masterpiece. Was the very self-destruction of Extras so perfectly preconceived and executed that rather than be a complete failure it is actually a work of genius? Maybe we'll never know. In reality however I believe neither of the aforementioned scenarios are true. It appears to me that Gervais, who genuinely sees himself as just 'the man on the street', was so overwhelmed by the exponential growth of his overnight success that he became sidetracked from his true artistic cause to instead using his universally recognised and acclaimed profile to indulge the gratification of having his most revered celebrities act out his most wildly imaginative and ironic fantasies. He was a child in a candy store, and I suppose if any of us were to be in that position, would we be able to resist using the power of having our most adored heroes at our mercy? Speaking for myself, very possibly not, so rather than cast the first stone, while frightened at the thought of losing one the world's best comedy writers I will maintain my confidence in his artistic integrity, hope he comes to terms with his celebrity status, comes back down to earth and once again joins the human race, because I sure do love his take on it.

I notice that the DVD of the first series is not available on Amazon, but it is here in Hong Kong and being an avid fan of the office and Ricky Gervais live, I bought it straight away.

I must say, I'm not disappointed. It took a while to forget Gervais' Office character, David Brent, but when you do, look at him as "Andy" in this series and note that he's got a little more worldly wisdom than Brent, at the same time as being somewhat up himself as was Brent (here, in his constant reference to himself as a "real actor"). In all, though sufficiently different to be a new character - Andy, seeking through the series, that one line of dialogue that will make him the "real actor" that he continually claims he is.

His friend "Maggie" (Ashley Jensen) is wonderful, with a lovely accent and great comedic timing.

There were some real laugh-out-loud moments (for me, at least): Ben Stiller explaining why he's directing his movie, which appears to be a drama about a Balkan state: with references to all his comedic hits, is a great self-send up.

The scene where Andy advises Maggie on how to work up an excuse *before* someone asks you to a party you don't want to go to -- explaining that you need to say "your sister's coming to visit; you're gutted, but sorry you can't make it", then coaching her through it when the invitation duly comes -- priceless and very funny.

All the scenes of Kate Winslett suggesting to Maggie ways in which she could talk dirty on the phone with her boyfriend are simply wonderful.

There's another scene in the graveyard, with the "Dullard" in which Andy is pretending that a Jewish woman's grave, who died in 1953, is his mother's grave, making him "at least 52". Maggie helps him along.

All of the scenes with his hopeless "Agent" (Co-writer Stephen Merchant) are giggle-along funny, and worth a re-watch.

I enjoyed the series, and have watched parts of it twice or more, always the mark of good comedy.

I wonder what they will do for the "guest stars" in future? I hope they have lots more up their sleeves.

PF Hong Kong

'Extras' is a sitcom written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant who had previously collaborated on the award winning 'The Office'. The show carried on over two series and followed Andy Millman, a movie extra trying to make it into the big time, the only problem is hes forty, overweight and not blessed with Johnny Depp's looks.

In the first series it follows Andy desperately trying to get a line to move a notch up the showbiz ladder although hes currently on the bottom rung. The humour is dark and a satire on the real extras business which is very shallow and humiliating, the style is changed completely from The Office and Gervais plays a different character, David Brent was arrogant but pitiful, Andy Millman is a nicer person and more relatable but still pitiful in his own right.

The gimmick of each episode is they have one or more celebrity appearing or cameoing in a 'twisted' version of themselves, usually highly self-deprecating, either they are rude, arrogant, ignorant, liars, racist, not entirely sane or a combination of all of them. Without a shadow of a doubt the best cameo of the first series is Les Dennis, the way he laughs at his own horrible situation where he was humiliated by his wife who has arguably gone onto bigger things (totally undeserved, she is completely talentless) is admirable. Other highlights include Ben Stillers appearance where he plays a tyrannical director, Ross Kemp's confrontation with Vinnie Jones, Kate Winslet's phone sex scene and Patrick Stewart. The only disappointment really was Samuel L Jackson, they just didn't have any funny dialogue for him.

Andy is very sarcastic and thats where much of the shows humour comes from, he can be very witty and quick on his feet but occasionally inexplicably talks himself into a hole and continues digging way past a man as intelligent and glib as he sometimes appears to be should allow himself to get which is one of my problems with Extras, Andy Millman just isn't very consistent as a character. His best friend Maggie Jacobs is another problem, sometimes to great comic effect, Andy uses her to try and make himself look good like when he tries to impress a new neighbour he fancies and asks Maggie to pretend to be a fan and ask for his autograph, inevitably she messes it up and makes Andy look stupid with cringeworthy results. The problem isn't Maggie's characters fault as she is written stupid but Andy continually puts Maggie in a situation where she is bound to make him look bad and he never seems to learn which again is inconsistent with his character. It gets to the stage where when he asks Maggie to do something to make him look good you're literally waiting for her to mess up and after a while it isn't funny just irritating. Also sometimes Maggie can be deliberately malicious towards Andy, she enjoys joining in when Andy is being humiliated and even laughs at him, she never seems to stick up for him which I found disappointing.

Extras two best characters in my eyes are the recurring agent Darren Lamb and Shaun Williamson or 'Barry off Eastenders' as he is usually called, who along with Andy is a client of Darren's, the only other client of Darren's it seems for he is surely the worst agent in the business. His CV for Andy sounds more like a charity appeal than a list of achievements and he even questions potential employers judgement for trying to hirer Andy. His part-time weekend job at the Carphone Warehouse just about sums him up. His sidekick Barry, who seems in even worse dire straits than Andy is desperate for work and quotes Shakespeare (horribly) on queue. These two are genuinely hilarious and deserve credit for some of the funniest moments in the show. Merchant probably doesn't get as much credit as Gervais does but those that listened to 'The Ricky Gervais Show' on xfm can attest that Merchant can actually be funnier than Gervais, his quick one liners are brilliant. Karl Pilkington deserves a mention as well, many of his quotes are ripped straight from The Ricky Gervais Show into Extras.

The second series follows Andy's rise to relative fame, except not for the great art he would have hoped and leads to more embarrassing situations featuring more celebrity guests who vary in their ability to send themselves up to comic effect. Overall this was a very funny show with some classic comedy moments but I'm glad it ended when it did, on a high in the hour-long special after the second series, which was in my opinion the funniest and certainly the most moving of the lot which was a good way to bow out. Probably not quite as funny and groundbreaking as The Office this is a very good second crack which can occasionally be disappointing after a major debut success.

8/10

The Office made the star/writer/director an international star, and changed the situation comedy genre, but it took me ages to get started on this next popular Mockumentary, with co-writer Stephen Merchant, I was hoping it would be as enjoyable. The series revolves around the career of aspiring actor Andy Millman (BAFTA winning and Golden Globe nominated Ricky Gervais), who can only find work as an extra for various film and television projects, he refers to himself as "background artist". Andy's well-meaning but ditsy best friend and fellow extra Maggie Jacobs (BAFTA nominated Ashley Jensen) often gets him into highly awkward and embarrassing situations with her choice of conversations with crew members, and Andy's agent Darren Lamb (twice BAFTA nominated Stephen Merchant), who is a part-time employee of Carphone Warehouse, is incompetent and has no real experience in the entertainment field, his assistant is former EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson, who he refers to as his former character name "Barry". Fed up with being an extra, Andy does everything he can to get his face on camera, including shamelessly approaching celebrities and producers in an effort to get screen time or a line of dialogue, but even when successful something happens that prevents his career advancing. But Andy gets his opportunity when his script he has written for a new sitcom, When the Whistle Blows, gains interest from BBC producers, they green-light his project, and Andy is given the lead role, while Maggie has no ambitions and just continues being an extra, and unintentionally offending people with her comments about race, sexuality, disability and much more. But the producers turn Andy's project into a low-rent comedy, relying on catchphrases, stereotypes and stupid costumes, it is commercially successful, gaining millions of viewers, but critics are less than complimentary about it. By Christmas, Andy decides to drop the sitcom and fires Darren as his agent, he gets a professional agency to help him, but he can only get bit parts, and he turns sour towards Maggie, he tries a revival of his career with an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, but in the end Andy and Maggie reconcile and accept a life of anonymity. Guest stars throughout the show include: Ben Stiller, Ross Kemp, Vinnie Jones, Kate Winslet, Les Dennis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sir Patrick Stewart, Orlando Bloom, Keith Chegwin, Liza Tarbuck, David Bowie, Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Diana Rigg, Warwick Davis, Phillip Schofield, Fern Britton, Nick Ferrari, Matthew Wright, Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan, Chris Martin, Richard Briers, Stephen Fry, Ronnie Corbett, Moira Stuart, Davina McCall, Sir Ian McKellen, Germaine Greer, Mark Kermode, Mark Lawson, Jonathan Ross, Robert De Niro, Robert Lindsay, Clive Owen, George Michael, Gordon Ramsay, David Tennant, Gareth Hale & Norman Pace, Lionel Blair, Dean Gaffney, June Sarpong, Lisa Scott-Lee, Chico Slimani, Karl Pilkington and Vernon Kay. Also starring Shaun Pye as Greg Lindley- Jones, Sarah Moyle as Kimberley, Andrew Buckley as Gobbler, Jamie Chapman as Brains, Martin Savage as Damon Beesley, Guy Henry as Iain Morris, Steve Speirs as Dullard, Francesca Martinez as Francesca, Tony Way as Chef, Katherine Parkinson as Woman in Queue, Katy Wix as Girl in Nightclub, Marek Larwood as Autograph Hunter, Steve Brody as Estate Agent, Frog Stone as 1st AD, Stuart McQuarrie as Shop Manager, Kerry Godliman as Floor Manager, Karl Pilkington as Fan and Rob Brydon as Announcer. Gervais is great at being an out-of-luck actor, and Jensen is fantastic with her many cringing moments, and Merchant is amusing as the unhelpful agent, there are plenty of awkward situations and celebrities behaving badly that get you laughing, I don't know if I found it as hilarious as The Office, but it is certainly a funny and watchable comedy. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy and Best Writer for Gervais and Stephen Merchant (twice), and it won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical. Very good!

For Ricky Gervais, following up the mega-hit The Office was always going to be a tall order and, quite cleverly, he sidestepped the issue by producing something that was altogether different.

Stepping out of the small scale world of a stationers in Slough, here Gervais plays Andy Millman, a man beset by frustration due to his inability to catch a break in the world of acting. Working as a run-of-the-mill extra on one project after another, his only source of solace is his constant companion Maggie, a fellow extra who feels equal frustrations.

More melancholy than The Office, at times it veers dangerously close to being sentimental, but usually manages to steer itself clear of that hurdle just in time.

With cameo's from the great and the good of Hollywood (and Ross Kemp), this sees the stars perform admirably out of character: Ben Stiller as the utterly dislikeable, spoilt star turned director; Kate Winslet as a kinky Nun; Patrick Stewart and his obsession with breasts.

Most of the cameos work well enough, and every episode is at least enjoyable, though it lacks the real darkness and bite that I tend to look for.

Still, decent enough.

Like 'The Office', 'Extras' is a one joke show that tries to lure in its viewers with the use of big names appearing in cameo roles. Nothing Ricky Gervais has ever done has been remotely funny. He comes across as an arrogant, sleazy, self-righteous ponce, not a million miles away from the characters he portrays.

Andy Millman is an unknown actor who always fails to land the perfect starring role, something not helped by the fact he has a space cadet for an agent. One scene was based on the conceit that Ross Kemp was intimidated by Vinnie Jones. In reality, Kemp would probably knock seven bells out of Vinnie Jones!

Ricky recently faced criticism for telling dead baby jokes during one of his stand up shows which prompted a couple who lost a baby to walk out in tears. Far from showing any remorse, Gervais cruelly slated the pair on Twitter. Dead baby jokes are not, never have been and never will be funny and anyone who finds them funny is a warped individual who deserves a good smacking. Ricky also claims to be against animal cruelty. I'm not knocking him for that but I fail to see the logic in the fact that he doesn't consider animal cruelty funny yet cruelty to infants is comedy gold in his eyes!

The late Gerard Kelly made a few appearances here as a camp director named Bunny Bunton. I was surprised to see an actor of his calibre involved in such a vile show.