Extras

[Sinny McGuffins]

The first episode just finished airing about half an hour. Did any other Brits manage to watch it? What did you think?

[Tacitus]

I was out but taped it, just finished watching.

Thought it was pretty good, though it's hard to judge on a debut episode. Merchant and Gervais specialise in uncomfortable humour - dead wife references aplenty! ahem...

One reservation though. I heard Merchant on the radio this morning and he's promising appearances by Sam Jackson and Kate Winslett (today was Ben Stiller). Back-slapping alarm bells. ;)

The Les Dennis episode should be good though.

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Could you say what it is, for those of us across the pond?

[Tacitus]

Could you say what it is, for those of us across the pond?

Sorry Cinders. :)

It's Ricky Gervais' (The Office) new sitcom. He plays an extra, desperate to make it in acting. It's got a more standard format than The Office, ie not a faux fly-on-the-wall doc, though Gervais still plays an unsympathetic character.

He's got more self awareness than Brent though.

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Thanks, D!
Sounds like fun. :)

[Tacitus]

Here's a Link (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/extras/). :)

[Pyro Tramp]

I thought it had too much of The Office's uncomfortable humour, Gervais needs to get away from it. Pretty funny though, no laugh out loud moments, liking the female side kick. As for others stars- Vinnie Jones, Ross Kemp and Patrick Stewart are also due for roles.

[The Sarge]

I thought it had too much of The Office's uncomfortable humour, Gervais needs to get away from it.


I agree, there were points where i thought it could have been David Brent: The Next Generation.

Still thought it was pretty good though, especially asking the bloke with the short leg if he has to buy a pair of big shoes and throw one away.

[blibblobblib]

I quite liked it, like Tacky, I was down the pub (Come on, you are Irish ;) ). I quite enjoyed it. Not as funny as i thought it would be, but i am glad that Gervias is sticking with the uncomfortable humour. It's what he does best and it's his style, along with the incredibly un-pc jokes:-

Man shows Andy (Ricky) a photo of his naked wife -
Andy: "Oh, i shouldnt look at that, she's...she's sunbathing"
Man: "No, she's dead."

My only problem with this is that it doesnt seem that Gervais is playing a character, this one seems to be just himself placed in awkward situations...which is i guess what he kind of done in The Office as well. Anyway, i enjoyed it and i'll watch next week, i feel it can only get better. Loved squirming as i watched Maggie sing "Chinese, Japenese, dirty kneees, what are these!" at that poor Asian/American woman.

[Sinny McGuffins]

I enjoyed it. Those of you who say Gervais needs to get away from "uncomfortable humour" are crazy. I mean, didn't you like "The Office"? It was great!

And I don't think Andy's anything like Brent. Andy's a lot quieter, he wouldn't stand up in a crowded room and make an ass of himself like Brent would. The joke about the big shoe was Andy trying to be funny, Brent would have said the same thing trying to be friendly. Andy's just funny, we laugh with him, or identify ourselves with him. With Brent, we all just laughed at him.

Unfortunately, I'll miss the next two episodes because I'll be abroad. But I'll definitely be taping them. I think us film-lovers are going to enjoy it.

Oh, and Ben Stiller was hilarious!

[Pyro Tramp]

Loved squirming as i watched Maggie sing "Chinese, Japenese, dirty kneees, what are these!" at that poor Asian/American woman.


Lmao, loved that bit, funniest moment. I agree Gervais has the non pc uncomfortable humour going for him, but i hoped his perfomance would show greater diversity instead of just, well, that.
Andy lacked actual character, though perhaps it's just irony regarding the nature of the job, being no-ones.

It going to be hard, as it's always going to be compared to The Office, which was almost perfect.

[Thursday Next]

I was looking forward to watching this, but I thought there were too many 'uncomfortable situations' and not enough laughs. But it was only the first episode so I'll watch a few before I give up on it totally.

[Holden Pike]

"Extras" will premiere in the U.S. this September on HBO, just after the premiere of the fifth season of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/newspix/extras.jpg

Looking forward to it.

[Darth Stujitzu]

Not a huge fan of Gervais or the Office, humerous rather than laugh out loud.
Extras seems to be pretty similar fare, and although I only watched the first 10 mins,I wasn't too bothered about missing the rest of it.
I think Gervais has a limited shelf-life, similar to Ali G and Bo Selecta, they all start off being confrontational and un-pc, but they all seem to run out of steam just as quick and become pastiche!( I hope I know what pastiche means, the sun was really hot today, and I'm afraid a few circuits might have been fried! )

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Not a huge fan of Gervais or the Office, humerous rather than laugh out loud.
Extras seems to be pretty similar fare, and although I only watched the first 10 mins,I wasn't too bothered about missing the rest of it.
I think Gervais has a limited shelf-life, similar to Ali G and Bo Selecta, they all start off being confrontational and un-pc, but they all seem to run out of steam just as quick and become pastiche!( I hope I know what pastiche means, the sun was really hot today, and I'm afraid a few circuits might have been fried! )
I think you meant passe...

[Tacitus]

I think Gervais has a limited shelf-life, similar to Ali G and Bo Selecta,)

Personally I'd put Gervais (and Merchant) on a level far above Cohen and Merrion, though I'm not a huge admirer of his stand-up.

The Office was wonderfully observed, subtle comedy - to me, Ali G and Bo Selecta are repetitive, catchphrase-driven tripe - and I'll certainly be sticking with Extras even with my reservations about the use of 'star names'. ;)

[undercoverlover]

Ben Stiller: Who are you?
Andy: nobody
Ben: nobody thats right. And who am I?
Andy: Is it starsky or hutch i can never remember?
Ben: Was that supposed to be funny?
Andy: you tell me, you were in it?

[Tacitus]

I'll certainly be sticking with Extras even with my reservations about the use of 'star names'. ;)

Famous last words. I ain't seen Extras since the opening episode. :rolleyes:

Has anyone?

[Holden Pike]

Famous last words. I ain't seen Extras since the opening episode.

Has anyone?

I'll be watching them all...but not starting until September 25th.

[Pyro Tramp]

I've not watched it religously, but tried to catch it when it's on. Nothing special.

[Sinny McGuffins]

I've watched them all so far. They're great.

[Tacitus]

I've watched them all so far. They're great.

Ah.....

I'll check out the repeats then. :)

[blibblobblib]

Yeah ive kept up with them, great fun. Not as good as The Office but still very funny. I loved the episode with Les Dennis.

"I Dooooooooon't really Knoooow!"

[Sinny McGuffins]

I'm sure a lot of you already know, but a second series has already been confirmed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4159100.stm).

[Pyro Tramp]

How was the Sam Jackson ep? It's the only one i've missed so far, i think....

[Sinny McGuffins]

The Sam Jackson episode was good. But don't expect too much of Sam Jackson, because he must have about five minutes screen time all together. It was basically about Maggie trying to prove she's not a racist, and about Andy meeting a new "friend". Funny, funny stuff.

[Pyro Tramp]

Cool, the series has definitely progressed. High hopes for the last epidode, not sure about a second series though, yet.

[Sinny McGuffins]

Finally, the second series starts tonight! Andy, Maggie, Andy's half-witted agent, big name celebrities and even Barry from "EastEnders" all make their return. This series' celebrity cameos will be given to the likes of Orlando Bloom (who appears in tonight's episode), Chris Martin, Sir Ian McKellen, Daniel Radcliffe and David Bowie. So you can scratch the early rumours of Madonna, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

We last left Andy and Maggie just as Andy's sitcom got greenlit by the BBC. So what does this mean? Will Andy no longer have to work as an extra to make a living? Will his sitcom even make it onto the air? I guess we'll just have to find out.

I can't wait. And I hope all you guys can't either.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/images/main_promo/comedy/extras_orlando_wt_r_1.jpg

[Sinny McGuffins]

Well as expected, tonight's episode was great. It's obvious Gervais and Merchant wanted to put a message across about the TV world and its execs, but of course still manageing to throw in some priceless comedy moments. I only feel a bit dissapointed because it ended so soon, and now I have to wait a whole week for just one half-hour episode. Oh well, it's not like I'm complaining. Ricky Gervais is back on TV and it's bloody fantastic!

[Tea Barking]

It was great, couldn't stop laughing :laugh:

[blibblobblib]

Ya know Sinny, it bothers me also that each episode is only half hour long. They go so quick! Doesnt even feel like half hour. They should do something about that. Maybe increase the time span that each episode exists in. Ya know, make it longer. That kind of thing.

I thought tonights one was funny...ish. Cheggers? Brilliant. Bloom? Impressive. The rest? Meh.

[Pyro Tramp]

Last night's ep made me laugh more than the 1st season, enjoyed it except for the sitcom bit. Anyone watch Mitchell and Webb after, like Peep Show but not as funny.

[Sinny McGuffins]

Last night's ep made me laugh more than the 1st season, enjoyed it except for the sitcom bit.The sitcom bit was intentionally unfunny.


Anyone watch Mitchell and Webb after, like Peep Show but not as funny.Yeah I enjoyed "That Mitchell and Webb Look", it was pretty good. Never watched much of "Peep Show", but the episodes I saw were funny, and I've heard nothing but good things about the rest of the series.

[Pyro Tramp]

The sitcom bit was intentionally unfunny.

Yeah, i got that. Still didn't enjoy that bit that.


Yeah I enjoyed "That Mitchell and Webb Look", it was pretty good. Never watched much of "Peep Show", but the episodes I saw were funny, and I've heard nothing but good things about the rest of the series.


Peep Show is about the funniest show out there. More so than The Office i'd be temtped to say.

[Sinny McGuffins]

Yeah, i got that. Still didn't enjoy that bit.Well...yeah. In a programme like this, you're kinda not supposed to enjoy intentionally unfunny bits.

[ToBeOrNotToBe]

I couldn't stop laughing when Darren Lamb (Andys agent) kept trying to flog his TV to anyone with a pulse lmao...

It just reminded me of a similar situation.

[Watch_Tower]

This has far too few posts. Extras is the second best comedy this millenium (Community and US Office give it a run for it's money). I know some people claim it was just an excuse to get Gervais' Hollywood mates on a comedy show but it was far more than that. Stewart, Radcliff, Sam Jackson, Stiller, Winslet, these were some of the best cameos I've ever seen. And the recurring agent/actor dynamic was hilarious with some serious heart between Gervais and his female friend (forget her name). Funny and emotional, pure class.

[Iroquois]

Patrick Stewart describing his screenplay to Andy is still one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Outside of that, the show's quality was pretty haphazard and I'm pretty sure I could never watch an entire episode again. I still haven't seen the Christmas special.

[wintertriangles]

Patrick Stewart describing his screenplay to Andy is still one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Outside of that, the show's quality was pretty haphazard and I'm pretty sure I could never watch an entire episode again. I still haven't seen the Christmas special.I agree with all this, but I think it's more worth my while than another haphazard show like Lost or something. Extras was an short burst experiment, and it is what it is really.

[Iroquois]

Shows that specialise in cringe comedy are hard to judge like that, though. On one hand, they're achieving their goal, but on the other hand, it can be pretty intolerable.