Extras

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

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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.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

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

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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10

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.

Thanks, D!
Sounds like fun.

Here's a Link.

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.

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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.

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"I DIDN'T GET WHERE I AM TODAY BY NOT BEING A MOFO!"
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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.

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Pumpkins scream in the DEAD of night!

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!

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.

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.

"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".



Looking forward to it.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

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! )

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Toga, toga, toga......


Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour?

I think you meant passe...

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'.

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?

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Undercoverlovers 100 REDUX

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.

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