Extras (UK) Discussion

[Simpsons Forever!]

So, Ricky Gervais' new sitcom Extras starts tonight at 9pm on BBC2. I'm looking forward to it - if it's anything near as good as The Office, it'll be great! And, apart from the Simpsons episode he's writing, it's the only thing he's done this year, so don't miss it. Anyone know who the guest star is in tonight's episode?

[JonHillier]

It's Ben Stiller tonight.

[kane]

cant fucking wait for this. it will be class. i saw a clip of it on when gervais was on jonathan ross. was the one with kate winslett ripping herself.

[Butters]

Got to remember to watch this...

[ItchyScratchy100]

cant fucking wait for this. it will be class. i saw a clip of it on when gervais was on jonathan ross. was the one with kate winslett ripping herself.

I don't normally agree with your views, but I'm with you all the way tonight!

This series is going to be excellent, the clip on Friday Night with Johnathan Ross says it all!

"You know what I got? Schinder's bloody List! Nominated again and again. Oscar's coming out of their a***." Classic! :LOL:

[JonHillier]

Heh, I liked it. Not quite the office yet, but looking forward to the next episode.

[EspanolBot]

I liked it.

[mohammed jafar]

disappointing. the dialogue was the best part, which was still quite sharp if still relying a bit too much on the office's rapidfire absurdity-of-inane-conversation schtick. but the characters really weren't at all interesting. he seems to have tried to find a character between his wisecrackin self and the idiotic david brent, and come up with what is at alternating times a flat version of both. his friend generally followed very standard lines for sitcom kookiness. i'm guessing they are the only two permanent characters in the show that we saw in the first episode, but the secondary presumably one-time characters were weak as well. the director and the asymmetrical legs guy were anonymous as hell and the formeryugoslavian guy was as standard a simple-minded foreign guy as the scottish woman was a ditzy kook. also, a lot of the stuff just seemed stale and predictable, like his attempts to get a line in the show by harassing the formeryugoslavian guy and the director, and ben stiller being a over-the-top jerk. to see someone who could create incredibly inventive situations out of very little in the office resorting to such cliched plotlines and easy jokes is disappointing. for a first episode/pilot it was incredibly relaxed and slow, not making any real efforts to lay out how the show is going to work or establish characters or backgrounds or story arcs in anything other than vague terms. it just seemed to plod along at its own pace. this isnt necessarily a bad thing by itself, but as the components of the show didnt exactly jump out on their own, it's a bad thing.

i believe this is one of only six, so i'm not really prepared to give it a pass for being the first episode. the office was at full strength in its first episode anyway.

[kane]

i taped it and i'm ready to watch it on a minute. didnt read MJ's review but i saw "disappointing" and that's exactly what my bro said.

[Grippa]

I thought it was a bit of a let down, but perhaps that is because I was always going to compare it to the office, which is unfair because the office is one of the best t.v shows ever. It had its moments, but too much of it seemed just run of the mill comedy.

[Comic Book Guy]

i found absolute power to be much more entertaining. gervais really was a one trick pony, and he's flogged that now old, dead horse dry. i used to cringe and smile, now i just cringe.

[matt]

disappointing is like the exact word to describe it. pretty insipid, although there were a few funny moments

apparently this was actually written / filmed as the second episode and they changed the order around, so i guess that explains the lack of character establishment. the next episode will deal with all that, i guess

[Jayrayman]

I watched last 5 or 10 minutes of it (forget that it was on) and i didnt find much to laugh at. I think Gervais is a genuis and i love his work. Maybe if i tuned in from the start i would have got into it abit more. Deffenatly going to watch the next episode though.

[stevedude530]

This premieres September 25 after CYE on HBO, so we yanks must wait.

[kane]

so turns out i didnt even fucking tape it. had the recorder to start at 21:59 (instead of 20:59) and finish at 21:31

[Paul]

kane, you might find this link useful (it's a torrent):

http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3359301&fl#show

[Butters]

It was rather funny. Not great, but something I'd enjoyed watching.

[kane]

aye, i was going to get a torrent from uknova or something. might aswell download now from that link, cheers.

[ItchyScratchy100]

I liked it.

It wasen't that funny but then again, people may get into it more into it when the series progresses.

Nevertheless, I really liked this show and I'm ready to watch it again. The "man woth one leg shorter than the other" and "chinese-japanese" gags were the funniest scenes in the entire episode, personally.

B+ for Episode 1.

[Simpsons Forever!]

I thought it was quite good, but I would've liked to see more from Gervais. All in all, though, it was really funny, but nowhere near The Office. I won't make a verdict until I've seen a good deal more, though, as it has potential.

[Stackhouse]

just saw it, enjoyed it very much. looking forward to ep 2.
there IS going to be a second series, and gervais has said that they've plotted out where the storyline is going. therefore im guessing that there will be some driving conflict throughout this series.

[H Thompson]

I wasn't a huge fan of The Office and this is really too similar, both seem to bother me in the same way in that they have very little in the way of jokes other than.

Character 1: Ok um er eyum uh OKayyy so
Character 2: umm yeh okay er um yeah
Character 1: Says something embarassing
Character 2: AWKWARD REACTION
Character 1: EMBARASSED REACTION

And aren't they going to be doing the joke ever week that the guest star play themselves as arrogant and careearist and that they only have their own intrests in mind, because it's already worn thin.

[Jayrayman]

Well, the second episode was worse than last weeks but the saving grace was Ross Kemps character. He was brilliant and so to was Vinny Jones. Though as i said another disappointment and i actually thought it was going to be the Kate Winslet's one tonight. C+/B-

[H Thompson]

More medicority last night, still Absloute Power is pretty good, a nice little intelligent snappy and quick witted show that doesn't get overblow reactions from the press.

[kane]

i thought it was another great episode. still some jokes that werent really funny but i'm looking forward to the kate winslet one.

also, anyone know the name of the extras theme tune?

[Jimmy]

tonights got better as it progressed, hopefully the Gervais rotine of blagging speaking parts won't get too overdone as to his friend who always seems to be looking for dates. But it was pretty good.

[kane]

yeah thats exactly what i said to a mate at work, i wodnered if it would be that every week. hopefully not.

[Stackhouse]

enjoyed it again. hopefully the plot will pick up, but for now, it's worth my time.

[Simpsons Forever!]

The second episode wasn't as good as the first, but I liked the way they used Ross Kemp and it did get better as it went along. The jokes were a bit slow at the beginning, but improved towards the end. After seeing the second episode, I've now realised this won't be as good as The Office, but it's still worth watching.

[kane]

your hearts not in this......though one of your pubes is, i see.

[mohammed jafar]

just watched the second episode. first of all, the ross kemp parts were really awful. cliched egotistical self-parodical celebrity stuff played in a cringeworthy self-conscious manner by the "celebrity". like a very, very, very cheap imitation of larry sanders. and the story was exactly the same shit as last week. brent, oops sorry ricky, oops sorry andy being pathetic and trodden-on bashed into our skulls over and over again with him grovelling for a part AGAIN for some reason, as if it wasn't bad enough to do that hackneyed, obvious plot once. the romance plot with the scottish woman was a totally useless waste of space and completely uninteresting; and even if they develop it in the next episode, it's no excuse for the lacklustre stuff concerning it in this episode. the episode was also very and totally unrealistically mean-spirited a lot of the time, like the worst moments of the office's second series. and in this episode, there wasn't even the frequent good dialogue of the first episode that somewhat redeemed it. the only part that stood out was the spandau ballet exchange, and even that was fairly formulaic. everything else was an uninspired overmilking of the office's style, with mean-spiritedness, interruptions, and pseudo-subtle cynical implications up the ass. poor.

[H Thompson]

Didn't you think the office was over milking the office's style though, the humour in the office came from pretty much the same place in every episode as it does in this.

Not wanting to credit this of course I just think The office is hugely overated, it's not as if it revoloutionised natrualism.

[mohammed jafar]

at times, yeah. i have a lot of problems with the office's second season.

i agree that absolute power is great, btw. and i dont think they show it in england but the new series of still game is also really good. if you like sitcoms about scottish elderly people, that is

[billi vanilli]

Does this air on BBC America?

I'd love to catch an episode sometime, even if it does apparently suck.

[H Thompson]

at times, yeah. i have a lot of problems with the office's second season.

and i dont think they show it in england but the new series of still game is also really good. if you like sitcoms about scottish elderly people, that is

Where and when, Sky Digital has BBC1 and 2 for different reigons and countries, from channel 941.

[Simpsons Forever!]

I think The Office is excellent, but I can understand why some people don't like it. However, I've noticed quite a few people who hate The Office, love Extras. Maybe it's because Extras is more realistic and set out as a basic sitcom? I don't think Gervais's character is that different from David Brent and, essentially the laughs come from the same place - humiliating people by putting them in awkward situations - so it must be the realism of The Office some people don't like. Unless, of course, a whole host of celebrities has attracted them to Extras.

[H Thompson]

It's just not very good is it, it's exactly the same every week, and everything it had been doing since week 1 had already been overdone anyway.
Winslett was better than Kemp but that's really not saying much.

[mohammed jafar]

h_t, i watch still game on tuesdays at 10.35. i think that might be a repeat though, i have a feeling it airs on thursday. i'll check the listings later. its not exactly cutting-edge stuff but its good; its very gentle, character-based and self-consciously, subversively sappy in the same way king of the hill is.

and last night's episode was overall consistently a case of "a bit better but not good enough". kate winslet was better than kemp, but still irritating, still way too self-conscious and smarmy, and way worse than even the most lacklustre, uninspired celebrity self-parodies larry sanders ever did (like warren zevon for example). there's constantly a sort of wink-wink nudge-nudge angle to it where the celebrity seems to be saying "isn't it hilarious how i'm acting in this way that i'm totally not like in real life? which i'm not, by the way. honestly!". as if they're hamming it up to make very sure that noone is convinced they're actually like that in real life. whereas in larry sanders, everything felt totally and completely real. the dialogue was probably the best of the three episodes so far and the gervais/scottish woman (what the hell is her name anyway) exchanges continue to be quite good (loved "imagine hiding from the nazis in this." "yeah, it must have been awful!") and the stuff with the agent was great, but the cerebral palsy jokes were just infantile (i presume they'll get praised for being "edgy") and the phonesex stuff was little better. the scene at the catholic meeting was brent-by-numbers. also, what little plot there was was incredibly generic and uninteresting. main character acts a certain "hilarious" way to attract a new character of the opposite sex then gets "hilariously" discovered....cmon. especially if the new character is boring as shit.

[H Thompson]

Ahh I just realised Still Game is on bbc2 friday at 10.00pm

[Dorkus Malorkus]

i saw the second episode. it's not my cup of tea, so i discontinued use...having said that, i never liked The Office so i wasn't expecting to like it. It's very similar humour. I prefer The Catherine Tate Show which follows, to be honest.

[kane]

oh my god, haven't seen that but i didn't like the trailer for it at all. even though she seemed ok doing the chav teenage girl i just got the feeling i wouldn't like it.

[Simpsons Forever!]

The third episode was a lot better than the previous two. The guest star was used to much better effect and there was more from Gervais. No competition for The Office, but if it continues in this way, it's well worth watching.

[kane]

watched the third last night. some great gervais moments, namely the catholic meeting.

[stevedude530]

Gervais may replace Henry Winkler (He has a new sitcom and can't appear anymore) as the Bluth family attorney on Arrested Development.

[H Thompson]

Eh tonight was dark comedy minus the comedy. It was just quite unpleasent to watch, and it's not like it was making some deep satrical or social realist point with the B-story of the weird girls father.
Les Dennis was actually ok but it was overplayed at times, with the nakedness in the dressing room, and shagging the girl, a pity because for the most part he'd been played with a little more depth and subtlety then the previous cameos.
It was actually slightly more refreshing for him to have a part in a pantomine as opposed to the standard, begging the celebrity for a line while the scottish women has boyfriend trouble formula.
It also seemed at the end that they were implying that there would be some kind of development and continuity of Andy and Maggie's (the scottish woman) relationship, so it's potentially a sort of Tim and Dawn.

I think aa big problem with this series has been that Gervais is basically just switching between Brent style begging the celebrities for lines, or just playing the straight man or making quips to there pompousness, almost like Tim's role in the office.

[Simpsons Forever!]

I didn't like this weeks as much as the previous episode. They have switched back to focusing on the "celebrity" (if Les Dennis can be classed as such) and moved away from Andy, making it less funny. Also, I didn't like the way Les Dennis was used - not nearly as good as Kate Winslet last week - as they just went over the top with him being naked and his one night stand. The ending was bad, too - what was that about a bionic arm/leg? Not a great subject to end on. Saying that, the subplot was well done this week. I hope the programme goes back to being more Andy-centred for the rest of the series, though.

[Greased Scotsman]

Still Game is one of the funniest shows I have ever seen. I've been watching it since it premiered in Scotland in 2001, and there has never been an episode that has disappointed. The first and second series are the best - it's available on Amazon if anyone wants it. It's equal with The Simpsons as my favourite comedy ever.

And Extras has been OK. I never really liked The Office, but Extras has had its funny moments.

Next week is Samuel L Jackson, can't wait!

[mohammed jafar]

It also seemed at the end that they were implying that there would be some kind of development and continuity of Andy and Maggie's (the scottish woman) relationship, so it's potentially a sort of Tim and Dawn.


i've not seen the latest episode but really, you could see that coming from the very first show. im impressed they waited this long to drop "hints". why does nobody other than home movies, god rest its soul, have the balls to do close relationships between male and female characters that dont have the underlying inevitable conclusion of fucking. even frasier, which managed it for a long time, eventually screwed it up (pun intended)

greased scotsman, where in glasgow are you at?

[Greased Scotsman]

I'm actually just outside of it - I live in Lanarkshire.

[H Thompson]

i've not seen the latest episode but really, you could see that coming from the very first show. im impressed they waited this long to drop "hints". why does nobody other than home movies, god rest its soul, have the balls to do close relationships between male and female characters that dont have the underlying inevitable conclusion of fucking. even frasier, which managed it for a long time, eventually screwed it up (pun intended)

Well yes of course you could tell from the start, because as we all know it is impossible for men and women to be just friends, unless the man is gay, and even then who knows.
But to be fair it wasn't anything overtly suggesting they'd eventually get together.

Also Spaced Did the Plautonic Male and Female relationship, with implications but nothing that led to sex and them getting together.
Unless the crusading fans somehow convinced them to wrap things up in a 3rd series or special.

[mohammed jafar]

yeah, there weren't any solid hints (as i said i was surprised they waited this long) but you could tell by the way they were written that that was going to be the inevitable conclusion

and g.s., i grew up in lanarkshire (im living in the west end at the moment). whereabouts in lanarkshire are you? (any resemblances between this conversation and willie and homer's north kilttown conversation in lard of the dance should be ignored)

[Greased Scotsman]

I live in a small village just north of Hamilton.

[Rowdy]

Winslet
Dude who says he was on Celebrity Big Brother?
Ben Stiller
Some other British guy I don't recognize......

That's how I rank them so far......pretty great show, lot of fun to watch even if there's usually only one really funny section (a la Curb Your Enthusiasm or Starved)....

[Stackhouse]

at times, yeah. i have a lot of problems with the office's second season.

I'm behind, but what problems did you have? I just finished it and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

well, i'm not jafar, but i've had many discussions with him about the office, and i agree with many of his points, so here's a basic 'ahead of time' rundown.

david is less human. his many attempts to outcool neil, while often humerous are really hard to swallow at points, coming off as too over the top and zany. the dance sequence in the second last episode is embarrassing for all the wrong reasons.

the tim and dawn angle is hammered ridicuously hard into the audience's head. almost every single time that tim is with his girlfriend there's a gratuitous shot of dawn looking put out.

the direction is less inspired, less spontaneous, it doesn't look as authentic as the first series. certain scenes come off as staged, as if the cameraman knew the action was about to happen before the fact, rather than having that sense that a magic moment was caught by accident. there are actual set camera angles for certain scenes, for example, when tim and gareth are at their desks, the camera is set at a proscenium level that doesn't move.

tim and gareth's exploits also begin to grate in the second series, simply because instead of exploring and satarizing that kind of relationship in an office setting they just play off the fact that gareth annoys the hell out of tim (the retarded cookie jar thing comes to mind) much like how homer during the scully era was thought to be humerous for simply being a loudmouth ass (watch homer fall down, watch homer wreck a car, watch homer blow something up). it's not very challenging humor at all.

the reactions and general attitude of the swindon staff is false and played out. there's no realism to how they react to brent, they just act like pricks to him the whole time. it's again very staged and formulaic, like uh oh, watch david act like a tit then... oh what a surprise, they're indifferent to him... again. the first series was less shallow in this regard.

i think that's about it, but if i've missed something or made the wrong points, i'm sure jafar will say so.

[H Thompson]

the reactions and general attitude of the swindon staff is false and played out. there's no realism to how they react to brent, they just act like pricks to him the whole time. it's again very staged and formulaic, like uh oh, watch david act like a tit then... oh what a surprise, they're indifferent to him... again. the first series was less shallow in this regard.


I wonder how many times they must have written

STAFF:REACTS

[mohammed jafar]

yeah, what jimbo said. i'll also add that the convincing realism of the first season was what made it so unique and appealing, you could buy the documentary angle. a big part of that was the observational humor in brent's character. but brent's character went totally down the toilet in the second season. the first season brent was a convincing, realistic character who could conceivably exist, act in such a way and be in that job. the second season brent was completely unbelievable and ridiculous; no 36-year-old man is going to act in such a way, let alone a 36-year-old man who has somehow managed to get a job as regional manager of a seemingly fairly large company. the same happened as with homer in season 10; they abandoned all relatable realism and observational humor in order to just dumb him down to being nothing more than a wacky schtick character who behaves like an infant. and as jimbo mentioned, it went from brutally realistic in the first season to ridiculously mean-spirited in the second, particularly with "the swindon lot" (i'm thinking of the episode where he takes them out for a drink in particular). even if brent was acting in the unfunny, embarassing way that he was, there is no way every single one of a group of people is going to act that way; they're going to humor him, they're going to be polite, etc. the way tim and dawn act towards brent (even in the second season) is realistic, their disdain is obvious but they don't just behave like total assholes towards him, which most of the new characters in the second season did. its not realistic, its not cynical, its just mindlessly mean-spirited.

and yeah, when the gareth/tim exchanges werent just retreading old ground over and over again they were descending into being extremely banal ("gaylords say no").

jimbo pretty much covered everything else.

[Simpsons Forever!]

Extras has been confirmed a second series of 6+ episodes for 2006.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds23619.html

This is good news, as I am enjoying the show at the moment and would like to see more from these characters in the future. I doubt whether it will run into a third series, though, as it would start to get repetitive and would then run longer than The Office.

[kane]

i suppose it'll be good to see which guests will be appearing, especially since some of the names i've heard WANT to do this. But as long as the plots seem to change like they finally did last week.

[H Thompson]

I don't think it is a good thing that it get's a 2nd series, this has recived divided critical acclaim and relativley low audience ratings.
It's basically saying, It's ok if your new show is a flop Ricky, have a 2nd series anyway since the office was such a hit.

[stevedude530]

Extras has also been renewed for a 2nd season on HBO, oh about 38 Days before airing on the network. It's not unheard, as HBO gave Six Feet Under a season 2 before it even aired.

[729]

Seen all four so far and the best moment is also the most Brentish, in episode three when he digs himself into a hole talking to the catholic priest. The stuff with Barry in episode two and every moment Bunny was on screen in episode four were other highlights. Les Dennis played himself to a tee but Winslet was rubbish.

Overall this is a show that is just a moderate sitcom enlivened a couple of times per episode by Gervais. Basing plots around celebrities is never a good source of comedy but draws in the audiences. When guest stars don't come off which is most of the time, it ruins the hold thing.

The problem with extras is that Maggie is such a 1-dimensional cliched character, similar to Pheobe in the later Friends seasons (just plain annoying but played as though her comments are hilarious rather than cringeworthy). She has the same fucking problems every week, like an extended version of a sketch show running gag.

Just to comment on a couple of earlier posts; in my opinion, The Office was at a consitently high level throughout the 14 episodes and Cathrine Tate is poor. Nan is a decent character and it's not a gross out catchphrase fest like Little Britain but they're the only things going for it.

[H Thompson]

Isn't it actually a bit racist that Gervais can only use black people in comedy for the purposes of awkward "oh I didn't mean to sound racist their, ohhhh the awkwardness and misunderstandings"

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

i've found that the only type of people who don't enjoy the office are those who are like david brent in real life ("hey, that brent's alright. he's just trying to have a laugh at work, innit"). i'm not saying that's you, h_t, but what you just said, and the petty way you've been acting throughout nearly this entire thread is more than a little reminiscent.

coming up next:

homer_thompson suggests that gervais's clean-shaven look in "extras" makes him look slightly homosexual.

[H Thompson]

Well no I think the Office is ok, I just think it's very overated. But I'm crap at writing reviews in any detail so I've left it to snide criticisms of every episode.
But you haven't actually adressed anything I've said, Simply saying hey maybe you are brent Isn't that dissimilar to say the simpson writers insulting internet fans by putting those comic book guy scenes in Saddlesore Galatica, haha you nerds your like comic book guy that's why you don't like these episodes.

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

but... we are like comic book guy.

also, CBG's role in "saddlesore gallactica" wasn't so much to insult the fans, it was really more a self-conscious nod to "lisa's pony", and other past episodes, a sort of "hey, we're unoriginal, but we know it, so that makes it okay. right..?". the CBG of say, "itchy and scratchy and poochie" is far closer to what you're referencing, and that was actually a dead-on satire of the attitudes certain internet fans had, and still have, so i don't really see your point. besides, you never disputed that you're not like david brent.

the reason i haven't addressed anything you've said is because either a) i haven't seen extras yet, so i can't discuss a show i haven't seen or b) because a lot of your comments have simply been cheap shots at the office or gervais, not really worth replying to, let alone acknowledging.

[H Thompson]

cheap shots? I've basically just presented a few criticisms of The Office and Gervais as jokes. Ok perhaps I've been a bit of a snide cunt at times maybe they got a bit annoying if that's the case I'm sorry.

But it's seeing this series has led me to make some of these comments that along with his stand up shows, Politics for the most part was terrible, have you seen it, your opinion of gervais would probably go down a little if you did.

But my point about the brent accusation was that instead of picking up on some of my "cheap shots at the office and gervais" and saying 'no you're wrong stop being a stupid twat,' you simply say hey maybe you are brent, you just take a dig at me to belittle anything I've said.
Although Ok now you've explained my points aren't worth ackowledging but it's also not really worth saying hey maybe you are brent.

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

[resists urge to say "calm down, david"]

look h_t, you've said in the past that the office doesn't have jokes, when in fact it does, it has tons of jokes, presented as honestly as possible. real people actually telling jokes in a normal everyday manner, and many times, just like in real life, they muck up the delivery. what's wrong with that? the show has depth, but you seem to enjoy whittling it down to the most basic of conventions, like people saying "um and uh" a lot or simply reacting to something embarrassing, when it's so much more than that. it's a show about observing behavior, about nailing "types" of people and it's relatable. i don't care what you think of gervais's facial hair... wait, was that me? anyway, you can't deny the guy can act. his nuanced, totally human and believable performance alone makes the show worthwhile (for me at least). just the way a look of superiority washes over his eyes after he says something (which he considers) insightful, the sly self-conscious glance to his side. the office is full of stuff like, little touches that go a long way, and really work to set it apart from other shows.

now i don't mean to gush, but i can't name one area where the show is seriously lacking. the casting is perfect. the writing is perfect. and the direction... is wonderfully imperfect. it's a class act all the way. so why the beef?

[H Thompson]

look h_t, you've said in the past that the office doesn't have jokes, when in fact it does, it has tons of jokes,

Ok overnlown hyperbole on my part, anyway I'm too tired to respond now.
But I'll just say I'm not whittling it down I've offerd them as some small criticisms, that realistic and observational behaviour isn't automatically that intresting and funny.

[Simpsons Forever!]

I missed the first half of last night's episode and only saw Samuel L. Jackson at the very end. Did he have a big part/play a good role? What I saw of it was quite good, though, even if racism had already been done in The Office.
The first series finishes next Thursday. Will anyone buy the DVD once it's out?

[mohammed jafar]

But I'll just say I'm not whittling it down I've offerd them as some small criticisms, that realistic and observational behaviour isn't automatically that intresting and funny.

no, it isn't "automatically" that interesting and funny. nothing is "automatically interesting and funny", whatever that even means. its funny and interesting because it's written in an interesting and funny way. while "realistic and observational behaviour isn't automatically interesting and funny" looks on the surface like a solid criticism, its actually as meaningless as saying "having homer be stupid isn't automatically interesting and funny" or "having bender be an egotistical asshole isn't automatically interesting and funny" or "having jimbo make crude self-deprecatory comments in every post isn't automatically interesting or funny". if you say the office just relies on its realism and nothing else, you're way off base. the royle family and the smoking room are shows which coast along witlessly and boringly on realism or mundane conversation. the office doesnt. to characterise it as a show where its just a lot of um, uhs and stuff is just wrong - virtually all of the conversations/exchanges are packed with fairly obvious out-and-out jokes. in fact i cant think of one that isnt.

[Son of Bomber]

Last night's episode was a bit of a letdown. Maggie walks a very fine line between likeable stupid and highly punchable stupid. And Jackson's non-cameo was almost as brief as in Kill Bill. Still, it had its moments.

[JonHillier]

Actually, I thought last nights episode was the best so far. Sure, Jackson wasn't in it for too long, but I think I preferred that to having the guests take up too much time.

[kane]

yeah, i think Andy was the most Brent-like in this episode out of the lot so far.

[snrub]

I missed the first half of last night's episode and only saw Samuel L. Jackson at the very end. Did he have a big part/play a good role?

No, he was just in it for a few minutes at the start and a few at the end. They just did a couple of racism jokes on him - then the joke that he was in the Matrix, which I'm sure I've already heard on some kind of sitcom.

Also, do you think this will be edited in anyway for the US audience. Not because they wont get the humour, but more some of the references - I can't see the Les Dennis episode working too well over there,

[mohammed jafar]

well i live in the uk and i barely know who les dennis is. i know he's a cheesy tv presenter/comedian of some kind but thats it. the only thing i've ever seen him in was an episode of reeves & mortimer's spoof documentary "the club". which was hilarious (but not because of him, he was a prop for all intents and purposes)

[H Thompson]

Did you not have family fortunes in Scotland? I only have vauge memories of it being on but no one in the family really watching it.

Anyway to try and make my point a little clearer I mean the use of it doesn't really add much to the humour so it's a bit of a redundant device.
Basically though I guess there isn't anything I can say other than I don't find it to be all that subtle, intresting funny or clever. but it's a fairly enjoyable show with some funny stuff in their.

I'm not really so critical of the show as I am of the amount of success it achieved, really overblown praise in the press and how it elevates Gervais to stardom, he get's his stand up shows televised and released on DVD, he get's the golden globes, he's get's a role on the Simpsons, he get's another show which automatically get's a 2nd series, not on it's own merits and success but because of the clout Gervais has from the success of the Office. (although the audience figures weren't actually that successful) It's this that bothers me more.

[mohammed jafar]

i dont know what family fortunes is. yeah we probably did get it, i just didnt watch it or know anyone who did

and the audience figures for extras were very high for bbc2, and they arent exactly tripping over fresh new shows over there either. they gave a second season to the smoking room, and that was totally shit and noone watched it. and who cares about the publicity gervais gets. as hyped up celebrities go, hes one of the most deserving ones.

[729]

Last night's episode was just plain terrible. The scene where he puts his face in the soup is indescribably bad. The only bit I liked was the racism test but that was only slightly humourous rather than hilarious.

[H Thompson]

The dialouge was just so badly contrived and unbelivable, the way maggie constantly made things worse for herself by saying something stupid and only making things worse, no one would talk like that.

[Stackhouse]

you obviously hate this show, ht. stop watching it. you'll feel better!

[H Thompson]

But I don't hate it, I just didn't think it was very good and particulary bad on thursday anyway it seems to be the tradition of british sitcoms that the 5th out of 6 episodes is the worst one. But there's just enough there to keep me watching and thinking maybe it'll get better, I actually quite liked the first episode and the 4th was at least intresting even though it was more just dark drama than comedy.

[Greased Scotsman]

Did you not have family fortunes in Scotland?

Jesus, it's not like we live on different planets from the English. Of course we got it - our TV schedules are 99% the same.

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

you obviously hate this show, ht. stop watching it. you'll feel better!

in h_t's defense, mohammed jafar downloads seth macfarlane shows just to badmouth them.

[mohammed jafar]

seen any episodes of your favorite show home movies recently?

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

hahahaha

well no, but i read a great one last week.

[H Thompson]

Jesus, it's not like we live on different planets from the English. Of course we got it - our TV schedules are 99% the same.
I was on holiday in scotland once, I'd say 95% the same.

[Hostile1]

Some of you are OVER analyzing the 2nd season of 'The Office'. It's got to the point where it's just ridiculous. And quiet frightening, to be frank.

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

we're not over analyzing anything. we're stating facts. over analyzing would be looking for something that's not there. like finding religion in a sign gag. we were simply stating the difference in style between the first and second series of the office. we provided examples to back up our statements too. so you tell me where we went wrong.

[Hostile1]

we're not over analyzing anything. we're stating facts. over analyzing would be looking for something that's not there. like finding religion in a sign gag. we were simply stating the difference in style between the first and second series of the office. we provided examples to back up our statements too. so you tell me where we went wrong.

I'm sorry, is that a question? :uhh:

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

I'm sorry, is that a question? :uhh:

it wasn't a question as such, more a challenge. you said something that i believe is bullshit, i want you to back it up. if you'd like i can ask nicely.

ahem

could you please, pretty please with sugar and marshmellows on top tell me how we were over analyzing the second series of the office, mr hostile1 sir???

[Simpsons Forever!]

Last episode of the first series tonight, starring Patrick Stewart. I'm looking forward to it - it should be quite good. Don't miss it and look out for Peter Kay in The Catherine Tate Show afterwards, which also ends tonight.

[H Thompson]

So That last episode was really quite self indulgent, and self aggrandising at times, when he was at the bbc talking about his sitcom, how he want's it be about his old boss, how he doesn't want a laugh track, how he doesn't want it to be for people without a sense of humour, it was also very similar to the Seinfeld, you could replace the roles of his agent and Costanza pretty easily.
Still most of the story was Ok, and Patrick Stewart was enjoyable, the best guest of all.

[Veryjammy]

This is the first episode I decided to watch as it didn't really interest me before but watching you all bicker about it made me want to join in. And to be perfectly honest I thought it was poorly acted, self-indulgent, cack-handed drivel.

[Greased Scotsman]

I thought it was good, the first Extras episode that hasn't had me going 'meh'.

Patrick Stewart was hilarious.

[Simpsons Forever!]

Patrick Stewart was a really good guest star to finsh on. I'm glad he was in the episode, as the rest wasn't great. I didn't like Maggie's pointless part in the episode and Andy's script was quite stupid. It felt like he was just re-enacting how he got The Office on air. Not a great new series altogether and I won't be getting the DVD when it's out, but I will watch the second series next year.

[mohammed jafar]

gervais has got some nerve gaining the clout to get patrick fucking stewart on his sitcom then using him for some of the dumbest jokes ever. what a waste

also, this was the THIRD time they've had an over-the-top camp character on the show. in SIX episodes. come on gervais (oooh, i would, but where!? ooooh!!!)

and no shit, pitching his sitcom to the bbc was extremely self-indulgent. merchant was absolutely horrible in that scene too

another really boring episode of a really boring show. ill be leaving the second series well alone

[729]

Might as well bump this.

The second series has been a vast improvement on last year and, though it's no Office, it's probably the best thing on TV currently. The guest stars are still a bit pointless though. Daniel Radcliffe was pretty embararassing (even worse than Winslett) and Bowie's appearance was unnecessary but as usual it's the D-listers who are the real stars; Les Dennis was the highlight of series 1 and both Cheggers and 'Barry' have been excellent this time around while Madeley's parody of himself was spot on. The character of Maggie is still very annoying and too typical sitcom idiot. Hopefully, as Millman moves away from being an extra, Maggie will be phased out.

[Red Right]

From tvshowsondvd.com (http://tvshowsondvd.com/):

The first season of Ricky Gervais' latest series, Extras, will be released by HBO on January 9, 2007. All 6 episodes, along with over 2 hours of bonus material (never-before-seen deleted scenes, exclusive outtakes, behind the scenes featurette and more) will be on this set. Retail price is $29.98. We'll have more information soon, including cover art.

[Simpsons Forever!]

The Daniel Radcliffe one has been by far the best so far. Trouble with the BAFTA one was there were just too many guest stars to focus on and not enough time in the half an hour episode to make fun of them effectively.

[conor.]

i downloaded season 1 and watched the first episode, and i think its great so far, its got the same dry humor style, obviously not as good as the office, but then again what is?

ive heard season 1 slopes up and down so we'll see how it goes.

[nathaniel]

at 6 episodes theres not much of a slope. a few eps are better than others i guess

hasnt been a thing wrong with season 2 yet

[brancely]

i actually like this show better than the office

[Stackhouse]

great episode on thursday.
the doll going off during the baftas made me cringe dreadfully many times

[mohammed jafar]

i saw the baftas episode, it was much funnier than any of the first season episodes i saw but still sort of bollocks. gervais character is still too whiny and maudlin and just boring to like even slightly. scottish woman is like phoebe from friends on horse tranquilizer. merchant is like joey from friends on crystal meth. and good job on that spoof sitcom, way to stick it to the enormous multitude of current sitcoms which rely on funny wigs, funny glasses and catchphrases. also is it just me or has gervais invented -- yeah -- a new -- maybe inve -- an entirely new -- i dont know -- style of conversation? which doesnt -- no -- actually exist -- in -- i -- yeah -- well -- real life? i'll just -- bye then -- go -- okay -- now -- hmmm

[H Thompson]

Yeah there's too much unbelivable shit going on in this, especially for something that's supposed to be realistic.
Why doesn't andy fire his agent? Why is he still friends with Maggie? They both consistently fuck things up for him so much, it doesn't make any sense that he'd stick with them.
Also sitcoms don't usually film the week before broadcast.

And as Jafar has said sitcoms these days, aren't like that. If anything, these days, if someone wanted to make a trad studio audience sitcom, with you know actual jokes, they wouldn't be allowed, producers would try and make it like The Office. Because "naturalism" is the thing that's cool with the kids these days.

And anyone who says "don't watch it if you don't like it" can fuck off.

[mohammed jafar]

yeah it made little sense that he stuck with his agent in the first season (its not like they're hard to find), makes even less sense now that hes a star or something

i do love ashley jensen as she has the cutest take on a central belt accent ive ever heard (the part where andy made fun of her pronunciation was adorable). still a shitty character though. ronnie corbett was great but a complete waste of the awesome stephen fry. like i said it did make me laugh, its just a really stupid show

[nathaniel]

haha you guys are hilarious. you're taking issues with the reality of a man keeping his terrible agent, when the obvious point of the agent is so we get to see gervais and marchant in scenes together (which are generally the funniest parts of the show)

in addition, you favor the latest episode, which was easily the least subtle, most unrealistic, over the top episode yet. i enjoyed it (obviously, cause it was fucking funny), but its probably the worst this season

do you guys seriously just hate yourselves or what?

[mohammed jafar]

merchant isnt funny though, hes just annoying. hes like an annoying person in real life who's trying to be funny on camera by playing up his propensity for being annoying....which is probably exactly whats going on

and this is the only episode from this season ive seen

[nathaniel]

hes been my favorite part of the show this season (well.. besides bowie), but youre right. hes probably not funny or something

how about those accents

[mohammed jafar]

i didnt even know bowie had been on it. its a pity i missed that, his accent getts me off something special

[Red Right]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQG_UOuqlM0

[nathaniel]

http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?t=58008

totally sweet

[mohammed jafar]

hahaha thats awesome. thanks

[H Thompson]

haha you guys are hilarious. you're taking issues with the reality of a man keeping his terrible agent, when the obvious point of the agent is so we get to see gervais and marchant in scenes together ?
Well obviously that's the point of having the character but it doesn't make the show very belivable does it, It's supposed to be quite a realistic show.
And since his over the top stupidity ruining things for andy is so often a plot point, it just gets ridiculous.

Honestly people get so defensive when you criticise Gervais' work.

Anyway the reason I watch this is, because I'm intrested in comedy, and I don't usually have anything to do thursday nights, (although in this case I wanted to see Stephen Fry's Appearnce) It's not like I find the show painful to watch. But I get annoyed, that something so well regarded by critics and the masses can be so poorly written. There's always crummy shows around, yes, but this is supposed to be the big comedy show for intelligent audiences, but it's really not intelligent at all.

[nathaniel]

so.. why are you obsessed with the idea of this being a realistic show again?

[H Thompson]

Huh? I'm not obsessed with the idea of this being a realistic show, it just seems like Gervais & Merchant have written this with the intention of it being a realistic show with some wackier elements. So I'm criticising it for when the wacky elements go to far and stop the show being realistic.

I don't understand why you seem confused, Am I that bad at explaining myself?

[nathaniel]

well i guess not. you think they set out to create an realistic show.. and since they apparently did not this makes you upset. check.

incredi-stoked for next episode :bang:

[H Thompson]

No I think they're setting out to make a belivable show but failing to do so.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Meh, the BAFTA one was pretty mediocre. A few good moments, but nothing special. I haven't seen much of the first series but the second series was great up until that episode. David Bowie's song was fantastic.

[Stackhouse]

just saw last week's episode (with ian mckellan) and it was probably the worst of the season. still, enjoyable, but pretty predictable

also, apparently the series finale is this thursday, unless they go about making some specials or something. seems like quite alot to wrap up

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

just saw last week's episode (with ian mckellan) and it was probably the worst of the season. still, enjoyable, but pretty predictable
The ending was predictable, but most of the episode was hilarious imo.

[729]

Last night had some of the best bits in the series yet. Barry wanking and the old folks talking about sex where the obvious great bits. I thought the end was a bit sappy, after the happy ending to the Office I expected Gervais to finish this in a twisted way (ie Andy disappears up his own arse and becomes a full blown luvvie). He's already said he won't make anymore so that is a very unsatisfactory way to end the series.

Does anyone know if the Wossy clip was actually an outake from an old episode? Millman seemed out of character and it seemed more like Gervais being himself.

[Stackhouse]

yeah, i thought this was a weak series finale. some funny bits but unsatisfying after a mostly good series. too bad.
there really was too little conclusion to most of the plotline.

i actually think this would benefit from a third series.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

He's already said he won't make anymore so that is a very unsatisfactory way to end the series.
Actually he said there's a small chance he will make a one off special, like he did with the Office. Speaking of which, the ending to this episode was very similar to the ending of the Office, except I like it more than the Office one. The Office ending was a bit boring, simply wrapping up loose ends and stuff. I liked how Extras was a bit open-ended. I wouldn't mind a third series, but I don't think I'd want a special to "wrap things up".

P.S. De Niro was great.

[729]

P.S. De Niro was great.

Was De Niro actually filming in the studio? When Merchant & De Niro were in shot together it looked as if the two halves of the screen had been pasted together. Merchant looked about 8ft tall.

[ElroyJetson]

Was De Niro actually filming in the studio? When Merchant & De Niro were in shot together it looked as if the two halves of the screen had been pasted together. Merchant looked about 8ft tall.

I thought it looked very much like they had just asked him to do the section while he was in London promoting some film.

In both seasons, I enjoyed the Merchant parts most, he's hilarious.