When Ricky Gervais finished 'The Office', he was in an interesting position; dozens of Hollywood stars and British favourites were asking him to include them in his next project. The unprecedented success of his show meant he was in a powerful position, and one he used well.
Extras is a sitcom about (wait for it) film extras. Gervais plays Andy Millman, a lovable guy who is both very funny but also very vulnerable - a comic mix. Office co-creator Stephen Merchant also takes a role in the show, playing the idiotic agent and ex-Carphone Warehouse worker Darren Lamb.
Andy Millman is very different to David Brent, sharing only a couple of facial expressions. Millman is more down to earth, a very cynical guy with a biting sense of humour and a vulnerable desire to achieve.
Each episode sees Andy working as an extra on a film or theatre show, and stars a celebrity. The celebrity plays themselves but (this quote is from Wikipedia) 'twisted versions of themselves; an exaggerated or inverted parody of their famous public personas'.
The best episode is week 3: Kate Winslett. Kate is playing a nun in a film, but is foul mouthed and dirty which is absolutely hilarious.
Because each episode contains a different star, the quality of each episode varies depending on who is in it. Myself, I didn't much enjoy Ross Kemp or Samuel L Jackson, but Les Dennis was absolutely great, as was Kate Winslett. Ben Stiller was OK, and Patrick Stewart was just crazy funny.
The regular characters are well written and lovable, particularly Andy and Maggie, his friend. Suggestions of a romance between the two add a bit of spice to the show too.
In terms of DVD extras, we have the following:
Deleted Scenes:Never-before-seen deleted scenes featuring Kate Winslet, Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Stewart. Over 20 minutes of exclusive outtakes. Other:"The Difficult Second Album" behind-the-scenes featurette. "Finding Leo" -- Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant?s desperate attempt to secure a guest appearance by one of Hollywood?s top celebrity?s. Deleted Scenes Featurette:The Difficult Second Album- Behind the scenes of EXTRAS Finding Leo- featurette Outtakes
As you may imagine, the outtakes are just brilliant, and even funnier than the show itself!
Comedy - Director: Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Carol Cleveland, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Production Year: 2004 - Comedy - Director: John Hay - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jimi Mistry, Kate Miles, Dougray Scott
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