Extras

[Ravi]

Any word on a US release of the first series on DVD?

[polkablues]

Any word on a US release of the first series on DVD?

I wasn't able to find any details about the US release, but if you're an idiot who bought a PSP (like me), you can get the British release on UMD discs, which are region-free.

[cron]

has anyone found the torrent ???

[modage]

has anyone found the torrent ???

http://www.torrentspy.com/download.asp?id=859658

[cron]

i wanna marry you. thanks

[cron]

relax Garam. it isn't one of the worst things on anything. but i have to say it was a weak start.  that's how the last series started,though, it got good till the kate winslet episode so i'll see the other six episodes anyway.

[cron]

the bbc executive letting andy know that he should stay quiet. maggie getting hit in the head. but i said it was a weak start, man. i already expressed my opinion on ricky gervais' comedy on the office thread.

[Pubrick]

Orlando Bloom plays a pompous version of himself - completely dull and unoriginal,

that sounds like the usual/only version of himself.

[cron]

You're not alone charlie brown Garam:

Extras work needed, Ricky?
By Chris Tryhorn / Television 10:50am
Opinions seem sharply divided on Extras now that we are two episodes into its second series: there are those who think it's the smartest and funniest thing on TV, and plenty of others - like me - who just don't find much in it to laugh at. Obviously humour is subjective but here are a few gripes I have with the programme, particularly evident in the second series.

You only have to have read or watched the recent interviews with Ricky Gervais to see know that the programme takes itself very seriously. Now, you can forgive Gervais a certain arrogance after the success of The Office, which has allowed him to do precisely what he wants in comedy and to summon up pretty much any megastar - most recently Orlando Bloom and David Bowie - to oblige him with a little cameo.

But his golden boy status seems to have made him tetchy and unduly tormented by the awful demands of articulating his art. The essential subject matter of Extras has changed quite markedly from series one, which inhabited the fairly traditional sitcom milieu of frustrated losers. Now the programme is about the anguish of the sitcom writer and the travails of incipient stardom. This isn't something that really induces much sympathy, and turns the joke away from us laughing along with Andy and Maggie's difficulties and against the rest of the world who are giving Andy a hard time. The tone is altogether sourer.

The device of the sitcom within a sitcom also betrays a kind of snobbish contempt for popular taste. When the Whistle Blows, Andy Millman's cartoonish factory-set sitcom, is a critically panned BBC1 throwback that nevertheless gets 6 million viewers. It is basically just the kind of unadventurous fare that Millman didn't want to make and Gervais has been lucky enough not to be forced into. Rather unfairly, given their total indulgence of Gervais, the BBC is portrayed as interfering, its comedy department run by a rather crudely stereotyped gay couple.

When the Whistle Blows is a superbly realised parody - though strangely I find myself laughing at its jokes unironically and admiring its hackneyed but clever script rather more than anything else in Extras. I do wonder why has Gervais got it in so much for this kind of comedy. What's so wrong with it after all? In setting himself against trad sitcoms - and catchphrase comedy such as Little Britain and Catherine Tate (specifically referenced on audience T-shirts) - Gervais shows a surprising amount of contempt for Britain's comedy culture. It seems a shame that his desire to take his comedy into smart, naturalistic territory requires him to repudiate the way virtually everyone else does things. It's also worth noting that he's not above stealing jokes - the staged autograph in last night's show being a breathtakingly obvious ripoff of I'm Alan Partridge (series one, episode five, if you want to check).

Yet in spite of itself Extras does include some broad touches - and these are often the best things about it. The dimwitted duo of agent Darren Lamb (played by co-writer Stephen Merchant) and Barry from EastEnders knock about the place like a pair of traditional bungling buffoons. Mistaking an internet review of The Wind of the Willows with an appraisal of When the Whistle Blows is a pretty broad joke, and none the worse for it.

Gervais often talks about his admiration for American comedy, and in Extras you can see him striving to match the brilliance of The Larry Sanders Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm, which handle layers of reality with dazzling insouciance. For me, he is not remotely in their league - and maybe he'd be the first to admit that. I think if he relaxed a bit and stopped worrying about his legacy or the purity of his comedy he could be a lot funnier. He is already interested in moving on to do drama, and today he quit podcasting - to "knock it on the head before everyone hates us". It suggests that he's not really happy doing what he's doing now - and for me that shows through all the time in Extras.

[Redlum]

The majority of the gags for this series are coming from the weakest and most repetitive sources of the first series whether that be the tedium of Maggie's topical conversation, Barry's toil as a pathetic out-of-work actor, or the random, crude outbursts from guest stars. I'm quite happy to watch where the story is going but cringe everytime there's a joke that is constructed on the premise of the previous series. The story (and therefore comedic premise) has progressed quite radically but the comedy hasnt moved with it.

The funniest bit so far has been Andy trying to direct Keith Cheguin. That seems fresh to me because its one of the few times we see the creativity (or at least competency), which has earnt Andy the opportunity of his life. I see more potential for him wreaking havoc at the BBC and hopefully this the arc they are going for - Andy resigned to creative failure > Andy pulling his thumb out > opting out/success. Makes sense for a 6 episode series.

Yes, its started to take its self more seriously - the new situation demands it. However this makes it all seem very illogical. Take Andy's situation with his agent - perhaps we will see him fired later in the series for a new and improved model.

I think the show is working best with moments of frustration and sadness - not comedy. There's a fine line and thats why I havent given up on it yet (and because the other options are real-life versions of When the Whistle Blows).

edit: you can watch both episodes for free here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/
(not sure if they restrict international web users)

[modage]

i think some people would beg to differ!

[cine]

season 2 is kicking season 1's ass. good god.

[modage]

the bowie cameo was awesome. 

[cine]

the radcliffe episode was more awesome.

[modage]

i didnt think so, but whatever.