Extras: The Complete Series

Reviewed by:
Gene Newman

We had higher hopes for this HBO show starring Ricky Gervais, famous for one of the funniest shows in TV history: the British version of The Office. Here he plays a background actor searching for respect in the TV and movie world. Gervais is very funny as the lead, but the best parts of the show revolve around the celebrity cameos, like Kate Winslet as a vulgar nun or Harry Potter as a horny and sexually inexperienced nerd. The show completely falls apart whenever his sidekicks appear, the two worst offenders being his best friend (a virtually retarded and annoying actress) and his agent (a completely retarded and maddingly annoying jag-off). The Office was and is successful—both the British and American versions—because all the characters seem real. Extras goes bad because there's no way a guy like Gervais would continue hanging out with complete idiots that continue to ruin his life. Plus, this was originally made for the BBC, so there are a lot of English references that make no sense to Yankees like us. Still, the brief moments of hilarity are worth at least one viewing, just don't get your hopes up too high.