DVD REVIEW

Extras - The Complete Second Season

HBO Home Video || Not Rated || July 10, 2007

Synopsis

Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) is a struggling actor with ambition and a script.  Darren Lamb (Stephen Merchant) is Andy’s useless agent and Maggie (Ashley Jenson) is his airheaded best friend.


Critique

The second season of Extras is all about Andy selling out.  He sees a watered down, dumbed down, stupidized version of his TV pilot hit the air, and he goes with it.  So he has a show on the air, so he’s got some money and he’s more self-absorbed (if you can imagine that), but in practice he hasn’t risen that far from where he was last year.  People know who Andy is now, but they’re the wrong people, the annoying fans who only want him to repeat his catchphrase.  The people Andy wants meet still look at him like, well, an extra.

Andy has a TV show on the air and actual fans who watch him every week, but he is contemptuous of him.  When one of them comes up to him in a bar and tries to talk to him, Andy replies, “Oh, Pete, I’ve got to go, you know, ‘cause, life’s too short.”  Andy is no different than the big celebrities he comes across in the sense that he is stunningly, spectacularly self-absorbed.  The characters in the show are casually, mindlessly cruel to each other in a way that only truly narcissistic people can be.  As the season goes on, Andy becomes more and more like these people.  He becomes the catchphrase.

The celebrities in this season are incredible.  The celebrity in the final episode is so great, and he is used so perfectly, that I don’t want to give it away for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but the other five episodes are just as good.  Orlando Bloom starts things off playing himself as an egomaniacal version of himself.  He spends his between-take time reading about himself in magazines and talking about himself: “Obviously I am, objectively, really good looking.”  Bloom’s one obsession: Johnny Depp.  Bloom never misses an opportunity to diss his Pirates co-star: “Willy Wonka?  Johnny Wanker.”

Another episode finds Andy in the VIP section of a club where he meets Ziggy Stardust himself, David Bowie. Bowie stares at Andy, dead-eyed, until inspiration strikes and he performs an impromptu song about a little fat man.  Everyone in the club starts singing along.

So Extras is a sharply written show that finds comedy in the utter shallowness and absurdity of its characters.  The second season is full of hilarious moments.  This doesn’t seem to get the attention of some other HBO shows, but it is definitely worth a look.


Video

Extras is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.  The presentation is sharp, the color palate clean and well balanced.  Like the characters in the show, it’s there without you ever noticing.


Audio

This disc is presented in English 2.0.  The soundtrack here is nothing intense, but the levels are clean and well balanced.  We never miss a thing.


Special Features

Extras Backstage: a look behind the scenes at the second season of the show and what it was all about.  There are segments from this on both discs.

Outtakes: you guessed it.

Taping Nigel: The Gimpening: a look at the hijinks perpetrated on the editor of the show, who seems to endure much of R.G.’s comic wrath.

Art of Corpsing: this is a look at the unintentional, uncontainable laughter that overcomes so many actors.  This is actually a fun piece.


Final Thoughts

Extras is a profound show about shallow people.  The bonus material could use some work, but overall this is a fun show that you should check out.

VERDICT: RECOMMENDED

 

Subscribe to DVD Reviews Feed

 

Review posted on Oct 16, 2008 | Share this article | Top of Page

Copyright © 1999-infinity MovieFreak.com