Extras was a weird beast - sometimes made me laugh a lot, but mostly I didn't really understand what was going on at all. I'm not a massive fan of shows that 'deconstruct your preconceived notions about what celebrities are like in real life', as usually I don't really care what they're like in real life. If I did, I'd read magazines about celebrities, and watch chat shows, and then kill myself. And people like Ben Stiller play up to this concept so knowingly, the whole thing gets very murky very fast.
The stuff that worked for me was the relationship between the fictional characters (and Stephen Merchant was great, so I was pleased to hear he'll be in it a lot more in the second series).
Anyway, on a slighly different topic, with that episode of Extras that had Patrick Stewart in it that was repeated recently, when it first went out, didn't some reviewer chuckle along to the 'low budget identikit fantasy movie' that opened the episode? And wasn't it in fact, er... The Tempest? Or did I completely imagine that?
12 comments:
it was
Thanks anon - now I have to find out who the critic was AND GET THEM INTO TROUBLE! It was ages ago, mind, but still.
I am a massive fan of the show. I think the relationship between maggie and...that flat bloke -
Ok, maybe massive was the wrong word. I like it a lot though. The two main characters are very good on their own, but even better together, like sausage and beans.
I meant FAT bloke of course, as opposed to flat bloke.
Unless I meant flat BROKE...
I'm fairly sure RG isn't flat broke - never seen him in the same suit twice, anyway....
For me, it's so totally NOT about "..preconceived notions about what celebrities are like in real life.."
& how dare you put it in the same BREATH as celebrity magazines & such!
The famous guest parts are usually just a small fraction of the entire show (that would easily stand up without them anyway).
They're just the icing on a rather tasty cake IMHO.
(& I think it's the third series approaching)
Nooo, I think it's coming from a very different, and much more laudible angle to celeb mags, but it's the same sort of topic, as though the only thing worth discussing is fame, and why people want it and how it's not all it's cracked up to be, as though there's nothing else in Western society worth talking about.
Not that that's what RG and SM have said necessarily, but there's a lot of telly-about-telly about, and I'd like something new really. That Rob Bryden panel game sitcom seemed to fall into the same trap, whereas if it was all fictional, that might be more interesting...
I liked it mostly, it made me laugh...though some bits were better than others...Stephen Merchant is brilliant very good to hear he'll be in the next series more. Maggie's good aswell but i'm not a massive fan of Ricky Gervais...he can be very funny but sometimes...just not, much prefer SM
RG pretty much said exactly what you just did about fame today in the Guardian. He thinks it has taken the place of class as the main obsession of most people and thus is the central plank of modern comedy. I disagree entirely, mind you. My favourite recent comedy - The Mighty Boosh - has very little to do with fame!
My main problem with the whole (RG and SM) crew is their reliance on cruelty as the central component of humour. I only caught one podcast, but it seemed to be an excuse to laugh at the sub-normal Karl Pilkington. Laughing AT people is always a dangerous game, in the end, particularly if it's the only way you can laugh....
I have offically (and unoficially for that matter) seen only about five minutes of the episode shown the other day and therefore have no idea what really goes on in the show but the blonde girl amused me...
Also liked RG apoloigising by getting someone else to do it, may have to do that in future...
I have offically (and unoficially for that matter) seen only about five minutes of the episode shown the other day and therefore have no idea what really goes on in the show but the blonde girl amused me...
Also liked RG apoloigising by getting someone else to do it, may have to do that in future...
I watched an episode because I heard it was supposed to be really good. Unfortunately I found it boring and not at all funny. This may have been because I had no idea what was going on and because I have an aversion to Mr Gervais.
Still, I shall give it another chance.
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