extras

[//\/\/]

ricky gervais' new programme - pretty good, though a little confusing at times... the characters seem to veer between pretty sharp and cruel to being a bit dim. but a good idea and a fair few loud laughs. probably going to be a bit of a builder...

[Dirty0900]

As i said before, i thought i werent going to like it.And i dont.

[big screen satellite]

well i thought it was hilarious...Ricky is back to his 11'oclock show best...

people expecting the office will be sorely disappointed...

[b.miller]

shows promise i think... laughed a few times.

[grady]

It's only the first episode and as b.miller said, "there is promise." I was expecting something a bit more, but this is only the first episode and I laughed out loud a few times and smirked here and there throughout the episode.

The last two minutes were a bit over the top for my tastes. I don't know where exactly to put my finger on it, but when Ben Stiller starts his little tyranical rant, it kind of lost steam and moved itself into a weird sort of celebrity worship or something along the lines of that. I do understand the roll of Ben Stiller as the director that loses his shit on the set, but it just didn't feel right. I'm gonna watch the episode again tomorrow and see how much my opinion has changed.

[//\/\/]

it's strange, because it's hard for rg to lose the brent tag - partly because i don't think he's a million miles away from that character (listen to his radio stuff) so he's got a lot to do to establish a new character here, so i'm being patient with myself more than anything.

has anybody seen his stand-up stuff - i thought i'd hate it, but it's very sharp.

[DeJackyl]

Was looking forward to this but thought it was odly quiet and obvious at times. I also don't feel the characters are all that strong and with only two main ones there may be something lacking in plot development. I merely chuckled at one point but otherwise didn't find anything all that amusing and doubt I'd be watching had it not been for my admiration for the Office.

Still gonna watch on, in hopes of some brilliance, perhaps from Steven Merchant when he appears.

[big screen satellite]

Originally Posted by //\/\/

it's strange, because it's hard for rg to lose the brent tag - partly because i don't think he's a million miles away from that character (listen to his radio stuff) so he's got a lot to do to establish a new character here, so i'm being patient with myself more than anything.

has anybody seen his stand-up stuff - i thought i'd hate it, but it's very sharp.

i totally agree...the trouble with RG is that most of the people that know of RG is in the office and hence his stand up shows were very popular, and he plays on that...but he's been a dry, 'cutting' and a near to the knuckle comedian for years...

David Brent is basically a metomorphosis of Ricky, albeit a bit more 'out there'...and the character he plays in extras is the same..its Ricky in another role...thats how he is most of the time...you either like him or you don't...

i especially love his one off interviews - see Jonathon Ross, for example, or his stint at Live 8...he's funny and quickwittedly clever enough to be cruel but get the point across without really being offensive...i don't think you'll get a RG comedy series starring Ricky without comparing it to the Office, because its just him being funny...and he's quite happy with that...

i mean the whole episode of the office with the wheelchair bound girl was (meant to be) pretty offensive, but thats how people are in real life...and he was highlighting the point by exaggerating it...i mean when he won the bafta, his producer (i think) was the guy in the wheelchair...he ripped him to shreds....but his comedy comes from real life...(and this gag was repeated in the first episode of Extras with the guy with the club foot)...its your basic observational comedy

ok, so the whole Ben Stiller rant at the end of the extras episode was OTT, but that was the point - it was Ricky's character just digging away that blew Stiller up, and i think thats the point for the whole series, i'd expect the same to happen in almost all the episodes...thats how situation comedies tend to work...Blackadder, Fawlty towers...they all have the same premise...and same plot for each episode...its just played out in a different way...

don't forget that the first series of the Office wasn't deemed good enough to be shown on BBC1....and before the office Ricky was a relative unknown to 90% of the population...i think if you like Ricky Gervais being Ricky Gervais you will like his series, but if you expect something entirely different i think you will be disappointed....

[big screen satellite]

not quite as funny...as episode I, but still very good...

and hilarious at the end with Vinny Jones fronting up to Ross 'Spandau Ballet' Kemp...especially when his hat fell off i was pissing myself...


and then the catherine tate show...'what a faacking liberty'...some very good catchphrases to be using all weekend...watch out GG goers...

'how very dare you...'

[//\/\/]

ep 3

again, not amazingly funny throughout - but the idea to dress up kate winslett as a nun and then get her to describe and simulate phone sex was a fantastic idea and made the whole series worth making afaic...