Amazon.co.uk Review
Extras,Ricky Gervais much-anticipated follow-up to
The Office, is a quieter affair, and a little less accessible that its award-laden predecessor. But across the six episodes on this first season DVD set are several episodes that will richly reward repeated viewings.
Gervais plays Andy Millman, an actor whose roster of jobs seems to consistently consist of extras work. Each episode follows him on a different production, and also brings in a notable guest star. Lining up throughout the series are the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Kate Winslet and Ben Stiller. And while their presence undoubtedly adds something to each carefully crafted episode, its perhaps those with the lesser names that show the programme on top form--certainly the appearance of Les Dennis makes for an excellent half hour of comedy-drama.
At the core though is Gervais Millman--a far easier character to warm to than David Brent--and Ashley Jensens marvellous Maggie Jacobs. Its these two who consistently provide the shows highlights, and while the headlines have been generated by the all-star roster of names attracted to appear in Extras, its the two less showy characters who work the best.
Extras isnt a show full of belly laughs, and its fanbase is likely to be smaller than that of The Office. But its still a quality creation, properly crafted, with an awful lot to it to enjoy and appreciated.--Simon Brew
Synopsis
Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) is an actor but his agent cannot get him an acting job. Instead he is just an extra in films, a different film a different location, ever hopeful that one day he will actually get some lines. Ricky Gervais' follow up series to the enormously successful
The Office sees Gervais repeating the acute observations on real life used in
The Office, this time in the world of films. Guest stars on
Extras include both Hollywood actors (Ben Stiller, Kate Winslett, Samuel.L Jackson, Patrick Stewart) and actors familiar to British television viewers (Ross Kemp and Les Dennis). All the actors are more than happy to send themselves up, whether it be Patrick Stewart and his sex obsession or Kate Winslett only deciding to do a Holocaust film because she thinks she'll win an Oscar for it. Contains all six episodes from the series.