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Extras: The Complete Second Season | 
| Studio: HBO Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 37.48
Buy New: CDN$ 19.98
You Save: CDN$ 17.50 (47%)
New (16) Used (4) from CDN$ 14.94
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1539
Format: Dubbed, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: 94020
UPC: 026359402029
EAN: 0026359402029
ASIN: B000P296C6
Theatrical Release Date: September 25, 2005
Release Date: July 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Condition: Brand New Factory Sealed. Ships the next day out of Toronto !!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.ca
In Extras' exquisitely excruciating second and, alas, final season, Andy Millman, former "supporting artist," learns a humbling lesson: Be careful what you wish for. Andy (Ricky Gervais) is still "an impossible person," but he is now an impossible person with a sitcom, one that, to his increasing horror, humiliation, and disgust he allows to be severely compromised. The character he portrays, a factory boss, is outfitted in a ridiculous wig and big glasses, and Andy becomes enthrall to his catchphrase: "Are you havin' a laugh?" The result is high ratings for the show, but the critics' slings and arrows are aimed at Andy. Surely, David Bowie (just one of the A-listers who grace this season) can relate to Andy's struggle for artistic integrity. Instead, his plight inspires Bowie to improvise a V.I.P. lounge sing-along ditty that mocks his pretensions ("Little fat man who sold his soul/Little fat man who sold his dream"). Andy's two closest relationships drive the series. The first is with his clueless and useless manager (Stephen Merchant), who in one there's-everything-wrong-with-that episode, arranges for Andy to be unwittingly cast as a gay man in a play. The second is with Maggie (Ashley Jensen), Andy's platonic friend, still an extra, who is steadfast and supportive, but at times absolutely tactless, as when she reveals to a woman whom Andy dumped how he lost his virginity (an embarrassing anecdote the vengeful woman proceeds to share with the attendees of Britain's most prestigious awards ceremony). Season 2 is a no less star-studded affair than its predecessor. Among the astonishingly game notables having a laugh at themselves are Orlando Bloom ("You know who does get ignored?" he tries to impress Maggie, "Johnny Depp"), a randy Daniel Radcliffe, and Coldplay's Chris Martin, who makes a hilariously gratuitous guest-star appearance on Andy's show. Priceless are cameos by such venerable British entertainers as Robert Lindsay, Ronnie Corbett (one of The Two Ronnies) and "Barry from EastEnders." Extras is a classic cringe comedy in the grand tradition of Albert Brooks, The Larry Sanders Show, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. All of Andy's worst impulses are magnified by his newfound fame. In one episode, he complains about a disruptive child in a restaurant, only to discover he has Down's Syndrome. Enhancing these all-too-few six episodes are Extras' extremely entertaining extras, including a multi-part behind-the-scenes look at the show. One wonders how the actors got through these brilliantly funny episodes without "corpsing" (breaking up). As the generous outtakes reveal, they very often didn't. With Extras, Gervais has accomplished what the hapless Andy could not: Create "a good credible comedy that will stand the test of time." --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews:
Extra! Take two April 21, 2007
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Ricky Gervais actually managed to top himself with season one of "Extras," all about a struggling actor trying to catch a break.
Well, in the second season of "Extras," his character has finally gotten one. But obviously it's not smooth sailing for the stressed-out extras, who continue to stumble through odd jobs and exaggerated celebrities. It's full of hilarious spoofery of the entertainment biz, and is pretty much hysterical from start to finish.
In the opening episode, Andy (Gervais) has finally gotten his own sitcom, "When the Whistle Blows," and is over the moon. Problem is, the BBC decides to dumb it down and make him use funny costuming to achieve cheap laughs. As the season goes on, Andy struggles to keep "When the Whistle Blows" afloat and approved of, since the reviews are atrocious.
Meanwhile, Maggie (Ashley Jensen) has a tiny part in an absurd courtroom drama starring Orlando Bloom, and the arrogant Bloom starts pursuing her when she expresses a lack of interest. ("They're basically just doing it because you're famous." "Well, they're not just doing it because I'm famous -- no, it's my looks as well!"). When he's not making fun of Johnny Depp ("I've got scissors for hands!")
He and Maggie continue to tangle with a bunch of other celebs -- a sex-obsessed Daniel Radcliffe (who accidentally snaps a condom at Diana Rigg), Warwick Davis, a self-promoting Chris Martin, and Robert De Niro. He also gets mocked by David Bowie in a pub, and his sitcom is criticized by Stephen Fry. He even stars in a play directed by Ian McKellen, but neglects to notice that it's a gay romance with a man-man kiss.
It's sort of pleasant that Gervais didn't pound the "barely employed actor" thing to death after the first season of "Extras." Instead, he uses Andy's sitcom to open new storylines (and new disasters) for his increasingly embittered character, as he tries to straddle the fence between success and being a genuine actor.
Gervais continues to write wonderfully squirmy dialogue ("'TV bully kicks dwarf in face.'" "Accurate, but as you say there's no such thing as bad publicity") and horribly embarrassing situations. It's all filmed in a very natural style, except that now we have some looks inside Andy's sitcom, a sort of lowbrow, widely-watched comedy with a random celeb cameo.
Poor Andy has a rough time in this season, and so Gervais really brings out his frustration and dissatisfaction with the way his poor show has been mutilated. Not to mention his tendency to embarrass himself. And Jensen is wonderful as the sweet, flaky Maggue, while Stephen Merchant is great fun as Andy's inept agent.
But the best is the stuff uttered by the actors -- Radcliffe and Bloom are hysterical as clumsily woman-chasing, self-obsessed parodies of themselves, and it's hard not to adore them for it. Bowie's "pathetic little fat man/nobody's laughing" song is just hilarious. And McKellen steals the show, whether it's discussing his "method" ("How did I know what to say? They had my lines written down on a SCRIPT") or accidentally making it look like he and Andy had an intimate encounter.
"Extras: Season Two" is a solid follow-up to the outstanding first season, with our "extras" continuing to struggle in the surreal world of showbiz. Definitely worth seeing!
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