Jump to content

Extras (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Thekrypter (talk | contribs) at 17:16, 16 September 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Extras
File:Extraslogo.png
Created byRicky Gervais
Stephen Merchant
StarringRicky Gervais
Ashley Jensen
Country of originUK
No. of episodes7
Production
Camera setupSingle camera
Running timeapprox. 0:29 (per episode)
Original release
NetworkBBC Two / HBO
ReleaseJuly 21, 2005 –
present

Extras is a sitcom about extras working on film sets and in theatre. It is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in the series. The series is filmed in a more traditional sitcom style than the mockumentary style used by Gervais and Merchant's previous award-winning series The Office. The series is a BBC/HBO co-production, which first aired on July 21, 2005 on BBC Two in the UK and premiered on September 25, 2005 on HBO in the US. It is rated TV-14 with sub rating of S and L due to some sensuality and sexual references by Advisory Council.

The first series DVD was released in the UK on October 31, 2005. There were 6 episodes in the first series, each with a different celebrity guest star. The Ross Kemp episode was originally going to be broadcast first but the BBC wanted to start with a 'bigger' guest and so the Ben Stiller episode was pulled forward, however when the series was repeated over the Christmas holiday 2005 the episodes were broadcast in the same order as they appear on the DVD.

The second series began filming in the second week of June 2006; at present David Bowie, Chris Martin, Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe, Sir Ian McKellen, Germaine Greer, Diana Rigg, Moira Stewart, Richard Briers, Ronnie Corbett, Robert Lindsay, Keith Chegwin, Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry are confirmed to appear. While Brad Pitt, Mariah Carey and Madonna were reported to have expressed an interest in guest-starring while at the Live 8 event in London, none of them have been confirmed by Gervais or the BBC. [1]

The first episode of the second series premiered in the UK on BBC Two at 21:00 on 14 September 2006.

Each episode begins with a cold open and has no traditional opening credits theme tune. Episodes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 begin with a short segment from the production on which Andy and Maggie are working, followed by a fade into the white Extras logo on a black background. Each episode does, however, end with the same music over the closing credits: the Cat Stevens song Tea for the Tillerman, a track from his 1970 album of the same name.

Synopsis

The show follows Andy Millman and his friend Maggie Jacobs as they work as extras on film sets and in theatre. Each episode (except number 4) is based around a different film with Andy and Maggie playing extras. Andy tends to spend a lot of his time looking for ways to get a speaking role, while Maggie is more content with looking among the cast and crew for a boyfriend. Darren Lamb is Andy's agent, who fails to procure Andy substantial roles. Every episode has at least one guest star (a television/film celebrity), and these guest stars play what Gervais and Merchant have referred to as "twisted" versions of themselves.

Cast / Characters

Main cast

Andy used to work in a bank, but left to pursue his life-long dream of becoming an actor. Sadly, he hasn't made it yet, and he is forced to scrape a living as an extra on the sets of various film and television productions. Being around far more successful performers has, not unnaturally, made him rather cynical and bitter about the whole process. Still, he gives it his best shot, though he usually fails in his attempts to improve his lot - partly due to his agent's utter incompetence, partly due to events and people beyond his control, but mostly due to his own ability to step right in it and then dig a hole for himself when trying to extricate himself.
In contrast to Gervais' other famous role as David Brent, who, through his desire to be liked by those around him, comes off as pathetic, Millman makes no attempt to be liked - often behaving downright rudely.
Maggie is Andy's best friend and fellow extra. Maggie is a genuinely sweet, well-meaning Scottish soul, who only wants to help. Unfortunately, her general social incompetence and complete lack of any sort of internal censor means that she is more likely to say precisely the wrong thing to the wrong person at exactly the wrong time, despite her lack of malicious intent - which usually means that she is just as likely to humilate Andy as help him. Maggie is constantly on the lookout for Mr. Right, but her frequent attempts are usually frustrated quite spectacularly.

Recurring cast

Darren Lamb is literally the worst agent in the history of acting. Incapable of breaking an act, his usual negotiating tactic is to agree with whatever anyone else says, or, more likely, suggest someone other than his client for the part. He is very good at deducting his 12.5% commission, however. His skill at his profession can be summed up by the fact that he once left his office phone unplugged for two days without noticing.
Shaun Williamson plays himself as one of Darren's clients. He used to play Barry Evans on the popular British soap opera EastEnders, but left to pursue a multi-million pound contract elsewhere. As Darren is his agent, this was a spectacular failure, and the most recent job his agent has managed to secure for him is changing a lightbulb. It says a lot about Shaun's career prospects that even his own agent doesn't know his real name, but instead calls him "Barry from EastEnders". He is, quite naturally, very depressed about his life.
Greg is a fellow extra. Unlike Andy, he has often secured a line in various productions; as a result, he possesses an extremely high opinion of himself and is extremely belittling to Andy and his fellow extras. Underneath this, he is extremely petty, jealous and snide - probably because he wouldn't be doing so well if it weren't for the support given by his wealthy parents.

Guest stars

Each week saw one celebrity guest star (excluding the second episode, in which both Ross Kemp and Vinnie Jones appeared) who was usually the star of the production in which Andy and Maggie are working. These celebrities usually played an exaggerated or inverted parody of their famous public personas.

Episode guide (Series One)

Template:Spoiler

Episode 1

Guest star: Ben Stiller
First airing: July 21, 2005 (UK)

This episode is based around a film about the life of Goran, an Eastern European man whose wife and son died in the Balkans War. It is being directed by Ben Stiller, with Andy and Maggie playing extras in the film. Andy attempts to get a speaking part by befriending Goran and, after giving him a £15 Topshop voucher, Goran gets him a line. However, Andy then gets in an argument with Ben and is kicked off the set. Maggie, meanwhile, takes an interest in one of the crew. Things appear to be going well later on at a party both of them attend, but it all falls apart when Maggie notices he has one leg longer than the other...

Trivia

  • Ben Stiller was nominated for an Emmy Award in the United States for his guest starring performance in this episode.

Episode 2

Guest stars: Ross Kemp, Vinnie Jones
First airing: July 28, 2005 (UK)

Andy works on a period drama and is approached by Ross Kemp, who is also acting in the film. Kemp claims he has had SAS training and is as "hard" as the characters he plays on-screen. This episode introduces Andy's incompetent agent Darren (played by Merchant), who consistently fails to get him any work. Kemp's old EastEnders co-star Shaun Williamson (aka Barry Evans) shares the same agent, but the last paid work Darren got for him was changing a lightbulb. Back on set, there are rumours that Vinnie Jones is working nearby and looking for a fight with Kemp. Meanwhile, Maggie pursues a "dashing" actor on set, goes out to dinner with him and takes him home. They sleep together, but her sexual bliss is interrupted when he complains that she is "like a dead horse." The episode ends with Jones confronting Kemp, who denies that he said anything. After this embarrassment, he admits to Andy that none of his claims were true.

Trivia

  • The joke that Shaun Williamson is so identified with his former EastEnders character that even his own agent calls him "Barry" is carried through to the end credits, which list him as playing Barry (rather than playing himself, which is actually the case).
  • Gervais intended this to be the first episode, and it appears as such on the DVD, however the BBC swapped episodes one and two around, but restored the correct order when they repeated the series at Christmas.

Episode 3

Guest star: Kate Winslet
First airing: August 4, 2005 (UK), September 25, 2005 (USA)

Working as extras on the set of a World War II Holocaust film, Andy and Maggie meet the star, Kate Winslet. Maggie is currently involved in a three-week relationship with a set assistant who wants her to talk dirty with him over the phone. Maggie has no idea what to say but is given advice by Kate. On his finding this out, Maggie gets dumped by her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Andy is also romantically distracted and takes a liking to a Catholic extra. He claims also to be Catholic in order to get closer to her; however, when invited to a "get-together" with her and "some friends", his transparent attempt to fit in is revealed.

Trivia

  • This episode was nominated for two Emmy Awards: Best Comedy Writing and for Best Guest Performance by an actress in a Comedy Series (Kate Winslet).

Episode 4

Guest star: Les Dennis
First airing: August 11, 2005 (UK)

This episode is set around the panto Aladdin in Guildford, which stars Les Dennis. Andy manages to get a speaking part as the Genie (since John Thomson fluffed the audition and Christopher Biggins is busy). Les Dennis is currently engaged to a 26 year old called Simone. According to the local newspaper:

"Family Fortunes loser Les Dennis is on the comeback trail thanks to a starring role in Aladdin. Things are looking up for Les, 50, who recently announced his engagement to beautiful fiancée Simone Lewis, 26. With an age gap of a quarter of a century, Dennis is clearly punching above his weight again but insists they are very much in love."

Dennis is on the verge of a mental breakdown and, after discovering Simone cheating with a stagehand, stops in the middle of the first night of the panto.

When she comes to visit, Maggie bumps into an old friend whose father, played to camp excess by Gerard Kelly, is directing the play. Maggie attends the girl's birthday party (the only other guests there are family) but is asked to leave after she suggests to her friend that she stops her father from running her life, and accusing the elderly family friends of being like "the cast of Last of the Summer Wine".

Episode 5

Guest star: Samuel L. Jackson
First airing: August 18, 2005 (UK)

On the set of a police thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson as a maverick American cop in the UK, Andy eventually gets a line with the star and gets to say "Ten to one he's going to pick Sgt. Harris again!". Andy uses lies and excuses to shake off befriending a dullard extra. The man's insistence causes Andy to cave in and have dinner with him. He finally snaps when the dullard presents him with two tickets for the Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You.

Maggie is attracted to the young black actor Danny. Despite some initial racial misunderstandings, she successfully asks him out on a date. All seems to be going well, until she goes too far in trying to smooth over racial differences by simulating sex with a gollywog doll and a Barbie. When she chats with Samuel L. Jackson on set the day after, she mistakes him for Laurence Fishburne. Andy tries to save the ailing conversation, and, when this fails, Andy is asked to leave the set (forfeiting his line with Samuel L. Jackson).

Episode 6

Guest star: Patrick Stewart
First airing: August 25, 2005 (UK)

Both Andy and Maggie are working on a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest alongside Patrick Stewart. Eager to get his self-penned sitcom script noticed, he gives a copy to Patrick Stewart who tells him about his own self-penned film starring himself, which is basically just an hour and a half of women with their clothes falling off all the time. Patrick agrees to circulate the script, and BBC Comedy are interested and invite Andy for a meeting. During the meeting, Andy is asked to rewrite his script alongside an extremely camp man called Damon, with a view to a pilot episode being filmed.

While writing the script, Maggie pops in while Damon is leaving to get some coffee, and Andy talks about how Damon is basically a stereotypical gay and how it gets on his nerves a little. Maggie leaves and tells Damon that Andy is finding his campness annoying, which greatly insults Damon.

Andy is called in to the BBC to talk about this and finds out that Maggie told Damon his feelings about him; Damon is upset with him over his apparently homophobic attitude, and the producer (who reveals that he is also gay) warns Andy that there is a chance the plug could be pulled on the pilot.

Andy goes to see Maggie and is furious with her for telling Damon that he irritates him and that her attempts to help could demolish what might be his big break. He tells her that she needs to sort out her own life before interfering with his, and then storms away. Maggie is shaken, and this simply reinforces feelings she is already having about her grotty lifestyle. She cleans up her flat, removes her toys and posters, and straightens her hair.

At the BBC, Andy gives his sincerest apologies to Damon, and stresses he is not homophobic. Damon accepts his apology, and the pilot is back on.

Maggie leaves the set of yet another job to find Andy with Patrick Stewart on his mobile phone. Stewart tells Maggie that Andy is sorry and wants to be friends again. He starts to ask Maggie to star in his film when Andy quickly cuts him off. The two reconcile, and all is well again.

Trivia

  • Jude Law was originally lined up to appear in this episode; Patrick Stewart stepped in at the last minute. The final shot of the episode is dominated by a poster for Law's film Alfie.
  • The initial scene, featuring Patrick Stewart as Prospero, is a nod to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, Emergence, the initial scene of which features Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard coaching Brent Spiner as Data in exactly the same scene. Stewart also appeared as Prospero in a Broadway production of The Tempest in 1995.
  • Stewart also lampoons his best-known role and stereotypes surrounding "Trekkies" when he finds out that Andy has never seen Star Trek: The Next Generation, even though (he notes with surprise) the man has no girlfriend.
  • The sitcom Andy is pitching bears some similarities to The Office (it appears to be about the boss from hell, who Andy will play).
  • For his performance, Patrick Stewart was a 2006 Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Series Two

Series two began broadcasting on 14 September 2006. Gervais and Merchant remain tight-lipped about what will happen, however one scene from Episode 3 including Daniel Radcliffe was shown Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Some of the famous faces that will appear in the new series are:

It has also been confirmed by Ricky Gervais that star of My Family Robert Lindsay will appear in the last episode. This was confirmed in Ricky Gervais’ eighth video podcast.

New details that have arisen about Series 2 (from trailers and Gervais interviews) suggest that Andy's sitcom deal goes through, but his vision is turned into the lowest common denominator. The show was widely viewed, but critically derided.

Episode guide (Series Two)

Template:Spoiler

Episode 1

Guest stars: Orlando Bloom, Keith Chegwin, Liza Tarbuck
First airing: September 14, 2006 (UK)

Andy's new sitcom is filmed in front of a live audience, whilst Maggie still performs as an extra in a film with Orlando Bloom. Orlando Bloom portrays himself as obsessed with his own good looks and a deep distane for Johnny Depp, who he claims the girls pass by. To prove himself, Orlando ends up kissing Maggie, before being told that it was not her "cup of tea". The audience find the heavily-altered sitcom a success, even though Andy, forced to wear glasses and a wig, which he despises, feels like he has sold out.This episode seems to attack the current state of British comedy with jibes at Lenny Henry and Little Britain as well comedy catchphrases in general. The episode also attacks comedy producers / commisioners which may be taken from past experiences at the BBC. "Barry from Eastenders" features in the episode, unsuccessfully hoping to stand in if Andy drops out. At one point, he is caught stealing refreshments and hiding them down his tracksuit. Keith Chegwin also stars, and his normal bubbly personality is masked by a surprising and uncharacteristic level of bigotry.

Influences

The HBO series The Larry Sanders Show is a big influence: It also had celebrities guests star as exaggerated versions of themselves, mocking their public images. In addition, TLSS showed what happens behind-the-scenes of producing a talk show; Extras does the same for film and drama.

The HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm is another influence, and Gervais has said as much in interviews. The show follows the everyday life of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David - the comedy often coming from friction that develops between David and others. These others often include celebrity guests like Ted Danson, David Schwimmer and Ben Stiller (who has appeared as himself in The Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Extras).

Andy seems to view comedy precisely how Gervais does. A lot of what he protests against is a nod to other sitcoms, like Little Britain, where a laughter track and funny clothes make up a lot of the humour.

Goofs

Although in Series Two, Episode One, Maggie professes to Orlando Bloom that she doesn't find him very attractive nor exhibits much interest in him at all, she can be seen removing a poster of him from her wall in Series One, Episode Six when Andy tells her to grow up.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Extras.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Extras_(TV_series)&oldid=76076027"