Extras: The Complete Series Review (DVD)
Released on DVD: Janurary 15, 2008
Website: Extras
Review
Have you ever wanted to be famous? Well if the answer is yes, you would benefit from watching this show.
It follows the rise and fall of a pair of Extras – Extras, in TV and movies, being defined by the fact that they never have any lines and spend most of their time just standing around chatting.
The main character is determined to become famous. In his quest to fame he puts himself in embarrassing situation after embarrassing situation.
This agonizing situational comedy is interspersed with quite entertaining celebrity cameos. And although the celebrities ‘play’ themselves, they tend to be a caricature of themselves.
I try to avoid comedies that rely on humiliation as their main comedic device. This is mainly due to the supreme physical discomfort that I experience when forced to watch other people embarrass themselves. This show is rife with such scenes. A few times I actually got up and left the room I was so uncomfortable.
The upside here is that the entire series is only twelve episodes long with a Christmas special to finish it off. Once I had made it three episodes into the first season I figured that I might as well watch the rest since it was almost over anyway. After finishing the first season, I convinced myself to continue with the notion that really it hadn’t been so bad and I had already made it through the first season so I should really watch the second.
Well the second season is the season that I had to walk out on a few times. But I managed to finish it.
The shining star in this series is the season finale – the Christmas special. I don’t think you need watch the first few season at all, just watch the special. It really brings the whole series together and finishes it up really well.
Lesson to be learned: Sell yourself for something more rewarding then fame.
Rating
