Wednesday 13 September 2006

Wednesday 13 September 2006
EXTRAS - Series 2

I'm a huge fan of Ricky Gervais. I think The Office is almost a perfect sitcom, immediately destined for classic status alongside Fawlty Towers and Blackadder. I think Ricky and Steve Merchant are brilliant writers that totally understand their craft, and both are fine performers. Yes, they don't have much range... Ricky essentially riffs on his David Brent character to varying degrees, while Steve just plays mild-mannered stupid friends... but it works. Most comic actors don't fly too far from their comfort zone -- just look at John Cleese.


Extras last year was a superb show, different to The Office but with a similar vibe in many ways. It's not as good (how could it be?) but it's a suitable and commendable follow-up with some wonderful moments.

The second series is due to start tomorrow, and I can't wait! As before, there's a great list of famous faces due to make appearances, such as Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen, David Bowie, Daniel Radcliffe and, er, Jonathan Ross.


I'll be reviewing each episode here on DMDB...