Extras, Extras, Read All About It!So, it’s official, according to Ricky Gervais, it is “unlikely” that Season 2 of the fantastic British comedy Extras will be followed by a corresponding Season 3. Boo-hoo is all I have to say. And as I watched the opening sequence of this week’s episode, I felt the telling was in the tale. As Andy sits in Jonathon Ross’ hot seat, a foreshadowing of things to come sets the tone. (Jonathan Ross — known to everyone as “Wossy” — is the host of a very popular British talk show that I only saw once when Jim Carrey was on, and it was ludicrous. Jim Carrey is a ridiculous amount of fun, and Jonathan was a good sport as well.) One can only assume that Ricky has set his sights on other options. Jonathan asks Andy if it will be more of the same or will he branch out. Andy replies he’d like to do some serious acting with the “greatest actor in the world,” Robert De Niro. Little did I know that Mr. De N...read more
Andy stars in a PSA in which he asks the question, “What would you rather, your child die of thirst or dysentery?” A question very similar to the ones Maggie asks of him from time to time. Chris Martin from Coldplay is up next on the PSA bandwagon and proves even more inappropriate than Andy and his friends. Chris banters about whether or not the dying children could hold his band’s new CD in a promotional spot. Then he tries to wiggle his way onto Andy’s show. Once accomplished, Chris is fed up, “Can we get on with this? I’ve got to do AIDS and Alzheimer’s and landmines this afternoon. And I want to get back for Deal or No Deal. Plus, Gwyneth’s making drumsticks.”Understandably, Andy doesn’t want to have Chris on "When the Whistle Blows" promoting his album, because people will think he’s sold out once again, and they wouldn’t be wrong. But the more flamboyant producer trumps him and has Chris on the show. Andy’s sad...read more
Subtitled: Are Celebrities Out of Control?Extras gets funnier every time I see it. It is so good, I had to watch it twice and I believe I laughed even harder the second go-round. Did you know that HBO is airing this show up to a day before it is programmed? I like this idea. I can watch on Saturday and let the juices meld and then write on Sunday, having watched it a second, hilarious time. Stories get out of hand as Andy’s restaurant faux pas turns into a horrible media scandal. When he tries to fix it, he refuses to apologize the entire time, and the spin becomes negative again since he had gotten into a fight with a dwarf and had knocked him unconscious. The episode guest was Daniel Radcliffe, whose naughty little Cub Scout routine was out of control. In a scene where he is dressed as Harry Potter, Daniel says to Maggie, “I’ve done it with a girl, I mean intercourse-wise.” He tries to have it off with every girl on the set — not exactly the Harry Potter...read more