A Masterpiece!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

In the same way that in anything Rowan Atkinson does he gets called 'Mr Bean' in anything Ricky Gervais does he'll get called 'David Brent'.That's the reason that 'Extras', though successful, never quite lived up to the hype of 'The Office'.It's not for the want of trying. Celebs from both sides of the globe clearly were queuing up to appear in guest roles, from the great and the good.But that doesn't make it a good show. It's lewd, it's crass in it's humour at times, and I didn't find it half as engaging as 'The Office'.David Brent as an actor basically.

Yes I sometimes work as an Extra in probably every Irish TV Production ever made so yes this is just right on the ball for me. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the creative team behind the acclaimed British series "The Office," both wrote and star in this comedy EXTRAS (in which Gervais plays Andy Millman, a movie extra seeking a speaking role and Merchant plays his agent) that is a joint production of HBO and the BBC. Forget harping on about how different it is to "The Office" and get straight to the point of this show. It is Hilarious and fun walking around dilly dally with outrageous Period costumes trying to have a normal conversion to meeting the "Extras" who just call themselves Real Actors (You don't usually do this work). It shows some of the Background humiliation and does leave out a bit too. Probably, for me the constant "moaning" of Extras……... Challenging celebrities like Patrick Stewart and Kate Winslet, each episode may seem like a desperate attempt to get views but it does not even need them as the humor of both Gevais and Merchant is in a league of its own. Background Extra work is fun but as Ricky Gervias highlights it's a pretty desperate profession for Real Actor's - looking for a line or two :)

Following up from "The Office", Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have created another great show. "Extras" casts Gervais as Andy Millman, a supporting actor always having to be in the presence of temperamental movie stars (who play themselves). Eventually, Andy gets a role on a TV show as a dorky boss with a catchphrase.The setup is much the same as "The Office": it's made to look cinema verite, while the characters get into embarrassing situations with each other. Granted, Andy Millman is a little different from David Brent: David had nothing to do and so he deliberately made inappropriate comments; Andy hopes to make it big, and often claims that he already has.Probably the show's most impressive aspect is how the movie stars playing themselves portray themselves as pathetic individuals. For example, Kate Winslet stars in a movie about the Holocaust because she knows that people who star in movies about the Holocaust always win Oscars; Daniel Radcliffe, meanwhile, will do anything to get laid. Ben Stiller, Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom also appear. Seriously, how many people would be willing to depict themselves on screen as worthless human beings? All in all, this is a great show. I hope that Ricky Gervais continues with this sort of work. A true masterpiece.

While this is a great, hilarious, unique show, I find it too predictable that the guest stars are simply made to behave in the opposite manner to their public and screen image: Kate Winslet is crude, Daniel Radcliffe is conceited and horny, Ross Kemp is a coward, Ian McKellan has no clue about the acting process, and so on. Lazy writing on Gervais' part, I think. And you really have to know your British actors and show biz personalities to get the in jokes: many will be lost on American audiences who won't recognize the guest stars.And while I love the scenes with "Barry" and Darren, I find it a guilty pleasure to see Shaun Williamson humiliating himself so much.