Extras

[justeleblanc]

Does anyone know why HBO is airing this show in a different order than BBC? When it ran on BBC, Ben Stiller's episode was first, and with HBO it's Kate Winslet.

[nick]

My general answer is because Americans just like to mess this sort of thing up. Kinda like making The Office all over again (and doing a piss poor job IMO) instead of just airing the original.

[Andre Jurieu]

Kinda like making The Office all over again (and doing a piss poor job IMO) instead of just airing the original.

Um, they did air the original UK version in the US. Despite my original skepticism and concern regarding the US version, I actually think they're doing a decent job. It's not bad once you make peace with the fact that there is no way it will ever be as good as the British version.

[nick]

Um, they did air the original UK version in the US

Other than BBC America, what was it aired on? I'm actually surprised, I don't remember it being aired on any of the standard networks (that doesn't mean much since I avoid most television like the plague). My other comments were more offhand and I honestly didn't mean to start anything. I for one came to peace with the fact that it would not be as great as the British one prior to seeing it. I will admit that I started watching it a couple times and the humor was just not my thing.

Sorry for making this go off-topic.

[Andre Jurieu]

Other than BBC America, what was it aired on?

Why doesn't in count if it's BBC America? I know it doesn't reach as many viewers as a major network, but it's still aired to American audiences.

[nick]

Why doesn't in count if it's BBC America?

It does count. In fact this is where I first heard about it through a friend who subscribed to BBC America. He made tapes for me so that I could see it since I don't subscribe to cable (and before the DVDs were released). My point was that the vast majority of the American public doesn't watch BBC America, whilst they do tune into NBC. You yourself made the same point:

I know it doesn't reach as many viewers as a major network, but it's still aired to American audiences.

Most likely NBC did lots of demographic research and decided that they wanted to cash in on this British phenomenon, however deduced that the vast majority of the American population, whilst enjoying a show about the boss from hell, would not “getâ€

[Andre Jurieu]

Well, it's not like this is the first instance of an American network taking the basic concept of a British show and adapting to a US setting. The other concern for NBC (other than unsophisticated US tastes) is that the BBC show only had 13-14 episodes (depending on how you break up the last one), so NBC would have only been left with half a season of shows. Gervais & Co have made it clear that they're done with the concept and have moved on. I believe some people debated the fact that he even wanted to return for the "Special". In that situation, it doesn't appear like a great decision on NBC's part to just run the BBC version. It would take guts and vision, but we're talking about US network TV here, so those aren't really abundant characteristics.

[nick]

I don't disagree with any of the points you have made. I know its been done before and I understand how corporate America works. That doesn't mean I have to like it or agree with it.

I guess when it all comes down to it, it is a matter of taste. You don't think the American version is all that bad and I don't like it. I'm truly not trying to come off with the pretentious "I saw the original years ago" attitude. I simply like the original to such an extent that I wish it was given a chance to be viewed by as many other people as possible.

[Andre Jurieu]

And I'm not really saying you're wrong, or that you're being pretentious, or that you have to like it, or that we completely disagree on anything. Just making some points in the discussion and trying to flesh out a common understanding. You seem like a swell dude, nick. Just missing the ol' Rushmore avatar.

[nick]

Don't worry, I took this completely as a discussion and not an arguement.

I didn't even notice my avatar was gone. Me thinks I deleted the image on my hardrive. Oh well I guess I will have to make it again.

cheers

[MichaelB]

If I remember rightly, the original plan in Britain was for the Ross Kemp segment to air first, but they switched it to Ben Stiller at the last minute, presumably because he's a bigger star (Kemp is a big TV star in Britain, but I suspect he's totally unknown elsewhere).

Has the final extended Christmas edition of Extras aired outside Britain yet? I had mixed feelings about it - there were lots of good points (George Michael's appearance made me laugh out loud), and I was particularly glad to see Maggie becoming a major character again after being heavily sidelined in series two, as I always thought she was the best thing about the first series.

But it got bludgeoningly preachy towards the end, with the points about the downside of fame being too obvious to need anything like as much repetition as they got. Certainly, compared with the final The Office, it wasn't anything like as satisfying - though still worth seeing.

[MichaelB]

The British version was originally air at a bad time slot on BBC 2 if I'm not mistaken.

Actually, the timeslot was perfect - 10pm is ideal for an edgy comedy with adult elements, and BBC2 was absolutely the right channel (at the time). The problem was that it debuted in the middle of summer with virtually no publicity (the absence of stars made it a tough sell), so it became a genuine word-of-mouth hit. But as soon as the BBC realised what they had, they repeated it, to far higher ratings than it had achieved first time round.

I know every person I've shown the British version to (who were not aware of its existence) thought it was much better than the Americanized version.

I only watched the first two episodes of the US version, which were virtually identical to their British equivalents in terms of the basic situation - so for me they were almost unwatchably jarring. I'm quite happy to believe that things got better when they started writing their own original scripts, though.

[starmanof51]

Has the final extended Christmas edition of Extras aired outside Britain yet? I had mixed feelings about it - there were lots of good points (George Michael's appearance made me laugh out loud)

Yes, it's aired. I was happy to see David Tennant, selling it as usual.

I only watched the first two episodes of the US version, which were virtually identical to their British equivalents in terms of the basic situation - so for me they were almost unwatchably jarring. I'm quite happy to believe that things got better when they started writing their own original scripts, though.

That's exactly what's happened. If it's inferior in any way at this point, it's only through the neccessity of having to cough up so much more material/storylines. By now they've produced any number of episodes equal to Gervais/Merchant quality. Having a deeper and more fully used background cast is something of a production requirement that has enriched the thing a good deal.

[colinr0380]

Has the final extended Christmas edition of Extras aired outside Britain yet? I had mixed feelings about it - there were lots of good points (George Michael's appearance made me laugh out loud), and I was particularly glad to see Maggie becoming a major character again after being heavily sidelined in series two, as I always thought she was the best thing about the first series.

But it got bludgeoningly preachy towards the end, with the points about the downside of fame being too obvious to need anything like as much repetition as they got. Certainly, compared with the final The Office, it wasn't anything like as satisfying - though still worth seeing.

Actually it aired on HBO earlier than here in Britain!

I have to admit to being in tears at the end just because of Maggie's spiralling situation. However at the same time I had the same reaction - it did feel a bit heavy handed in its message about never forgetting your friends. The Big Brother rant was wonderfully done (and it was a masterstroke to see Lionel Blair acting as bewildered as Ken Russell did in the real show - feeling the occasional desperate need to break out into a tap dance routine to remind people of the reason why he was there while the other participants who fell into the famous for who they are married to/sleeping with/parties they are seen at category are just comfortable lying around on the sofas with all the personality of scatter cushions!) but I was left with the feeling that the whole series had just been about illustrating the problem of fame again rather than proposing any kind of resolution to it. (Probably because there isn't one!)

Except for the pat solution of just flying off somewhere to escape it all, which can only be considered a 'happy' ending due to the point they choose to leave the duo. However I suppose at least they are a duo again - though isn't that how all the previous series have finished and Maggie still ends up in a situation of being used and tossed aside by Andy.

At the same time as Maggie's situation brought tears to my eyes, it was also tempered by the cyncial side of me remembering Ashley Jensen's real success in the US and thinking that it was strange it would be thought acceptable that she could be at all believable playing someone who never even gets close to that point and is driven into the gutter by the biz!

However if you want 'bludgeoningly preachy' on television, I'll always go for that sequence in The Vicar of Dibley where all the characters gather round a laptop to watch a five minute video of starving children in Africa!