by Brian Tallerico

STUDIO: HBO
RELEASE DATE: January 15, 2008
STARRING: Rickey Gervais, Ashley Jensen, & Stephen Merchant
CREATED BY: Rickey Gervais & Stephen Merchant
FEATURES: Two Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries: The Difficult Second Album and Extras Backstage
Featurettes: Finding Leo, Taping Nigel: The Gimpening and Art Of Corpsing
Outtakes
Deleted Scenes

 

Fresh off its Golden Globe win for Best Comedy Series, the brilliant Extras, one of the best shows of the last few years, is now available in a complete set from HBO. All 12 episodes plus the 90-minute finale are included in this set, a must-have for any comedy fan. The box set merely includes the previously available first and second season releases with the 90 minute finale on a separate disc. So much has been written about how great Extras has been over its brief time on the air that we almost feel like it would be overkill to add to the pile, so we're going to try something different and rank our three favorite episodes. These three alone make this box set worth buying (as does the unbelievably funny "Finding Leo," a special feature from season one). These three merely graze the surface of Extras but should give you a good taste of a show that aired half as many episodes in its entire run as most shows do in one season and still won Best Comedy awards. Check it out.

1. Episode 2.3 - Daniel Radcliffe, Diana Rigg, Warwick Davis

Just look at the guest stars. Any half-hour of television that can somehow weave together Harry Potter, Emma Peel, and Willow deserves your attention. And anyone who thinks Radcliffe can't break out of his Potter persona and can't afford to see his acclaimed turn on a London stage, should see this incredible episode, in which Daniel doesn't so much as flirt with Maggie (Ashley Jensen) as act really, really creepy. And seeing Andy (Ricky Gervais) drop-kick Warwick Davis and the headline that comes up the next day is a moment for the comedy ages.

Favorite line: "Ready for action. I just hope it's big enough." - Daniel Radcliffe, with an unrolled condom in his hand.

2. Episode 1.3 - Guest star: Kate Winslet

Technically it's the third episode, but this is the one that aired first on HBO and started it all. They must have known that just hearing Kate Winslet going on about dirty sex talk while in a nun's outfit on the set of a Holocaust movie would force people to tune in the next week. It worked for us. Seriously, this episode proved that Extras was willing to tackle anything, even religion and the physical handicapped. There isn't enough comedy on television that pushes boundaries and Gervais has always done just that.

Favorite line: "Oh yeah. That can be a bit awkward. Why don't you just start with something light? You know, like um... "I'd love it if you'd stuff your Willy Wonka between my Oompa Loompas." You know, something a bit fun, a bit joke-ey. And then you can get more hard core right with the old classics, "I'm playing with my dirty pillows and I'm aching for your purple headed womb ferret." And then go straight in hard like, "Get round here cause I'm fudding myself stupid and I'm bloody loving it." Right?" - Kate Winslet

3. Episode 2.5 - Ian McKellen

The man who was once Gandalf's speech about what acting is might be one of the most surreally hilarious in the history of television. Honestly, I can't see or hear McKellen any more without thinking about him trying to explain what acting is to Andy in the most simple terms. The episode is just okay, focusing on Andy's fears of his buddys seeing him playing a gay character, but the moment is not just an Extras highlight, it's a highlight of TV over the last few years.

Favorite line: "How did I know what to say? They had my lines written down on a script. How did I know where to stand? People showed me." - Ian McKellen

-- Brian Tallerico

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