Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1879 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-11-03
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 81 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of celebrity. Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) is back and more miserable than ever in this darker and devastatingly funny finale to the Emmy-winning series. Though his sitcom When the Whistle Blows rates six million viewers, he is, as ever, mindful of the critics' barbs and jealous of colleagues landing the prestige film roles he covets. "I'm not proud of having Britain's No. 1 catchphrase," he grouses (actually, he has sunk to No. 3, now trailing "You are the weakest link, goodbye"). Worse, he has become a right bastard, arrogantly treating crewmembers and his one true friend, Maggie (a heartbreaking Ashley Jensen), like dirt. Andy finally drops his clueless and incompetent agent (series co-creator Stephen Merchant) and quits the show. "Don't worry about me," he proclaims. "The phone won't stop ringing."

Unlike the finale of The Office, this super-duper-sized episode really has no loose ends to tie up. In Andy's humiliating comeuppance (he sinks to portraying an alien on Dr. Who and joins the desperate housemates on Celebrity Big Brother), Gervais has the perfect vessel with which to rail against soul-sucking celebrity, degrading tabloid culture, and "the gutter press." As for Andy and Maggie, those longing for some kind of Tim/Dawn hookup may not get exactly what they want, but they will get what they need in the lovely final scenes. A-listers having a laugh at their own images have always been one of Extras' special treats. The finale features jaw-dropping cameos by Clive Owen and George Michael, performing community service yet again. --Donald Liebenson

Synopsis
The two series of the deadpan comedy come to a close in this sensational finale. At this point, Ricky Gervais's lowly extra, Andy Millman, has finally made some headway in the entertainment industry. Millman's sitcom, WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS, has been commissioned and is an outright hit. Unfortunately its three series of predictable plotlines and critical beatings have begun to weigh on its creator. In this climax to the celebrity-studded series, Andy Millman has to make the tough decision on whether to give up all he's worked for in a bid for respectability.

Customer Reviews

Every minute of this is comedy perfection
With the usual dearth of decent laughs on the telly last Christmas, this one-off feature-length finale to Extras was more than a tonic, it was like the best Christmas dinner you've ever tasted - in comedy form. The stars must love Ricky Gervais's take on life, as they positively queue up to get skewered, much as in a previous era they secretly loved getting 'done' on Spitting Image. Gordon Ramsay, George Michael, Clive Owen, David Tennant...not to mention an old mate of Barry's from Eastenders days. No mercy is shown, but the fact that they can clearly laugh at themselves makes them all slightly better people in our book!

The real venom, however, is reserved for Celebrity Big Brother, that cauldron of has-beens and wannabes willing to undergo any kind of himiliation in order to keep themselves in the headlines. I recall seeing a bit of the particular reality show which doutless inspired the character of the mother whose sole claim to fame is that her child had been killed in a street crime. One minute she is calling it a tragedy, the next everyone is singing and dancing to 'Tragedy'. Uncomfortably dark, perhaps, but desperately accurate in identifying how far 'reality' progamming has fallen - a long way from any genuine reality, for a start. You can feel the anger behind the comedy: this is satire at its most contemporary and most cutting.

Don't get the idea that it's all savage, though. The friendships (and their occasional betrayal) come across as warm and genuine. Simple human values triumph over crass celebrity distortion in the end.

This is excellent entertainment. Would it be crass to point out that The Ivy looks nothing like that?

Genius
This is more than just a comedy. It has some uncomfortable truths in it about modern-day fame and celebrity; about how people are prepared to sell their souls to the devil for a slice of stardom. Dont get me wrong here, the comedy is brilliant. But at the same time it mourns the state of society when young people are left uncontrollable sobbing wrecks because they have nothing else in their lives than some dream about celebrity on the X Factor. This DVD is brilliance. It is comedy, but it takes a huge swipe at the greed and self-centredness of fame and celebrity while the true stars and heros are probably sitting next to you on your sofa

This guy is the cleaverest person on TV
From the second this final episode starts you think you can see exactly what our Ricky is getting at, but half way through you realise this 'comedy' is so much more than jokes and humour. I doubt anyone has ever publically attempted such a blatent swipe at celebrity and media. The scene in the Big Brother House is probably the one of the most powerful pieces of modern commentary on the state of fame that has ever been made. If it doesnt so much as put a lump in your throat your a robot, and more over proves our own Gervais is much more than a stand up, writer, producer and broadcaster (irony there people) he is absolutely one of the best actors I have seen.
Gervais was once asked by a reporter if he had any advice for people who want to be famous, and his contraversal reply was 'go and kill a prostitue' You would have to a few pence short not to understand what he ment by that, but this amazingly truthful and painful look at fame is exactly what he shows us in this episode. Im sorry, but if you dont get it (no pun intended) give up.