Extras: The Complete Series + Curb Your Enthusiasm:
The Complete Sixth Season (HBO
DVD)
Picture:
B/B- Sound: B/B- Extras: B- Episodes: B+/B+
Since the
series Extras was mainly inspired
from other shows like Curb Your
Enthusiasm, it only seems appropriate to combine them in this review
here. Besides the plethora of hit drama
series that HBO produces each year, they also have their fair share of success
in the comedy department as well. Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm are two of the funniest and most creative
comedy series this reviewer has ever seen and are well worth all of the hype
they have gotten over the years.
I knew
the series Extras was going to be
amazing when one of the first lines out of Ricky Gervais’ mouth [referring to a
Holocaust movie set] was “I’ve got a question about your props; where does all
this stuff come from?” “We just buy
it.” “What, there’s a shop for a 30 foot
Swastika?!” The series centers on Andy
Millman (Ricky Gervais of The Office [BBC]) as a struggling actor who has been
playing an extra (background artist as the say) for years now, with nothing
bigger ever coming his way. Whereas Andy
has never had a staring role or even a line in that film for that matter, he
has had quite a few run-ins with many interesting characters, in the form of
famous actors. Just as crazy as Andy’s
life already is, the cast of celebrities that he interacts with on set only
further his frustrations and woes.
Whether it is Patrick Stewart pitching Andy a film about naked, bouncing
women or Ben Stiller overflowing with his own ego or David Bowie being…
well…David Bowie; all are pure genius.
The
insulting song that Bowie writes on the spot about Andy is actually quite
brilliant and is even believable as a real hit and plays hilariously into the
series. In the second season, Andy
finally gets a shot at fame with his own sitcom that he has written and is the
star of; the only problem is he may have sold his creative soul for that fame. Andy begins to struggle with his artistic
integrity on top of coping with his already do-nothing, bumbling talent agent
and his naďve and at times damaging friend Maggie (Ashley Jensen). The entire series is filled with never ending
laughs and a great cast, celebrity and otherwise. The hilarity that guest stars bring to the
series is purely insane with people like Ben Stiller asking a small child ‘do
you think genocide is funny’ or if lines like ‘If I blew your mother’s face off
right in front of you, would that make you laugh?’ This reviewer loves Extras and is sad to say the series is no longer on the air. Not to mention I got to hear Kate Winslet
talk dirty and utter lines like ‘I’m aching for your Purple Headed Womb
Ferret;’ hilariously funny. Also the
fact that she made ‘masturbating motion ’and ‘breast grabbing’ motions in a
Nuns’ garb is just beyond amazing.
Larry
David’s intolerant, self absorbed, unflattering portrayal of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm is
outstanding. The shameless nature in
which Larry David projects himself as a person who has no time for formalities
or people’s senseless banter is oddly cringe worthy and admirable at the same
time. Whereas it may make the viewer
jump out of his or her skin at the things Larry says and does, there is always
a small (in this reviewer’s case large) piece of us that wishes we could do the
same. The Sixth Season of Curb Your Enthusiasm follows in the same tradition
as the previous seasons with Larry being his intolerant and blunt self as he
goes about with his ‘normal,’ daily business.
The series is better than ever continuing to emphasize improvisation
into every scene, rather than guest stars (though they do show up and add to
the un-P.C. hilarity from time to time).
The cast of Curb knows their
characters so well at this point that the impressive improv fluid flows (wow
alliteration) from their mouths, bringing a true sense of realism to the
series. This season brings racial
issues, dealing with the deaf, divorce, charity, and many more issues to the
table that Larry manages to deal with in his own tactless and inappropriate
way. This season truly brings the series
back to its best after last season was a tad ‘blah’ and manages to push the
boundaries of appropriate and often go way beyond. This reviewer highly recommends the entire
series and especially the latest season release.
Don’t
curb your enthusiasm because the technical features on both these sets are
excellent and continue the tradition of delivering the quality features that
many HBO fans have come to expect. The picture on Extras is presented in a 1.78 X 1 Anamorphic Widescreen that is
enhanced for 16 X 9 televisions and remains fantastic throughout the entire
series with bright colors, a crisp, clean image, and no light/dark
issues. Curb Your Enthusiasm is
different than most HBO series in that it is presented in a 1.33 X 1 full
screen image. Regardless of the full
screen presentation, which this reviewer does not prefer, the image remains
clean and clear with solid colors; the picture is not particularly impressive
in its documentary filming style, but still nice. The sound is not very impressive on either series with no
surrounds and only offering a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, but nevertheless
is solid. On both of the series the 2.0
Stereo gets the job done, especially since both are dialogue driven with little
action. The extras on both sets are not
very expansive, but nicely done.
Extras, extras (that’s odd) contain two
behind the scenes documentaries (‘The
Difficult Second Album’ and ‘Extras
Backstage’) both of which allow Gervais and Merchant to do an in-depth
analysis of both Season One and Season Two’s episodes, along with a
look into what it was like to work with the variety of guest stars who appeared
throughout the series. David Bowie is
also interviewed in a light hearted and comedic fashion. Other special features include some very
funny deleted scenes and outtakes, as well as three additional
featurettes. The featurettes are well
presented and truly highlight why the show was so great in the first place with
one featurette entitled ‘Finding Leo’ in which Gervais is hilariously filmed
trying to get Leonardo DiCaprio to replace Jud Law on an episode at the last
minute (unsuccessfully mind you), a second in which Gervais oddly and
hilariously keeps messing with his editor Nigel in ‘Taping Nigel: The
Gimpening,’ and a final featurette entitled ‘The Art of Corpsing,’ which is
when the cast/crew is laughing way too hard to finish a take. The extras are hilariously funny and will
make fans miss the series even more.
The
extras on Curb Your Enthusiasm are
not quite as great as Extras, but nice overall.
Fans are given three special features, which include ‘A Conversation
with Larry David and Susie Essman’ recorded live at New York’s 92nd
Street Y (22:42), ‘On the Set: Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ and a gag reel. The ‘Conversation’ featurette is fun for fans
to hear, because David and Essman really get into it by discussing Curb’s distinctive style and the
overwhelming response from fans. The ‘On
the Set’ featurette is a bit drab and more of the type of thing found on all
DVD extras, but the gag reel is full of comedy genius. Overall, not a ton of extras, but the ones
that are available are well worth watching.
HBO has
proven itself a front runner in both the areas of comedy and drama and the
series Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm are no exception
to HBO’s trained eye for greatness. This
reviewer highly recommends both series that not only harbor a fantastic
experience upon first viewing, but also hold the ability to be watched again
and again getting funnier each time.
- Michael P Dougherty II
