I have been a huge fan of this side-splittingly hilarious series since it first aired on HBO in 2005 and have always admired the writing, the acting, and the outrageous situations created by the ingenious minds of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
I didn't think anything in the show's finale could possibly top what I'd already seen in prior episodes, but Gervais and Merchant managed to take the show's screwball concept, turn it upside down, and deliver an incredibly moving and heartfelt dramatic ending. It was a big gamble to toss aside the comedy and go for the serious stuff, but it paid off.
The episode begins lightly enough, with Gervais' character, Andy Millman, struggling to adapt to his sudden fortune and fame. No longer an extra scraping to get by and dreaming of making it big, he's now the star of a hit sitcom on the BBC, he has his own catchphrase that's bigger in Britain than "You ARE the weakest link" - he even has a doll in his TV character's likeness. Trouble is, being famous isn't at all how Andy envisioned it. He feels like a sellout - a one-trick pony who will never be able to rise above the sitcom cesspool he now finds himself in.
And this is where the show takes a dark turn. Andy becomes increasingly embittered, jealous, and egotistical, to the point where he fires his inept agent and literally pushes his best friend Maggie out of his life. Ashley Jensen delivers the single finest small screen performance by an actress this year as Maggie Jacobs, the long-suffering, not too bright, yet unwaveringly loyal best friend of Andy. In a pivotal scene featuring Clive Owen as himself, Maggie comes to the sad conclusion that she can no longer continue to work as an extra. The scene is played for laughs, but it's uncomfortable to watch, because although we're witnessing the ongoing degradation that Maggie has always suffered as just another warm body on the movie set, it's really the first time Maggie herself realizes what's happening to her. Jensen brilliantly plays it out through nothing more than her facial expressions, and her pain is palpable.
Maggie's despair continues as she becomes more distant from Andy and ends up taking jobs as a maid and a dishwasher just to survive. The scene in which she begs Andy's former agent for a job at his new workplace, Car Phone Warehouse, is particularly heartbreaking. Why Jensen was denied a Golden Globe nomination this year is beyond me.
Meanwhile, Andy discovers that his new affiliation with a hip and sexy talent firm isn't all it's cracked up to be. Andy wants to be a "serious actor," but all he's offered are throwaway roles in "Dr. Who" and "Hotel Babylon." His new agent stops taking his calls altogether, and Andy realizes the only way to get work is to throw his legitimate acting aspirations out the window and go exclusively for the fame and fortune. He winds up as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother - something he swore he'd never do - and it's here that the realization of what his life has become finally sets in.
In what's probably the most poignant and moving scene in television this year, Andy bares his soul to the watchful eye of the Big Brother camera. Here, Gervais shows he's just as adept at drama as he is at comedy.
Just when you think it can't get any worse for the show's characters (Andy's sunk to the lowest of lows, Maggie's living in a run-down, one-room flat, and Andy's agent is a cell phone salesman), Andy has an epiphany, and ultimately, a redemption. What better ending could you hope for than watching Andy and Maggie drive away in her beat up little car, headed for Heathrow airport, the promise of new hope and new adventures in front of them? When a brilliantly executed series ends after such an abbreviated run (see Gervais' "The Office"), I usually feel cheated and longing for more, but not in this case. "Extras" takes us to the place we know these characters need to be, then fondly waves goodbye and doesn't look back.
I didn't think anything in the show's finale could possibly top what I'd already seen in prior episodes, but Gervais and Merchant managed to take the show's screwball concept, turn it upside down, and deliver an incredibly moving and heartfelt dramatic ending. It was a big gamble to toss aside the comedy and go for the serious stuff, but it paid off.
The episode begins lightly enough, with Gervais' character, Andy Millman, struggling to adapt to his sudden fortune and fame. No longer an extra scraping to get by and dreaming of making it big, he's now the star of a hit sitcom on the BBC, he has his own catchphrase that's bigger in Britain than "You ARE the weakest link" - he even has a doll in his TV character's likeness. Trouble is, being famous isn't at all how Andy envisioned it. He feels like a sellout - a one-trick pony who will never be able to rise above the sitcom cesspool he now finds himself in.
And this is where the show takes a dark turn. Andy becomes increasingly embittered, jealous, and egotistical, to the point where he fires his inept agent and literally pushes his best friend Maggie out of his life. Ashley Jensen delivers the single finest small screen performance by an actress this year as Maggie Jacobs, the long-suffering, not too bright, yet unwaveringly loyal best friend of Andy. In a pivotal scene featuring Clive Owen as himself, Maggie comes to the sad conclusion that she can no longer continue to work as an extra. The scene is played for laughs, but it's uncomfortable to watch, because although we're witnessing the ongoing degradation that Maggie has always suffered as just another warm body on the movie set, it's really the first time Maggie herself realizes what's happening to her. Jensen brilliantly plays it out through nothing more than her facial expressions, and her pain is palpable.
Maggie's despair continues as she becomes more distant from Andy and ends up taking jobs as a maid and a dishwasher just to survive. The scene in which she begs Andy's former agent for a job at his new workplace, Car Phone Warehouse, is particularly heartbreaking. Why Jensen was denied a Golden Globe nomination this year is beyond me.
Meanwhile, Andy discovers that his new affiliation with a hip and sexy talent firm isn't all it's cracked up to be. Andy wants to be a "serious actor," but all he's offered are throwaway roles in "Dr. Who" and "Hotel Babylon." His new agent stops taking his calls altogether, and Andy realizes the only way to get work is to throw his legitimate acting aspirations out the window and go exclusively for the fame and fortune. He winds up as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother - something he swore he'd never do - and it's here that the realization of what his life has become finally sets in.
In what's probably the most poignant and moving scene in television this year, Andy bares his soul to the watchful eye of the Big Brother camera. Here, Gervais shows he's just as adept at drama as he is at comedy.
Just when you think it can't get any worse for the show's characters (Andy's sunk to the lowest of lows, Maggie's living in a run-down, one-room flat, and Andy's agent is a cell phone salesman), Andy has an epiphany, and ultimately, a redemption. What better ending could you hope for than watching Andy and Maggie drive away in her beat up little car, headed for Heathrow airport, the promise of new hope and new adventures in front of them? When a brilliantly executed series ends after such an abbreviated run (see Gervais' "The Office"), I usually feel cheated and longing for more, but not in this case. "Extras" takes us to the place we know these characters need to be, then fondly waves goodbye and doesn't look back.
