Special edition of 'Extras' gets the last laugh

December 15, 2007|Television Review, Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff

Both "The Office" and "Extras," the two short British series from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, are unexpectedly poignant pieces of work. They are, on the one hand, shining exemplars of cringe comedy, landing knuckle punches exactly where grandiosity meets humiliation. They give us narcissistic characters making utter fools of themselves, steeped in verbal self-incrimination, sinking in the quicksand of their vanity. And yet both shows have enough heart to evoke our pity and, yes, alas, it's true, our empathy. We cringe because we know.

HBO's "Extras" is a TV gem destined always to get a little lost in the shadow of "The Office," particularly since the American "Office" has been such a mighty success. In only two six-episode seasons and, tomorrow at 9 p.m. in "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale," the show has formed a wonderfully concise and unromanticized view of fame from both sides. It has portrayed our contemporary desperation to be fa mous and in the proximity of famous people; and it has lampooned what fame does to those who manage to find it. The HBO-BBC production stands, alongside "The Comeback" and "The Larry Sanders Show," as one of TV's most slyly unflattering self-portraits.

The 80-minute finale is the perfect cap to the series, an ugly yet emotionally resonant morality play about the price of selling out. The episode has a self-standing quality, and it's completely understandable to newcomers; but it's richest for fans as the culmination of a years-long plot arc. The story began in 2005 with hapless movie extras Andy (Gervais) and Maggie (Ashley Jensen) living through demoralizing on-set moments, many of which involved jokey appearances by the likes of Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet playing nasty versions of themselves. In last year's season two, Andy finally found success by creating a ridiculous BBC sitcom called "When the Whistle Blows" and wearing a clown-like wig as its catchphrase-spewing star. He won public attention and money, but no respect.

Now, Andy has become a little monster of insecurity and need, and when we first see him in the finale, he is a member of the bickering cast of " Celebrity Big Brother." In his blind drive to crawl out of D-list hell, he fails to notice Maggie's plummeting fortunes, and he trades in his fickle agent, Darren (Merchant), for a slimy new one who promises him acting cred. This time around, Gervais adds more bile to his characterization of Andy, who was once a relatively sympathetic guy just hungry to speak a line in a movie. As he tries to puff up his image, Andy reveals shades of David Brent, Gervais's blowhard from "The Office." A scene in which he pretends to get a call from director Ridley Scott during an interview with a reporter is excruciating - and brilliant.