Extras

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, Good Luck Chuck and Mr. Woodcock are also now on DVD. So . . . there's that.

Extras: The Complete Series
This full series package is more of a "What to Amazon." Have you missed out on the Golden Globe-winning comedy series Extras? Well, here's your chance to check out the entire series — including the Christmas finale.

The show follows Andy (Ricky Gervais), a struggling actor whose aspirations greatly exceed his resume — and his talent. He and his buddy Maggie (Ashley Jensen) are just barely getting by as extras in big-name films, so the episodes always feature cameos by A-list stars willing to poke fun at Hollywood culture.

This complete series box set doesn't include any new special features that don't appear on the previously released DVDs of Seasons One and Two, but it is — so far — the only place to find the 84-minute series finale.

Another new release if you read more

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• Cinematical has a lot of love for Extras, and especially can't seem to get through the special Christmas episode without crying.
• TV Squad has details on some cool-sounding new series coming to AMC following the success of Mad Men.
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• Give Me My Remote just introduced me to the Jeannie Tate Show.

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It's a big night for finales on cable TV, as Dexter wraps up its second season and Extras finishes its run forever with a movie-length special.

(Side note: If these two shows were a celebrity couple, everyone would totally call them "Dextras." OK, moving on.)

The Extras movie is packed with guest stars, but it has a lot more going for it than that. The special picks up a year after the second-season finale, with Andy acting even more obnoxious than usual. As funny as Extras can be, at least one critic who's seen this special says it's dark and mean-spirited — but wonderful. Anyone who saw Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's somewhat dismal and yet completely fantastic sendoff to the British version of The Office probably won't find that surprising. HBO has a preview interview with Gervais and Merchant with a few scenes from the show.

Dexter, meanwhile, finds Lundy and the FBI closing the case of the Bay Harbor Butcher — but that doesn't mean Dexter's out of the woods yet. In case you're not already in enough suspense, you can watch a scene from tonight's finale right now if you just read more

If you're a fan of Ricky Gervais and his Emmy-winning series Extras, then you might want to mark your calendars: The Extra Special Series Finale will premiere Dec. 16 on HBO, wrapping up the saga of Andy Millman and his low-level actor friends with 80 more minutes of wackiness.

Gervais and his co-writer Stephen Merchant certainly seem to love the movies-as-finales device; they did a similar thing to end the BBC version of The Office several years back. So far, everyone's keeping mum on the specifics of the Extras movie, saying only that Andy (Gervais) is still desperate for respect and "is about to take drastic measures that will turn his life upside down" — which could pretty much describe every episode of Extras ever.

But so often, Extras is really about its guest stars (David Bowie, anyone?), and on that front, the movie seems promising. Clive Owen will be showing up, along with Gordon Ramsay and George Michael. Hopefully simultaneously. I mean, really, can you even imagine a circumstance that would get those three interacting in a room together? The mind boggles.

If you've never seen Extras, or you'd just like to be "havin' a laugh" right now, you can check out a couple of my favorite clips from the series when you read more

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the below titles, family films The Astronaut Farmer and The Last Mimzy also come out on DVD today. As much as I adore Virginia Madsen and Rainn Wilson, however, I won't be talking about either of those movies in this post.

"Extras — Season 2
Recently named an Emmy finalist for a Comedy Series, "Extras" is the hilarious project of Ricky Gervais, the original creator of "The Office." Gervais plays Andy, a struggling actor whose aspirations greatly exceed his resume — not to mention his talent. He and cohort Maggie (Ashley Jensen, aka Christina-the-wardrobe-girl from "Ugly Betty") are barely making a living as extras in films headlined by A-list stars (like Kate Winslet and Daniel Radcliffe) who make cameos, poking fun at Hollywood culture.

As for special features, there's a behind-the-scenes documentary, and a "hilarious featurette that shows... how the 'Extras' cast handles the most outrageous moments on the set." Check out one of my favorite moments on the show in which David Bowie musically humiliates Andy.

Two more suggestions if you read more

• The AP reports that The Amityville Horror and Cool Hand Luke director Stuart Rosenberg has died at age 79.
• Forgot to watch Simon Cowell on "60 Minutes"? CBS has posted video of the interview.
• NME wraps up the highlights from South By Southwest.
• With three movies in the works, Jackie Earle Haley is officially making a comeback, says the Hollywood Reporter.
• Meanwhile, Bon Jovi is returning with a new album, Billboard reports.
• More bad news for "Veronica Mars"? Co-star Julie Gonzalo has been cast in a new ABC pilot, Zap2it reports.
• Things are looking up for "30 Rock," according to Broadcasting & Cable.
• New York artists are suing NBC over the painting-the-future concept in "Heroes," Reuters reports.
• Ricky Gervais says "Extras" will end after two seasons, according to Variety.
• Ryan Adams will guest on Minnie Driver's second album, says NME.
• Phil Spector's murder trial will be televised, according to the AP.
• Variety says "The Real World" creators Bunim-Murray have set their sights on documentary films.

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If you're not into the Grammys and are lucky enough to have HBO, tonight might be a good night to check out "Extras." It hasn't been a good year so far for Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais of the BBC's "The Office"). His new sitcom is trash, David Bowie has savaged him in song, and he's had one unfortunate public relations scandal after another — most recently getting banned from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts after making a scene at an awards show.

In Sunday's episode, though, things start looking up a bit for ol' Andy when he gets cast in a play by Sir Ian McKellen. McKellen even lets Andy in on the secrets of being a good actor, and you can learn them too, if you read more

Every Friday, I round up the week's best, funniest, strangest, and most embarrassing moments in television for your amusement.

• Did you miss David Bowie on "Extras"? Fear not! Here are all his clips from the episode — including the "chubby little loser" song, of course.
  
• On this week's episode of "Armed and Famous," La Toya Jackson went undercover as a prostitute. That pretty much makes fun of itself, doesn't it?
• "This is not grieving. This is my legs being bent in ways my legs do not go." — Callie on "Grey's Anatomy"




• On Desperate Housewives, Gaby learns that Zach has read up on her likes and dislikes and replies, "Aww... you did research on me? That's so sweet! In a ... stalker-y kind of way."

For more of the week's highlights and lowlights, read more

I told you a while back about how to get a sneak peek of the "Extras" season premiere. Now I have better news: The whole first episode of the upcoming season — the one where Orlando Bloom trashes Johnny Depp and Andy (Ricky Gervais) starts filming his sitcom — is now available for free on the iTunes music store. Yup, free.

For some reason it's in the Podcasts section of the store — yeah, I don't get it either. You can get to it directly, or you can search for it in the iTunes store using these steps:

• Go to the Podcasts homepage in the store
• Under "featured providers," click HBO
• Click on the link that says "Extras"

It comes up with a "subscribe" link, just like regular podcasts — so I wonder if there will be more free episodes in the future? Here's hoping. If you want to catch it on regular TV, "Extras" starts this Sunday, Jan. 14, at 10 p.m. on HBO.

According to yesterday's poll, a whole lot of you are Netflix junkies! So, since all of the new DVD releases come out on Tuesdays, I'll sort through the best of the batch each week and tell you what to add to your queue in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday.

Extras: The Complete First Season

From the great minds that brought us BBC's "The Office" comes this equally hilarious and equally cringe-worthy British comedy. Ricky Gervais stars as Andy, a full-time extra who spends much of his time sitting around movie sets, examining the A-list actors and desperately hoping to land a speaking role. His cohort is fellow extra Maggie, played by Ashley Jensen of "Ugly Betty." If you've already seen the first season on HBO, be sure to check out this second season sneak peek!

To see the rest, read more