Monday, 25 June 2018

About celebrity

For reasons that I haven't been able to identify, but possibly to compete with the boxset-heaviness of commercial streaming services, the Beeb have currently loaded up all thirteen instalments of Ricky Gervais's "how's he going to follow The Office" series Extras. And lucky us, I say. For whilst Ricky will probably never fully escape the long shadows cast by David Brent and Wernham-Hogg, Extras is, for my money, a better piece of work. Love him or loathe him (he is a bit of a Marmite figure), I don't think Gervais has ever written anything better, more insightful, more satirical, more honest, than this scene: Andy Millman's Big Brother soliloquy on the nature of modern celebrity, from the final episode, 2007's feature-length Christmas special.

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10 comments:

  1. C25 June 2018 at 22:58

    Absolutely loved Extras, and totally agree with you re. this scene. And what about the Bowie cameo?! A classic. Fortunately we have the set on DVD so can watch again and again at our leisure, and frequently do.
    Mr SDS says there are times when I remind him a bit of Maggie. Apparently it's something in the facial expressions, usually when I'm a bit confused about something. That's okay...

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    1. Martin26 June 2018 at 09:27

      Hey, well there are plenty worse people in the programme to be reminiscent of! As long as you don't start asking random "Which would you rather be..?" questions. Although actually, that might make quite a good blog series :)

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    2. C26 June 2018 at 11:01

      Go on then....
      Would you rather be you, with your face and legs but the brain of a chimpanzee, or a chimpanzee with your brain?

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    3. Martin26 June 2018 at 11:22

      Chimpanzee with my brain. With enough depilation and cosmetic surgery, a brainy chimp could get by. And I could still blog ;)

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    4. C26 June 2018 at 12:31

      Yeah, it's a no-brainer really ;-)

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    5. Martin26 June 2018 at 15:34

      So, penguin or flying fish?

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    6. C27 June 2018 at 13:12

      Definitely a flying fish. Life might be short but what fun while it lasted!

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    7. Martin27 June 2018 at 13:45

      Although you might get eaten by Gervais's penguin...

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  2. Mark26 June 2018 at 12:11

    Just popping in to nod my agreement....I can't watch the scene though; it always makes me cry!

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    1. Martin26 June 2018 at 12:47

      Not a dry eye in the house by the end.

      Shame this cuts off before the denouement, when a fellow housemate and lads mags favourite say she's going to leave with Andy but can he wait a minute whilst she puts a bikini on, and there'll be some paparazzi outside....

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