Tue, December 18, 2007
Little Fat Man Who Sold His Dream—9:27 AM
Get thee to a copy of the Extras finale if it's at all possible. It's Ricky Gervais brilliance in top form, and despite the somewhat uncharacteristic ending, its message is fantastic and well explored.
I know season one was a little spotty, but season two through this extended finale were just excellent – an engrossing examination of fame and ego, and hilarious all along the way. I'd be interested to know if this was his planned trajectory from the start. It might warrant re-viewing those first episodes in a new light.
I think I actually forgive him for stealing Alec Baldwin's Emmy. (Plus, with his Tracy Jordan therapy role-playing scene this year, is there any doubt that Baldwin will capture the Comedy Lead Actor Emmy along with two or three Lifetime Achievements?) (I submit that there is not!)
Brandon — Wed, 12/19/07 1:18pm
Quite awesome. A lot of really interesting and admirable story/character beats. And I liked the ending. He finally made a choice.
I'm inclined to believe this was the trajectory all along. However, unless a re-viewing of season one would make it funnier (in my opinion, the biggest problem with season one), I'm not sure if there's much new light to discover there. If anything, I think the quality of season two and the special begs the question "Why take six episodes to get there?"
That said, I may still go back and re-watch anyway.