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« Extras
February 11, 2007: "I Am Not Actually a Wizard"
If I were as clever as the writers on Extras, I would, well I guess we know what I wouldn’t be doing. But, I might make a witty remark about the absurd hilarity of Ricky Gervais’ humor. Suffice it to say, this ep was perhaps the cleverest of the bunch. You all know how I feel about Stephen Merchant, and he only made me love him more here. His ability to make everyone completely uncomfortable with no actual knowledge that he’s doing it is the crux for some of the most hilarious moments of the series. I laughed so loudly my neighbor stopped by to make sure I wasn’t being murdered. And I was — this show slayed me.
There’s no good place to start since the entire episode was pure genius. We were graced by Sir Ian McKellan’s presence and we got to see Germaine Greer, one of the most important feminists ever. This is the show in which Andy seeks to gain some respect by getting theater work. His foray into theater proves hysterical as he finds he is meant to be the gay lover of a man named Fran.
But before we get to that, in the tradition of Andy’s meetings with the homeless guy and the shopkeeper, this week, we bring you: the makeup girl! Not only does Andy fall over himself, but also in true form, Maggie sticks it to her friend while being completely oblivious about it.
My favorite moment probably came with Darren’s entrance as he falls over the chair... brilliant. He is the new Dick Van Dyke. Can you just see him with his own show? Maggie as his Laura Petrie? Daniel Radcliffe as little Ritchie? I think it’s time for a spin-off. Stephen, give the people what they want.
Other notable moments:
• Andy’s smooth moves on a woman leaving him coughing up carbon dioxide from a bottle of sparkling water.
• Andy finding out the play is gay.
• Andy being told Fran is going to kiss him at the end of the play.
• Andy excuse for not being kissed: “It’s too obvious.”
• Sir Ian’s hand pushing Andy’s head back on stage to kiss Fran.
• Sir Ian getting verklempt while talking about “pretending,” otherwise known as acting.
• Andy breaking every rule of acting when he breaks character, speaks to the audience and tells them the rest of the play.
How does Sir Ian do it? He pretends. “How did I know what to say?” Sir Ian asks Andy. He whispers, “The words were written down in a script.”
I hope James Lipton was watching as Sir Ian further explained his method: “Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian — wizard, you shall not pass — Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian.”
It was pretty fantastic when Darren, taking the “player’s” lead, asks Maggie out. He’s not quite as smooth; he actually tells Maggie he wants to spend the night with her and would be willing to pay for it. Somehow, she accepts. “It’s worse than I thought — she’s hit rock bottom,” admonishes Andy. Darren gleefully says, “Yes, she has,” as he rubs his hands together, smirking with the thought of it.
That the two actually had a great time was amazing, and sweet. Until the bathroom. This was toilet humor taken to the next level. Darren came out of the bathroom and stood behind Maggie as she ate dessert because he had to wait for the toilet to fill up because its contents didn’t flush away completely. (Did anyone notice that he’s too tall to fit through the bathroom door?) The second flush didn’t finish it off, so he takes a whisk and goes to break it up. She leaves, probably the smartest thing she’s done. He gets poo in his eye.
Though I did wonder, why Maggie and Darren would miss the opening (and eventual closing) night of Andy’s play to have their date? It makes no sense to me that his best friend and agent would miss such an important event.
In tribute to David Bowie’s appearance a few weeks back, we got to hear "Boys Keep Swinging." And I loved the shout-out to Fran Healy of Travis! Ricky’s really got his finger on the musical pulse. (Remember Chris Martin last week?)
Best lines:
Bunny: “Guilt free — yumma yumma yumma!”
Sir Ian: “George, can you get us some Vaseline?”
Darren: “Gay is all the rage!”
Darren: “Sick to my stomach, still repulsed because of how good they were.”
Sir Ian: “You are aware that I am not actually a wizard.”
Darren: “If we’re talking about the honeys.... ”
Sir Ian: “Pretending is acting.”
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Feb 12, 2007 2:25 AM
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paula,
why no posts? i joined the site just to say how much i agreed with your take on this show. i'm a devoted fan, but never before have found it so LOL funny.
putting maggie and darren together was genius, though i'm glad she chose to bolt at the right moment.
i am not actually a wizard indeed!
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Feb 12, 2007 12:03 PM
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that was gay..... really really gay...
I get an advantage in that I actually watched this episode on Tuesday On Demand... So many great lines!!! Very sad that this week is it.... I hope they do another season or two..... there is still more ripe material out there...
I got an idea... what if Andy and Darren go to NY for show.. In theory, US doesn't know how bad... another English actor... And who would be in the audience would be Michael and Dwight!!
D
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Feb 12, 2007 2:57 PM
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I was hooked and doubled over with laughter until 1/2 through this episode. Sadly I felt it wandered into un-redeeming homophobia territory with no real lesson or pay-off (unlike earlier episodes).
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Feb 12, 2007 4:49 PM
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This was probably my least favorite episode of the season. I had the same problems as the last poster. It did seem to cross over a line where it wasn't that funny anymore.
There were a few good lines of course. Darren and his adventures with the toilet was funny. I am starting to wonder about the Maggie character. I don't remember her being that stupid and clueless in the first season. She was a bit zany and insecure, but not totally out there like she is now.
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Feb 12, 2007 7:21 PM
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God, I laughed so hard at Ian McKellan's explaining "acting" to Andy. I cringed when Darren was trying to clear the toilet and brought out the wisk, I actually had to look away. Disgusting but hilarious. And Maggie is definitely more stupid than ever. To the point it's becoming a little unbelievable that Andy would even put up with her at all. Of course, why he wouldn't fire Darren is inexpicable also.
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Feb 13, 2007 12:34 PM
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