Extra big laughs

A television series about the lives of extras on TV and in film sounds about as exciting and funny as a series about the lives of nine-to-fivers at a paper company, and it almost is. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's follow-up to the uber-brilliant original British version of "The Office" transplants the quick-witted, often obscure but always spot-on humor of that series to "Extras," a show about a man, so says the tag line, "with small parts."\n"Extras" is a show wholly concerned with its main cast, disguised as a show featuring big-name guest stars. Though the guest stars, ranging from household names in America (Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson, Daniel Radcliffe, Orlando Bloom) to people only very familiar to British folks (Ross Kemp, Les Dennis, Jonathan Ross, Ronnie Corbett), all perform at their self-deprecating best. The series' real hook, however, lies in the way Andy Millman and his tag-alongs coexist with such big egos, with consistently side-splitting results.\nThere are no additional special features in this set that weren't available on the original DVD releases of "Extras" (aside from the finale), but for the uninitiated, Gervais and Merchant prove to be even more irreverent and madcap in real life as they are on screen. The gag reels go on a little too long sometimes, but the rest of what's to be mined here is at least 14k gold. A note to fans of the show who already own the first two series (that's British for "seasons"): Unless you want to spend $30+ on the finale alone, it would be wise to wait until the finale is available as a separate DVD on February 26.\nHaving deservedly won a smattering of Emmys, British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards and a very recent Golden Globe for Best TV Series Comedy, Extras will go in the books as a second work of understated comedic genius from Gervais and Merchant. I'll surely miss Andy Millman and his platonic pal Maggie, but the show went out on top, which is less than can be said for a l ot of TV comedies that let quantity trump quality. I can only hope that the show is allowed to rest in peace and not revived in an inferior American version by NBC.