'Extras': special?

Not really.

I managed to catch the second episode of the second series of Ricky Gervais's show on Thursday night. Although it was better than the first (in which the comedy, such as it was, essentially revolved around "deconstructing" (Gervais's word) Orlando Bloom by playing on his vanity and putting racist sentiments in the mouth of Keith Chegwin), it was still far from brilliant.

While it was good to see Gervais and co not relying solely on the crutch of a celebrity to prop up a script devoid of many good ideas (David Bowie's appearance lasted less than five minutes, and featured him composing a song about Gervais's character Andy Millman), the regular characters still don't feel well-developed or broad-shouldered enough to bear the burden.

For me, the particular problem with Thursday's episode was that, in tracing Millman's first experiences of fame, it was autobiographical - I couldn't help but feel that Gervais's own arrogance came out in it, not least in making a comedy which is essentially about himself.

Of course, all might have been forgiven if it was funny - some of the scenes with Shaun Williamson were, as was the exchange with the homeless beggar (one of those classically awkward social interactions Gervais does so well), but consistent quality was again conspicious by its absence.