TVSquad

I've only seen two episodes of Extras, the HBO comedy starring Ricky Gervais. The show just ended, but not before Gervais got in a scathing monologue about how celebrities act and why the public is wrong to idolize them. It's December 20 and I thought I already had all of my favorite TV moments of 2007, but this one makes it just under the wire.

The show has always been listed as a "comedy," but there's a lot of serious, painful truth in the show too, as illustrated in what Gervais has to say during an appearance on a reality show within the show. This isn't just the Andy Millman character talking, it's Gervais himself. You'll nod your head in agreement, and maybe even cringe a little bit. What a way to end the series.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then the season finale of Survivor and the reunion show.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, followed by a new Extreme Makeover.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America, then the Redskins/Giants game.
• There's a new CW Now on The CW at 7.
• Also at 7: Lifetime has the holiday movies Christmas at Water's Edge and A Diva's Christmas Carol.
• At 8, FOX has a new episode of The Simpsons, then a new King of the Hill.
• Nickelodeon has a new Unfabulous at 8.
• BBC America has two Eddie Izzard standup specials starting at 8.
• At 8:30, HGTV has White House Christmas 2007.
• At 9, Nickelodeon has two Christmas episodes of Home Improvement, followed by two Christmas episodes of George Lopez.
• HBO has the series finale of Extras at 9.
• Showtime has a new Dexter at 9.
• At 9:30, FOX has a new American Dad.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Xavier: Renegade Angel, then a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S04E06) One of the pleasures of watching original Office creator Ricky Gervais's follow-up show Extras was that you got to see the kind of bland, run-of-the-mill sitcom The Office could have been if Gervais hadn't stayed true to his original vision. When the Whistle Blows, the show that Gervais's character creates for the BBC, starts out as something original and creative, but slowly becomes the worst kind of mediocre as network executives tamper with its presentation. The sellout is symbolized within the show by Gervais's character putting on a silly wig and a pair of comical glasses.

Watching Jim, Dwight, and Michael drive to Utica in three matching fake mustaches, I couldn't help but be reminded of that silly wig. We're nowhere near sell-out territory, but tonight's episode was a reminder that mediocreville can be as close to The Office as Utica is to Scranton...

Here's a quick list of the major winners at tonight's Emmy Awards.

Supporting Actor - Comedy: Jeremy Piven (Entourage)
Supporting Actor - Drama: Terry O'Quinn (Lost)
Supporting Actress - Comedy: Jamie Pressly (My Name is Earl)
Supporting Actress - Drama: Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy)
Reality Competition Program: The Amazing Race
Lead Actor - Movie or Miniseries: Robert Duvall (Broken Trail)
Lead Actress - Movie or Minseries: Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect)
TV Movie: Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Miniseries: Broken Trail
Lead Actress - Comedy: America Ferrara (Ugly Betty)
Lead Actor - Comedy: Ricky Gervais (Extras)
Lead Actress - Drama: Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters)
Lead Actor - Drama: James Spader (Boston Legal)
Comedy Series: 30 Rock
Drama Series: The Sopranos

And check out AOL Television for a complete list of the 2007 Emmy Awards winners.

Also check out our galleries of winners and presenters.

And one more -- our friends down the virtual hall at AOL Television put up a bottomless gallery of broadcast pics.

The always-informative Simpsons Channel has news from the always-informative TVShowsOnDVD.com about the upcoming DVD release of the Simpsons Movie. The information was relayed to TVShowsOnDVD through some folks in the industry, so everything I mention here is subject to change. Still, I couldn't resist this opportunity to whet fans' appetites.

The DVD will be out on December 18, and it will be circular. Also, the film will be available in both full screen and widescreen formats. I don't know why you'd want to buy full screen, unless you want to sit and pretend you're watching an extra-long episode of the TV series.

Yes, I know it's been a couple of months since the second season of Extras came out on DVD. But since I reviewed Season One earlier this year, I figured it would only be fair to look over Season Two, even if it's only for anal completist reasons (Of course, our UK Bureau -- otherwise known as "Martin Conaghan" -- reviewed the series when it aired on the BBC; his reviews start 1/4 of the way down this page).

From everything I heard and read, the second season of the Ricky Gervais / Stephen Merchant comedy was better than the first season. Of course, given the high standards set by Gervais and Merchant, that was saying a lot. After watching Season Two, I have to say that I agree with those assessments, but not for the reason that you think.

Ricky's leaving, Bill's staying, and a bunch of other things are happening at HBO in regards to comedy (and drama). Here's what's what:

The new drama series, Tell Me You Love Me, kicks off September 9 at 9:00 p.m. It delves into the lives of three couples who all go to the same therapist. There's a couple in their 40s who no longer have sex, a couple in their 30s struggling to have their first child, and a couple in their 20s struggling to remain faithful to one another. So, there's a lot of struggling, in case I didn't use that word enough. The cast includes Jane Alexander, Michelle Borth, Tim DeKay, Aislinn Paul, Adam Scott, Kate Towne, Sonya Walger and Ally Walker.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Beauty and the Beast - Season 2
• Bewitched - Season 5 (Color)
• Extras - Season 2
• The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark (Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett)
• Home Run Derby - Vol. 1
• Hustle - Season 3
• My Super Sweet 16 - Seasons 1 and 2
• Punky Brewster - Vols. 1-6

I am so incredibly giddy about this news, I don't even know where to begin. As a hardcore fan of the original The Office, my heart fills with glee whenever I see a mention of the show or one of the cast members. It's not that I want a third series, I just still need little things to guide me through this four year case of withdrawal. Heck, I spent the entirety of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy being the only girl who wasn't swooning over Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom because I was so happy to see gangly, wooden-eyed Mackenzie Crook onscreen.

Well, good news for anyone else who is still in need of some Office love. July 1st's Concert for Diana in London will feature a multitude of stars to celebrate Princess Diana's life. Among those stars will be Office stars Ricky Gervais and Mackenzie Crook, performing "Free Love Freeway" before introducing Sir Elton John.

A day after NBC announced its fall schedule, the network is also revealing other plans for the upcoming television season. It's going to start hitting the web a lot harder with '360 extras' from its hit shows such as Heroes, 30 Rock, and The Office.

For Heroes, the website will include more chapters of the graphic novel and character back stories. For 30 Rock, Judah Friedlander's character, Frank Rossitano, will have his own blog. Las Vegas will do a behind-the scenes feature, ER will have deleted scenes, and Medium is going to ask fans to help write storylines (wah?). And The Office will have a little program where you can create your own Dunder-Mifflin branch and do some sort of online challenges.

Personally, I think they can take The Office 360 a bit farther. How about having a place where people can create their own videos in their fictional branches of Dunder-Mifflin? I bet people who work in real cubicles could come up with some good stuff.

The other day, I watched the latest season of Extras again and laughed just as hard as I did during my first viewing. It was also during this revisitation that I realized Stephen Merchant, who plays Andy's annoying agent, is still seriously under-appreciated. So, I did the only thing that a little blogger like I can do... Dedicate an "In the Limelight" profile to him.

Merchant was one half of the writing and directing team behind the original The Office. He appeared in the show as the Oggmonster only one and a half times (once during the Red Nose Day episode and another time as a voice over Gareth's speakerphone), so it was only natural that his writing and directing partner, Ricky Gervais, got all the attention as the star of the show.

According to Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have officially stated that there will not be a third season of Extras (the story is at the bottom of this page). Just like with their other creation, The Office, the comedic creative team felt that two seasons were more than enough, and just like with The Office, the show will be wrapped up with a standalone special, air date TBD. Slightly more information is here, via The Hollywood Reporter.

In interviews, Gervais had been going back and forth on doing a third season, but I think most people knew what he and Merchant were really thinking all along. The two of them like the British format of short seasons that air whenever the creators get around to writing a new series, and they both seem like they like spending their careers doing different projects (Gervais is currently touring England with a one-man show called Fame). So hearing that Extras isn't getting a third season isn't a big surprise.

We've previously reported that funnyman and the star and creator of Extras and The Office Ricky Gervais was in a very short-lived pop group in the 1980s, but I recently uncovered a wealth of information on the subject that just had to be shared.

For those of you who might not know yet, Ricky Gervais was part of a pop duo from 1982 to 1984 called 'Seona Dancing' (shawn-uh, not see-own-ah). They released two singles ("More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart" - both wide b-sides) in the UK that climbed to numbers 117 and 70 on the charts, before they dropped into obscurity. However, in 1985 a DJ in the Philippines started playing "More to Lose", and it rocketed to the top of the Filipino music charts. According to the All Music Guide, "In one part of the world, Seona Dancing's "More to Lose" became an '80s anthem as ubiquitous as Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes."

You are not a true tabloid celebrity unless all of your roads lead towards a one way ticket to rehab. Celebrities wear their Chanel sunglasses and hats low, like a badge of courage, as they are driven in their chauffeured SUV's through the Mojave Desert on their way to places with names more appropriate for a nursery school than to a place for those down the downward spiral of celebrity excess.

Common pre-requisites for rehab include an undying love for cocaine, a struggle with food or a co-dependency on the bottle.

But say you don't have a problem with any of the above and find yourself being publicly scrutinized by society who seek a social remedy for your reprehensible behavior on national television?

We make foul discriminatory language a new reason for rehab and make Isaiah Washington our example.

Unfortunately for Washington, one of the side effects of going to rehab for foul language is being the butt of many jokes, from Wanda Sykes on Ellen to even your own co-worker at The SAG Awards.

It's only a matter of time before we find Harry Potter in rehab. Let me be the first to make this prediction after his...

Extras (Sun., 10PM, HBO)
Harry Potter is a dirty, dirty boy. Daniel Radcliffe guest stars on 'Extras,' where he hopes to shed his innocent image by making a very indecent proposal to Maggie. Dumbledore would be aghast. Meanwhile, Andy (Ricky Gervais) is a laughingstock after he makes a faux pas at a restaurant.