History YMMV / Extras

* MisaimedFandom: Creator/RickyGervais was less than thrilled when "Are you having a laugh" ended up joining the ranks of the catchphrases that he considers to embody everything wrong with British comedy, and to this day he doesn't hesitate to tell that to anyone who quotes it in his vicinity.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Andy Millman's jerkish moments aren't sugar-coated, but the series still tries to show him in a sympathetic light. Viewers are divided on whether he's an OnlySaneMan who is SurroundedByIdiots and acting accordingly or a buzzkill with an [[SmallNameBigEgo unchecked sense of entitlement]]. His sitcom getting butchered by ExecutiveMeddling is unfortunate, but we don't know exactly how much better his original ideas would have been and his insistence that the CharacterCatchphrase he planned to use [[DistinctionWithoutDifference shouldn't be called a catchphrase]] does call into question how good his writing abilites really are. When it comes to acting his filmography isn't the least bit impressive, but he gets saddled with questionable scripts and directions that even professional actors would struggle with (acting in a play and being told at the last minute he'd have to kiss a man isn't what you'd call professional directing). All in all the debate comes down to who really deserves the blame for all the cringe comedy that happens to Andy.

* JustHereForGodzilla: The [[CelebrityCameo Celebrity Cameos]] wound up being the main draw of the series for many viewers.

** Creator/KateWinslet cameoed as herself in an episode, where she announced her intention to star in a [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Holocaust]] film purely because such films [[OscarBait always win Oscars]]. A few years later, she finally won an Oscar for ''Literature/TheReader'', which is, you guessed it, a Holocaust film.
** The best part is that Ricky was a presenter at the Golden Globes that year - after she won he got up on stage and {{lampshaded}} the episode: "What did I tell you, Kate? A Holocaust film!"

* MemeticMutation: "Are you having a laugh? Is (s)he having a laugh?!"

* MoralEventHorizon: Andy finally crosses this line when he has an extra ''fired'' for coming up to him and asking him for the chance to try out a few lines, citing that he was in the same position himself; Andy shows no remorse about this, and promptly tells Maggie that ''she'' can't talk to him on set anymore.

* BrokenBase: Some felt that the second series suffered from becoming something of an AuthorTract about how all sitcoms that don't follow the single-camera ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' / ''Extras'' style are low-brow garbage. Note that the vast majority of critics agreed 100% with this viewpoint of classic {{Brit Com}}s and complimented Ricky Gervais on helping point out the flaws in other comedy shows; their main complaint was that it overtook the humour on this show. Conversely, some feel the second series is superior to the first, due to Stephen Merchant and Shaun Williams having larger roles, more varied celebrity appearances [such as the Bafta episode], greater character development for Andy [dealing with success] and the ''When the Whistle Blows'' parody segments.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The AuthorTract in the Christmas Special is not particularly subtle.
** Nor is the crusade against the traditional sitcom as the show progresses. After a point it comes across less as Ricky and Steve espousing the merit of their style of show and more declaring their superiority to everything else. It's little wonder Ricky - the more visible of the pair - developed a reputation for having an ego.

** One of the ''Celebrity Series/BigBrother'' housemates in the Christmas Special is Lionel Blair, AdamWesting it up with the best of them. In 2014 he appeared on the show for real. ''Radio/TheNowShow'''s Sara Pascoe pointed out that while the parody episode only had him tapdancing around the house and complaining about being old, [[FreakierThanFiction the real thing had him pole-dancing dressed in latex.]]

* HollywoodHomely: {{Played with}}. Maggie often gets a number of disparaging comments about her appearance (especially by Creator/CliveOwen), even though Ashley Jenson is quite attractive. Of course, this trope is more {{Justified|Trope}} than usual considering she (by dint of her career in the film/television industry) ''is'' surrounded by extremely attractive women.
* HoYay: Darren and Barry.

* SeasonalRot: Though still considered pretty good overall, some felt that the second series suffered from becoming something of an AuthorTract about how all sitcoms that don't follow the single-camera ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' / ''Extras'' style are low-brow garbage. Note that the vast majority of critics agreed 100% with this and complimented Gervais on helping point out the flaws in other comedy shows; their main complaint was that it overtook the humour on this show.
** Conversely, some feel series 2 is superior to series 1 due to Stephen Merchant and Shaun Williams having larger roles, more varied celebrity appearances [such as the Bafta episode], greater character development for Andy [dealing with success] and the 'When the whistle blows' parody segments.