MovieChat Forums > Extras (2005) Discussion > Possible Plot Hole

Possible Plot Hole

posted 12 years ago by Theodor_Birch
10 replies | jump to latest

I have never understood this. Maybe someone here can explain it, but until then, it stands as a plot hole - or an inconsistent use of narrative.

Andy wrote a sitcom and got it sent to the BBC which bought it and started production. He re-worked the script with the hilarious cooky Damon Beesly.
However, the comedy lies in the finished product being nowhere near Andy's dream, becoming instead a bland catchphrase based sitcom.
BUT, how could Andy's unseen masterpiece possibly be turned into such a bad sitcom? If his original idea was really a ground breaking sitcom, a la The Office, it would still be nearly impossible to turn it into When the Whistle Blows...
I mean, the original idea would still have to be set in a factory, have the same characters, jokes, etc, etc... Right?
Damon could not have rewritten it so completely so as to have Zero likeness with Andy's auteured vision, otherwise they wouldn't have needed to buy his idea.

So, either Andy's idea was basically WTWB, but with more realistic characters, which is still bad, OR it was completely different and the plot is that producers and excecs can destroy a good sitcom going so far as removing the basic plots, characters and jokes... Which would make Some sense, but is too far fetched for the otherwise realistic Extras...

Know what I mean? WHAT would Andy's vision look like? What are we supposed to believe? That Andy's vision really wasn't as far away from WTWB at all, and he was delusional...

Any thoughts?

[–] deziiqn 12 years ago

Maybe Andy's sitcom wasn't really THAT good. If Andy wrote a sitcom that had potential, the producers may have felt the need to change some of it and it ended much different than what Andy had hoped for. The characters may have been changed to make them more 'funny' and obviously the catchphrases were added. I would assume that Andy's original idea was still better than this and the so-called improvement went in the wrong direction because it was left to the wrong people and the fact that it was so different was the reason Andy was annoyed. He possibly though the original script was better than it really was. I'm just speculating of course.

[–] Hungerhill 12 years ago

Some great thoughts here.As you say it seems strange that the BBC should be fawning all over Andy when he himself said something along the lines of his script being a mixed bag of ideas.

[–] Eddbuck 12 years ago

Or it could be that Andy had SUCH high expectations of himself and others that no version of his sitcom would ever compare to how he envisioned it in his head.

Don't forget, everything we know about how the sitcom should have been has come directly from Andy himself, who is likely biased. Also Andy is constantly blaming everyone else for his mistakes, so when the reviews aren't what he would have hoped it's far easier for him to just blame it on the BBC.

It's likely, due to his arrogance and big-headedness, that since being asked to wear the wig and glasses and having the stand off with the BBC execs, Andy has distanced himself from the sitcom, no longer viewing it as HIS sitcom. This allows him to place all the criticisms and bad reviews on the BBC, rather than facing the facts that maybe his sitcom wasn't as deep, thought provoking or revolutionary as he imagined...

Or it could just be that the TV execs got their hands on it, and thinking they know best bastardised what originally was a subtle, high-brow comedy.

[–] AenimaOrchid 12 years ago

Interesting theory, except the BBC guys acknowledged in front of the whole set that they made considerable changes while Andy was voicing his ire over them, and shortly before he gave them the ultimatum, which was a bluff.

[–] graysonwc 10 years ago

Producers and directors make drastic changes all of the time. My father worked in the industry and has said on numerous occasions that "the only thing I recognized on the screen was my name."

So it's entirely possible and has probably happened to Mr. Gervais (as I believe most of these situations have, i.e. the hair and makeup lady pissed at him not knowing her name, etc.)

[–] MarrG 10 years ago

See the Matt LeBlanc sitcom "Episodes" to see this in action!

But I also agree with the above poster that this is Andy's point of view. And as we know, he is always unhappy. I have a feeling he was probably a success at his previous corporate career (was it banking?) but gave it up in a similar fit of pique as he did his acting career.

[–] RetroActionMovieFan 9 years ago

I read a gervais interview years back when the office first became a hit. In that he said the BBC loved the idea of the office but some parties wanted a laughter track and wanted to tweak it to make it a little more upbeat and a more obvious sitcom. BBC were worried audiences wouldn't get the subtlety or wouldn't stick with the show. Gervais said he and merchant stuck to their guns and refused saying they wanted it to appear as close to a genuine fly on the wall show as possible.

Maybe millimans struggles are based on Gervais' experiences and conversations from that.

[–] bozo_500 9 years ago

yes without knowing the details/backstory of The Office's production I always thought When the Whistle Blows was a mirror to that of RGs experience with the BBC with The Office. so Andys original idea for WTWB would've been to do something similar to The Office with its subtle desperate situation humour, and its various themes of lost dreams, entrapment, etc but instead got turned into a more traditional sitcom like Open All Hours, Fools and Horses etc

[–] The_Kiz 9 years ago

Well you see this is the key to the whole fall out the two had about Damon being "too gay".
Once that had happened, it was difficult for Andy to be calling the shots, after clearly being on very thin ice with the BBC.
You feel once that had happened it was very much a case of Andy keeping a low profile, until the outburst in episode one of series two course.

Twitter: @kieranthekiz

[–] garp-26 9 years ago

I think it's possible the pilot episode changed from Andy's conception to that of Damon's during the rehearsals for the pilot episode. Then because it was loaded with catchphrases and bland broad humour it took off. Andy would go on to moan how the project had been taken out of his control and interfered with by editors and producers. Also I wonder whether the BBC commissioned Andy's script because of the influence of Patrick Stewart who might have collected on a favour or two. Once accepted and commissioned the corporation thought as it was they had a non viable dud on their hands and so passed it on to producers and script editors specialising in prime time commercial fodder.