extra (franchise)
extr@ is a language education television program franchise that was scripted in the format of a Friends-esque sitcom. It was in production from 2002 to 2004, and is mainly marketed to the instructional television market for middle school and high school language classes. Four versions were made, each in a different language; English, French, German, and Spanish.
extr@ | |
---|---|
Created by | Channel 4 Learning |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of episodes | 30 (English) 13 (French, Spanish, German) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Andrew Bethell |
Running time | 24 Minutes |
Release | |
Original network | Channel 4 (UK) multiple PBS member station/network instructional television blocks (U.S.) |
Original release | 2002 – 2004 |
The English version was co-produced by Channel 4 Learning and RAI CPTO (Production Centre of Turin) for RAI Educational. All of the episodes were written by Louise Clover.
Plot
The English version has 30 episodes, and the other three languages have 13 episodes each. The plot of the 13 episodes is nearly the same in all the language variants.
Hector/Sam, with only a very basic grasp of the featured language, comes to stay with his pen pal, Bridget/Sacha/Sascha/Lola. Living with Bridget/Sacha/Sascha/Lola is roommate Anna/Annie/Ana. Sleazy and sly neighbor Nick/Nico/Nic/Pablo lives across the hallway. Hector's/Sam's efforts to get to grips with the language provide the dynamic for the series' language learning content. The series is particularly suitable for adolescents and young adults who can relate to the contextual setting and implied meanings in the screenplay. The episode ended with Sam and Annie's wedding being canceled, ending with a cliff-hanger; however, the English version had 17 more episodes which provides a better understanding of the character, continuing with Nico and Sacha beginning to date and facing problems, and Sam and Annie wanting to break up. In the end, Sam was offered a job opportunity in the U.S as a producer. The 30th episode ended with Sam questioning "Should I go?", and there were no more episode produced, hinting Sam's departure. Thus the plot begins and ends with Sam.
Cast
English | French | German | Spanish |
---|---|---|---|
Hector Romero [1] | Sam Scott | Sam Scott | Sam Scott |
Julie Buckfield – Annie Taylor[1] | Marie Cordillot – Annie | Britta Becker – Anna Schmidt[2] | Celia Meiras – Ana |
Abby Simpson – Bridget Evans[1] | Vanessa Seydoux – Sacha Fontaine[3] | Leontine Hass – Sascha Meier/Fontane[2][4][lower-alpha 1] | Vanessa Otero – Lola Cano[5] |
Toby Walton – Nick Jessop | Jean-Felix Callens – Nico Dubois | Frank Brunet – Nic Müller[6] | Javier Marzan – Pablo Aranda García[7] |
Episodes
Episode | English | French | German | Spanish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Hector’s Arrival | L'arrivée de Sam | Sams Ankunft | La llegada de Sam |
2 |
Hector Goes Shopping | Sam fait du shopping | Sam geht einkaufen | Sam va de compras |
3 |
Hector Has a Date | Sam a un rendez-vous | Sam hat ein Date | Sam aprende a ligar |
4 |
Hector Looks for a Job | Sam trouve du travail | Sam sucht einen Job | Sam busca un trabajo |
5 |
A Star Is Born | Une étoile est née | Ein Star ist geboren | Ha nacido una estrella |
6 |
Bridget Wins the Lottery | Le jour du loto | Lotto-Tag | El día de la Primitiva |
7 |
The Twin | La jumelle | Der Zwilling | La gemela |
8 |
The Landlady’s Cousin | La cousine de la concierge | Die Kusine der Vermieterin | La prima de la dueña |
9 |
Jobs for the Boys | Du boulot pour Sam et Nico | Jobs für Nic und Sam | Trabajos para los chicos |
10 |
Annie’s Protest | Annie proteste | Anna demonstriert | Ana protesta |
11 |
Holiday Time | Les vacances | Ferienzeit | Tiempo de vacaciones |
12 |
Football Crazy | Fou de foot | Verrückt nach Fußball | Fanáticos del fútbol |
13 |
A Wedding in the Air | Un mariage dans l'air | Hochzeitspläne | Boda en el aire |
14 |
Changes | |||
15 |
The Bouncer | |||
16 |
Uncle Nick | |||
17 |
Cyber Stress | |||
18 |
Just the Ticket | |||
19 |
Kung Fu Fighting | |||
20 |
Every Dog has its Day | |||
21 |
The Entertainers | |||
22 |
Haunting at Halloween | |||
23 |
Truth or Dare | |||
24 |
Pilot Nick | |||
25 |
Art | |||
26 |
Alibi | |||
27 |
Can You Live Without ...? | |||
28 |
Christmas | |||
29 |
Camping | |||
30 |
Love Hurts |
Notes
- In the German version, Sascha's surname is given as Meier in episode 4, but as Fontane in episode 13
References
- https://www.planet-schule.de/fileadmin/dam_media/swr/extra/pdf/en_sc26.pdf
- "4Learning - Secondary - Resources4Learning - Secondary - Resources - Modern Languages - German Extra - Sam finds a job". 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFywXWHjZ08
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkc3PbgXPR4
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGdxsg5PZ_M
- "4Learning - Secondary - Resources - Modern Languages - German Extra: Series 2 - Episode 5: Ein Star ist geboren". 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010.
- "4Learning - Secondary - Resources - Modern Languages - Spanish Extra: Series 2 - Programme 5 - Transcript". 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.