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 byChannel 4 Learning
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes30 (English)
13 (French, Spanish, German) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerAndrew Bethell
Running time24 Minutes
Release
Original networkChannel 4 (UK)
multiple PBS member station/network instructional television blocks (U.S.)
Original release2002 (2002) –
2004 (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
Javier Marzan - Hector Romero [1] Lawrence Ray - Sam Scott Lawrence Ray - Sam Scott Lawrence Ray - 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
  1. In the German version, Sascha's surname is given as Meier in episode 4, but as Fontane in episode 13

References
  1. https://www.planet-schule.de/fileadmin/dam_media/swr/extra/pdf/en_sc26.pdf
  2. "4Learning - Secondary - Resources4Learning - Secondary - Resources - Modern Languages - German Extra - Sam finds a job". 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010.
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFywXWHjZ08
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkc3PbgXPR4
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGdxsg5PZ_M
  6. "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.
  7. "4Learning - Secondary - Resources - Modern Languages - Spanish Extra: Series 2 - Programme 5 - Transcript". 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
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