Talk about television eating itself, I've spent the last few days trying to get my head around the final episode of Extras. Was Ricky Gervais's tirade against the modern obsession with fame biting the hand that feeds him and having his Christmas cake and eating it? Opinion seems to be divided. Some loved it, some have said there was something hypocritical about Gervais's closing rant, suggesting that he is extremely fortunate in being secure enough to criticise the culture of celebrity, whereas the Z listers who claw their way up the greasy pole with barely enough talent to find their way to the television studio are only trying to earn a crust. And who can blame them for that?

The actual programme was always going to be too inward-looking to be as powerful or touching as the final episode of The Office, when Tim and Dawn walked off into the sitcom sunset. But there were some great gags in it. Telling the paparazzi where George Michael was on Hampstead Heath when he was told that George was doing the Catherine Tate special was a beautiful touch of art imitating life – did Gervais actually know George really was doing the Tate show when he wrote the scene? (and by the way, did George's face look kind of odd on Tate's show?)

Other moments were not so effective. This was supposed to be the sitcom that took Andy Millman, hardly a tortured soul, into a new dark place. And what was that dark place? Not Dave Pelzer-type misery. Not even Tony Soprano-type angst. One where you can't get a table at the Ivy without booking three months in advance. The dark place where you have to appear on Dr Who – one of the the most lauded dramas in years – to keep your profile up. That is hardly as dark as bereavement or not being able to feed and house your family. And as for the Reality-TV-as-Victorian-Freakshow rant at the end, commentators have been saying precisely that since the first series of big Brother aired in 2001. People know it already. The real trouble is that they know it and keep watching it and no fictional sitcom character saying "Shame on you" is going to change that. This was real hall of mirrors stuff. What is the fundamental difference between someone raising their profile by appearing on Extras and someone raising their profile by appearing on Big Brother?

Maggie's character was supposed to portray a dark side too, but, although great at times, she was fabulously inconsistent. One moment she was showing true integrity and standing up to Clive Owen's abuse, the next she was an idiot pretending to be Millman's PA who thought that Ridley Scott was actually "Wrigley Scott".

As for this idea that it is possible to fight back against fame, there are very few people able to resist the lure of true populist success. The only name that springs immediately to mind is stand-up comedian Daniel Kitson, who won the 2002 Perrier Award but then turned down endless TV offers, preferring to gig to a small coterie of fans who "get him". Luckily Kitson is gifted enough to be able to make a living, but I have still heard rumours of him talking to TV companies about possible projects in the past, so given the right vehicle even he might be sucked into the celebrity beast.

The greatest irony of all of this is that Andy Millman's predicament is precisely the same as Ricky Gervais's real-life fix. Gervais wants to make people laugh and I get the increasing feeling that he also wants to be taken seriously. But maybe his real strength is making the nation split its sides. Gervais says he wants to write more dramatic work, so the real test comes now. Somehow I can't see him taking part in Big Brother if his future projects fail, but neither can I see him walking away from comedy altogether. The clown might want to play Hamlet but I would imagine he'll miss having a laugh too much to give the clowning up completely. And after all, I'd much rather have another series of Extras than another series of To The Manor Born.

Oh, and by the way, Stephen Merchant was as hilarious as ever. Particularly when falling over the BBC security gate. Also, was it just a coincidence that Merchant, Shaun Williamson and Dean Gaffney's characters ended up working in Carphone Warehouse – the company that used to sponsor Big Brother?