Derek (TV series)

Overview

The pilot episode aired on 12 April 2012 on Channel 4. The show's writer, Ricky Gervais, revealed on his blog, just after the pilot had aired, that he was writing six more episodes. Filmed in a mockumentary style, the series is set mostly in a nursing home and centres on Derek, a helper at the home. The title character first made an appearance in the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe show Rubbernecker, and appears briefly in his Science tour of 2010. In this show, Gervais bemoans the harassment he suffers at the hands of autograph-hunters, adopting a 'Derek-like' persona before denouncing 'them' as genetically inferior.

Gervais has said that the programme was inspired by his relatives who work in care homes: "Half my family are care workers. My sister works with kids with learning difficulties. My sister-in-law works in a care home for people with Alzheimer's. And four or five of my nieces work in old people's homes. I always write about what my inlaws and four fifths of my nieces know."

Plot

Gervais plays 50-year-old Derek Noakes, a care worker at Broad Hill, a home for the elderly, who has worked there for three years. He likes watching reality television shows and game shows and is interested in celebrities, YouTube and, above all, talking about animals. The viewer is told he is kind, helpful and selfless, with good intentions. He is vulnerable because of his childlike naivety and distractions from society. He is ridiculed and ostracised, as well as being marginalised by mainstream society because of his social awkwardness and lack of inhibitions. Derek says it is more important to be kind than to be clever or good-looking. Many media sources describe him as autistic, though Gervais has firmly denied this. Gervais has, in fact, remained carefully ambiguous as to whether Derek is intellectually challenged, autistic, or otherwise.

Supporting characters

Kerry Godliman plays his colleague and friend, Hannah. The care home's manager, she has worked there for fifteen years. Karl Pilkington plays Dougie, the home's caretaker, in Series 1. Derek and Dougie live in Dougie's council flat. David Earl plays Kev, a slobbish and sex-crazed friend of Derek who does not work in the home but spends nearly all of his time there.

Reception

Derek has been met with mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the first season holds a rating of 65. On Metacritic, the first season of the show earned a rating of 64 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The show attracted controversy due to a perception by some that it mocks mentally disabled people. Tanya Gold, writing for The Guardian, dismissed Gervais's claims that in Derek he was satirising prejudice against the disabled, instead saying it "feels more like lazy cruelty than satire". Jack Seale criticised the show for relying too heavily on elements and characterisations from previous programmes made by Gervais. The Guardian's Sam Wollaston found it to be "not very good" and felt that "the whole mockumentary thing feels tired now".

Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent questioned the wisdom of commissioning an entire series of the show, writing: "To my mind, the pilot of Ricky Gervais's comedy about an assistant in a retirement home had already fully explored its awkward – and testing – balance of comedy and emotion." About the titular character, he wrote "It’s Derek’s redeeming qualities that are the hardest to take – a sense of self-congratulation at the refinement of its own sentiments that has a little bit of the bully in it too."

Gervais' performance as Derek has attracted mixed reviews. Diane Werts of Newsday reacted positively, saying that "Gervais has nailed it". Curt Wagner of Red Eye wrote that Gervais "surprises with some tender, quiet acting and obvious love of the character. Rob Owen of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that "although there could be an ick factor to Mr. Gervais playing a character with developmental issues, that turns out not to be the case. Mr. Gervais creates a character, not a caricature." On the other hand, The Guardian's Sam Wollaston wrote that "Ricky Gervais is out of his depth playing a character that isn't based on his own worst foibles." Terry Ramsey of The Telegraph wrote that "There is Gervais’s cringe-making performance in the title role. I’m sorry, but Derek is simply Ricky Gervais in a patterned jumper with a cricked neck. Gervais is not a character actor and what Derek needs to bring him alive is to be more believable. What he really needs is someone else playing him." Christopher Stevens of The Daily Mail wrote, "He [Gervais] slips in and out of character: sometimes he’s the gentle, stuttering carer, and at others he’s just Ricky Gervais in an acrylic cardigan, with a glint in his eye and a sarcastic quip on his lips."

The second series of Derek attracted positive reviews. The second series currently holds a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hank Stuever of The Washington Post reacted positively, saying that "Derek is an honest and often charming endeavor." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly also praised the show, but wrote that the absence of Karl Pilkington hurt the series, writing: "The second season mostly upholds the first's tricky precedent, but the absence of regular Gervais associate Karl Pilkington means the yuks are a bit less hearty." Terry Ramsey of The Telegraph wrote,"We didn't need a second series of Ricky Gervais's comedy drama Derek." In a review in The Guardian, Sam Wollaston wrote "That's the other big problem with Derek. That it's not very smart. Or very funny. Or very good." Msn.com stated "Ricky Gervais' Derek remains a mawkish mess. Where to begin? The mockumentary format is moribund. The ethics are muddy. The tone is all over the place in everything but its consistent condescension." Matt D of Unrealitytv.co.uk agreed with the consensus claiming "The primary reasons for this are the imbalance in tone and Gervais’ central performance both of which stop Derek from being a truly enjoyable programme." AV Club suggested that "Derek has all the creative ambition of [an online video of little piggies and bunnies doing cute things]." Indie Wire stated that "Season two is all over the map." Michael Hogan of The Telegraph described Derek as a "saccharine series" and "dreadful". Serena Davies, from the same publication, went as far as to claim that "the show seems to have been devised by someone of Derek’s limited intelligence... [I will not be] wasting any more of my time watching this rather flimsy, curiously pointless programme" The Daily Mail described Derek as "an unfunny sitcom" and "the most rancid dollop of insincere gloop ever served up on telly".

The special was given two stars out of five by The Telegraph. The reviewer, Ed Power, criticised the episode for the "weak performance" from Gervais and the "sub-Forrest Gump sympathy milking". He described it as "glib" and "manipulative". The Guardian reviewer Julia Raeside concurred, adding "I can find no comedy in it and it lacks the emotional truth required for a drama".

DVD releases

The complete first series of Derek was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 November 2013. The complete second series of Derek was released on DVD on 17 November 2014. Additionally, a 2 disc boxset containing both the first and second series on DVD was also released on 17 November 2014. Derek: The Special was released on DVD on 26 October 2015. A complete collection boxset was also released featuring both series and the special.