Wow this one really is hot off the presses, this time I thought I would write about a TV show, I haven’t specifically reviewed an episode of something before, so this is all new and strange to me, like going to Guantanamo Bay, but without the human rights violations. Anyway, I thought I’d let you know what I thought about Ricky Gervais’s latest television project Derek.
I first saw this Gervais character in a short film that he made a while back. The character was a little different back then, he was religious and had ambitions of being a stand up comedian, he also lived at home with his mother. But with this new show, Gervais has branched out slightly and now Derek is an employee in a retirement home. First things first then, I know he will receive a lot of flack for this show due to the fact that Derek appears to be slightly mentally challenged. However having watched the first episode it is never explicitly said that there is anything wrong with him, and instead I just got the impression that he is slightly socially inept and just a little strange, but he still has a brain and he is still able to interact with people properly.
So what of the people he interacts with? Well firstly there are the numerous residents of the old people’s home that Derek works in, who he seems to genuinely care for. Then there is Hannah played by Kerry Goldiman who Derek clearly harbours feelings for, but doesn’t quite seem to understand them. Then of course there is the character of Douglass played by Karl Pilkington, who basically doesn’t have to act, as the character is essentially Karl. Whilst this really isn’t as funny as Gervais’s other work by quite a long shot, I did enjoy it. Numerous times in his career Gervais has shown that he knows how to evoke sympathy in his characters, he at times makes them annoying to add to the comedy element, but they always seem to have a good heart, such as David Brent, who was just misguided and a bit of a prat, but still a nice guy. That’s what I felt with Derek, forget the fact that he may be mentally disabled, he is a sweet man, and I was genuinely touched by his reaction to the death of one of the old people in the home.
Again I will say this isn’t his best work, for me that’s The Office, but to be fair that’s very hard to top. It really does bug me the amount of criticism Gervais gets, people really do seem to get very jealous of his success. I have read so many reviews of his work with people saying, I wanted to find this funny, or Gervais isn’t funny anymore and should stop doing the same jokes. Will you just go away, it’s so bloody easy to criticise and people really seem to enjoy doing it. Gervais hasn’t changed, he was always slightly smug, but that’s part of the act, and as for using the same jokes, well if it aint broke don’t fix it. Actually I bet you are the same twats who criticised Extra’s for being different aren’t you, make up your minds!
Never mind that anyway, I enjoyed Derek, I thought it was a good attempt from Gervais and I don’t think he was having a go at the disabled in the slightest. He has done some stupid stuff, like using the word mong, but this show doesn’t equate to that, it had thought and it had heart. I don’t think it will be a series, but I look forward to the next episode at least and I think you should too, if you want to stay friends.
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