TV Review: DEREK

This article was originally published in The Courier on 17th May 2014.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/lifestyle

Derek: Wednesday, Channel 4

Paul Whitelaw

Before we talk about Derek, some historical context is required. Only when familiar with the evolution of Ricky Gervais’ extraordinary paean to kindness and innocence can we truly get to grips with its myriad complexities.

It’s 2002. Following the initial success of The Office, Gervais starred in an ensemble stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe. He introduced a character called Derek Noakes. The mannerisms were already in place: the shuffling gait, jutting jaw and forehead-flattened hair were all recognisable as the Derek we know and love today.

The important difference is that this iteration of Derek wasn’t a wise, holy fool deserving of respect. He was a figure of fun, a lonely, deluded man with learning difficulties who existed purely as a vessel for cheap “shock” humour. We were being invited to laugh at an able-bodied comedian brazenly performing a cruel playground caricature.

Gervais frequently broke character to cackle at his own outrageousness, clearly thrilled by the buzz of getting away with it. That was the “point” of Derek: an act of childish mockery from someone who should know better.

As the years went by, Gervais would occasionally slip into Derek during his stand-up act as a way of deriding those he deemed beneath him, namely “sad” autograph hunters and Britain’s Got Talent fans. Weirdly, autograph hunting and BGT are two of the “favouritest” things of Derek from the heart-warming Channel 4 sitcom.

Gervais then got in trouble for repeatedly using the word “mong” on Twitter and on stage (he described Susan Boyle as such; the newer, nicer Derek is a big fan of Boyle). Despite being widely recognised as a disablist insult, Gervais denied any knowledge of this. As far as he was concerned, it was just a harmless way of describing the comical face-pulling he’s so fond of. And yet his Boyle routine blatantly contradicts this claim: he obviously knew what it meant.

Stung by the backlash, he hastily revived Derek for an embarrassingly mawkish, heavy-handed comedy-drama about an elderly care home. We’re now expected to accept him as an inspirational figure whose unwavering kindness is a lesson to us all. And yet Derek, which resembles an inept pantomime written by an earnest teenager, constantly undermines this simplistic message.

Kindly Derek wrestles an elderly resident to the floor; a woman is mocked for being overweight; alcoholism is debilitating yet hilarious; OAP sex is repulsive; older people should be listened to, just as long as they’re given as few lines as possible; it’s perfectly acceptable for a care home assistant to have sex with her boyfriend on the premises.

What a fascinating, jaw-dropping mess. Nothing about it makes sense. And yet some have fallen for it. Viewers who cared little for the choice highlights of his earlier work now regard Gervais as a saintly purveyor of valuable life lessons. His cynical volte-face worked. Maybe he’s a genius after all.

The latest episode featured a visit to the zoo. Its whimsical celebration of the animal kingdom would’ve had Attenborough reaching for an air rifle. Meanwhile, Hannah’s mission to conceive ended in disappointment. Cue Derek: “I wanted to ‘old it… I never knows what to say, so I just hugs. And that sort of says it all.”

I don’t think Gervais is a bad person. He’s doubtless convinced himself that Derek is a sincere plea from the heart. The reality is it’s one of the most addictively incompetent works ever produced by a major comedian. I loves it, me.

Ricky Gervais and DEREK: What Fresh Hell is This?!

This article was originally published in The Scotsman on 24th January 2013.

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tv-and-radio/derek-might-be-worst-thing-ricky-gervais-has-done-1-2759890

DEREK

A pseudo-documentary based in an old people's home, Ricky Gervais' Derek caused something of a stir when the pilot aired last year.

Following on the heels of a much-criticised incident where he used the word “mong” on Twitter and denied all knowledge of it being a disablist term, the controversy was compounded by his new project, in which he appeared to be playing a man with learning difficulties. Gervais, of course, stubbornly denied that he was.

To be fair to his creator, the shambling Derek – a voluntary carer – is never presented as an object of ridicule. Indeed, he's innocent and kind to a fault. Gervais says he wishes more people were like him.

But Derek's physical appearance - jaw permanently jutted, hair flattened over his forehead - is practically identical to the face Gervais pulls in the countless pictures he Tweets of himself to cruelly mock the supposedly idiotic fans of Susan Boyle and Britain's Got Talent. Coincidentally, they're also two of Derek's favourite things. So what's he trying to say here? I don't think even he knows.

Make no mistake, Derek – a series written and directed by Gervais alone - is one of the most embarrassingly inept concoctions you're ever likely to see. Indeed, I actually feel quite sorry for the befuddled auteur. He's a thin-skinned, insecure superstar who wants to be seen as a great artist and deep thinker. And his heart appears to be in the right place with Derek. In theory at least, it's a (painfully) sincere attempt to say something meaningful about human kindness and the way society marginalises the elderly.

But Gervais' efforts are so horribly forced and heavy-handed. It feels more like a cynical exercise in emotional manipulation than the heart-warming – and potentially award-winning - piece he's aiming for. The pathos in his only great work,The Office, felt relatively effortless, but here it's delivered with a sledgehammer.

The soundtrack drowns in overbearing “FEEL SAD NOW” piano, as Gervais pits his merry band of outsiders against crudely-rendered men in grey. And despite good performances from his core cast – including regular sidekick Karl Pilkington – Gervais is still problematic in the lead role. You never believe in Derek as a consistent character. It's just millionaire comedian Ricky Gervais shuffling about in a cardigan and pulling a face.

As a comedy-drama, it's almost fascinatingly dull, repetitive, shallow and unsubtle. The dramatic elements are overdone and the comedy barely existent. A tonal train-wreck, its abject failings are crystallised in the hilariously ill-conceived montage that closes episode two. Scored to Radiohead's tenderly triumphant Bones (clumsy literalism ahoy!), images of happily dreaming elderly residents are spliced with grainy footage of them supposedly in their youth. It's truly jaw-dropping in its deranged efforts to yank the heartstrings.

If that wasn't jarring enough, it's immediately preceded by a scene in which Derek vomits into a toilet, an old man soils himself, and another character emits an explosive fart. It's like someone earnestly lecturing you on the poetry of existence while throwing bricks through your window. Time and time again you'll ask yourself: “What the hell were you thinking, man?!”

Quoted in the official press release, Gervais actually says – of his own creation – that he's never seen anything quite like it. Fair dues, Ricky, I'm with you on that.

DEREK airs from Wednesday 30^th January on Channel 4 at 10pm.