Derek.

I'm really not sure what to make of Ricky Gerais new show Derek. Channel4 called it a comedy but I didn't laugh very much. On the whole it was a pretty restrained melancholy affair. Derek is a slightly simple middle aged man working in an old people's home and that's basically it. The show was very well written and directed by Gervais, but he was seriously let down by his leading man.

The simple truth is that Ricky Gervais is not a good enough actor to take on the role of Derek. He shambled around and made gurning gestures, which were very similar to Ray Stokes the character he played in When the Whistle Blows, the sitcom within the show Extras. When we needed to sympathise with Derek he just came on like that annoying geezer, in the wheelchair from Facejacker. So for me, the moving moments were lost as Ricky Gervais struggled. I wonder what dimensions the role would have taken on if played by a real quality actor like, say, Mark Rylance? Also, if we hadn't watched him traversing the world, Karl Pilkington as Dougie the caretaker, would have been a revelation but it was just Karl Pilkington being Karl Pilkington. The acting honours went to Kerry Godliman as carer Hannah, she did bring out the pathos and feeling of the script.

I'm sure Derek will evolve into a series, but where can it go? At its heart it is sad, melancholy and downbeat you really can't see Derek getting into many comic situations without the show crossing the boundaries of taste.

 

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