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Derek is a British comedy-drama television series starring, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. The pilot was produced by Derek Productions Ltd. for Channel 4 and aired on 12 A…
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Investigate this subjectDerek is a British comedy-drama television series starring, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. The pilot was produced by Derek Productions Ltd.
Derek is a British comedy-drama television series starring, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. The pilot was produced by Derek Productions Ltd. for Channel 4 and aired on 12 April 2012. Channel 4 describes the show as "A bittersweet comedy drama about a group of outsiders living on society's margins".
On 9 May 2012, Channel 4 announced it had commissioned a full series, which aired from 30 January 2013. On 4 March 2013 (two days before the final episode of the first series was aired), they announced Derek had been recommissioned for a second series, to be shown again on Channel 4 and later on Netflix.
The first series became available for streaming on Netflix on 12 September 2013. The second series, consisting of six episodes, started airing on 23 April 2014 on Channel 4 and concluded on 28 May 2014. In November 2014, Channel 4 announced that a 60-minute "final" special episode of Derek would air in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2014.
The pilot episode aired on 12 April 2012 on Channel 4. Filmed in a mockumentary style, the programming is set mostly in a nursing home, and centres on Derek, a helper at the home. The title character made his first appearance in the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe show Rubbernecker.
Gervais says the programming 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 I know."
Gervais plays 50-year-old Derek Noakes, a care worker at Broad Hill, a home for the elderly; he 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 marginalised by mainstream society because of his social awkwardness and lack of inhibition. Derek says it is more important to be kind than to be clever or good-looking. Some commentators have described him as disabled or autistic, although Gervais denies this.
Ricky Gervais as Derek Noakes, an employee of the care home
Kerry Godliman as Hannah, the care home's manager
David Earl as Kevin "Kev" Twine, a homeless, unemployed alcoholic who hangs around the care home
Karl Pilkington as Dougie, the home's caretaker (Main Series 1, guest Series 2)
Colin Hoult as Geoff, the home's caretaker replacing Dougie after he leaves (Series 2 and Special)
Holli Dempsey as Vicky, initially working in the care home on community service, she goes on to become a volunteer, an employee and eventually cover Hannah's maternity leave as acting manager
Brett Goldstein as Tom, Hannah's love interest and grandson of Annie, a resident of the carehome
On Rotten Tomatoes the first series holds a rating of 53% based on 32 critics, with the consensus reading: "Derek is as irreverent as might be expected from a show starring Ricky Gervais, but this time he brings a surprising amount of depth and empathy to the title character." On Metacritic, the first series of the show earned a rating of 64 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The show generated occasional controversy due to a perception by some viewers it mocks intellectual disability. Tanya Gold, writing for The Guardian, dismissed Gervais's claims in Derek, he was satirising prejudice against disabled people, instead saying it "feels more like lazy cruelty than satire". Jack Seale criticised the show for relying on elements and characterisations from other programming by Gervais. The Guardian's Sam Wollaston found it to be "not very good", and says "the whole mockumentary thing feels tired now".
Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent questioned the wisdom of commissioning the programming: "To my mind, the pilot of Ricky Gervais's comedy about an assistant in a retirement home already fully explored its awkward – and testing – balance of comedy and emotion." Discussing the show's compassionate moments, he wrote "Derek's redeeming qualities are the hardest to take – a sense of self-congratulation at the refinement of its sentiments that has a little bit of the bully in it, too."
Gervais' performance as Derek received mixed reviews. Diane Werts of Newsday reacted positively, saying "Gervais nailed it". Curt Wagner of Red Eye says Gervais "surprises with some tender, quiet acting, and obvious love of the character. Rob Owen of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says "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 says "Ricky Gervais is out of his depth playing a character that isn't based on his worst foibles." Terry Ramsey of The Tele
Source: Derek (TV series) (CC BY-SA)
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