Derek
Derek. British sitcom written by Ricky Gervais that aired between 2012 and 2014. It was produced for Channel 4 and later also broadcast on Netflix. The show is about the daily life of the staff and residents of an old people’s home. The main character Derek is played by Ricky Gervais, who also directed the show. There are two seasons consisting of six episodes and one special episode that marked the end of the series. It follows the style of a mockumentary.
Plot and Characters
The titular character Derek Noakes is a middle-aged man who works in an old people’s home named Broad Hill. He appears to be a simple minded and child-like man, his favourite things being animals, watching tv and spending time with his friends. All his friends either work in the home as well, such as Hannah and Dougie, or come to visit nearly every day, such as the unemployed alcoholic Kev. He also enjoys spending time with the residents of the home, especially with his favourite named Joan.
Derek gives off the impression to be somewhat different, for example does he walk around with his mouth open most of the time. He frequently makes grammar mistakes, such as adding an unnecessary suffix-s, as in “I likes” or he uses an incorrect comparative, such as “my favouritest”. He also has several tics, for example does he often gasp for air between sentences and he tends to brush his hair out of his face in a compulsory manner.
In the course of the series Derek is asked whether he was ever tested for autism, to which he replies: “I’m no good at tests”. After being told that he would not die or have to go to the hospital or change in any way if diagnosed with autism he says: “don’t worry about it then”. The question if Derek is disabled or not is left open throughout the series.
Hannah is the manager of the home. She is very caring and spends much more time on the job than she is required to. She does not have a lot of social contacts outside of work and therefore she often goes to the Pub with Derek, or even spends her free time at work. She also meets her boyfriend in the home, who is a grandson of a new resident.
Dougie and Derek live together and have the same daily routine, but while Dougie seems to be ashamed of his job and the people he spends time with, Derek is proud and happy about both, he states that he is “the luckiest man in the world”. Dougie is a rather negative character, who likes to complain a lot, but despite his rants it is still obvious that he genuinely likes Derek.
Kev is unemployed and he is a passionate autograph hunter. He spends nearly every day at Broad Hill where he drinks alcohol and talks about his alleged sexual capers. Kev and Dougie do not get along very well because Dougie thinks that Kev has a bad influence on Derek.
Reception
The series received very mixed reviews. It reached a score of 8.0/10 on IMDb. On rotten tomatoes it received a critics rating of 53 % and it was called “irreverent”, while the user ratings gave it a score of 85%. The show was often criticised because of its presentation of disabled people, to which Ricky Gervais answered that the character is in fact not meant to be disabled, he is just meant to be different.
Sources
“Ricky Gervais defends comedy show Derek.” BBC, 9 April 2012, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17656633. Accessed 14 July 2020. [1]
Gold, Tanya. “Ricky Gervais, there is no justification for this lazy cruelty.” The Guardian, 10 April 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/10/ricky-gervais-no-justification-lazy-cruelty. Accessed 14 July 2020. [2]
“Derek (TV series 2012-2014).” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2616280/. Accessed 14 July 2020. [3]
“Derek: Season 1.” Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/derek/s01. Accessed 14 July 2020. [4]
“Derek – C4 Sitcom.” British Comedy Guide, https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/derek/. Accessed 14 July 2020.[5]