Derek
By Travis Wilson
Ricky Gervais' Derek is just another brilliant piece in Netflix's growing arsenal.
Netflix’s most recent foray into
original programming comes from comedic legend Ricky Gervais, who, as you
probably know, was the mastermind behind The
Office. In his new show Derek, Gervais
plays the part of the title character, a possibly autistic worker at the
struggling Broad Hill Nursing Home whose love for animals is only exceeded by
his love of the Broad Hill residents (however, in Derek’s hierarchy of needs,
YouTube videos of animals may fall into the “physiological” category). Derek has
the hots for the manager at Broad Hill, Hannah, who seems to be the person that
Pam Beasley would have become if she never became Pam Halpert; a loving,
caring, overworked and under appreciated woman with a bit of a temper and a
lovely British accent (okay, so maybe Pam never would have picked up the
accent). Derek’s “best mates” are Dougie and Kev, both of whom are at Broad
Hill as much as Derek and Hannah are. Dougie is Broad Hill’s caretaker (handyman)
with a pedophile haircut that, much to his chagrin, has never come into fashion
and is the basis for many of the shows jokes (side note: I can’t help myself
from laughing every time I hear someone with a British accent say the word
“pedophile”). Kev does not work at Broad Hill. He is an alcoholic bum with a
flare for inappropriate sexual comments and a collection of 35,000 autographs
of famous people (his life’s work) who hangs out all day at Broad Hill because
the staff is too nice to tell him to leave. Rounding out the cast are a couple
of bit parts played by nursing home volunteers who are there under court order
and, of course, the elderly tenants of Broad Hill.
On the surface, Derek seems like a very odd vehicle for a comedy. It’s no easy feat
to make a show based on a character that may or may not have a mental handicap
(I’ll touch on this later) and works at a nursing home where people go to die,
but Ricky Gervais toes the line between offensive and comedic brilliantly. (I
can’t help but think that this
moment must have sparked Gervais’ original interest in the theme of the show). Derek’s first season, posted on Netflix
in its entirety on September 12th and streaming instantly now, has
seven episodes, each building on the previous and getting stronger as the
season goes on. Like The Office, it
is a mockumentary, and if it’s any indication of my opinion on the show, I’ve
watched season one all the way through twice now and will probably end up watching
it again for a third time in the near future (can you guess on the state of my
social life?).
This show could have easily been
written as one that derives comedy from making fun of Derek’s personality or
the elderly residents of Broad Hill, but instead it paints Derek as a character
too kind for his own good and shows us that the elderly, although weak and in
need of constant care, are people who have lived long and interesting lives.
Not to get too sentimental, but some of my favorite parts of this series are
when they show old pictures and video clips of the Broad Hill residents from
when they were younger. As obvious as it may seem on the outside, these
flashbacks remind you that the elderly weren’t just placed on this Earth as an
old person – they were once our age and have experienced things we’ll never
have the opportunity (or misfortune) of experiencing ourselves. Hannah, Derek
and Dougie (and Kev, to some extent) recognize this and have devoted almost
their entire existence to making sure the remaining moments in these residents’
lives are as joyful as they can be.
The balance between laughing and
crying in Derek is expertly handled
by Gervais (its rare that you’ll feel like crying and laughing at the same
time, but Gervais manages to deliver). Watching Derek refuse to throw his
tadpoles into the pond because they’ll get eaten, instead opting to have them
live in a water-filled bedpan (“it’s not wee”) is equal parts funny as it is
emotional. Derek makes you want to care for something – anything – as much as
he cares about animals and the elderly. In a later episode, due to budget cuts
at Broad Hill, the staff is forced to put on their own variety show, rather
than hiring professionals, and Kev presents his idea for his play entitled
“Duran Duran.” Derek is playing lead singer Simon LeBon, but continually thinks
he’s playing someone named “Duran Duran.” In preparation for the show, Kev and
Derek rummage through the old people’s closets to gather their costumes,
because nothing says 80s hair band like old lady’s blouses and wigs. From Kev’s
point of view, the show is a complete failure, but from the audiences point of
view (and ours) it is hilarious.
The ebb and flow of feelings in this
show is not to be ignored. Some episodes make you feel good, some make you sad,
and some make you angry, but they all manage to make you laugh in between. When
a man is sent into Broad Hill to poke around and find inefficiencies in the
home in order to cut their budget, he inquires as to weather or not Derek has
ever been tested for autism (“I’m not great at tests”). The man wants Derek to
be tested, so Derek asks, “If I am autistic… will it change me in any way? Will
I be the same person?” and I think this is the exact tone that Gervais was trying
to hit with this character. Does is really matter if he’s autistic or not?
Because in the end, he’s better than we are anyways. Derek looks the man in the
eyes and says, “Don’t worry about it then.” And you shouldn’t either.
In general, Ricky Gervais is
perceived as a rather polarizing figure. Audiences loved him as the host of the
Golden Globes so much that the powers that be begrudgingly had him host three
years in a row. His Twitter account reads like someone on a crusade to end any
and all religion in the world (and replace it with worshipping pictures
of people in the bathtub),
but Derek shows a side of Gervais
that I’m not sure we’ve seen yet. In this show, his writing is second only to
his acting, which is actually quite amazing. Again, tight roping the line
between making fun of people with mental handicaps and portraying a character
that genuinely cares for everyone around him is a delicate endeavor. As
unlikely as it may sound, at times I found myself forgetting that I was
watching Ricky Gervais. He’s generally such a brash and offensive person that
watching him play, quite possibly, the kindest person in the world and make it
believable seems almost as likely as Steve Carrell, Gervais’ torch bearer for
the U.S. version the The Office,
pulling off the asshole role in The Way
Way Back (a great movie, save for the unrealistic portrayal of Carrell as
an asshole beyond redemption). Where Carrell fell short in shedding his Office persona, Gervais has exceeded
brilliantly.
Viewers of The Newsroom generally point to one moment in the show’s history to
define the overly preachy and cheesiness of the show: Coldplay’s “Fix You”
playing over the Gabby Gifford scene. Embarrassingly as it may sound, I
actually quite enjoyed that scene in The
Newsroom (I’m not proud of it). I bring this up because I know it will be
pointed out as some of my fellow YHTS’ers watch Derek. The show features two Coldplay songs and, in fact, has “Fix
You” playing over the final moments of the first season’s finale. Again, while
I liked that particular moment in The
Newsroom, I can see how it could rub
people the wrong way. However, I don’t think that Gervais’ use of the song
in Derek is comparable to Sorkin’s in
The Newsroom and, even if Sorkin has
ruined all things Coldplay for you with regards to television, don’t let this
revelation keep you from watching the show. The good that Gervais has compiled
outweighs the bad that Sorkin has left in his wake.
As I was watching this series for
the first time through, YHTS was putting together a bracket of the 64 best TV
shows from 1990 until now, which you’ll soon get to vote on. While it’s too
early to say that Derek should be
included in this field of 64, I don’t think it’s out of the question to suggest
that, if the series gains popularity and gets picked up for a second season,
this show will make most people’s top 64 in the coming years. Gervais hasn’t
had much luck when it comes to series longevity post The Office, but I’m hoping that the exposure that Derek will get from Netflix will propel
this series into the annals of television sitcom history. The accents are
sometimes hard to understand, the language may be too much for your mother, but
the comedy and message behind it all is something everyone can get behind.
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