Derek Season One DVD Review
Summary: Derek is one of those rare comedies that successfully manages to highlight an issue in society but somehow incorporates humour into the message. Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington are brilliant as the two protagonists in Derek who create this almost realistic and thoroughly enjoyable comedy series that will draw you in from the get go!
4
Delightful
Title: Derek Season One
Rating: MA15+
Reviewer: James Wright
Running Time: 136Minutes
Genre: TV, Comedy
Derek comes from the wickedly entertaining brain of Ricky Gervais and focuses on Derek Noakes (Gervais), an innocent and middle aged autistic man living in a nursing home. Although Derek is a resident in this home, he also supports the staff and residents to help make their home a better place. Also joining Derek is Dougie (Karl Pilkington), his best friend and the janitor/handy man at the establishment who like Karl is always whinging about something and Kev, another close friend of Derek who somehow lives at the home as well. Last but not least is Hannah (Kerry Godliman), one of the care workers who always looks out for Derek who happens to be the heart and soul of the home. Hannah unfortunately has sacrificed the well-being of the residents for her love life.
Although Gervais was slammed by some people for this comedy series about a disabled individual, there’s actually something endearing about the character and the situations that Derek is involved in. My favourite moment was when Kev (David Earl) held a party for Derek and invited all the residents and staff of the home. Although this was a day to be remembered for Derek, Kev also gave him his first taste of alcohol which unfortunately ended over the toilet seat for our loveable hero. Quite a melancholic moment.
Unlike Gervais’ other comedy series, he managed to instil quite a bit of morality and more importantly emotion into Derek and his colourful friends and acquaintances. I was actually quite surprised that a few scenes managed to successful pull at my emotional heart strings, especially the final episode of the series which once again proves that even if you are not deemed as normal, you are still play a useful part of society.
Another powerful snapshot in this series is the institutionalisation of young people in nursing homes that Derek actually embodies. It’s these subtle messages that makes this comedy such a compelling watch. Apart from Gervais, Pilkington pays Dougie perfectly who has some great one-liners and shining moments in this TV series, such as the time the local council wanted to close down the nursing home. Needless to say he was pissed off in his own unique and humble way.
Final Thoughts?
Derek is one of those rare comedies that successfully manages to highlight an issue in society but somehow incorporates humour into the message. Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington are brilliant as the two protagonists in Derek who create this almost realistic and thoroughly enjoyable comedy series that will draw you in from the get go!
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