Ricky Gervais

Derek: The most cynical TV show I've ever seen

As the father of an autistic son, author Christopher Stevens finds Derek - Ricky Gervais's new comedy-drama about a care-home worker - vile, cynical and dishonest.

Ricky Gervais's latest mock-doc, Derek, set in an old people's home, was preceded, like last year's Life's Too Short, by a hullabaloo deflecting attention from the fact of its being not much cop. This time, controversy centred on the mental health of Gervais's protagonist, a hunched, open-mouthed care assistant. Was Gervais mocking people with learning difficulties? What was indisputable was that his physically crude performance stuck out from those of his understated co-stars like a Chuckle Brother in Ken Loach.

Indeed, this pilot was all over the place, neither funny nor dramatic nor documentary-like, thanks to an obtrusively saccharine piano soundtrack. And if it was too sentimental to be offensive, then it was certainly condescending, its pitiable characters suggesting that working in social care presupposes being dysfunctional. With its mood of geriatric torpor, what it most recalled was BBC Four's Getting On, a far superior show that, incidentally, owed a lot to The Office - evidence, all in all, of how far Gervais hadn't come.

We shouldn't assume that Ricky Gervais spends too much time worrying about bad PR, but his latest outing in Derek - a one-off mockumentary about a care-home worker with learning difficulties - went some way to appease critics of his cheerfully ironic slant on differently abled people. Well, further, shall we say, than his sitcom about dwarves.

Gervais's talent for creating mischief offstage increasingly makes it difficult to view him through fresh eyes when he's on it. But there were no "mong" moments here. And if his chin-thrusting gurn in the role of the slow-moving Derek impressed more as a feat of endurance than dramatic ingenuity over the 35 minutes (the threat of lockjaw surely loomed over this production), that was no reason to doubt his sincerity. Derek bobbed eagerly among the old folk, hogging the roving camera like a child with a favourite uncle to entertain. It didn't take long to see his world of small pleasures and mutual give and take.

It's true that Gervais found room for a little light slapstick - once Derek had contrived to sit in his own rhubarb and custard it was only a matter of time before he toppled into the fishpond - but you didn't get the idea that we were there to poke fun at him. Derek was dim but he was kind and won kindness in return. And there was only one side to be on when he was baited in the pub by "chavs" (as they were described in the credits; Gervais hasn't quite lost his appetite for tweaking the noses of Guardian types), though the tone wobbled into farce when Hannah - manager of the home, and Derek's minder - was required to deliver justice with an unlikely comedy headbutt.

There was a gentle romantic subplot featuring Hannah - a familiar tongue-tied man-yearner in her 30s - and a handsome visitor, while Gervais's pet idiot-philosopher Karl Pilkington (handyman-bus driver Dougie) in a bad wig offered his usual baleful observations. But not much could halt the drift towards sentimentality, which started with Derek going off to buy a lottery ticket for a much-loved frail, elderly resident accompanied by the sort of plaintive piano that could only signal bad news. Derek tugged too importunately at the heartstrings to achieve pathos but I suppose there are worse crimes than trying too hard.

Derek - Review

An interesting half hour, then, for the sight of Ricky Gervais taking a step out of his comfort zone into almost-straight drama. Whether the show itself entirely worked, I don't know - it seemed more a showcase for his portrayal of Derek than having a strong drive of its own.

I hate to disappoint Ricky Gervais, but I can't see why anyone would be offended by his C4 comedy, Derek, about a guy with learning difficulties.

The only remotely 'iffy' thing I spotted was 'Chavs in pub' in the closing credits. Unless you can still call them that these days?

I guess you could mark Gervais down for not exactly breaking new ground. He came up with the idea for Derek over ten years ago and he is basically a Fifties Norman Wisdom character transported to a modern-day old folks' home.

Plus, the tone and subject matter was very close to the That Peter Kay Thing classic from 2000 about Britain's oldest paperboy, Leonard de Tomkinson.

Still, this pilot was bursting with enough promising characters, clever lines and gut-wrenching scenes to suggest a series won't be far off.

One thing though, Ricky. Maybe make Derek's voice a little less Fred West-like next time. It was a bit creepy.

How Derek showed a softer side to Ricky Gervais

Derek turned out to be a beautiful, warm story of people who need love, who give love and yet are all too often sidelined in society.

Derek was a sharp yet sweetly observed study of misfits

With Derek, Ricky Gervais pulls back from the brink of the smug self-satisfaction that threatened to engulf his undoubted talent, portraying a simple souled character that it is clear he actually likes.

Derek, Channel 4

Ricky Gervais's latest vehicle will stir debate.

Ricky Gervais fans give Derek the thumbs up

Ricky Gervais' new series Derek has received positive feedback for its inaugural episode, despite fears that viewers might find it offensive or unfunny.

Review: Derek (Channel 4)

The good news: Ricky Gervais' Derek isn't the distasteful portrait of a mentally-disabled man many assumed it would be (based on the original sketch that featured a questionable version of the same character). The bad news: Derek was nevertheless a largely tedious half-hour that offered few laughs amidst an oppressively earnest atmosphere.