Derek

Gervais is just a sniggering playground bully

This show is the most rancid dollop of insincere gloop ever served up on telly.

'Derek' review, series 2 episode 1

Would this have been recommissioned if it had been anybody but Ricky Gervais behind it? Probably not. Is the TV schedule better for it being included? Definitely.

There's a massive spider on the wall in the men's toilet at the nursing home where Derek (Channel 4) works. Is it after the fly perhaps? No, because this is Ricky Gervais wobbly hand-held mockumentary style. Who is this camera operator supposed to be though? A recovering alcoholic? A resident? Maybe with Parkinson's? Certainly with no previous experience of camera operation - it's lurching all over the place, zooming in and out, I'm feeling a bit airsick to be honest. Oh for a bit of fly-on-a-wall steadiness.

And what are these amateur documentaries supposed to be, do you ever ask? I suppose a residential care home is a more likely subject than a Slough-based paper company, but I'm wondering if the whole mockumentary idea is a little tired?

Anyway, the reason for the big spider is of course to demonstrate Derek's nature. He's terrified of it but he certainly doesn't want it killed. "Go and get a cup, catch it," he tells Dougie (Karl Pilkington). "Make sure you catch it, and let it go free." Derek may not be the brightest tool in the box, or the bravest, but he's a good guy, kind and gentle, and he loves animals.

You can tell that Derek's not so bright, a bit backward, because of the way RG plays him. He hunches over a little, tilts his head to one side, darts his eyes around, grimaces idiotically, and he holds his hands in front of him, like some kind of rodent. Plus, he's not so good at declining his verbs. "Animals always tries their best," he says, demonstrating his selflessness and love of animals as well as confusion over the third person. It's the same on Twitter: "I loves animals," tweets @MrDerekNoakes. It's always a dead give away, poor verb declension ...

That's the biggest problem with Derek. Not, as some have said, that it mocks people with learning difficulties (it's too kind for that, and tries to be sympathetic). Just that it's a very crude portrayal. Gervais's previous characters - David Brent and Andy Millman - are not, I suspect, so very different from RG himself, kind of grotesque caricatures. Here he's trying to be someone else completely, and it's awful.

It may not be fashionable, but I'm a fan of Ricky Gervais. I used to like him on the radio with Stephen Merchant. Then The Office pretty much changed comedy on television, invented awkwardness. Extras was bold and bloody hilarious. I also very much enjoyed his Golden Globes hosting - baring a cheeky British arse to humourless Hollywood. But he's no Tom Hanks himself (and Derek's not Forrest Gump). Karl Pilkington also - I enjoy his Idiot Abroad show but he's no great actor.

Derek's father has moved in. He's a ladies' man, and he likes a drink (well, he seems to be Irish, maybe Derek isn't totally lazy-stereotype free). But the old man is a good 'un too. He's got a photo album, pictures of himself on holiday - France, Germany, Morocco, Spain - with a different lady in each place. "That's the point in travelling, boy: nookie." "Newquay?" says Derek, darting his eyes around, shaking his head. "I haven't been to Newquay."

A pun! Nookie, said a bit drunk and a bit Irish (same thing innit?) sounds a bit like Newquay. Especially if you're a half-wit ...

That's the other big problem with Derek. That it's not very smart. Or very funny. Or very good.

Derek: season 2

Overall Derek has come back on the strengths with which it first succeeded and continues to be a highly entertaining show that treads between genre boundaries. Personally, the removal of Dougie takes an edge off of the show for me as he was by far my favourite character, yet admittedly I am a huge Karl Pilkington fan.

I've never watched Derek before, but I decided to dive straight into Series 2 which is currently airing on Channel 4. Normally I loathe skipping episodes, but I'd heard mixed things about the first series.

My initial thoughts aren't what I thought they'd be. I've always been skeptical about this show (for the obvious reasons) and was worried that the humour would be crass in an uncomfortable way. This wasn't the case at all. It's far sweeter than I expected and is not at all in your face. Obviously there were some good gags and I'm sure the sickly sweet moments were occasionally for comedic effect, but I genuinely found it endearing. I'd even go so far to say it was moving in places. Bear in mind that I am an incredibly soppy so and so.

I'm a sucker for Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington anyway, but I did think their acting was good. Yes, it probably wasn't as funny as I had hoped, but it is definitely different and that's what all comedies should be aiming for. To be different.

Derek remains a mawkish mess

The mockumentary format is moribund. The ethics are muddy. The tone is all over the place in everything but its consistent condescension.

If MasterChef was about comedy instead of food, it's easy to imagine what John Torode and Gregg Wallace would make of this Ricky Gervais sitcom as it comes back for a second series.

"You've got tinkly piano music and genital warts," John would tell him. "Mate, those two things should never be on the same plate."

To which Gregg would add: "I'm getting the lovely light sweetness of Hannah and Derek, the sharpness of handyman Dougie played by Karl Pilkington, but then all I'm left with is this nasty, sour aftertaste in my mouth from Kev and that grubby pornographic gravy.

"There's a time and a place for sexual language like that and it just doesn't belong in a pudding."

I couldn't have put it better myself.

This week a new member of staff regales Derek with tales of strange creatures that are half-men, half-chimp, and Derek's father, Anthony (Tony Rohr) moves into the nursing home.

It's genuinely heart-warming to see him getting to know his son better.

Even if he is more interested in getting acquainted with all the female residents.

The pilot episode of Ricky Gervais's comedy set in a retirement home provoked a firestorm. The series that followed proved to be Marmite, so it's a surprise to find it back for a second outing. Critics protest that it mocks people with learning difficulties because Derek, the careworker of the title, shuffles around with his lower jaw stuck out and asks childlike questions. Naturally, Gervais - who also writes and directs - denied any such thing, arguing Derek can hold his own against Baldrick, Father Dougal and Mr Bean.

Like The Office, Derek is a mockumentary. The difference this time round is it's not obvious at whom we're supposed to be laughing. The result can be poignant, especially the scenes with Kerry Godliman, who is magnificently understated as put-upon manager Hannah - sometimes almost unbearably uncomfortable.

Tonight Derek's father moves in and is soon batting his eyelashes at the female residents, to his son's horror. Meanwhile, new member of staff Geoff bickers with the caretaker (Gervais's pal Karl Pilkington in ludicrous wig and gigantic NHS specs).

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