Ricky Gervais as 'Derek'

Andr3w · 14 Apr 2012 at 10:04

Just watched it on 4OD....it was errr boring unfortunately

I thought the only funny thing about it was Carl's character.

nydryl · 14 Apr 2012 at 10:16

I quite liked it. I laughed the the twitter outrage calling it sick and disrespectful to disabled people - it was quite clearly neither.

SexyGreyFox · 14 Apr 2012 at 12:10

Andr3w said:
I thought the only funny thing about it was Carl's character.

Which is exactly the same character as XFM and Idiot Abroad.
If it works, use it.

trentlad · 14 Apr 2012 at 19:57

I was very happily surprised.

Like most I thought it would be a poke at the disabled but it was nothing of the sort. Gervais went from pulling a funny face to transforming into Derek, a very believable character. Not bad for a chap with no acting qualifications.

Well done Karl Pilkington, his character is hilarious and played very well. I love the way Gervais' work can be just silly comedy then suddenly he lands a left hook with real depth and emotion. Karl repairing that picture got me going and Joan telling Derek it's better to be kind than clever or attractive.

I also love how Merchant's and/or Gervais' work doesn't really appeal to every man woman and child. There's nothing worse to me than a piece of work that's been watered down and shaped into an object that should attract the masses.

Brilliant work again Gervais.

Jingo... · 14 Apr 2012 at 21:25

trentlad said:
then suddenly he lands a left hook with real depth and emotion. Karl repairing that picture got me going and Joan telling Derek it's better to be kind than clever or attractive.

They were both really quite special - Gervais can be proud of this creation for those two moments alone

Steedie · 14 Apr 2012 at 21:57

I've watched it four times now, twice by myself, made the girlfriend watch it, and just got my dad to watch it. Both loved it

And it gets me every time, laughter and tears in the same places. Can't wait for the next one

Mark A · 15 Apr 2012 at 07:03

Just watched it and I loved it

. I thought Ricky and Karl were both funny in places. Can't wait to see more.

Also checked out the hamster on a piano video on youtube and the views have doubled since the show

.

Neil79 · 15 Apr 2012 at 11:02

wtf...

trentlad · 15 Apr 2012 at 12:05

Dimple said:
Which is exactly the same character as XFM and Idiot Abroad.
If it works, use it.

I love banter with Dimple. Every time he posts about Pilkington it brings a massive smile to my face.

Astounds me how he manages to appear within seconds of every Pilkington related post. He's a fan too, so don't get upset with him.

Robosapien · 15 Apr 2012 at 13:40

It's all right, not what I was expecting.

RazrLite · 15 Apr 2012 at 13:56

Nothing that man has made has ever been any good & this tripe is no exception

PermaBanned · 15 Apr 2012 at 14:12

Gervais's acting was terrible. And i'm not sure they know what the show is supposed to be. It's too depressing to be a full on comedy, it's not interesting enough to be a sitcom.

Steedie · 15 Apr 2012 at 14:25

Hence why it's categorised as a drama

SexyGreyFox · 15 Apr 2012 at 15:43

trentlad said:
I love banter with Dimple. Every time he posts about Pilkington it brings a massive smile to my face.

Actually if you read the thread many people also think that Pilkington is a character and Derek 100% confirms it.
His character in Derek is 100% Pilkington with the same type of script and slowly people are catching on.
Yes he was the producer on XFM who had a few strange ideas but if you listen to the show you can hear how Merchant & Gervais transformed him into one of the best comedy characters in the last decade.
I just don't get how some people still can't see it and actually think he believes in his Monkey News stories.

bledd · 15 Apr 2012 at 16:17

trentlad said:
I was very happily surprised.

Like most I thought it would be a poke at the disabled but it was nothing of the sort. Gervais went from pulling a funny face to transforming into Derek, a very believable character. Not bad for a chap with no acting qualifications.

Well done Karl Pilkington, his character is hilarious and played very well. I love the way Gervais' work can be just silly comedy then suddenly he lands a left hook with real depth and emotion. Karl repairing that picture got me going and Joan telling Derek it's better to be kind than clever or attractive.

I also love how Merchant's and/or Gervais' work doesn't really appeal to every man woman and child. There's nothing worse to me than a piece of work that's been watered down and shaped into an object that should attract the masses.

Brilliant work again Gervais.

Totally this..

I've loved every TV series that he's made.

Personally, I believe Karl is Karl, obviously he plays up to some aspects like monkey news. His character in this is amazing, just seemed terrible at first, but came off as a genuine person.

The headbutt was amazing, I can see this being a real tear jerker towards the end

TFleming · 15 Apr 2012 at 19:05

So predictable in parts. Made me switch it off, seemed all very amateur-ish.

Spektor · 15 Apr 2012 at 20:10

Dimple said:
Actually if you read the thread many people also think that Pilkington is a character and Derek 100% confirms it.
His character in Derek is 100% Pilkington with the same type of script and slowly people are catching on.
Yes he was the producer on XFM who had a few strange ideas but if you listen to the show you can hear how Merchant & Gervais transformed him into one of the best comedy characters in the last decade.
I just don't get how some people still can't see it and actually think he believes in his Monkey News stories.

Well it doesn't confirm anything other than Ricky wanting to have Karl involved in his projects, which he has done for a very long time. Plus the reason why his character is so like Karl is because you are hardly going to find Karl getting roles outside of being a bald manc ****.

They didn't transform anything, Ricky and Steve never bothered that much with XFM and in Karl they initially discovered a free ticket to just turn up every saturday, completely unprepared, and just poke a shaved chimp for it's opinions for 2 hours. It evolved from there.

Karl lived a life you know before he met Ricky Gervais. I don't know what you think he was saying / doing before you believe Ricky began scripting him like some demented version of the Truman show?

Oh, Derek was awesome, Hope it gets a season to round it off.

SexyGreyFox · 15 Apr 2012 at 21:12

Spektor said:
Karl lived a life you know before he met Ricky Gervais. I don't know what you think he was saying / doing before Ricky began scripting him like some demented version of the Truman show?

We are exactly on the same page and there are many more of us.
I still don't understand how some people can't see this.

Spektor · 15 Apr 2012 at 23:05

Dimple said:
We are exactly on the same page and there are many more of us.
I still don't understand how some people can't see this.

Well I don't know if you're now just being facile or genuinely misunderstood that?

I amended it for your benefit either way.

Mark A · 15 Apr 2012 at 23:46

Well I don't think that Karl is a scripted character at all. I don't understand why anyone would think that as he is the exact same way in interviews by himself. All the stories he told also paint a picture of who he is.

Its obvious that Monkey news was planned beforehand and the stories were getting more and more ridiculous. There is no way that Karl believed them and there is no way Ricky thought Karl believed them. This doesn't make Karl Pilkington a character though.

His character in this new show is similar to himself and I'm sure Ricky put Karl in this role for that very reason.