Derek the Divider

Ricky Gervais' Derek finished last week and there's been a bit of discussion about it since that time.

For one reason or another, it's stayed with me and I've been thinking about it a lot. Originally, I wanted to get some thoughts down sooner, but as with everything these days it takes a little longer.

The programme seems to have been as divisive as Mrs Brown Boys, with some deeply affected and moved by it to those who were angered and left feeling uncomfortable at Gervais' portrayal of Derek Noakes with his drooping jaw, slightly twee way of speaking and his odd shuffling walk. Furthermore (shock, horror etc.) Coldplay were used to soundtrack a couple of montages over the series, surely the death knell for any programme?

Gervais has been derided by many who feel he is gaining comic mileage out of those with genuine behavioural problems or psychological issues and there was a degree of truth in this in the pilot episode where Derek accidentally falls into a pond. That did make for uncomfortable viewing as we were being asked to laugh at Derek as opposed to with him. However, when the series started lessons were learned from this and we weren't asked to laugh at him again. We were asked to find him caring and kind-hearted.

Derek was an attempt by Gervais to break out of the furrow he's dug for himself. He's often been criticised for playing the same character in each of his roles, which in truth does carry some weight as there's not been an awful lot of variety in that regard.

But Derek is a huge step change and a risky one at that - as anyone who has seen Robert Downey Jnr's speech in Tropic Thunder will testify to (also considered by some to be offensive – you were warned). It would have been interesting to see the impact of an unknown actor playing the role. Would it have had more gravitas and been considered less offensive? Would it have created half the fuss, Twitter-rows, general discussion and publicity?

Arguably, Gervais' biggest crime with the writing of Derek is that he is guilty of loving his creation a too much which results in some of the supporting characters being thinly drawn (maybe to come into their own in the second series?), some clunky dialogue in places clunking and supposed “twists” being telegraphed well in advance.

But despite all this, tears of both laughter and sadness (surely the ultimate show of hitting the mark) have been teased out of the watching audience for half an hour each week and that it is no mean feat.

Like it's eponymous hero Derek was inoffensive and had its heart in the right place. The only underlying message that came out from it all, was not “let's have a laugh at those who are different to us” it was simply: wouldn't the world be a better place if we were all a little kinder and showed each other (and ourselves) just a little more respect?

In an increasingly cynical world full of snarky sketch shows and God-awful sitcoms with embedded laughter tracks (just in case you forget that what you are watching is supposed to be funny), Derek is overly sentimental, uncool and completely misunderstood by a lot of people.

I loved it.