The second series of this Channel 4 bittersweet mock-umentary has just finished its run, and it has resulted in a lot of conflicting ideas and opinions, and quite a few pros and cons for me when it comes to looking at the show as a whole.
In essence, I adored the Pilot of 2012, and the first series last year. It did receive some criticism, but for me it had just the right amounts of laugh-out-loud hilarity, down to earth drama, and sweet poignancy. And what's more, don't get me wrong, I was very pleased to hear it was returning for a second series. However, it soon became apparent that in some key areas, they had decided to fiddle with and brashly embellish it, which I did not appreciate at all, and moreover offered me a new and slightly more negative perspective on a show that initially could do no wrong for me.
A few key series 2 areas that I feel shouldn't have been included the Hannah/Tom relationship, which apparently was evolving from series 1 but I didn't see it. On the one hand I love the character of Hannah, played by Kerry Godliman, in both series. To me she is just the right amount of charismatic, humerous, erstwhile and heartening. I think it was good she got a love interest, but I really didn't like the character of Tom; shady, two-dimensional and predictable in all the wrong areas. In series 2, whilst apparently "progressing" their story, Ricky Gervais in essence has taken us on a multi-episode run-around with these two with the odd smattering of drama here and there, without taking it anywhere really so we end up back where we started. What's more this relationship was just done in a way that jarred resonantly with all the positive and charming elements of Derek.
Other series 2 negatives for me include David Earl's Kev being even more gross and horrifically coarse, yet this time just for the sake of being so, and also for some reason the nemesis-like influences of the outside world (which came into play brilliantly in series 1) just seemed so tired and clichéd second time around. Yet for me, one of the biggest affronts came early on in Derek's return.
One element in series 1 I loved was the incomparable Karl Pilkington as caretaker Dougie, and thus I was utterly aghast when he was quickly written out of the second series, during the first episode. Apparently this was due to Pilkington's crippling nerves when doing the first series, and him not wanting to carry on. Fine I can accept that; I think it's a shame but fine. However when discussing Pilkington's departure, Gervais said that he was "not integral" to the show. I feel he was proven horribly wrong, especially when he brought in the character of Geoff, who is an incredibly poor and negative imitation, to replace him. In the show, Geoff is basically an "arsehole", and thus that is what he is to me, with no redeeming features at all. Not funny, not dramatic, not a good actor, not a good character, not watchable; all going to show in my view, what a total cock up Gervais made in axing Dougie.
Finally, for many viewers and critics, Gervais' conception and performance in Derek has been a problem from day one. Initially I either didn't see this, or quickly brushed it away because I was so enamored with the show and the character. Now though in series 2, possibly because of the a fore-mentioned negatives, there were a few times when I could see through the seemingly perfect character of Derek, which for me was not a pleasant experience. A few times this series, there were moments when Gervais' character didn't seem to be a character at all, it was just Gervais mooching about in a cardigan with a bad fringe pretending to be simple. What's more, it was Gervais mooching about with a very abrasive and arrogant attitude that did not bode well for me as a viewer.
And yet, and yet... There were still plenty of hilarious, beautifully crafted and hugely sweet moments in series 2 of Derek that kept you watching and kept you coming back for more. Admittedly to me they did seem to come towards the end, some of the best moments (comedy, tragedy and just plain 'awww') indeed arriving in the final episode (maybe that was their plan all along!). Yes, for whatever reasons, I did skeptically see a few chinks in Derek's armor this time, and yes perhaps the show is suffering a tad from second album syndrome. However I will by no means abolish it from my viewing nor encourage anyone else to do the same. It is still for me the best thing Gervais has done, and is simply just a wonderfully warm, lovely and genius piece of TV. I definitely want to see more of Derek, and I maintain what I said at the start - I do feel that Derek certainly still has the potential to become a classic piece of comedy.
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