The Official "Derek" Thread

[Lenny Bruce]

Really? I could've sworn it made me laugh...

Well if that's the level of your humour you should watch Mrs Brown's Boys, YOU would think it comedy genius! You'll have found your level!

[dunebug]

He's having a go.
I think you're looking for cookdandbombd.co.uk Len, being a right cund about peoples opinions has been done to death here mate.

[Tomkerr93]

Who the hell is that?

Get out.

[Nill Demand]

Cheers for the recommendation, Lenners, this is bloody GENIUS!

[Jenson's Beard]

Cheers for the recommendation, Lenners, this is bloody GENIUS!

How dare you enjoy things that are beneath others.

[Steven]

[

Are you Dickie Anderson by any chance?

Who the hell is that? In your world i'm sure that was incredibly witty and well thought out.

When this Derek nonsense fails miserably just remember you were part of the herd who thought it genius. Idiot.

[EinHistory]

[

Are you Dickie Anderson by any chance?

Who the hell is that? In your world i'm sure that was incredibly witty and well thought out.

When this Derek nonsense fails miserably just remember you were part of the herd who thought it genius. Idiot.

You don't know who Randy Anders is?!

[SleepingBeauty]

I liked that. Not entirely sure why. Derek is an odd character. I like him.

I'm sure it'll be ok in a whole series. I don't think there's been anything that Ricky has done that I haven't enjoyed, so I have faith it'll be good.

[chinchilla]

i think everyone can agree with the truth of these two statements :

"in the wrong hands this could be an absolute disaster"

and

"it is in ricky gervais' hands"


make of that what you will....

[ike]

You can almost guarantee, regardless of what/the general viewer think of the show, there's bound to be a shit storm of negative press and reviews of it when it first comes out, more than likely by journalists that haven't actually seen it.

[Scotland Rocks!]

Look. Here's my point.

Some characters are funny for eight-ish minutes. They're ideal for sketch comedy. You can have them pop up once, like Mr. Show or Wonder Showzen would do, or you can beat them to death like SNL or Mad TV tend to do.

Then you have a character concept that merits about a half-hour. Enough for a sort of one-off. Golden Years was a perfect example of that. Does anyone here really want to take up the argument that that show, funny as it was, could "be a whole series in the hands of Gervais and Merchant!"?

It wouldn't be. Because when a character is the sole focus of a TV series, it rarely works. It either has to be an ensemble with LOTS of good character ideas, or a really strong setting. That's why The Office, and to a lesser extent Extras, worked. As good as the characters were, the magic was that they were given a setting in which to thrive.

I can count on one hand the number of successful films that have come from Saturday Night Live characters - and that's if I'm wearing mittens. That's 90 minutes. Derek, as a character, is ideal for a sketch - maybe, at most, a recurring sketch show character. But that's it. No matter how much you Smerch & Jervay it up, what we're about to get is It's Pat!

(If you don't get that, you don't want to know.)

This is the point when some dopey twat chimes in with, "Yeah, well...don't watch it then!" Thanks. I won't. Cheers very much. If others want to watch it, that's fine as well. I just wish the guys were spending the time on existing projects. I'd rather have half the product with twice the quality.

You don't have to agree with me, but I don't have to agree with you either.

[ike]

Then you have a character concept that merits about a half-hour. Enough for a sort of one-off. Golden Years was a perfect example of that. Does anyone here really want to take up the argument that that show, funny as it was, could "be a whole series in the hands of Gervais and Merchant!"?

It wouldn't be. Because when a character is the sole focus of a TV series, it rarely works. It either has to be an ensemble with LOTS of good character ideas, or a really strong setting. That's why The Office, and to a lesser extent Extras, worked. As good as the characters were, the magic was that they were given a setting in which to thrive.

One point worth picking up there though; Has Ricky ever actually established that the show will be purely focused on the one character of Derek? I'm not sure what you're basing that fact on, other than the knowledge the show is tentatively titled after him. Blackadder was focused predominantly on the one character but still had an ensemble of other great actors and characters, do we know if this will be any different at this stage?

I'm not arguing as to whether or not this will work, as I said ages ago I can't imagine how Derek can work as a series (rather than a character on a sketch show) based solely on that one sketch we've seen. But I still don't think we know anywhere near enough about it to make assumptions at this stage.

[What A Hassle]

Derek's most recent airing,

Feels like Gervais is about 10 seconds away from saying 'I want that one'.

I would love for this to be good, and Darwin knows I'll watch it when it comes out, but the main problem I have when watching these Derek clips is it reminds me of the impressions my classmates did back in Comprehensive school... And some of those were funnier.

[Anti_Nora]

Look. Here's my point.

Some characters are funny for eight-ish minutes. They're ideal for sketch comedy. You can have them pop up once, like Mr. Show or Wonder Showzen would do, or you can beat them to death like SNL or Mad TV tend to do.

Then you have a character concept that merits about a half-hour. Enough for a sort of one-off. Golden Years was a perfect example of that. Does anyone here really want to take up the argument that that show, funny as it was, could "be a whole series in the hands of Gervais and Merchant!"?

It wouldn't be. Because when a character is the sole focus of a TV series, it rarely works. It either has to be an ensemble with LOTS of good character ideas, or a really strong setting. That's why The Office, and to a lesser extent Extras, worked. As good as the characters were, the magic was that they were given a setting in which to thrive.

I can count on one hand the number of successful films that have come from Saturday Night Live characters - and that's if I'm wearing mittens. That's 90 minutes. Derek, as a character, is ideal for a sketch - maybe, at most, a recurring sketch show character. But that's it. No matter how much you Smerch & Jervay it up, what we're about to get is It's Pat!

(If you don't get that, you don't want to know.)

This is the point when some dopey twat chimes in with, "Yeah, well...don't watch it then!" Thanks. I won't. Cheers very much. If others want to watch it, that's fine as well. I just wish the guys were spending the time on existing projects. I'd rather have half the product with twice the quality.

You don't have to agree with me, but I don't have to agree with you either.

You need to tell Ricky all this stuff, I mean how has he got by for the last decade without your nuggets of wisdom?

You bloody genius!

[Scotland Rocks!]

You need to tell Ricky all this stuff, I mean how has he got by for the last decade without your nuggets of wisdom?

Wow. You win. I mean, why have articulate responses when being snide and dull will suffice?