Derek (Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington Sitcom)

JP Liz V1

http://www.digitalspy.ie/tv/news/a371991/ricky-gervaiss-derek-noakes-sitcom-pilot-to-air-on-channel-4-in-april.html

Ricky Gervais sitcom pilot Derek will be screened on Channel 4 in April, it has been announced.
The Office creator is hoping that the nursing home-centred comedy, which also stars Karl Pilkington in his first acting role, is commissioned for a full series.
However, BAFTA is billing its screening in London, on Tuesday, March 27, as "a one-off comedy drama".
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "Channel 4 is very excited to be working with Ricky Gervais on this new project and it's wrong to say we have rejected a series.
"The pilot will be on TV in April and then there'll be further discussions about the potential for a full series."
Derek Noakes, to be played by Gervais, is described by BAFTA as "a tender, innocent man whose love for his job and the people he cares for shines through".
"He's 49 years old and loves animals, Rolf Harris, Jesus, Deal or No Deal, Million Pound Drop and Britain's Got Talent - but his main hobby is autograph hunting," added the description.
Pilkington will portray retirement home landlord Dougie, Noakes's employer.
James Bond legend Sir Sean Connery will reportedly appear in the first episode.
Derek Noakes first appeared in a short at 2001's Edinburgh Comedy Festival, then a 39-year-old aspiring stand-up comic living with his grandmother.

squonk

More of the same for Gervaise. Crappy comedy with an A lister (Connery) thrown in so you can watch the thing without feeling completely cheated. The Office was genuinely brilliant but everything else since then has been rubbish. I wish he'd go away at this point.

ricero

squonk wrote: »

More of the same for Gervaise. Crappy comedy with an A lister (Connery) thrown in so you can watch the thing without feeling completely cheated. The Office was genuinely brilliant but everything else since then has been rubbish. I wish he'd go away at this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SK3y1a8TYs

Oat23

Feck Sean Connery. I'm watching for Karl!

Rjd2

squonk wrote: »

More of the same for Gervaise. Crappy comedy with an A lister (Connery) thrown in so you can watch the thing without feeling completely cheated. The Office was genuinely brilliant but everything else since then has been rubbish. I wish he'd go away at this point.

I hope celebrities appear in this and send themselves up :pac:

Show sounds vile, basically Gervais making loads of jokes about the disabled. :rolleyes:

Go away Ricky please.

Minstrel27

How do you know that it is going to be full of disabled jokes?

Hail 2 Da Thief

squonk wrote: »

The Office was genuinely brilliant but everything else since then has been rubbish.

The podcasts are hilarious too in fairness!

Rjd2

Minstrel27 wrote: »

How do you know that it is going to be full of disabled jokes?

It’s believed the show revolves around Gervais’s character Derek Noakes, a mentally challenged aspiring comedian who loves animals and still lives with his mum.


http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2011/11/25/14392/gervais_pilots_old_folks_comedy#ixzz1eiLn0e8E

Stewart Lee wrote an article about how he was expecting the worst from this and I totally understand his fear. But heh, celebrities sending themselves up!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/13/stewart-lee-comedy-offensive-gervais

Just finishing up season 2 of An Idiot Abroad and Karl is the only reason that I'll give this the time of day. Gervais has proven himself over the past few years to be an unfunny, malicious and down right nasty figure who seems to recycle the same tired ideas. The scene in Japan In AIA where Karl is meditating displays just what a nasty figure Gervais is. He's a bully, there's no other word to describe him.

I get the impression from what I have seen and heard of this that this is nothing more then Gervais truing to be risqué and cutting edge. In the hands of a skilled comedian this could well be a challenging and adult show but in Gervais's I fear that it's going to be juvenile trash that relies on cheap jokes at the expense of the patients and celebrity appearances in order to get people to tune in.

pixelburp

The bit I'm having trouble believing is the notion of Gervais playing a "a tender, innocent man whose love for his job and the people he cares for shines through". Doesn't exactly sound like the kind of character Gervais can naturally convey, does it?

Not sure about the accusations of nastiness, but I do think Gervais has shown himself to be a one-trick pony with a lot of what he has done since The Office. Nothing since has been either original or... well, funny. His most recent work with Warwick Davis was merely Extras series 3, which didn't help deny the idea of being a broken record. Mind you, tbh I always figured Merchant to be talented one of that duo anyway...

squonk

Did anyone see his cameo in the Simpsons? It really had to be one of the worst. I know sometimes they're not great but he just managed to leech any fun out of the episode that was in there to begin with.

pickarooney

Karl Pilkington's first acting role.... not sure I believe that to be honest.

amacachi

pixelburp wrote: »

Not sure about the accusations of nastiness, but I do think Gervais has shown himself to be a one-trick pony with a lot of what he has done since The Office. Nothing since has been either original or... well, funny. His most recent work with Warwick Davis was merely Extras series 3, which didn't help deny the idea of being a broken record. Mind you, tbh I always figured Merchant to be talented one of that duo anyway...

Extras was actually funny.

pickarooney wrote: »

Karl Pilkington's first acting role.... not sure I believe that to be honest.

You're right

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_bhVr1XF7g

kitakyushu

pickarooney wrote: »

Karl Pilkington's first acting role.... not sure I believe that to be honest.

Possibly so! I wouldn't be surprised if 'Suzanne' doesn't exist either.

kitakyushu

pixelburp wrote: »

The bit I'm having trouble believing is the notion of Gervais playing a "a tender, innocent man whose love for his job and the people he cares for shines through". Doesn't exactly sound like the kind of character Gervais can naturally convey, does it?

Not sure about the accusations of nastiness, but I do think Gervais has shown himself to be a one-trick pony with a lot of what he has done since The Office. Nothing since has been either original or... well, funny. His most recent work with Warwick Davis was merely Extras series 3, which didn't help deny the idea of being a broken record. Mind you, tbh I always figured Merchant to be talented one of that duo anyway...

There's something to that alright. I actually like Pilkington and Warwick Davies personalities in themselves but Gervais's brand of humour definitely is a vibe of 'lets take the piss out of the odd fella' and 'laugh at them not with them'. It's almost a universal element of everything he does. I don't see him ever going against this for a series.

As for the Merchant point I suspect that is true also. On the podcasts I've heard he definitely comes across as more quick-witted and intelligent than Gervais and I was surprised to learn how young he is (born 1974) so he'd probably only have been around 25 when he was trying to get the office made. Clearly he is quite precocious. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if I heard he had been using Gervais as much as a front as for a writing/directing partner.

murpho999

Funny how Gervais is enormously successful but people here just say he's rubbish since "The Office"!

How come people here are ignoring 'Extras'? I really thought that was very good.

Also, sholdn't we wait to pass judgement on the new show till we've actually seen it?

ricero

gervais you either love him or hate him and i think the mans brilliant.

cant believe people on here also debating if karl pilkington is playing a character truly a stupid myth being brought back up again

Mr.Nice Guy

Hmm, I have the feeling this show could turn people against Karl. He is funniest when he's not working off a script. Having him do the opposite will ruin a lot of his appeal I fear.

amacachi

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Hmm, I have the feeling this show could turn people against Karl. He is funniest when he's not working off a script. Having him do the opposite will ruin a lot of his appeal I fear.

Aye, I know a lot of people who seem to think that An Idiot Abroad is purely scripted (I'm sure plenty is) but I know a couple of people like Karl who don't say a lot but when they do it's with a straight face and usually funny.

Minstrel27

Rjd2 wrote: »

It’s believed the show revolves around Gervais’s character Derek Noakes, a mentally challenged aspiring comedian who loves animals and still lives with his mum.

You are speculating so.

zac8

A mentally challenged aspiring comedian who lives with his mother and is a fanatic autograph hunter? That could be The King of Comedy.

Rjd2

Minstrel27 wrote: »

You are speculating so.

I am not!:P

The quote was from the Chortle link which was posted just under the quote:P

leggo

I'm sorry but for me Gervais still has a good track record:

The Office, Extras, three great stand-up DVDs (haven't seen his latest tbh), An Idiot Abroad and the podcasts.

Duds: Life's Too Short, his movies (to a degree).

That's not bad at all, especially when you consider the worldwide success of The Office.

It just seems to be trendy to hate him since he's broken America. Maybe he's unlikeable...but he says straight up that he doesn't play the media game, which you'd think would be an admirable quality. Obviously there's something still to be said for just smiling to the cameras, keeping your nose out of trouble and putting on your Disney smile.

WindmillWarrior

leggo wrote: »

I'm sorry but for me Gervais still has a good track record:

The Office, Extras, three great stand-up DVDs (haven't seen his latest tbh), An Idiot Abroad and the podcasts.

Duds: Life's Too Short, his movies (to a degree).

That's not bad at all, especially when you consider the worldwide success of The Office.

It just seems to be trendy to hate him since he's broken America. Maybe he's unlikeable...but he says straight up that he doesn't play the media game, which you'd think would be an admirable quality. Obviously there's something still to be said for just smiling to the cameras, keeping your nose out of trouble and putting on your Disney smile.

Spot on. And I'd add the XFM radio shows to the good as well. They are from way back when they originally began working with Karl. They are very funny.

I think Lifes too Short being so poor has put a lot of people off. I know it has me. I'd be a little worried about this show now after seeing how terrible Life's Too Short was!

Rjd2

leggo wrote: »

I'm sorry but for me Gervais still has a good track record:

The Office, Extras, three great stand-up DVDs (haven't seen his latest tbh), An Idiot Abroad and the podcasts.

Duds: Life's Too Short, his movies (to a degree).

That's not bad at all, especially when you consider the worldwide success of The Office.

It just seems to be trendy to hate him since he's broken America. Maybe he's unlikeable...but he says straight up that he doesn't play the media game, which you'd think would be an admirable quality. Obviously there's something still to be said for just smiling to the cameras, keeping your nose out of trouble and putting on your Disney smile.

No people may not like him because its been diminishing returns since The Office? Coogan has cracked America but their has been no backlash because the quality of his material has not slipped.

Oh and Gervais not playing the media game, he plays it just as much as everyone else, nothing wrong with that, but anyone who thinks he does not is deluded.

leggo

Rjd2 wrote: »

No people may not like him because its been diminishing returns since The Office? Coogan has cracked America but their has been no backlash because the quality of his material has not slipped.

Oh and Gervais not playing the media game, he plays it just as much as everyone else, nothing wrong with that, but anyone who thinks he does not is deluded.

Yeah but there's an easy counter to that in saying that Coogan hasn't been nearly as successful as Gervais in cracking America, he's barely been on most people's radar, so there's been little opportunity for a backlash. Whereas when you're massively successful like Gervais, it means more limelight and more chances for people to turn on you. Just part and parcel of the fame game, I get it, but you're factually incorrect when you say there's been diminishing returns. I've listed off several of his successes since The Office above and they far outweigh the duds.

If you're expecting another 'Office' to come along, it's a bit unfair. I mean, what has Steve Coogan produced that's even come close to 'Alan Partridge'. So your own example doesn't even stack up to your expectations.

He's had one below par TV show in 'Life's Too Short' (which wasn't even terrible, I got a couple of laughs per episode, just not up to his usual standard) and movies that weren't box office smashes (but you wouldn't call them flops either).

Like I said, it's just the done thing to hate on people when they reach that level of success. If Coogan got more roles than bit parts in average, inoffensive movies...he'd probably feel the same backlash. It doesn't make the criticism particularly reflective of their quality of work.

Rjd2

leggo wrote: »

Yeah but there's an easy counter to that in saying that Coogan hasn't been nearly as successful as Gervais in cracking America, he's barely been on most people's radar, so there's been little opportunity for a backlash. Whereas when you're massively successful like Gervais, it means more limelight and more chances for people to turn on you. Just part and parcel of the fame game, I get it, but you're factually incorrect when you say there's been diminishing returns. I've listed off several of his successes since The Office above and they far outweigh the duds.

If you're expecting another 'Office' to come along, it's a bit unfair. I mean, what has Steve Coogan produced that's even come close to 'Alan Partridge'. So your own example doesn't even stack up to your expectations.

He's had one below par TV show in 'Life's Too Short' (which wasn't even terrible, I got a couple of laughs per episode, just not up to his usual standard) and movies that weren't box office smashes (but you wouldn't call them flops either).

Like I said, it's just the done thing to hate on people when they reach that level of success. If Coogan got more roles than bit parts in average, inoffensive movies...he'd probably feel the same backlash. It doesn't make the criticism particularly reflective of their quality of work.

I and others don't care how successful he is and claiming that those who dislike him are merely jealous is a little patronising.

You may rate the majority of his work since The Office, that's fine, others don't . Extras in my opinion was very poor, same premise every week, a listers sending themselves up, ho ho ho! The rest of the show wasn't that amusing either and Ashley Jensen was very poor in the lead role. Stand up of his is very mediocre as well. Don't care about his work with Karl, as its basically him just insulting Karl and calling him stupid every episode.

Coogan has done quite well for himself in the last few years, The Trip was well received in America and the UK. Saxondale was one of the finest and under rated British comedies of the last decade and much better than Extra's.
Derek may be better but its unlikely when you consider how humorless and cruel Life To Short was and lets not forget this is a 50 year old man who was fighting for his right to use the word mong a few months ago.

Like Mr Lee I fear the worst.:(

leggo

I'm not saying critics are jealous, to be fair, I'm saying they're by and large following a trend to dislike Gervais and write off his work.

Comparatively, Coogan's shows have not done as well as Gervais'. Or even nearly so. He still wheels out Alan Partridge to this day, and yet Gervais gets called a one-trick pony! I like Coogan but if you want to measure credibility of argument then surely the proof is in how successful said shows are.

But people always like to root for an underdog, I get that. You're entitled to your opinion, by all means, it just carries very little weight when you examine it.

Rjd2

leggo wrote: »

I'm not saying critics are jealous, to be fair, I'm saying they're by and large following a trend to dislike Gervais and write off his work.

Comparatively, Coogan's shows have not done as well as Gervais'. Or even nearly so. He still wheels out Alan Partridge to this day, and yet Gervais gets called a one-trick pony! I like Coogan but if you want to measure credibility of argument then surely the proof is in how successful said shows are.

But people always like to root for an underdog, I get that. You're entitled to your opinion, by all means, it just carries very little weight when you examine it.

Or maybe they simply don't rate his work? Gervais has the same attitude, if you like his stuff you get it, if you don't then you are a biased hater! (yes as a 50 year old man he uses that word!).

Coogan has brought back Partidge after a long spell in the wilderness because he loves the character and its not as if his work with Rob Brydon hasn't been successful or critically acclaimed.

Anyways I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one! Arguing about Gervais online isn't good for my blood pressure!:P

ryaner777

ryaner777

zac8

God thats depressing.

Tipsy McSwagger

Gervais looks like an old age Hitler stuck in a retirement home.

Basq

Can't be any worse than Life's Too Short..

wp_rathead

Basq wrote: »

Can't be any worse than Life's Too Short..

Don't. Tempt. Fate.

lempsipmax

Looks deeply unfunny. Essentially just Gervais being himself with his hair brushed forward and an underbite which appears only when he isn't talking.

Bodhidharma

If that show doesn't involve Gervais making fun of "Mongs", i'll eat my hat.

amacachi

Basq wrote: »

Can't be any worse than Life's Too Short..

In fairness Life's Too Short sounded like it could've been good, this hasn't got that going for it and the clips posted look awful.

telekon

Love Karl Pilkington, but that looks fcuking sh*te!

BaZmO*

There's a shark somewhere out there looking at Gervais' nutsack as he passes by overhead.

ironictoaster

I'll give it a go.

Would of wished they kept up the podcasts/audiobooks.

don ramo

gervais i think blows either hot or cold, pilkington is the same, i dont think either are very consistant, so ill give this a bash and see how it goes, wasnt overly impressed with lifes to short, though i did laught my ass of 3 or 4 times throughout the series

also an idiot abroad wasnt scripted, they filmed probably 10 times more than what is shown, and they guided karl around the place and just filmed his reactions, there was no consistancy to either series cause karl was in pretty bad moods 25%+ of the time, some people do have odd outlooks on life that we would find funny,

Rjd2

Basq wrote: »

Can't be any worse than Life's Too Short..

bnt

Rjd2 wrote: »

Show sounds vile, basically Gervais making loads of jokes about the disabled. :rolleyes:

The lady who got in to an argument with him over the "mong" word has seen the pilot, and says no, it's not making fun of the disabled. Gervais sent her a copy and gave her an interview on the topic.

There are already some mutterings, from people who haven’t seen the pilot, along the lines of “here we go again I suppose he’s laughing at vulnerable people”. I didn’t find that to be the case.

Instead of it being a mocking disintegration of a learning-disabled man -paraded for the amusement of comfortable unaffected people, it’s the story that really needs to be told at the moment.

It’s the story of a socially isolated, gentle vulnerable man surrounded by other people who society wants to forget, but told with humour, heart and real warmth. It’s a comedy in my opinion, which shows the reality of a life of otherness.

take everything

Anyone watching this.
So far i'm a bit baffled by it.

K.C

take everything wrote: »

Anyone watching this.
So far i'm a bit baffled by it.

I'm enjoying it so far!

yermandan

Having worked in the exact scenario they are portraying, I think its been acted brilliantly by Gervais. Lots of promise for this one. Its definitely NOT a pisstake out of ID like people expected

discobeaker

Its very sad but im really liking it so far.

Paparazzo

Not too bad, definitely needs more of Karls character.

K.C

Gervais is amazing in this.

yermandan

Unbelievable acting by Gervais in this. Having worked with people with intellectual disabilities who do not have a voice anywhere, this will really help the cause. Unbelievable stuff.

I was balling at the end there. Very poignant.

Here's the music from the ending if anyone is interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdDDY5nVA3A