I'm a 'Derek' fan, and enjoyed this greatly. Not as carefully focused on Derek himself as you may expect from a 'Ricky Gervais Christmas Special', but that's OK - I for one had anticipated that this episode would mostly revolve around Kev.
Some strong messages came out of 'The Special' as you would expect, but I did feel that some aspects were a little rushed: The time between Kev's ejection from Broad Hill and the police arriving to inform Hannah of his hospitalisation was an obvious example. OK, maybe most people watching were aware that Kev was going to end up in a bad place, but some relatively unconnected scenes after his dismissal by Hannah and before the arrival of the police would perhaps have added to the impact?
Despite this the performances were fine, and it's quite possible that a second viewing will improve my impression.
'Derek' as a whole has been a noteworthy creation by Ricky Gervais, breaking new ground as always. I respect the work that has gone into this series.
Some strong messages came out of 'The Special' as you would expect, but I did feel that some aspects were a little rushed: The time between Kev's ejection from Broad Hill and the police arriving to inform Hannah of his hospitalisation was an obvious example. OK, maybe most people watching were aware that Kev was going to end up in a bad place, but some relatively unconnected scenes after his dismissal by Hannah and before the arrival of the police would perhaps have added to the impact?
Despite this the performances were fine, and it's quite possible that a second viewing will improve my impression.
'Derek' as a whole has been a noteworthy creation by Ricky Gervais, breaking new ground as always. I respect the work that has gone into this series.
