Desmond's

Title : Desmond's (TV Show)

Date of Review : 24th of April 2014

Reviewer : Malta Doctor

Score : 10 Out of 10

Would I Recommend the Series to a Friend ? : Yes

Would I Personally Pay for a DVD Box Set of the Series ? : Yes

Would I (Really) Want There to be a Total Remake of the Series , complete with a Brand New Set of Characters and a Totally Fresh Cast ? : MOST DEFINITELY NOT !

Additional Suggestions : None At Present

Source : www.MaltaDoctor.com

Desmond's is a television comedy series that was broadcast by Channel 4 from 5 January 1989 to 19 December 1994. Desmond's stared Norman Beaton as father and barber Desmond Ambrose, And Carmen Monroe as his wife Shirley. Along with their children Michael who dreams of becoming manager of the bank, Gloria chasing a job in fashion and Sean working to go to university. Revolving around their shop that is a gathering place for an assortment of local characters. Including Matthew a mature student and philosopher from the West Indies and Porkpie, Desmond's oldest friend. The show is set in Peckham, London, and ran for 71 episodes, signing off with an hour long Christmas special. The series was created by Trix Worrell who when at National Film and Television School, he won a writers' competition organised by Channel 4, which led to producer Humphrey Barclay contacting him about writing a comedy. The idea for the series came to Trix Worrell While on the bus to the meeting, his bus stopped by the barber shop he went to during his childhood. He got the idea to create a comedy set in a barber's shop that servers more as a community centre, which was the idea he pitched to Barclay. The last episode, the Desmond's Christmas Special was already announced as the last ever Desmond's episodes when Norman Beaton unfortunately died a few days before the transmission. Following the end of Desmond's in 1994, a spin-off series was made with Desmond's regular Porkpie in the title role. It ran for twelve episodes over two series in 1995 and 1996.

I was surprised to come across this predominately Black sitcom from the UK. BET used to show episodes of it in the early 1990s. It is a very funny show about a barber and his family, employees and friends. Much of the humor came from Desmond's inability to adapt to changing times and ideas. Desmond's oldest son, Michael, was sort of a mirror image of his father, a stuffed shirt banker who always had to do things by the book. Michael's younger sister and brother, were typical teens, prone to the ups and downs of growing up. One of the best characters was Porkpie, one of Desmond's old friends; a guy like him can be found in any barber shop anywhere in the world. Another good character was Auntie Suzu, Demond's wild sister-in-law. There are other British sitcoms out on video now; I hope this one comes out on video, as well.

I didn't know anyone who didn't watch Desmond's and I lived in a part of the world with very little black/Afro-Caribbean culture and everyone I knew who watched it loved it and related to it. Which goes to show what sublime writing by Trix Worrell and the cast performance headed by the late Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe.

It is about Desmond's and who he has in his barbers shop in Peckham - mainly it is fellow Guyanese 'porkpie' and eternal student from Ghana, Matthew who are always putting the world to rights. It is also about Desmond and his family, his long suffering wife and his ambitious, bright kids - it is a great, positive feelgood comedy - the part of the UK where it had the highest ratings was in Northern Ireland which goes to show that it was loved by people of all colours! Six series of the show (which ended on the death of Norman Beaton) proves it. One of Channel 4's most successful comedies.

We used to watch this show on BET and laughed ourselves silly every time. Apparently this show ended with the lead actor's death. However, I wish it would come to DVD or VHS. I would be standing in line to buy the first copies.