The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer

This was a surprisingly good show. If it just hadn't been so politically correct. It made fun of all the characters except Desmond, the title character. I think that it was good for children because it introduced historical characters in a humorous context. The drunken U.S. Grant was a good example. In showing his weakness for booze young people can understand him as a human being, and not simply a face on a bill. My favorite episode was the one where President Lincoln was engaging in telegraph sex and his messaged were received by a Southern general who wanted to surrender. Upon receiving the telegram the Southern general commented that the North was going to attack and "take me from the rear." Any show which can make a joke like that work deserved a better fate than that which befell this show.

The Secret Diary Of Desmond Pfeiffer was a show that parodied one of America's most enduring icons: President Abraham Lincoln and the people in his administration. And, as such, it disturbed a lot of historians and Civil War buffs that found the concept unseemly. In fact, it was pretty darned funny.

The title character (with the "P" pronounced) was a British manservant in the employ of the 16th President and he would write his observations about what went on behind the scenes at The White House, in his secret diary, giving you a very different spin on what the history books had to say. Desmond was smart, sharp, had a comeback for every comment and did it with a smile and with style, and that all served to remind audiences of the character of Benson, another manservant in the employ of a politician.

Some of the character traits of these historic figures were based on information that was known, but not widely discussed: like General U.S. Grant's propensity for drink, and Mary Todd's mental illnesses. What people probably found most offensive was that Lincoln was portrayed as a both a philanderer and a complete and utter fool, who needed to be instructed by Desmond on every occasion, even begging his assistant for help at times.

The jokes were usually at the expense of the above three characters, as Desmond constantly had to straighten out the situations their personality traits got them into, and save the day, with the help of, or really, in spite of his assistant, Nibblet, a completely inept White House staffer. However, whatever got patched up was always made to look like Lincoln and his company were the true heroes, for posterity's sake. But there was one other major political target for the show's humor...

There were many parallels to the Clinton administration and the troubles that plagued it at the time of the program's broadcast. Lincoln's sexual fetishes made a clear statement about the Executive branch's needs throughout history, and the recurring character of Hillary wandering around the 1990s version of the White House was included as part of an episode's dénouement.

So many took offense at the entire concept of the show that it really had no chance, and the program was pulled off the air after only a handful of episodes. Despite the quick cancellation, I felt the series was in the same league as the brilliant Mel Brooks Robin Hood parody, "When Things Were Rotten," from some 20 years before, another show that viewers and even some critics at the time just didn't seem to get.

This may be the worst TV show ever to make it into a network prime-time slot. It was juvenile, dumb, and just plain not funny. Horny Abe?? A sarcastic black butler??? What were they thinking?????? I honestly think I'd rather sit through a Love Boat marathon than see this wretched refuse again, which is saying quite a lot. I'd love to give it a zero, but you can't--so I'm giving it one star apiece for Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies, Boston Public) and Dann Florek (Law & Order, L.A. Law). They deserved--and got--much better than this. I think this ended the production careers of the creators, and deservedly so. If you really must see it, I think it's on YouTube. But...please don't.

Not only was this show stupid and insulting to everyone involved, it was a dreadful concept for a comedy. One could make a fascinating story about the black slaves and free servants that worked in the Executive mansion, a kind of "West Wing" mixed with "Upstairs Downstairs," but rather than doing that, the producers decided to go with a low brow yuk fest that was both historically inaccurate and not at all funny. Given that it was set at one of the most stressful times in American history, a period in which decisions were made that set the course for everything that came afterward in the USA, one could do a satire of contemporary morals and cultural beliefs that would be both enlightening and humorous; but that was not what we got in this show. What the producers delivered was leering juvenile jokes about horny wives, stupid politicians and funny slavery. The show lasted less than a season, and that was still too long.

I only saw one or two episodes of this short-lived series, but based on what I saw, I must wonder if the producers intended an American version of the British series "Black Adder". Certainly there seem to be some parallels, especially with the third Black Adder series, set during the reign of Mad King George. The conniving and scheming Mr. Pfeiffer seems awfully much like Mr. Blackadder, while Pfeiffer's man Nibblet and Blackadder's man Baldric share much in common.

What they did not share, unfortunately, was a deeply embedded sense of wit. The buffoonery surrounding Pfeiffer was played far too broadly to remain funny for very long. The most effective clowns are generally those who do not seem to realize their own clownishness. Dann Florek (much better known for roles like that he played in Law and Order) seems to be playing buffoon to a mirror.