Desmond's
| Desmond's | |
|---|---|
Desmond's Titles
|
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Trix Worrell |
| Starring |
Norman Beaton Carmen Munroe Ram John Holder Gyearbuor Asante |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 71 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Al Mitchell Humphrey Barclay |
| Producer(s) |
Humphrey Barclay Charlie Hanson |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes 50 minutes (1 episode) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 5 January 1989 – 19 December 1994 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Porkpie |
Desmond's is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. With 71 episodes, Desmond's became Channel 4's longest-running sitcom. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989. The show was made in and set in Peckham, London, and featured a predominantly black British Guyanese cast.
Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, this series starred Norman Beaton as barber Desmond Ambrose. Desmond's shop was a gathering place for an assortment of local characters.
While the show was not the first black (or predominantly black) British television situation comedy (The Fosters, 1976-77), it was the first to be set mainly in the workplace, which provided an insight on black family life different from those seen before on British television. The characters had aspirations (Desmond to return to Guyana, Michael to run his own branch of the bank, Gloria to get a job in fashion, Sean to get to university) and were socially mobile. The vast majority of the crew were also black.
Much of the success of the show came from the dynamics and relationships both within the Ambrose family and the other characters in the show who spent time in the shop.
The Ambroses are the central family around which the show was built.
The series theme song "Don't Scratch My Soca", performed by Beaton was used in the opening credits throughout the entire run. At the beginning of Series 5, the theme received an update, with more percussion. The instrumental was used as the basis for an old song by the Georgetown Dreamers, Desmond's old band in one episode.
Worrell was keen to show that prejudice existed not just between broad ethnic groups, but also within them. While Matthew was the frequent butt of jokes from the West Indian characters, particularly Porkpie and Desmond, he was always keen to point out the strength of African history with his regular interjection, "There's an old African saying...".
The show had a unique method of team writing that raised the profile of some writers, notably playwright Michael J. Ellis, who went on to work on other shows, including the BBC's all-black sketch show The Real McCoy, and Worrell himself went on to work in films.
...
Wikipedia