Good Ol’ Desmond’s

I love this intro and the series itself – it summed up the African Caribbean experience of those who came to England, plus the first and second generation born here. It had to be one of the funniest comedies on television of that time.

I suppose you could say it was our version of The Cosby’s, but I did relate to Desmond’s more because it was targeted to regular working class families in England.

A show famously centered around a barbershop about the people who lived there, worked there and visited it. The peculiar regulars who never came in to get their hair cut were the main attractions. The banter between Micheal (The African proverbial King) and Porkpie (The irate man who loved to complain) were some of the highlights of Desmond’s for me.

Not forgetting Desmond the main star of the show, his wife and kids. Everything about the show was a picture of how inner-city communities looked and felt.

So I’m pleased they’ve brought it back to tv, although I can’t watch it because it’s on the cable station Trouble! But at least I can buy it on DVD.

Trix Worrell is the great writer behind the show and I think he even wrote for a few shows on The Cosby’s. Nothing has matched the quality that the show possessed. Its successors have failed to reach that success, some such as The Crouches which was an abysmal stereotypical comedy which unsuccessfully captured the attention of audiences.