I somehow came across
The Demond’s a few weeks ago when I was looking for something to watch on Channel 4OD on Youtube.You could say that it was the British version of The Cosby Show.
Norman Beaton played Desmond, a West Indian traditionalist, and Carmen Munroe played his loving and supportive wife, Shirley. Together they ran a barbershop in Peckham, where their children and friends would often congregate. The couple’s children were Gloria (Kim Walker), Sean (Justin Pickett) and Michael (Geff Francis). Their friends were Matthew, a man from Gambia who came to the UK as a matured student. He really was from Ghana and spoke Akan in one or two episodes. I wonder why they didn’t just say that he was from Ghana in the first place. His mannerism reminds me of my Dad. There was Porkpie, Desmond’s oldest friend from Guyana and Lee who was like a third son to the Demond’s and always came to the shop to sell his dodgy deals.
The Demond’s aired between 1985 and 1989. It was noted as the ‘ethnic sitcom’ which situated in the workplace rather than in the house, like The Cosby Show. I think the show gives hilarious insight into the Afro-Caribbean lifestyle in the UK. It made me realise how similar Afro-Caribbeans are to Africans. I know we are the same people, but I thought considering that they lived across the seas, there would be some African elements they would have dropped off. But it just looks like they have kept most of them and added some.
I watched one episode and then another and then ended up finishing the whole series in about two weeks. It got to the point where I could watch 4-5 episodes a day. I loved it!!!
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