The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox television
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".) is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from October 5 to October 26, 1998. Before it even debuted, the series set off a storm of controversy because of a perceived light-hearted take on the issue of American slavery.[1]
Story
A Black English nobleman named Desmond Pfeiffer, chased out of the United Kingdom due to gambling debts, becomes President Abraham Lincoln's valet. In the show, he serves as the intelligent and erudite backbone of a Civil War-era White House populated by louts and drunkards.[2]
Cast
- Chi McBride as Desmond Pfeiffer, Black English gentleman serving as President Lincoln's butler
- Dann Florek as Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States
- Christine Estabrook as Mary Todd Lincoln, President Lincoln's wife
- Max Baker as Nibblet, Pfeiffer's assistant
- Kelly Connell as Ulysses S. Grant, general of the United States Army
Controversy
Before the series' premiere, several African-American activist groups, including the Los Angeles Chapter of the NAACP, protested against the premise of the series. On September 24, 1998, a protest against the series was held outside Paramount Studios. Five days later, UPN released a statement regarding the controversy and stated that the network planned on delaying the controversial pilot episode (which never aired) and would instead air an alternate episode in its place.
Ratings
The first episode of the series aired on October 5, 1998, ranking 116th out of 125 television programs for that week. Desmond Pfeiffer was removed from UPN's schedule on October 24, and after airing one episode two days after being removed from UPN's lineup, was cancelled, thus hastening the demise of UPN president Dean Valentine's career.[3]
Reception
David Hofstede rated the show one of the "100 Dumbest Events in Television History", but pointed out that despite the protests, the show did not portray slaves and did not employ racial humor. Instead, it was intended as a critique of Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal, with the sexual world of the Oval Office played for laughs. Hofstede considered the sexual humor juvenile, but found the racially sensitive backlash even "dumber."[4]
It was ranked #5 on Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 TV Bombs.[5]
In popular culture
The series was alluded to in the unaired pilot episode of Clerks: The Animated Series, "Leonardo Leonardo Returns and Dante Has an Important Decision to Make," which featured Dante and Randal encountering a Haunted Mansion-like ride inspired by The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer.[6]
Episodes
See also
References
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- ↑ DVD R Hell The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer HD: Cinema Snob-Internet Archive
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External links
- Template:Trim/ Template:Trim at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:WikidataCheck
- Template:PAGENAMEBASE at epguides.comTemplate:EditAtWikidata
- Pages with script errors
- 1998 American television series debuts
- 1998 American television series endings
- 1990s American black sitcoms
- Fictional depictions of Abraham Lincoln in television
- American English-language television shows
- Television series about the American Civil War
- Television series by CBS Studios
- Television shows set in Washington, D.C.
- Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln
- Television series set in the 19th century
- Works set in the White House
- Television controversies in the United States
- African-American-related controversies
- UPN sitcoms