Anybody Ever Watch "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer"

[JamesG]

Very controversial sitcom that aired in October of 1998. It was accused of making slavery look like a joke and portrayed Abraham Lincoln in a unflattering light. Did anybody ever see this show?

[Ireneparalegal]

I did.

I can't imagine that ever being a great idea for a show.

[Vinni_Rattolle]

The show was an indictment of the Clinton administration, with Abe Lincoln playing the part of Bill Clinton. The humor was raunchy and dumb, and it almost had the vibe of an early Fox show. The week it premiered, TV Guide ran a full-page ad that was black, heralding "Critics Hated It," the name of the show and the air time. UPN gave it minimal promotion and canceled it after a month.

I saw three of the four episodes (still kicking myself for missing one) and there wasn't a single reference to slavery. According to (black) actor Chi McBride, who played the titular character (President Lincoln's advisor), when he was on Roseanne's talk show, the whole scandal was a result of the pilot which (never aired and) featured two criminals clad in hoods who were hung. Reports of this scene got leaked (some saying it was a KKK joke, others saying the prisoners were black, when in fact both actors were white), and the NAACP got all up in arms over the show before anybody had even seen it.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by Vinni_Rattolle

The show was an indictment of the Clinton administration, with Abe Lincoln playing the part of Bill Clinton. The humor was raunchy and dumb, and it almost had the vibe of an early Fox show. The week it premiered, TV Guide ran a full-page ad that was black, heralding "Critics Hated It," the name of the show and the air time. UPN gave it minimal promotion and canceled it after a month.

I saw three of the four episodes (still kicking myself for missing one) and there wasn't a single reference to slavery. According to (black) actor Chi McBride, who played the titular character (President Lincoln's advisor), when he was on Roseanne's talk show, the whole scandal was a result of the pilot which (never aired and) featured two criminals clad in hoods who were hung. Reports of this scene got leaked (some saying it was a KKK joke, others saying the prisoners were black, when in fact both actors were white), and the NAACP got all up in arms over the show before anybody had even seen it.

Thanks for the reply.

It's amazing sometimes at what word-of-mouth can sometimes do; even when the complaints and what not are based on misinformation.

The short-lived CLERKS cartoon briefly referenced this show so I wanted to know more about it.