''The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer'' ( ) is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

from October 5 to October 26, 1998. Before it was even debuted, the series set off a storm of controversy because of a perceived light-hearted take on the issue of

American slavery The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Slaver ...

Story

black English African-American English (or AAE; also known as Black American English, or Black English in American linguistics) is the set of English sociolects spoken by most Black people in the United States and many in Canada; most commonly, it refers ...

nobleman named Desmond Pfeiffer, chased out of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

due to gambling debts, becomes President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's valet. In the show, he serves as the intelligent and erudite backbone of a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

-era

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

populated by louts and

drunkard Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

Cast

Chi McBride Kenneth "Chi" McBride ( ; born September 23, 1961) is an American actor. He has appeared in films, where he is known primarily as a character actor, and in television, where he has had numerous starring roles. In film, he has played prominent ro ...

as Desmond Pfeiffer, Black English gentleman serving as President Lincoln's butler * Dann Florek as

, 16th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Christine Estabrook Christine Estabrook (born Mary Christine Estabrook; September 13, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The Crew'', '' Nikki'', '' Desperate Housewives'' and ''American Horror Story''; she had a recurring ...

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...

, President Lincoln's wife * Max Baker as Nibblet, Pfeiffer's assistant * Kelly Connell as

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, general of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...

. Five days later,

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 canceled, thus hastening the demise of UPN president Dean Valentine.

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 William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

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". It was ranked #5 on

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

's Top 50 TV Bombs.

In popular culture

The series was alluded to multiple timesDVD Review - Clerks Uncensored - The Digital Bits
/ref> 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 drawing inspiration from a non-existent episode of ''The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer'', which Randal describes as "classic Pfeiffer". In the also unaired third episode, "Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store", Dante and Randal are seen at the drive-thru for Desmond Pfeiffer's Civil War Burgers, a fictional fast-food restaurant.

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, The 1998 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1990s American black sitcoms 1990s American sitcoms Fictional depictions of Abraham Lincoln in television English-language television shows Television series about the American Civil War Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Washington, D.C. UPN original programming Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln Television series set in the 19th century White House in fiction Television controversies in the United States African-American-related controversies