Desmonds

Desmond's was a Britcom made from 1989-1994. It centred around a family-run barbershop in Peckham, and was one of the earliest shows on British television to have a mostly black cast. Much of the comedy came from the generation and culture gap between the very West Indian parents Desmond and Shirley, and their very English children, Michael, Gloria and Sean.

Tropes used in Desmonds include:

• British Accents: Most of the young characters had Cockney accents. (The older generation had West Indian accents.)
• Catch Phrase: Matthew had "There's an old African saying..."
• The Character Died with Him: The first episode of Porkpie reveals Shirley is widowed and now runs the shop, Norman Beaton having died the previous year.
• Eighties Hair: Plenty of biiiiiiig hair, particularly since it's a show set in a salon.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Dominic Keating, who played Tony, went on to play Malcolm Reed in Star Trek: Enterprise.
• The Eighties: Michael is the archetypal 80s yuppy, with double-breasted suit and enormous and presumably madly expensive mobile phone.
• Spin-Off: Porkpie, in which the titular character wins the lottery.
• Thematic Theme Tune:

From the long warm nights with the ocean breeze, To the damp and to the rain of London city. We come from the sun to live in the cold, I miss my rum, I want my coconut tree.

• Those Two Guys: Matthew and Porkpie.
• Token White: Tony, who's addition to the cast was due to Executive Meddling. (At least, according to The Other Wiki.)