Well having never read any of the books by Alexander McCall Smith ,I sat down in front of my tv with only Mnet propaganda (aka promos) as my only guide as to what to expect. When the show started with the shots of the Okavango , beautiful as they are and the not so Motswana accent of Jill Scott, I was scared that I’m heading into yet another misrepresentation of the continent or more appropriately a stereotyped representation. Cause the Okavango and Mochudi, were the village of Precious Ramotswe (Jill Scott) resides in,is over 900 km apart. I thought it was disingenuous to infer that the place is one area. But hey, I gues Anthony Minghella had a lot of creative license as both director and Producer. When Tumisho came on as Lucky Sesana, Mma Ramotswe’s ex husbands sleazy lawyer, with a put on accent, I was starting to get more and more uncomfortable in my seat. What, Africans can speak without “an African” accent?” mmmmmmhh….
Yet as the story picked up, I found myself in stitches, enjoying the familiar sights of Gaborone and intrigued both by the characters, the three stories that ran parallel to each other and the messaging behind it. The accents stopped irking me and I just let the story and characters transport me on this journey of Mma Ramotswe and her quirky friends in Gaborone. There a lot of quirks in this series, starting with the storyline.
The pilot storyline mainly dealt with establishing Mma Ramotswe’s agency, it was almost an origin story centered on three cases , the muti case with a missing kid, the cheating husband and the fake daddy. Intertwined with these cases were character set up, motivations and dynamics. The first case could have been a stereotypical witchcraft story, but the guys are smart to show that witchcraft is not a normal occurrence on the continent nor in Botswana and of all the storyline is the one that is quite dark and serious. The rest were full of laughter and charm , the fake daddy story showed John Kani’s comedic timing. Whilst the story of the cheating husband was probably the most laugh out loud story. With David Oyelowo’s Kremlin Busang being a slimy, over sexed, stereotype that had me in stitches with every wiggle of his hip.
Yet the most endearing thing about the pilot was it’s characters, Jill Scott although to me seemed a bit young for the role of Mma Ramotswe at first glance but she actually made her trendy, loveable,warm and was also able to infer the inner turmoil the lady has been through. Her interaction with JLB Matekoni ( Lucian Msamati) the local mechanic and potential suitor is filled with all the right notes for a blossoming relationship, which the two carry very well. The supporting cast of Desmond Dube as the local queen and Anika Noni Rose as Grace Makatsi; the uptight older secretary are efficiently executed by the two.
By the end of the show one has not just fallen in love with the country itself, the characters but also the optimism of the story. Which is seen in more prominietly in the closing scene were most of the antagonist and protagonist are handing gifts to a charity, to show that the no.1 ladies agency is not about Africa’s morbid ness but optimism, a great thing to say about Botswana, Batswana and Africa. Although there are struggles ,which are hinted in the show such as Aids, domestic abuse, muti killing and crime ,but Africa is not only about disease an d halplessness, but people like Ramotswe who are trying to live their dreams inspite of their circumstances, good hearted people who try to see the god in people and love their country and continent. I’m looking forward to the next 7 episodes.