Lord Have Mercy!

Lord Have Mercy! is a Canadian television sitcom, produced by Leda Serene Films, first shown on Vision TV in 2003. It received further showings in Canada on Toronto One, APTN and Showcase later the same year.[1][2]

For other uses, see Lord Have Mercy (disambiguation).
Lord Have Mercy!
GenreSitcom
Created byVanz Chapman
Frances-Anne Solomon
Directed byFrances-Anne Solomon
StarringArnold Pinnock
Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall
Rachel Price
Leonie Forbes
Shawn Singleton
d'bi young
Russell Peters
Gary Farmer
Louis Negin
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerPaul da Silva
ProducersClaire Prieto, Frances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman
Production locationsToronto, Ontario, Canada
EditorJudy Singh
Running time30 minutes
Production companyLeda Serene Films
Release
Original networkVision TV
Original release2003 (2003)

The series, one of the first television productions launched by Vision TV's multicultural television development fund, starred Arnold Pinnock as Dwight Gooding, an ambitious new youth pastor at Mt. Zion, a Caribbean-Canadian church. Other main characters were Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall as head pastor Cuthbert Stevens, Rachel Price as Gooding's wife Desirée, Leonie Forbes as pastoral assistant Hope McCauley, and Shawn Singleton and d'bi young as Hope's grandchildren Kent and Crystal. The cast also included Gary Farmer, Russell Peters and Louis Negin.[3]

Lord Have Mercy! was created by Vanz Chapman and Frances-Anne Solomon, based on an idea by Paul deSilva. It was produced by Solomon, Chapman and Claire Prieto, and directed by Solomon. Scripts were written by Solomon, Chapman and Ngozi Paul.[3]

The series cost about $2 million to produce and was shot live to tape.[1]

The show was nominated for two Gemini Awards, for Best Comedy Series and for Best Female Performer (Leonie Forbes) and has been screened at the African Disapora Film Festival in New York City.[4]

The series has aired in subsequent years in the Caribbean including runs on Gayelle TV and NCC-TV in Trinidad in 2008[2] It has also been repeated several times on Jamaican-based Caribbean International Network (CIN-TV), a channel which is carried by cable systems in the New York metropolitan area.

Cast and characters
  • Arnold Pinnock as Youth Pastor Dwight Gooding, an ambitious up and coming junior pastor at Mt. Zion Church.
  • Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall as Pastor Lloyd Cuthbert Stevens, Mt. Zion's head pastor and patriarch.
  • Rachel Price as Desiree, Gooding's wife
  • Leonie Forbes as pastoral assistant Sister Hope McCauley
  • Shawn Singleton as Kent, Hope's grandson
  • d'bi Young (credited on-screen as Debbie Young) as Crystal, Hope's granddaughter
  • Gary Farmer as Marty C. Marten, the church's window washer and handyman, who is in love with Sister Hope
  • Russell Peters as Ryan Sarma, Gooding's childhood friend.
  • Louis Negin as Pastor White, a Roman Catholic priest and friend of Pastor Cuthbert's.

Episodes
No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Honeymoon Done!"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonTeleplay by Vanz Chapman & Frances-Anne Solomon, Story by Frances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 11, 2003 (2003-02-11)
As the up and coming Pastor at Mt. Zion, Gooding is determined to make a few changes, which leads Sister Hope to throw a fit and kick him out.
2"Who the Cap Fits"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 12, 2003 (2003-02-12)
Hope is upset after finding a chocolate-flavoured condom in Crystal's possession.
3"Tangled Web"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 12, 2003 (2003-02-12)}
Pastor Stevens and Pastor White lie to get out of a church event so they can go to a Toronto Raptors game.
4"The Flesh Is Weak (The Mind Is Willing)"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 12, 2003 (2003-02-12)
Crystal develops a crush on Gooding, creating a moral dilemma for the pastor.
5"Deranged Marriage"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonTeleplay by Vanz Chapman Story by Frances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 13, 2003 (2003-02-13)
Ryan (Russell Peters) is in love, and winds up staying at the church when he gets thrown out of the house.
6"The Choir"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 13, 2003 (2003-02-13)
Tensions develop between Crystal and Des when Crystal starts a youth choir and won't allow Des to be involved.
7"Everybody Needs Hope/The Date"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 13, 2003 (2003-02-13)
Desiree plays matchmaker for Hope and Marty
8"Backsliding"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 13, 2003 (2003-02-13)
Kent is eager to help the people of Mount Zion, but he gets discouraged and backslides into old habits.
9"The Barrel"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 13, 2003 (2003-02-13)
Gooding wants to send hurricane relief to Jamaica, but Hope refuses to support the idea.
10"The Prodigal Pastor"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 14, 2003 (2003-02-14)
Hope's estranged brother (Oliver Samuels) visits Mount Zion, and cons the congregation.
11"Immigration Blues"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 14, 2003 (2003-02-14)
Gooding discovers that Des doesn't have any immigration papers.
12"Blood is Thicker"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonTeleplay by Vanz Chapman, Story by Frances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 14, 2003 (2003-02-14)
Stevens is asked to resign when Crystal seeks his help in getting an abortion, and Hope leaves Mount Zion.
13"Greener Pastures (Retirement)"[5]Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon, Vanz Chapman & Ngozi PaulFebruary 14, 2003 (2003-02-14)
Hope leaves and Stevens, feeling out of sorts as a result, declares his plan to retire, but Gooding and Des try to get him to stay while also attempting to get Sister Hope to return.

References
  1. "On the eighth day, a sitcom". TheGlobeAndMail.com. March 21, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  2. "Critically-acclaimed sitcom Lord Have Mercy! starring Trinidadian comedian Dennis 'Sprangalang' Hall hits the airwaves in Trinidad :: Trini Jungle Juice". www.TriniJungleJuice.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  3. "Learn more about "Lord Have Mercy", the new Caribbean TV series premiering this month in Canada as a part of Black History Month". Jamaicans.com. March 26, 2004. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  4. "Press kit" (PDF). francesannesolomon.net. 2002. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  5. "Lord Have Mercy". TVGuide.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
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