Noh Matta Wat!

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Noh Matta Wat!
Genre Dramatic Miniseries
Creator(s) Denvor Fairweather
Starring see character list
Country of origin BLZ
No. of episodes 14
Production
Executive producer(s) Denvor Fairweather; Steve T. Berry
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Channel 5; Channel 7; Krem Television (cable)
Original run November 28, 2005 – Present
Links
Official website

Noh Matta Wat! is a Belizean dramatic television miniseries. It airs locally on Great Belize Television (Channel 5) ; Tropical Vision Limited (Channel 7) and Krem Television (cable).

It was created by the local advertising company 13 Productions, headed by businessman Denvor Fairweather, in conjunction with Howard University professor Steve T. Berry. Fairweather is creator and executive producer; Berry is producer and director.

Contents

[edit] Premise

The show's premise is simple: the Diego Family (comprised of the grandmother Tomasa, Margaret, her "sister" Lisani and her son Randy) is a seemingly normal Belizean family. But a chance meeting with a slick American stranger changes everything. The show chronicles their struggle to "live the Belizean life".

[edit] Characters

Major:

Minor:

  • Javier Canul (Jack)
  • Ichelle Jeffords (Tricia Rowland, Season 2 only)
  • Samantha Hesseler (Vanessa Ramirez, Season 2 only)
  • Denvor Fairweather (Preston)
  • Ansel West (Preston in Season 2- replaced Fairweather for two episodes)
  • Steve Berry (intermittently in Season 2)
  • Andy Gilharry (Juni) (Season 1 only)
  • Ruhese Elijio (Luga) (Season 1 only)
  • Elizabeth Villanueva (Shanice) (Season 2 only)
  • Pedro Cruz (Ramon Ramirez- Season 2 only)
  • Glenda Price (Agnes Ramirez -Season 2)
  • Fred Pakeman- (Faceless Stranger -Season 2)
  • Ramon Joseph- (Jamie -Season 2)

Guest Stars: Famous Belizeans who have made appearances in the series so far:

  • Joan Burrell (community activist)
  • EJ Hill (DJ, KREM FM)
  • Lindsford "Supa G" Martinez (punta rock artist)
  • Kenny Morgan (DJ, WAVE Radio)

[edit] Theme and Musical Score

The score and theme to "Noh Matta Wat" reflects dramatic origins. The theme was written by Steve T. Berry, music by Oscar Herrera and performed by Dan Man and Dynamo. The score and music for both seasons of the show has been composed by various artists, from Berry & Adele Ramos-Daly to Soundtrack and Enigma. This is subject to change.

[edit] Opening, Commercial and Closing Credits

Season 1: Each episode opens with the character of Granny Tomasa (Carrie Fairweather) taking a walk with a young boy, presumably from the neighbourhood, where they discuss aspects of the country's history as it relates to the series. After the last scene, cut to Garifuna drums being played as the theme music begins. A series of clips is shown for the characters Tomasa, Margaret, Randy, Lisani, Rosanna and Dan Man (in that order) before the camera freezes one clip and reveals the character's name in white. After this is done for each character, another sequence is shown featuring the credits for the writer, director, producer and executive producer before fading to black as the theme song ends. Commercials: A brown title card with face shots of all the main characters side by side appears as a male announcer says, "This segment of Noh Matta Wat is brought to you by...", followed by fade to commercials. No introduction is used coming back from commercials. The last segment usually features a dramatic moment followed by freeze frames of various characters; then the theme music plays as the end credits crawl up the screen on the right side: cast, crew, locations, sponsors. With the exception of episodes 3 and 4, the theme music accompanies the closing credits. In episodes 3 and 4, the song "Daddy Come Find Me" written by Adele Ramos Daly and performed by Kerret Paulino and Dan Man is the closing song.

Season 2: The opening credits now feature a highlight reel from the previous episode. The theme music plays after a camera swings back to the audience to reveal the show's name. Clip series is the same, except blue is used instead of brown, and the real names of the actors are added in italics above the character name. Clip sequences have been added for Kent Clare's Clifford and removed for Curtis Gillett's Steve. Commercials: A shot of the Diegos' house is shown, covered in blue with the show logo on the lower left, as a male announcer says: "This segment of Noh Matta Wat is brought to you by...", followed by a female announcer reading the list of sponsors. The same clip is shown on return from commercials, with a different male announcer shouting, "NOH MATTA WAT!" The same announcer shouts this phrase at the freezeframe section of the show and at the start. The same female announcer from the commercial bumpers also announces before the highlight reel, "Noh Matta Wat would like to acknowledge its corporate sponsors, Grace Kennedy (Belize) Ltd., bringing good taste to life, and BTL, for telecommunications think BTL." Closing credits remain the same.

[edit] Writing and Direction

"Noh Matta Wat"'s storylines and scriptwriting can be attributed to media and motion picture veterans Adele Ramos-Daly (a staff writer and senior editor at the Amandala newspaper), and Kimberly Vasquez (local Rotarian and director of the local Film "Choices"). Steve T. Berry and Eric Berry, in addition to James Cheek Jr. and Kelly Chatman, have taken turns directing episodes.

[edit] Sponsors

For the past two seasons, Noh Matta Wat! has solicited the sponsorship of some of Belize's premier business houses. As of Season 2, 13 Productions (the distributor of the show as well as its creator) solicited some corporate sponsors (namely BTL and Grace Kennedy Belize Ltd.) to boost the show's credo. A full list of sponsors may be seen in the show's closing credits as well as on its website.

[edit] Season Overviews

The pilot episode of Noh Matta Wat! aired November 28, 2005.

[edit] Season 1

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In Season 1, we are introduced to The Diego family. The family, of Garifuna descent, is a seemingly normal Belizean family. There is grandmother Tomasa Diego, her granddaughters Margaret and Lisani and Margaret's son Randy Diego. Margaret loves her son and sister. But she tends to believe the best in people, a belief that seems to do her more harm than good. Lisani, an independent but slightly naive girl, is studying and working part-time to furnish a better lifestyle for the family. Meanwhile, Randy dreams of becoming a performer and artist. He works with neighbour Dan Man, an established Creole entertainer who sees Randy's talent and nurtures it as best he can. Dan Man represents a sort of father-figure to Randy. Lisani and her best friend Rosanna Ramirez, a wayward Spaniard with a penchant for excess, are picked up by the American expatriate Steve Castillo. Castillo, himself a flirt, finds it easy to converse with both women, and has little idea that Lisani is the child whom he abandoned in youth to follow his own life. Margaret, who had never told Lisani the truth about Castillo, is now forced to tell her and, in so doing, endure her hatred for a time. Randy, stressed about not knowing who his own father is, records the single "Daddy, Come Find Me". In an irony of fate, Randy and the street hoods Juni and Luga and the erstwhile drug dealer Ray Philips were hanging out when the latter trio shot and killed a rival. Randy is framed for the murder, and in jail, finds out that the man who will defend him, Clifford Rowland, is his father and a minister of Government and that he and Lisani are in fact half-brother & sister. Steve, who vows in one of the scene in the last episode to be there for Lisani, is later accosted by Juni and Luga, but is shot and escapes without a legitimate chance to be there for Lisani. In the end, the family has been thoroughly tested in and redeemed by their love for each other.

Season One covered five episodes aired from November 28-December 25, 2005. Channel 5 aired the premiere each week following local news at 7:15 PM, repeated on Saturdays at eight; Channel 7 aired on Tuesdays following news and Sundays at 7:00 PM; and Krem Television aired the program at 9:00 PM on Thursdays and 3:00 PM on Fridays. Occasionally, Five and Seven would move the program to 9:00 PM to accommodate their respective news blocks.

The series returned in syndication during March and April of 2006.

[edit] Season 2

In preparation for the 2nd season, producers focused not only on the Diegos but also these subplots: the Ramirez family and their problems, Rowland's unrepentant corruption and "womanizing", his intrusion into Randy's life, the relationship between Dan Man and Margaret, and Lisani's coworker apparently being pregnant with the child of Lisani's erstwhile father, Steve. A media campaign was launched beginning with the reruns in syndication of the first season, the announcement of a motion picture adaptation, and the release of the first season on DVD. The second season "premiere party" was held on June 15, 2006 at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts in Belize City and featured sneak previews of the first two episodes of the second season. It also marked the first appearance as main cast members for Kent Clare (Clifford Rowland) and Hershabeth Ramclam (Rosanna Ramirez).

Season 2 premiered on July 3, 2006. It begins with Tomasa "gossiping" with Ms. Sarita, a friend and customer, about her family's happenings, particularly about the return of Clifford Rowland, who is now trying to be more involved in Randy and Margaret's life. Rowland's politics is more corrupt than viewers had ever seen in Season 1, as he was trying to broker a deal with his friend and Ministry partner, Jack, who tells him (in Creole),"it wa be sweet fu me, and fi you."; when Randy goes to get a trim, the barber refers to Rowland as "one a di most crooked a di bunch". This statement does as much as possible to poison Randy's mind against Clifford, and he makes little effort to get to know him. Margaret, on the other hand, insists to Tomasa and Randy that "Clifford will be in this family whether you like it or not." Tomasa, in her anger at this, abruptly leaves and doesn't speak to Margaret for a couple of days. When Rowland comes over to supper with the family, Tomasa, Randy and perhaps Dan Man, treat him as a nuisiance. Rowland does not approve of Dan Man's role in Randy's life and says as much, then offers to pay for Rnady's music career. Randy throws a tantrum, dismissing Rowland and refers to Dan Man as his father-figure. He later cuts a song introduced to the world by DJ Kenny Morgan of WAVE Radio, in which he castigates politicians, particularly Rowland. Margaret is angered and later apologizes to Tomasa, citing that she only wished Rowland and Randy to be close. Meanwhile, Lisani's coworker Sharlene confides to her boss, Ms. Dawn, that she may be pregnant for Steve, who had fled after the ambush in season 1. She hopes to find him and convince him to help her raise the baby. But, Ms. Dawn, knowing of Sharlene's scheming tendencies, convinces her to tell Lisani, who nearly found out after she left her purse in the shop and returns to retrieve it. Lisani, being none the wiser, goes about her business as usual, not knowing that (1) Sharlene contrives to seek help from Tomasa, who resolves not to tell her granddaughter and (2) Sharlene's scheme is to seek monetary compensation from Steve so she can leave Belize for good. Eventually, Sharlene seems to drop the subject. A third subplot involves the viewer's formal introduction to the Ramirezes: Agnes, Ramon, Vanessa and Rosanna. They serve as a counterpoint to the Diego family's dysfunction, at least outwardly. Their secret problem is Rosanna's obsession with romance, which hurts her in school. In the fifth episode, after Lisani leaves her with a friend to do homework, Rosanna is forcibly raped. This crystallizes her memories of being molested as a child, and she resolves to find her torturer and make him pay. She leaves for Corozal, where she finds out that the man in question is dead; her family resolves to get her help.

In episode eight, a newscaster reports that Steve Castillo's attackers are on the run. The last episode ends with the Diegos celebrating the opening of Margaret's new restaurant.

Airtimes were the same as in season 1. The eighth episode experienced technical difficulty with audio, which forced two broadcasters to drop their usual coverage. The next week, Episode 8 aired unedited with restored audio on all three broadcast outlets, immediately preceding the season finale. Reruns have finished airing as of January 2007.

[edit] Season 3

The third season is tentatively scheduled to go into production in May or June 2007.[citation needed] Reports on the home website indicate that producers are facing serious competition from bootlegged editions of both seasons one and two and that 13 Productions in tangled in a legal battle with bootleggers in Los Angeles in particular, putting a possible third season in jeopardy.March Website report

The site also reports that authentic Season 2 DVD's will go on sale as of April 1, 2007.

[edit] Politics in the Series

In the television series "Noh Matta Wat!", set in Belize, the nature of politics in the Central American nation has changed. The following will attempt to summarize the nature of the new political system and its relation to the action of the series.

[edit] New party: the NFP

A new party, the NFP (we are not told what the name stands for), has taken power in Belize, replacing the traditional People's United Party and United Democratic Party. No information is given on its membership, policies, or platform.

The party is represented on the show by two of its Ministers, Clifford Rowland and one "Jack". Rowland first appears in episode three of season one when Margaret Diego appeals to him to rescue her son Randy from jail. He is in the midst of a scandal over funds to build a local hospital. In season two, Rowland continues his shady ways, getting involved in a scheme with Jack which will be financially rewarding, and is conducting an affair with his secretary. Unfortunately for Rowland, aide Preston (played by first Denvor Fairweather and later Ansel West) is secretly selling him out to the local media and Belizeans dislike the NFP even more than they did the PUP or UDP. At the end of season two Rowland's marriage is in shambles, his political career is under threat and the majority dislike him.

[edit] Relation to series

The NFP presumably represents the creators' view of the current political stalwarts, the PUP and UDP. Belizeans typically feel that neither party is able or willing to rid itself of underhandedness in political operations and fly-by-night tactics, and this is reflected in the characters' reaction to Rowland in the series.

The real parties appear to have no qualms with the series; on Independence Day 2006 Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow acknowledged the series in his address and Prime Minister Said Musa followed suit.

Spoilers end here.
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