Safe As Hauser's is a South African television sitcom written by Paul Slabolepszy and Darryl Evan Fuchs and produced by Imani Media which is set in the world of a privately owned security company and follows the daily exploits of a group of civic minded misfits joined in their mission to protect and serve the community.
The series premiered on SABC3 on Thursday 4 April 2013, at 20h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are six half-hour episodes in the series.
Synopsis
Safe As Hauser's, a situation comedy set in the world of a privately owned security company, follows the always amusing, often hilarious daily exploits of a group of civic minded misfits joined in their mission to protect and serve the community.
Lurching from crisis to crisis, Hauser's Security survives on a wing and a prayer. Nigel Hauser, after giving up his job as a disaffected primary school teacher some dozen years ago, is following his dream of running his own security company.
Set in a residential middle-class dwelling in the north-western suburbs of Johannesburg, Nigel has converted a 3-bedroomed house into his "Security Hub".
Aided by his motley crew – among them the loose-cannon Doug Tremaine, dedicated newcomer Tyson Ngubane, gum-chewing Chi-Chi Moeketsi-Adams and the ever faithful, closet detective Dotty Sithole – Nigel Hauser works tirelessly to overcome the daily challenges that confront them.
Written by Paul Slabolepszy and Darryl Evan Fuchs, the series is directed by Bobby Heaney and Peter Heaney. The title track and music was written by Robin Walsh.
Main Characters
Nigel Hauser (played by Alan Committie)
Nigel is an officious opinionated head of the company with a strong desire to serve and protect the community. This ex-primary school teacher has a rather over inflated opinion of himself.
Having set up his Security Operation in the days when a couple of cars and two or three hired hands constituted what can only be described as a glorified "Neighbourhood Watch", this civic-minded would-be policeman ploughs on regardless.
Nigel is a conspiracy theorist of the first order, open to every urban legend that surfaces. His language is peppered with statements that define his oversimplified view of the world... truisms that he regards as statements of fact, for example: "If it can't be managed, it can't be measured." "He who hesitates, is lost". "While the cat's asleep, the mice will play". "Strike while the iron's hot".
Nigel is a perfectionist in every way. Self-disciplined and principled in everything he does. He believes there's a right way to do things and a wrong way, and is convinced that his is always the right way.
He holds himself up to the highest standards but often over-reaches himself and is thus seen by others as totally obsessive. The social sub-type is more of a people person, however, so Nigel is relationship oriented.
He wants to get involved with a cause that will help people – in this case, his community, which he is determined to serve and protect with every fibre of his being. He steadfastly believes that he knows what is best for society at large and will stubbornly fight for it.
He is self-reliant, organised and always punctual. His dictatorial style will bring him in to conflict with his staff a great deal, and while Doug is perpetually driven to distraction by his boss, Dotty knows just how to handle him.
Tyson "Iron Mike" Ngubane (played by Rantebeng Makapan)
Tall, athletic, straight down-the-line, "Iron Mike" (as he is known from his boxing days) meets the crew on his first day on the job. Not quite sure what he's got himself in for, Iron Mike's impressive skill in security procedures quickly makes him part of the "family".
Tyson is the solid, faithful soldier, law enforcer. He looks at the world squarely, without complaint; a man of few words, but strong deeds.
Tyson can see all sides of any argument. Intelligent, perceptive and peace-loving, he hates conflict and will try to solve the problem or get away from it - not likely to get emotionally involved in the skirmish, staying objective.
He makes the perfect diplomat for that reason, offering a truly unbiased point of view. This is primarily because he, more than any other type, can see the big picture.
Little things that other characters argue about don't matter to him. He can offer compromises or put it in perspective to create the peace he loves. This is a guy who is more likely to take a leadership role, to bring two sides into an understanding.
Iron Mike inspires others with a kind of calm confidence. He is capable of level-headedness and control in the face of extreme chaos - the only member of a team that remains calm under fire.
Doug Tremaine (played by Robert Fridjhon)
The polar opposite of Nigel, Doug is the flip-side of the same coin. Doug (who believes he should be running the company) disagrees with Nigel's methodology at every turn, and is intensely dedicated to his role as a security officer.
He is constantly as loggerheads with Nigel's techniques and implementation with a more real-world outlook. His continuing frustration leads to on-going conflict between him and his boss.
A dedicated crash-course karate exponent and one-time high profile bodyguard in his late 30's, Doug is definitely one for the ladies.
He "sweet talks" his female clientele like he's a veritable George Clooney (which he is not), and is often left with more than a little egg on his face.
Doug is in control. Purposeful and wilful. Protective and honorable. Believing that the team is counting on his leadership to pull off the plan. At this level, he has immense amounts of self-confidence, strengthened by past performance.
Doug is a straight shooter, doesn't pull any punches in the quest to get things done. The flaw in his approach is that his wilfulness doesn't always take into consideration the other members of the team, steamrollering them, overpowering them, and relying heavily on his ability to control the team.
Dotty Sithole (played by Meme Ditshego)
The Hauser's Security "Secret Weapon", Dotty is far more than just the "mama" to everyone. Employed as the "domestic" for the security company, she in fact is more security savvy than anyone on the premises.
Detective, psychologist, mother-protector, Dotty knows far more than she lets on. She is instinctive and thoughtful and absolutely no one can pull the wool over her eyes. She also tends to the wounds – not only physical, but emotional – of her "flock".
She becomes confidante to Tyson, taking him under her wing and becoming his surrogate mother. Dotty Sithole is the glue that holds Hausers Security together, "Mother Confessor" to everyone.
Chavonne Watermeyer (played by Louise Saint-Claire)
Twice divorced and sister to Nigel, Chavonne (a bit of a snob with an over inflated opinion of herself), is in her mid-40's. The fading-away, going-to-seed ex Miss-Alberton (circa mid-eighties) is these days what one would describe as a "cougar".
Mutton going as lamb, she flirts with younger men, especially newcomer Tyson. Resentful of the way Nigel has squandered the family inheritance to keep the security company afloat, she is forever coming to him to borrow money and reminding him of the fact that if he'd just invested the money properly, they would have had a carefree future.
She fancies herself as bit of an interior designer (enjoying the occasional art class), she is forever wanting to upgrade the look – fixtures and fitting, curtains etc. - at the security company.
Her unique idea of decor clashes with Nigel's dull tastes, causing on-going friction.
Owing to the fact that her only child has left home, Chavonne has a lot of time to herself – spending most of that free time at the security company. She loves to shares bits of information with Dotty, who suffers her gossip mongering with polite indifference.
Chi-Chi Moeketsi-Adams (played by Lali Dangazele)
The attractive, gum-chewing young, private school-educated Lara Croft look-a-like is obsessed with her smart phone. She is a social networker deluxe.
Unsuited to life behind the control desk, Chi-Chi enjoys the adrenaline rush of the security setup. Like a demented "telephone exchange poppie" of old, she mans the control desk at the security company.
Having flunked out of Police College because of her extreme short sightedness, she fell into working for a security company in the hope of following in the footsteps of her dad, a highly decorated police man.
Clifton "Cliffy" Adonis (played by Mortimer Williams)
In it for the uniform (or so he says), the flamboyant "sister" from the Cape Flats enjoys subduing would-be criminals... especially when the cable ties come out.
He is nonetheless dedicated to protecting and serving the community – and breaking stereotypes (proud of his brown belt in ju-jitsu).
Bogdan Jokovic (played by Russel Savadier)
"Bogs" is patrol car mechanic and part time security officer. With very bad command of English, the ex-Serbian circus clown finds himself more than a little out of his depth at the Security Company.
Episodes
Episode 1
Crisis! The company has lost yet another client due to malfunctioning hardware.
When Nigel meets a prospective new customer (Mr Mamabolo), he and the crew are forced to use smoke and mirrors to bait the curious businessman. Through sleight of hand, they manage to overcome each potential pitfall and win themselves the client.
It's Bogdan's birthday and the Serbian spends much of his morning hinting to his work colleagues about his special day – they all know of course, but playfully wont indulge him.
Episode 2
Tyson "Iron Mike" Ngubane arrives for his first day as a security officer. He is introduced to his colleagues by Nigel and put through his paces, where he learns the not-always by-the-book daily routine at Hauser's Security – it's not quite the law enforcement operation the ex-boxer had in mind.
Meanwhile, Nigel's sister Chavonne arrives in order to find a secure hiding place for her collection of old Barry Manilow LP's, much coveted by her determined ex-husband who claims the albums belong to him.
Episode 3
Cliffy is tasked by a client to take care of a prize pedigree parrot. Unable to keep it at home (due to its special needs) he is forced to bring it in to work.
In order to keep it a secret from Nigel – who is averse to keeping pets in his place of work – he ropes in his co-workers to maintain the cover-up.
Meanwhile, cell phones, keys and wallets go missing. Everyone is on edge as Nigel begins an investigation to find the culprit – everyone's a suspect.
Episode 4
Nigel galvanizes the crew into upping their game after a client is forced to fend off a burglar trying to steal his very expensive piece of art work.
When Chavonne introduces her new boyfriend, Nigel finds it a distraction to his on-going quest and doesn't see what's right in under his nose.
Episode 5
While Dotty and Chavonne do their bit for the neighbourhood by opening a soup stall outside Hauser's, Nigel is on the prowl to hunt down a vigilante graffiti artist who's defacing his property.
Unbeknownst the vigilant head of security, the culprit is a disgruntled ex-boyfriend of Chi-chi's.
Episode 6
Hauser's Security needs more clients. Nigel thinks he's found an ingenious way to achieve this. Tyson wants to enter the ring again and leave Hauser's, but doesn't have the courage to tell Nigel.