D'oh! Arabized Simpsons not getting many laughs

Friday, October 14, 2005

By Yasmine El-Rashidi, The Wall Street Journal

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – When an Arab satellite TV network, MBC,
decided to introduce "The Simpsons" to the Middle East, they knew the
family would have to make some fundamental lifestyle changes.

"Omar Shamshoon," as he is called on the show, looks like the same Homer
Simpson, but he has given up beer and bacon, which are both against
Islam, and he no longer hangs out at "seedy bars with bums and
lowlifes." In Arabia, Homer's beer is soda, and his hot dogs are
barbequed Egyptian beef sausages. And the donut-shaped snacks he gobbles
are the traditional Arab cookies called kahk.

An Arabized "Simpsons" – called "Al Shamshoon" – made its debut in the
Arab world earlier this month, in time for Ramadan, a time of high TV
viewership. It uses the original "Simpsons" animation, but the voices
are dubbed into Arabic and the scripts have been adapted to make the
show more accessible, and acceptable, to Arab audiences.

more…
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05287/588741.stm