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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Company for a long night
By Tarek Atia
For Ramadan this year, our prayers have been answered. That holy month stalwart, the Channel 1 "Ramadan Riddles" programme, has been cancelled. And just in time. The show was slowly deteriorating and seemed out of place among what is gradually becoming more sophisticated fare. The fawazir (riddles) have presumably been elbowed out by all the serials, dramas, comedies and variety shows that are taking over the Ramadan TV schedule. The TV Union, however, has been quick to note that the fawazir are merely on hiatus. Actress and dancer Sherihan, the fawazir's most famous star, is set to do the riddles again next year, we've being reassured. But then again, that particular rumour has been flying around for a while now.
No worries, let's stick to the here and now. Anyone who's been working on, or is working on, any sort of dramatic series, has been scrambling to get the thing done in time to air during Ramadan. The papers have been filled over the past few weeks with announcements saying that such and such a show has been completed, just in time for Ramadan. The TV building is a beehive of activity, with every studio busy with something being filmed. Less than a week before Ramadan begins, only a small portion of the schedule has cleared up and for the most part, we won't know until the last moment what will be shown and when.
Ramadan is Egyptian television's chance to target its largest audience for the longest stretches of time -- it's prime-time television all the time, as many Egyptians are prepared to spend endless days and nights in front of the tube. And Egyptian TV is happy to deliver: during Ramadan viewers are inundated with shows, from sunset to practically just before fagr (dawn, when Muslims begin their fast). Sometimes, it seems like the other 11 months of the year are spent simply in preparation for the onslaught.
Ramadan is also the time of the year when the Television Union sells the largest chunk of its products to other Arabic satellite channels. This year, the papers reported that over a thousand hours of programming have been sold so far, including 12 complete series, consisting of 238 hours of programming, sold to more than 19 Arab countries for some LE80 million.
So what's new this Ramadan? For one thing, in order to accommodate all the new shows, the Television Union has decided not to limit first-run serials to its flagship national Channels 1 and 2. Instead, first run dramas will also appear on Channels 3, 5 and 8. Another big decision this year is not to allow any major star to appear in more than one show. The rule does not apply to second- and third-tier stars, some of whom will appear in up to half a dozen different shows.
The most widely-anticipated show this Ramadan is without a doubt actress Faten Hamama's return to the small screen in Wagh Al-Qamar (Face of the Moon), a 15-episode series that is the showcase of Channel 1's Ramadan repertoire. The show has received the most pre-publicity of any Ramadan programming. The series will also star Ahmed Ramzi, Gamil Rateb and two of today's young Faten-wannabes, Nelly Karim and Ghada Adel. Written by Magda Khairallah, and directed by Adel El-A'sar, the show's premise is not exactly the most promising. Hamama stars as a TV presenter whose husband dies. She remarries a rich man and has a child. Years later, on the day her child gets married, her first (and supposedly dead) husband reappears, thus complicating everybody's life. Hamama's presence is definitely one of the show's strong points, and hopefully she'll be able to take it beyond the clichéd storyline.
Youssra-vehicle Awan Al-Ward (Flowers Bloom), is another widely anticipated show. Written by Wahid Hamid and directed by Samir Seif, it's the story of an investment company employee who marries a police officer who saves her from an assault. Their first child is then kidnapped by a gang who the officer had previously apprehended and brought to trial, and whole lot of drama -- embedded with much commentary on Egyptian society -- ensues. There are also the religious dramas, and the song-and-dance shows, one of which, Alf Laila wa Laila (1001 Nights), will star fawazir veteran Nelly.
Channel 2's flagship show is expected to come from seasoned TV director Yehia El-Alami. Khayal Al-Zill (Shadow Play), starring Farouk El-Fishawi, is the story of four friends separated by a murder. El-Fishawi plays one of the friends, who returns to Egypt after 20 years in America and tries to meet up with his old buddies, one of whom has been in prison and the other who has gone blind. It also stars Maged El-Masri, Ahmed Rateb and Nadine. The second part of Osama Anwar Okasha's Zizinia is also set to make an appearance this year, starring Yehia El-Fakharani in his much-loved role as the cosmopolitan symbol of the Alexandria of yore. This time the series tackles the changes in society that took place in the all-important years between 1948 and 1956.
Channel 1 is set to introduce a new concept show through which each night's events will be presented. Called Maqha Al-Oula (Channel 1 Coffeehouse), it will involve the channel's top presenters sitting in a coffee-house atmosphere, along with special guests from the entertainment world. Not much else has been revealed about this scary-sounding idea -- probably for good reason. This year will also see the return of Ibrahim Nasr's much-loved "Candid Camera" and Mona El-Husseini's Hewar Sarih Gidan (A Very Honest Interview), where the guests are, as usual, sure to cry their eyes out.
Quite a bit of air time has also been sold to advertising agencies, which end up producing their own shows in order to intersperse them with endless ads. One such show this year will be the entertainment gossip programme Manchette (Headline). Hosted by actor Mahmoud Qabil and prepared by entertainment reporter Maha Madbouli, the show will discuss the many rumours that come out about various stars. Stars will then appear on the show to joke about or deny the rumours.
Those who make it a point to watch TV all night long, never leaving the couch and following every one of the special Ramadan shows, will find themselves with plenty on their hands this year. Whether it will be a fulfilling, entertaining bonanza remains to be seen.
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