Little Muslim comedy on the horizon
Sunday, January 07, 2007
After a series of boring tv shows, something of interest seems to be brewing in the studios of CBC TV.
I'm excited about "Little Mosque on the Prairie",a pilot project CBC TV has come up with, in an effort to diversify its content on tv and make it more representative of its viewers in Canada...and maybe even the post 9/11 world that Muslim Canadians find themselves in. The buzz is about a new show based on the true experiences of Zarqa Nawaz, a Canadian Muslim woman who settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba ten years ago.
The show features a cast with some CBC regulars, as well as some newbies. My favourite actor in this show is Zaib Shaikh, whose innocent, religious character is a huge turn-on. He is also cute. Hmmm, yes, I would marry this guy..It's to be seen whether the show is any good. The fact that it's generated lots of media coverage in the US, Canada and Europe must mean something.
Contrary to what some of my friends seem to think, saying it's another attempt by the CBC to change Canadians' minds about prejudice and discrimination through humour. I don't see anything wrong with that. Yes, it has CBC fingerprints all over it and yes, it looks like a typical CBC show, but having never seen a show on Muslims, I can safely say it's a first. As such, it should be given a chance to prove its humour. As one of the characters in the series says sarcastically, "Muslims are known for their sense of humour."
I kinda hope they put up the episodes on the web, since, starting Tuesday, I'll be back to my student life in Montreal, meaning there will be no TV waiting for me at the end of the day :(
Labels: Canada, CBC, Islam, little mosque on the prairie, Muslim, TV, zaib shaikh, Zarqa Nawaz
