tinyurl.com/bmrfj -> rawstory.com/news/2005/Arabic_Simpsons_doesnt_get_laughs_1014.html
In Arabia, Homer's beer is soda, and his hot dogs are barbequed Egyptian b eef 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 vi ewership. In the Arabized version of 'The Simpsons,' Homer's called 'Omar' and drinks Coke, not beer.
Click Here The family remains, as the producers describe them, "dysfunctional." They still live in Springfield, and "Omar" is still lazy and works at the lo cal nuclear power plant. Bart (now called "Badr") is constantly cheeky t o his parents and teachers and is always in trouble. Providing the chara cters' voices are several popular Egyptian actors, including Mohamed Hen eidy, considered the Robert De Niro of the Middle East. Many Arab blogs and Internet chat se ssions have become consumed with how unfunny "Al Shamshoon" is. Some longtime "Simpson" fans who are Arabs are incensed over the Arabized version. "This is just beyond the pale," wrote As'ad AbuKhalil, a profe ssor at California State University, Stanislaus, whose blog, angryarab b logspot, often touches on politics and the media. After viewing a promot ional segment of "Al Shamshoon," Prof. The guy who played Homer Simpson was one of the most unfunny peo ple I ever watched. Just drop the project, and air reruns of Tony Danza' s show instead."
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