Ramadan TV

Hey all. Happy Feast and hope you all had a wonderful Ramadan!

I wanted to write this post since the first week of Ramadan, but I thought I would better postpone it till the end of all the series that filled our screens during this holy month. Unfortunately, the Holy Month of Ramadan has turned into a month for TV series. It is like a festival for TV producers to show all their best, taking it for granted that we won't be able to resist the temptation of all the stars and the gripping episodes.

I was so glad to see that Egyptian drama has overcome its previous lapse. They started to learn the lesson, that we are no longer the only Arab capital of art. That's what competition does, it raises the standards for those who wish to participate. Unlike the boring old stories, and the usual meal that writers forced down our throats every year, this year the Egyptian drama was relatively better. There are new ideas and better production (in some series). Of course I can't review all of the series. I learned that they were all in all 47 Egyptian series being broadcasted througout Arab satellite channels. One is lucky to have been able to watch a fraction of that. So, I'll tell you about those I was able to watch (both deserving and undeserving).

Thumbs Up :)

1. El Daly: My favorite series this year. Wonderful Script. One of the greatest roles of Nur Al Sharif (Sa'd El Daly). The time of the 70's is not recurrent in Egyptian Drama. The clothes played a big role in making it credible. And Ahmed Safwat (Khaled El Daly) is a discovery.

2. Yetraba f3ezzo: What a duet! Yehia el Fakharany (Hamada Ezzo) and Karima Moukhtar (Mama Nouna) deserve A+. It was so pleasant to watch. Nice comedy, without any silly jokes involved. The writer kept the beat going, so unlike most other series, it didn't get boring in the middle. The different characters were well-woven inside the drama and the ending was so powerful.

3. Qadeyet Ra2y 3am: Although I don't count Yousra among the super talented stars (she tends to have one and the same facial expression for every emotion: one for happiness, one for sadness, one for anger..etc), but she definitely knows how to choose her roles. Her role as Dr. Abla Abdel Rahman who suddenly gets raped along with 2 other women (a young virgin doctor and a pregnant nurse) was so touching and different. There were a few lectures involved, but dealing with this sensitive issue for the first time on Egyptian TV would make us forgive some mistakes, like the freeze in the last 10 episodes.

4. Nafezza 3la el3alam: Yes, I liked it because of Tawfeeq Abdel Hamid (Rashad Ghazal), I don't deny it. A completely different role and he nailed it with great sense of humor. The series itself was so fragmented and it seems they had a very tight budget to spend, that's why the scenes did not attract the eye. The same shots, in the 7arah, the cafe or at home. The action scenes were so hilarious, that it reminds you of the 80's action movies. The final episode was a big disappointment. And who did the montage for God's sake?

Thumbs Down :(

1. Mn atlaq elrasas 3ala Hend 3alam: Nadia El Gendy playing the role of Nadia El Gendy. You can't believe a single scene in this series. It is like a comic sketch claiming to be about a serious issue. And what's up with shooting Hend Allam anyway? The whole series was about who shot Dr. Ezz (her husband, the scientist). But of course she has to be superwoman, and she has to put the character's name on the series! Such a waste of time.

2. Ragol Ghany Faqeer Geddan: Mohamed Sobhy rocks at the theatre, but TV is certainly not his playground. I respect Sobhy as an actor and play director a great deal. Yet, as a writer... errr. The actors were all like robots, I don't know why. And although each episode turned into a lecture (with the exception of the first three), yet I didn't get the lesson. Can anybody help?

3. Noqtet Nezam: NO, NO, NO. I am the one who should scream "ORDER!" What the hell were the people working on this series thinking? They claim it was about the Egyptian POW who were viciously executed by the Israeli soldiers. Such a nobel aim, but that is for sure the worst way to show them respect. Where are the POW? The whole series is about a driver in a green hat!

4. AlFareesa wal Sayad: What's the story? I suddenly felt I was so dumb. If the series was in seperate episodes it would have made sense. But what connects the many incidents which took place? Is it the biography of Adham Neseem (the policeman)? Is Adham Neseem a famous man that we should know about? What does the story revolve around? I don't know. And things just happen for no reason. It seems they found it unnecessary for viewers to understand why certain events took place. I don't understand why Adham's wife (Dr. Nagwa) hated him so much. This series is a riddle.

That was all about Ramdan TV. Wish to know your feedbacks as well.