The first episode of animated sitcom “The Simpsons” (“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”) aired in the US on Fox on December 17, 1989. At the time, the humorous take on a dysfunctional family already had a cult following thanks to a series of shorts on “The Tracey Ullman Show” over the preceding two years. But no one would have guessed that creator Matt Groening’s yellow-skinned nuclear (!) family — Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie — were set to become global superstars and birth a host of merchandise and catchphrases the like of which few shows have ever matched.
In the early days, it was loud-mouthed brat Bart who grabbed the most attention, but others caught up with him quickly, particularly bumbling dad Homer, who became a much more sympathetic and well-rounded character as the show (but not the characters) aged.
Whether you’re one of the many who believe the show’s quality has dipped severely since its ‘golden era’ (generally held to have ended after Season 10), tarnishing its once-proud legacy; one of the diehards who still loves it; or one of the numerous detractors who point out (with some justification) how the show’s stances on social issues, particularly those involving Asian characters, have become increasingly out of step with popular culture, it’s impossible to deny the enormous influence (the most obvious example being the boom in adult-oriented animations since the Nineties) and overwhelming success of this cartoon juggernaut all over the world.
Well… nearly all over the world.
In 2005, MBC launched “AlShamshoon,” an ambitious attempt at a culturally relevant Arabic version of the hit series. The former group director of content at MBC, Badih Fattouh, who green-lit the project, tells Arab News that the network was aware of the potential pitfalls of dubbing a regional version of a show that was — in its early years at least — famed for pushing boundaries.
“One of the main criteria of selecting content is taking risks, sometimes by trying new genres,” Fattouh says. “Taking into consideration how popular the series (was) in the US and elsewhere, introducing an animated series targeting adult Arab viewers was a novel idea and a challenging one at the same time.”
The showrunners took several steps to Arabize the show, including changing character names: Homer became Omar, Marge became Mona, Bart changed to Badr, Lisa became Bessa, and so on. The network hired some of the top Egyptian actors of the time to provide the voices — Mohamed Henedy played Omar, while Badr was voiced by former actress and ballerina Hanan Turk. And they all lived in Rabeea — the Arabic word for "spring,” rather than “Springfield,” as it was in the original.
There were plenty of similarities to be found in the Arabic storylines too. The family remained, as the producers described it, "dysfunctional." Omar was still astonishingly lazy, frequently said “D’oh” and worked at the local nuclear power plant. Badr was constantly getting into trouble at home and at school.
Despite the fact that Omar looked exactly like Homer, he underwent some pretty serious lifestyle changes. (Supplied)
In other areas, however, the Arabic version had to stay away from the original subject matter. The showrunners discarded the first three seasons of the show entirely, beginning their selections from Season Four, and cherry picking the episodes they would Arabize lest regional viewers — as Bart might say — ‘had a cow.’ So “Sideshow Bob vs. Bart,” for example, made the cut. “Homer the Heretic” didn’t.
And despite the fact that Omar looked exactly like Homer, he underwent some pretty serious lifestyle changes that fundamentally changed many of the qualities that made Homer, well, Homer.
Omar, for instance, did not drink alcohol. So most of the scenes set in Moe’s Tavern (often crucial to storylines and laughs) were completely erased. And, in the brief glimpses viewers did get of Moe’s, it was referred to as a coffee shop. Churches were referred to as mosques. The ubiquitous Duff beer was replaced with a soft drink. None of the characters consumed pork (opting for barbecued Egyptian beef sausages instead). Homer’s beloved doughnuts took the form of the traditional Arabic cookies, kaak. And Homer’s evangelical neighbor Ned Flanders lost his faith (and much of the resulting humor).
Despite the tweaks, MBC was optimistic about “AlShamshoon” ahead of its premiere, set for the first night of Ramadan (the biggest month of the year for regional TV). It quickly became clear, however, that its optimism was misplaced.
The mish-mash of American and Middle Eastern pop-culture references coupled with deleted scenes that made some storylines almost impossible to follow and jokes that just didn’t land the same in Arabic meant the whole enterprise was a prime example of ‘lost in translation.’
MBC made a total of 52 episodes of “AlShamshoon.” Only 34 aired. And little more than a month after its much-heralded premiere the show disappeared. The 18 unaired episodes remain unseen, not even surfacing online. It was, it’s fair to say, a failure to rank with any of Homer’s misadventures.
Fattouh gives his take on why the show didn’t work. “Comedy is a very sensitive genre — either you laugh or you don’t,” he says. “This has a lot to do with cultural, social, and lifestyle references and identifications. ‘The Simpsons,’ in particular, is not the easiest one to adapt to Arabic. We knew this all along and it was part of the challenge. Some of these references were not easy to convey through adaptation. I would say some of the humor and sarcasm was lost.”
However, Fattouh does not feel the network should have any regrets.
“If you want to be a trendsetter you have to try new concepts,” he says. “Some work, others don’t. There is nothing wrong with this at all; it is an inevitable part of the process if you want to be successful.”
‘The Simpsons’ around the world
The Arab world isn’t the only region to have had its own version of the hit show — although most are simply dubbed (and still running), rather than heavily edited like “AlShamshoon.”
There are two French versions of the show — one for the Canadian province of Quebec and one in France, where is it called “Les Simpson.” Groening once said that the best translation of the show was the Canadian-French dub.
Although the France-based version did not change the show as much as MBC’s Arabized take, its makers have made some notable changes. The show’s ethnic minorities have been given accents to suit the demographics of the country: Apu has a Portuguese accent, rather than the heavy Indian accent that has drawn criticism in the US, while background character Kirk Van Houten is given a strong Belgian accent.
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the show is dubbed in German. Episodes appear uncut and dubbed, but, interestingly, the animation is not altered — so Bart’s iconic lines on a chalkboard that appear during the opening song are still written in English. Homer’s famous catchphrase, “D’oh!” has been translated to “Nein!” (No!) however.
Italy, Hungary and Ukraine all air popular dubbed versions of the show. In Hungary, József Székhelyi’s portrayal of Homer Simpson was so admired that there was public outrage when he was replaced for one episode due to scheduling conflicts. Brazil has its very own Portuguese dub, while Spain and parts of Latin America enjoy a Spanish-language version called “Los Simpson.”
