Dubai: Arab viewers, usually difficult to reconcile over the merit of a television programme, seem this time remarkably eager to agree that a prank being shown during Ramadan should be taken off the air.
The reason? The Ramez Wakel Elgaw show has gone too far in scaring people in a bid to crack a joke and sell a show to millions of people clustered around their iftar tables.
The prank ultimately aims to make a celebrity believe that the small plane they are on is about to crash.
The producer Ramez Jalal, assuming through his mask the character of a foreigner, compounds the terrible situation for the unsuspecting victim.
As the plane lands and the victim learns about the prank, scenes of violent rage follow.
Video clip of actors such as Mohammad Ramadan and Nishan hitting Jalal went viral and triggered a wave of mainly negative reactions.
“It is really bad,” Hiba, a media figure said. “We do appreciate a joke or two, but we cannot accept that people are pushed to the limit for the sake of laughter that is totally misplaced,” she said.
Ahmad Khalid, a social media expert, said that such mental assaults on people cannot be seen as a joke.
“I fail to see any humour in a situation where people are brought to the brink of a heart attack,” he said. “Pranks are meant to be smart and easy, not killers.”
Abdul Aziz, a Saudi national, said he did not appreciate the pranks “because they are against the very soul of Islam that forbids frightening people, even for fun.”
“It is really bad and there is nothing smart about making people feel they are going to die and bring out the worst in them. The show people have the right to make some money, but not the right to frighten people.”
However, Amal said she did not believe the jokes were real.
“I have the feeling something is fishy here,” she said. “I believe it is a make-believe show more than a genuine sequence of events. It is a bit like those wrestling matches we used to watch on television when we were younger,” she said.
