Nasir Al-Qasabi (L) and Abdullah Al-Sadhan made “Tash Ma Tash” a household name in Saudi Arabia. — Archive photo Renad Ghanem Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — For the past 18 years, “Tash Ma Tash” — a popular Saudi sitcom — has ruled the TV channels and hearts of the Saudi viewers every Ramadan. The series' absence this year in Ramadan has disappointed many of its ardent viewers who incessantly looked forward to it after Iftar. A lot of new series have been on air this Ramadan, however, Saudi viewers find them ‘weak' compared to “Tash Ma Tash.” Viewers believe that the new sitcoms on air are not of standard and this year Ramadan feels incomplete without watching their favorite actors on the small screen. Viewers are unhappy and have criticized the termination of “Tash Ma Tash,” saying that each episode of the series conveyed a meaningful message. While others said that even though they didn't find the series funny they watched it habitually, as it provided some entertainment unlike serials of today which are nothing but commercial potboilers. Some Saudi viewers have created a hashtag on Twitter for “Tash Ma Tash,” where they have expressed their displeasure of the termination of the series and how much they miss watching it this Ramadan. Some of the following tweets picked up from the feed are: “The good funny people have gone,” “It was silly but I used to watch it,” “We miss “Tash Ma Tash” this Ramadan. It was better than other series on air this year,” “Ramadan without ‘Tash Ma Tash' is like BlackBerry without BBM.” “Tash Ma Tash” toward the end received a lot of criticism from critics who said the series wasn't offering anything fresh to its viewers, and that its production should be stopped. Abdullah, a Saudi fan of “Tash Ma Tash,” said that there was something amiss this Ramadan and that was not watching his favorite comedy series. “Although there are many series on air this year, they are all struggling to reach the level of “Tash Ma Tash.” I feel very sad that it's not on air anymore.” Abdullah further said that although he criticized some of the series' episodes, he never missed an episode in 18 years. He has many fond memories attached to the popular sitcom because when it started there were hardly any TV channels, let alone good serials to watch. Another Saudi fan of “Tash Ma Tash,” Dunya, said that the producers should reconsider shooting the series as now there isn't anything interesting to watch on TV. “I am 22-years-old now and I had been watching the series since I was 12. I really wish the series comes back on air next year because I don't watch anything besides it,” Dunya said.
