The Saudi public has responded in satirical fashion to Monday's controversial episode of the comedy series Tash Ma Tash, while the writer of the script has brushed off death threats saying they are “unpleasant but not scary” and that he “is used to them”. The MBC-aired series provoked debate by tackling the subject of education curricula reform, and text messages and emails were sent across the country after the emission urging those who missed it to catch the later repeat, with reportedly huge number of viewers subsequently tuning in to the dawn showing. One tongue-in-cheek round email urged each recipient to “save yourself from hell by growing your beard, shortening your thobe, remembering the names of the sheikhs and not buying Al-Watan newspaper!” The email was offering the advice to “anyone wishing to become a teacher”, playing on a scene in the Tash Ma Tash episode in which an aspiring teacher is turned down for a job for failing to display “sufficient religious piety” during his interview, and is also asked by the interview panel if he read Al-Watan and Al-Riyadh newspapers. Scriptwriter Yahya Al-Amir told Al-Watan that there had been “hugely positive feedback” after the show ran and that he had received numerous messages of thanks, congratulations and support. “The irritating aspect is that some people misunderstood the episode, believing any criticism of religious people to be a criticism of the religion itself,” Al-Amir said. “That is wrong, just as any criticism of an individual businessman is not a criticism of business.” As for threats he received from typically anonymous sources, Al-Amir said: “Of course it's annoying and thoroughly unpleasant, but it doesn't scare me as I've got used to it after articles I've written or interviews I've done on television. They usually come from people who oppose change and forward advancement in traditional societies, which is only to be expected.” Several real-life aspiring teachers who failed at the interview stage told Al-Watan that the episode certainly reflected a reality with which they can relate. One described the episode's interview scene as “spot on”, recalling how he was asked by the appointment panel to leave the room and “get a haircut” if he wished to complete the interview. Returning suitably less hirsute, he was still rejected. Monday's episode of Tash Ma Tash, which is now in its 16th year, was described by Al-Watan Tuesday as “more daring than any that went before it.” Al-Madina newspaper, reflecting the Saudi public's increasing disenchantment with a series regarded as having run short of ideas in recent years, hailed the “return of the ‘Tash' of old, with constructive ideas and the acting duo creatively playing off one another to bring characters to life in a comic fashion”.
