Is "Little Mosque on the Prairie" Spineless?

That's essentially what I concluded during the most recent Kindlings Muse podcast, which was recorded Monday, May 25 at Belle's pub in Surrey.

To clarify what I mean by that, I probably should have put things in screenwriting terms. The problem I have with Little Mosque on the Prairie (and Corner Gas, to be fair) is that the show has no stakes. Whether the characters achieve their objectives or not, nothing in their world really changes. Contrast that with comedy classics like Seinfeld, where George's entire world (job, relationship, etc.) is riding on his ability to maintain his most recent lie. Without stakes and characters obsessed with avoiding the consequences of their actions at all costs, "Little Mosque" can never rise to the level of true comedy. The best it can ever aspire to be is mildly amusing, which it is some of the time.

I also called the show spineless b/c it rarely delves beneath the surface to confront the real issues you would expect to naturally arise out of such a premise--religious pluralism, Islam's reputation for violence, etc. Contrast that with All in the Family, where the difficult, thorny issues of the tumultuous 1970s are always front and center. I realize the show's creator, Zarqa Nawaz, says the show isn't meant to be political; just funny. But isn't that one of the primary functions of comedy--to enable us to deal with unpleasant realities, to confront seemingly contradictory or irrational situations?

So there you go. I realize my critique of the show doesn't bode well for my chances of ever getting a shot at writing for it. But at least I can't be faulted for avoiding unpleasant realities.

Comments

[jasongoode]

This is a great point. I've been wondering why Corner Gas feels so... lame and yet you can watch a re-run of Seinfeld and it still holds up. You nailed it.