Review On "Little Mosque on the Prairie"

Canadian television can be frustrating at times. On one end it is capable of producing interesting programming; on the other hand, it is so blatantly safe and politically correct. More often than not, it's the latter.

When I finally sat to watch Little Mosque on the Prairie (as opposed to Little House on the Prairie which I hated) one month after its debut, I sort of had an idea how the CBC would approach it. After viewing my first episode I was proved right. For such a unique and potentially explosive idea, the dialogue is, well, safe and light in a Canadian way. The CBC obviously sought to strike a balance and what they came up with was inoffensive comedy.

That's not necessarily a bad thing either. The issues raised in the show are new to North American viewers.

The show is basically about how Muslims and Canadians interact in a prairie setting. The prairies are all the rage now. Wheat is in, urban is out.

I got the distinct feeling that the writers are very careful not to offend anybody. Who can blame them considering the context under which the show has been aired? By this I mean in a post 9/11 world. Gotta give them credit for the boldness of their timing. Imagine if Italians, Germans and Japanese programming came out during the Second World War? Uncomfortable, I know. Just musing out loud.

Despite this, the show does accord itself some provoking moments.

For example, in one scene a father opposes his daughter from partaking in Halloween on the grounds that it is not a Muslim activity. Despite this, he ends up chaperoning her. What he soon discovers, while dressed in traditional Muslim attire, is that people mistake him for being "Osama" or a "Taliban" and this oddly makes him feel accepted. Later you see him running around scaring kids and telling them he was a terrorist. I laughed at that.

Another part had a right-wing radio commentator who asks: "Islam: Why it's evil." Funny. I would have gone further. Don't put a script in my hands for I fear what I would come up with. I digress.

Who said Muslims can't mock themselves? Well, in North America they do. I can't speak for the old, battered country. I wonder what Osama and his nut cases think of the show. I can picture them knee-slapping and choking on their food screaming, "it's so true!" and "Hey, that's so you, Os!"

While far from being drop dead funny like other shows that push the envelope, the show does attempt to put a human face on Muslims - as if most moderate minds needed this. It tries to convey the sensitive particularities of Islam living in a secular Occidental world. Make that Prairie, given that the Prairies are a cultural and geographic entity onto themselves.

Personally, I would love to see this idea used in a far more provocative manner. For that to happen it would have to be free of the CBC, and more importantly, the creators would have to be willing to do this - which I doubt they would.

As it stands, the show may have to settle- for posterity - as being a pioneer that will open the door for some other show - possibly in Britain -to take the idea to another level.

In terms of "Wheat Comedy" Corner Gas has this market licked. Nonetheless, for sheer originality LMONTP gets an 'A'.