CAIRO — Bald, chubby underachiever Omar Shamshoon works each day at the local nuclear power plant owned by vulture-like millionaire Mahrooey Bey (Mr. Burned). Every evening, Omar comes home to a family that includes his blue-haired wife, Mona, hyper-smart daughter, Beesa, and troublemaking son, Badr.
Along the way, wacky high jinks invariably ensue, involving the moronic police chief, Maarmish (Crunchy) the television clown and Omar's disturbingly perfect neighbor.
Sound familiar?
This, however, may not: Omar doesn't drink beer. That is not a misprint.
Instead, he spends time with his buddies at a local coffee shop. At home, he pops open frosty cans of Duff brand juice.
"The Simpsons" fans in the Middle East reacted with skepticism when MBC, an Arabic satellite channel, announced it would begin showing culturally modified, Arabic-dubbed versions of the iconic animated show.
The Arabic dialogue laid over existing shows is actually fairly faithful to the original script. Nothing seems censored, but episodes such as those featuring Homer's gay roommate or the visit to the Duff brewery are unlikely to be chosen for translation.
And many of the more American inside jokes are simply glossed over.
Ned Flanders, the devout Christian neighbor, is now merely annoying -- with no hint of religion. And needless to say, the relationship between Mr. Burns and his assistant, Smithers -- make that Salmawy -- has become strictly professional.
One month after the premiere of "Al Shamshoon," voiced by some of Egypt's top actors, many are asking whether this particular cultural divide can ever truly be bridged.
"They managed to make one of the funniest shows ever into something that is terribly unfunny, and one of the smartest shows around into something incredibly dumb," ranted an Egyptian blogger who goes by the name Sandmonkey and who wants the show canceled. "Us Simpson lovers can't take this abomination any longer."
Others take a kinder view. Tarek Atia and Inas Hamam have turned the nightly viewings into a family event, watching raptly with their sons, Omar, 7, and Ali, 4.
"When I first saw it ... I thought, there's no way they're going to pull this off. But now I think it might be funnier in Arabic," said Hamam, marketing manager for American University in Cairo.
Executives at Dubai-based MBC sounded a little bemused by the strong, sometimes outraged, reactions to their venture among hard-core fans. Spokesman Michel Kostandi acknowledged that they had underestimated the depth and passion of the fan base.
"We're fascinated ourselves to see how this works," he said, adding that the show's translators were "determined to keep the exact spirit and heart of 'The Simpsons.' "
Well, not quite: There's that little matter of Homer's favorite pastime.
"What's Homer without beer?" Sandmonkey told The Times, preferring to be identified by his blogger name. "This is a fundamental issue!"
The show was one of the flagships of MBC's Ramadan lineup. During the Islamic holy month, which fell mostly in October this year, television channels compete heavily for the attention of Arab families digesting huge meals after their all-day fast.
MBC spared no expense, promoting "Al Shamshoon" nonstop and recruiting A-list film stars to dub the voices. Egypt's top comedian, Mohamed Heneidy, provides the voice of Omar.
For local fans of the original "Simpsons," it's a wasted effort. The show's real appeal, they say, depends on the multilayered dialogue, the often biting takes on American society and politics.
Without an understanding of that cultural depth, what remains for the audience here is mere slapstick, said Marwan Nasher, managing director of AK Comics Inc., which produces a line of Arab superhero comic books.
"It's just a cartoon now," Nasher said. "I wasn't really impressed. You don't know if they're trying to show American culture or Arab culture. They've kind of lost the message."
Hind Radwan, a cartoon director and editor who oversees dubbings of Disney cartoons into Arabic, echoes this view. "In the U.S., when making cartoons, there is a lot of thought about the children's psychology and what is or isn't culturally appropriate for them. Here we just take those cartoons and translate them; it ends up confusing the child's identity," she said.
Radwan said it was a question of simple economics. In Egypt, cartoon production lacks the prestige it has in other parts of the world and therefore receives little money and attention, so importing cartoons for dubbing is simply easier.
"One minute of dubbing is much cheaper than one minute of production," she said.
Western programming is hardly new to the Middle East. Even before the advent of satellite channels, shows such as "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Falcon Crest" and "MacGyver" were staples of state television.
The explosion of Arab satellite television brought dedicated channels showing subtitled Western movies, cop shows and sitcoms -- including the original "Simpsons."
