So Ramadan is over. And the series binging/tracking is over. So, naturally, time for a recap.
As religious series watchers, we usually tend to pick up patterns, as you will probably notice from some of our previous articles. P.S. We called it first!
And as Ramadan and its series wind down, some of these “patterns” became so obvious that they didn’t really need our super binging skills to detect.
But just in case you didn’t catch on, here are some of the most obvious patterns or “trends” series this Ramadan seem to like a bit too much:
1. Posters? Boxing Getup. Because …duh!!
This one didn’t even require waiting until the start of Ramadan. We could say it was all over our commute route.
Apparently, it seems as though when it was time to advertise the series, there was a bit of shortage of angles when it came to promoting the story-line of the show or its lead character. So a few went for the most common feature and meaningful angle to promote of course which is ‘look how much muscles I’ve got’, i.e. boxing getups.
In Hogan’s poster, Mohamed Emam appears in a boxing/workout getup. In Lams Aktaf’s poster, Yasser Galal is also sporting a workout gear, oh well… it is called Lams Aktaf.
Plot Twist: neither of them is a boxer in their shows.
What do we get from BOTH posters? Mohamed Imam & Yasser Galal are buff.
2. The Thriller Train
This one didn’t need us to wait for the whole month to notice. From the first couple of days, we could notice that more than one series is hopping on the thriller train.
You know the whole ‘someone is always running from someone, or after someone, or just running’ thing.
In Zay El Shams, we are chasing-for pretty much the entire month- after “who killed Farida” or rather chasing our tails because we still have no idea.
In Hekayty, we are panting wondering when will Adham go crazy and try to kill Dalida or when will he try to marry her.
On the other hand, Weld El Ghalaba, well… we all know how intense Mr. Walter White gets, oops, we mean Eisa!
And of course, we can’t mention the thriller train without mentioning Kabeel. Which was basically driving that train.
For further ‘action & thriller’ content, you can check Lams Aktaf, Akher Nafas, Kalabsh 3, Abo Gabal, and well… we lost count.
3. The Close-ups (visually and audibly)
So we get that the mood is intense, but what’s up with zooming in on the actors’ faces? Like why do I need to see their skin pores? What exactly is the dramatic purpose of this creative choice?
And another incomprehensive creative choice was the extremely echoy sound-editing. Again, we understand, you are going for an intense thriller type of show, but again, why do I need to hear the actor swallowing? Like actually hear the movement of their throats? Why?
4. The Intense Soundtracks
Well, again, we get that you need an intense soundtrack for an intense scene. But what about when the scenes ain’t intense, why do I need to get startled exactly?
The intensely out of space and startling soundtrack movement can be heard in shows like Kalabsh 3, Weld El Ghalaba, and Kabeel.
Mixed with the echoy sound-effect, you’ve got yourself a real zinger. Quite literally.
5. Killing Me Softly
Have you noticed how every show either has a mysterious murder/potential murder/ attempted murder, or you know, just… A MURDER.
Examples?
In Hekayty, we wonder if Adham is going to murder Dalida.
In Kabeel, well a lot of people get murdered, and the entire show’s plot and story-line twists to follow who murdered them, obviously.
And of course the question of the century this Ramadan; “Who murdered Farida?” in Zay El Shams.
And the list goes endlessly on…
Well… a gentle reminder: there are OTHER crimes and you know stuff to do.
