Block 13 (TV series)

Block 13 (Arabic: قطعة 13‎) is a Kuwait-Arabic animated series, which serves as the Arabic adaptation of the popular American animated series, South Park. It was created by Sami Al-Khars and aired on Kuwait TV in 2000, running until 2002. It is the first animated TV series to produced in the Gulf region.

Block 13
GenreComedy
Sitcom
Created bySami Al-Khars
Directed byNawaf Salem Al-Shammari
Country of originKuwait United States
Original languageArabic
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes45
Production
Running time6-20 minutes
Production companiesFarooha Media Productions
Al Nazaer
Release
Original networkKuwait TV (2000-2002)
Original releaseNovember 27th 2000 –
December 5th 2002

The series follows Hammoud, Azzouz, Saloom, Abboud and his sister Farooha, who all often go on wacky and strange misadventures. Similar to how South Park was in the United States, the series dealt with many issues that concerned the Kuwaiti population in a smooth and humorous way but avoided talking about potentially offensive subjects such as sexuality or political issues,[1] however unlike the original show, which was adult-oriented, this show is meant for families and children of all ages.

It also aired with English subtitles on KIKU in Hawaii from February 28, 2001 until October 16, 2006.

Characters
  • Abboud
Voiced by: Nawaf Salem Al-Shammari

A chubby boy who always likes to be the center of attention, he wears a white taqiyah and is the show's version of Eric Cartman.

  • Hammoud
Voiced by: Mohammed Maseeb Najm

A boy who well behaved for the most part and is often known to be a teacher's pet by his classmates, his name means "Much praising" and is the show's version of Stan Marsh.

  • Azzouz
Voiced by: Mohammed Maseeb Najm

A boy who likes to agree with his friend's plans and tells them they are right (mostly to Hammoud), in the first season, he wore a black and brown ushanka, but in season 2 and 3, he wore a baseball cap with an A on it with the same colors. his name manes "Much praising" and is the show's version of Kyle Broflovski.

  • Saloom
Voiced by: Nawaf Salem Al-Shammari

A poor boy who gets into accidents constantly. He wears his father's red keffiyeh that muffles completely his speech. He is known for his creativity with papers and wastes and is the show's version of Kenny McCormick.

  • Honey
Voiced by: Hani Sulaiman

An American kid who moved to Block 13 to live with his grandmother, he first appeared in the second season.

  • Faroouha
Voiced by: Herself

Abboud's baby sister who often accompanies the gang on their adventures. Her catchphrase is "Dig-iday!"

  • Miss Attiyat
Voiced by: Nizar Al-Qandi (uncredited)

The portly Egyptian female principal and teacher of the boy's school. She has a tendency to mispronounce Kuwaiti words and wears a bright orange and yellow abaya.

History

After South Park was banned in the Middle East due to its various poking fun of various religions,[2] it was decided to create a show to take its place, thus leading into the show's creation. The show aired during every year's Ramadan.

The show was a huge success resulting in many different terms of merchandise including toys, food products, home media and various others.

Reruns of the series have also been aired on various other Arab networks like Funoon TV, Al-Watan TV, KTV Al-Qurain, and Comedy Central.

Spin-off

Due to the show's success, after the show ended, a spin-off titled Qatouta and Kaloob (قطوطة وكلوب) was released in 2003 by the adapted version of U-Turn show on Kuwait TV, the next Ramadan in 2004 was aired on Al-Rai TV starring Qatouta, a female purple cat along with Kaloob, Honey's pet dog.

References
  1. Peer, Stefanie van de (27 February 2017). Animation in the Middle East: Practice and Aesthetics from Baghdad to Casablanca. ISBN 9781786731715.
  2. https://screenrant.com/tv-shows-banned-in-other-countries-shocking/
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