Some reviewers mentioned they were not shown this episode on TV, or being confused as to what is supposed to be objectionable about it. I did not know about this before watching it, but I independently arrived at the conclusion that it is problematic. That doesn't necessarily mean it should no longer be shown, but it would be a good idea to add a little bit of contextualisation when broadcasting it, in the form of a short disclaimer before and after it.
A small North African country (located in the Sahara?) is thrown into chaos by a well executed assassination. As the country is rich in a strategic resource, the West naturally wants to control it. Sorry, I mean, the West wants to restore peace. This is best achieved by making the son of the elderly monarch (the Bey), who had been deposed a long time ago, return and take power. (This plot seems inspired by how British and American secret services supported a coup against the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953 and gave political power to the Shah in order to continue profiting from the country's oil. Of course some details were changed.)
Obstacles include the fun loving young monarch's resistance to the plan, the machinations of the revolutionary group behind the assassination, and the wild desert.
I have no problem with the fact that the Arabic characters are played by British actors. That's perfectly normal for a time when Arabic actors weren't easy to find. But the entire Arabic culture depicted here feels very much off. It seems to be inspired by the Tales of 1001 Nights at least as much as informed by the realities of North Africa, and that's not normal even for the 1960s. Especially the Bedouins are othered in a way that just isn't acceptable. They are gun-toting savages, ready to kill a foreign monarch (who is their guest!) for money, enjoying the erotic dancing of an obviously European looking woman in exotic clothes. It's not wrong because it's racist, it's wrong because it's stupid. Similar things could be said about many of the other episodes, but for some reason this one seems to be bad enough to stand out.
Even in other respects this is one of the weakest episodes, though I still did enjoy it. With less racism I would rank it 6 out of 10.
A small North African country (located in the Sahara?) is thrown into chaos by a well executed assassination. As the country is rich in a strategic resource, the West naturally wants to control it. Sorry, I mean, the West wants to restore peace. This is best achieved by making the son of the elderly monarch (the Bey), who had been deposed a long time ago, return and take power. (This plot seems inspired by how British and American secret services supported a coup against the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953 and gave political power to the Shah in order to continue profiting from the country's oil. Of course some details were changed.)
Obstacles include the fun loving young monarch's resistance to the plan, the machinations of the revolutionary group behind the assassination, and the wild desert.
I have no problem with the fact that the Arabic characters are played by British actors. That's perfectly normal for a time when Arabic actors weren't easy to find. But the entire Arabic culture depicted here feels very much off. It seems to be inspired by the Tales of 1001 Nights at least as much as informed by the realities of North Africa, and that's not normal even for the 1960s. Especially the Bedouins are othered in a way that just isn't acceptable. They are gun-toting savages, ready to kill a foreign monarch (who is their guest!) for money, enjoying the erotic dancing of an obviously European looking woman in exotic clothes. It's not wrong because it's racist, it's wrong because it's stupid. Similar things could be said about many of the other episodes, but for some reason this one seems to be bad enough to stand out.
Even in other respects this is one of the weakest episodes, though I still did enjoy it. With less racism I would rank it 6 out of 10.
