TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Less joking around on TV this Ramadhan
Ceria Ramadan: Ceria Ramadan (Ramadhan Fun), a program which features children preachers, Islamic childrenâs fashion shows and music on Trans TV
Change Size
Ceria Ramadan: Ceria Ramadan (Ramadhan Fun), a program which features children preachers, Islamic childrenâs fashion shows and music on Trans TV. (Courtesy of Trans TV) (Ramadhan Fun), a program which features children preachers, Islamic childrenâs fashion shows and music on Trans TV. (Courtesy of Trans TV)
C
span class="inline inline-none">Ceria Ramadan: Ceria Ramadan (Ramadhan Fun), a program which features children preachers, Islamic children's fashion shows and music on Trans TV. (Courtesy of Trans TV)
After a uniform pattern of inserting juvenile and slapstick comedy in to their Ramadhan specials over the past few years, free-to-air TV stations have decided to cut down humor this year.
Each year, Indonesian TV stations air special shows during the dawn and dusk hours, in addition to their regular prime-time shows.
During Ramadhan, each day before dawn, Muslims around the archipelago wake up from their deep sleep for a pre-dawn meal, locally known as sahur. Around sunset, they will stop activities for fast-breaking.
As families gather to fill their bellies, TV companies are also ready with programs to fill the viewers' eyes.
Besides airing religious programs, stations also do their best to rake commercial profit by airing soap operas ' sinetron ' and variety shows, where advertisers can utilize product placement.
RCTI, the oldest private TV station in Indonesia, has decided to cut the two-hour variety comedy show Kampung Sahur Bejo from its dawn programs, which last year featured comedic big guns, including Komeng, Eko Patrio, Melanie Ricardo, Ayu Dewi, Oppie Kumis and Vincent Rompies.
This Ramadhan, RCTI will only air a 15-minute comedy sketch Oemji by Oppie and young comedian Rizky Black.
For its dawn slot, RCTI instead has scheduled a light religious soap opera about daily life Anak-anak Manusia (Children of Man). The sinetron features heartthrobs of the late 1990s, such as Teddy Syach, Primus Yustisio, Jihan Fahira, Devi Permata Sari, Teuku Ryan, Vira Yuniar and Krisna Mukti.
Likewise, Trans TV also dropped its comedy show Ngabuburit (Waiting for Iftar), leaving only one comedy show Yuk Kita Sahur (Let's Have Sahur) featuring comedian-cum-presenters Wendi and Deni Cagur, Olga Syahputra and Raffi Ahmad.
As a replacement, Trans TV is featuring the Islam knowledge show Cahaya Timur (Eastern Light) and a news-documentary about inspiring Indonesian Muslim women Khadijah.
Terrestrial TV station SCTV is also following the trend by discontinuing musical comedy Sabarrr, which was hosted by comedian-turned-host Tukul Arwana.
SCTV is sticking with its most popular Ramadhan special: the genre-defining Islamic sinetron Para Pencari Tuhan (God Seekers), which is entering its seventh season this year.
The TV station has also added three other sinetron to its Ramadhan specials arsenal: 3 Semprul Mengejar Surga (Three Losers Chasing Paradise), Kami Rindu Ayah (We Miss Dad) and Emak Ijah Pengen ke Mekah (Emak Ijah Wants to Go to Mecca).
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) is monitoring television shows during Ramadhan, particularly comedies aired during dawn and dusk.
Last year, the KPI imposed sanctions on seven programs for violations including insults to disability, ethnic groups, physical characteristics, mental disorder and transsexuals.
The reprimanded shows included RCTI's Kampung Sahur Bejo, Trans TV's Waktunya Kita Sahur and Ngabuburit and SCTV's Sabarrr.
Endah Hari Utari, RCTI director of production and programming, said that the failure of past Ramadhan comedy shows was why the station cut back this year.
'Viewers keep changing and shows have to follow suit. These days if comedy is not sophisticated enough, it will not succeed. We have to find a new approach for those shows,' Endah told The Jakarta Post recently.
Endah admitted that they had yet to find the new comedy approach.
'While waiting for a new approach to be formulated, we decided to return to what RCTI is best at: drama and sinetron. We already have popular sinetron in the evening, so we provided another one for dawn,' Endah said. She was referring to Tukang Bubur Naik Haji (Porridge Seller Goes on the Haj), which has aired for up to four hours almost every evening since May last year.
Separately, Alex Bastian, Trans TV's head of planning and scheduling department, admitted that they decide to drop comedy following poor reviews.
'Honestly, last year's Ramadhan comedy show did not fare well. It's hard to make people laugh. And advertisers also need a variety of programs,' Alex said.
