Guest blog post by Glenn Meads who is on Twitter and LinkedIn
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When the Nazirs were first introduced three years ago, expectations were high. Not just in terms of Muslim representation in a mainstream soap, but also because the family set-up seemed interesting.
Kal was killed off and that gave the family more drama to contend with. And we witnessed some first class acting from Shelley King, as the matriarch, Yasmeen. Then Marc Anwar was sacked, and since then, there has not been much for this family to do.
So, how do you solve a problem like the Nazirs?
1. Get Alya more involved in Underworld. She has a good job, but we barely see her do it. She has the makings of a cut throat Carla Connor, if we saw her at work.
2. Zeedan has a great sense of humour. Let's see more of it. I like this character, as he has evolved, since he first skulked onto the street. But, if Alya must be the bad girl, Zeedan needs to laugh and joke more.
3. Yasmeen needs more scenes with Roy and a storyline. Shelley King can act, so give the actress something to do. Her scenes with Roy used to be superb. We need more of them, and she needs a challenging story arc.
4. Let's see the family's friends. They would mix with other people outside of the street, so let's see them and how they interact with more than Rita.
5. Give Zee a wandering eye, even if it never comes to fruition. He began the show as a bit of a wide boy. Now, all he does is fret about his chunky chips.
6. Integrate the family more. They are on the street, but not in the street. They need to be immersed. And the only way is to do this, is by developing friendships, to enable this family to interact.
7. Give them some conflict. They need something to play off. Drop the Tracy feud, it's boring; create a new one!
8. Rana has a big storyline coming up. Good job, as she has become like Steph; a cypher for more interesting characters. I hope this new storyline does her justice.
I know many would rather this family left the cobbles behind. But, I think we have a strong cast here, but they are not being stretched and on paper, these characters could create some fireworks.
Glenn Meads
By Glenn Meads
You can read all of Glenn's guest blog posts here.
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10 comments:
Superb post! Thoroughly agree with keeping hold of the Nazirs and finally giving them some meaty storylines.
I like the Nazirs, but like you would like to see them given more space.
I think the elephant in the room has to be addressed. Manchester bombing, jihadists, how do the niegahbours react to the Nazirs? Perhaps Phelan is verbally abusive to Zee and blames him. Perhaps Roy comes to Yasmeen's defense when a cafe patron makes an unkind remark. As British Muslims they have t encounter these incidents, why not reflect that and show how it affects them. Let viewers go behind the headlines and see how a person's self worth is affected when some blame them for crimes of others.
Yasmeen is the only interesting Nazir and she should be running a business, either her own or in partnership with a friend/new husband.
I like the Nazirs as well (even though autocorrect does not). My wishes for them are Aidan leaves the faktry and Alya slips into his place. She came in with a bucket of talent; I think I'd like her and Johnny partnered up, work wise. Speaking of work, want to see the food truck succeed and a few more peeks into life at the medical center. We also LUV new lady doctor whatshername, maybe she and Rana can be pals.
Yasmeen needs more. She is too driven, intelligent and capable to do nothing but a little volunteer work and an occasional cafe shift. She needs a mission and a few like minded friends to join her. Ken comes to mind, if/when he's up to it. Maybe Billy, too.
Re: Anon's elephant, I hate hatred but it is as real as the Snapchat, texting and whot we see on the street. I don't see the neighbors getting all suspicious or violent but maybe Zee gets a dose when he's out with his truck. Or Alya does when away on a business trip. Yasmeen's mission could be an interfaith council.
Great post! Here's my theory as to why we don't see them much. The Nazirs are basically homebodies. They don't go to the Pub, and rarely do you see them at the Bistro (unless it's Z because he works there).
Due to this, you don't see them interact much with other characters. If you don't drink or eat out, you're missing out on this Street because so much screen time takes place in the Pub/Cafe/Bistro.
This family needs to be out socializing more but instead of an identity transplant, let's try an easier solution - COMMUNITY CENTER. Where did this go? Having more scenes here will give them more screen time. The scene when Audrey, Yasmeen and Cathy were painting were hilarious! There's so much potential, and more characters can work here (ex: Toyah with counseling, Cathy with art etc.). Not sure why this isn't explored more...
When I read Anonymous' post about the elephant in the room, I wondered if the writers would dare to tackle such an issue but abby and another Anonymous got me thinking. Yes, an inter-faith council based at the community centre, organised by Yasmeen and Billy, could be a way of reflecting what's going on in the world. Yasmeen could be outraged by insults hurled at Alya or Zeedan and this spurs her into action. Other faiths might be mentioned but we don't need to see every representative of every faith. Important, though, for it not to be *an issue*. Lloyd had a racism storyline and it fell flat.
The Nazirs need a storyline.
On Digital Spy Forums, there was a rumour about Yasmeen being diagnosed with MS and not Johnny. This was because of the pills Yasmeen was taking for depression. One of the other reasons for taking them was for MS. However Johnny has the MS.
I agree re Alya. She needs to become part of the Underworld management properly.
For Yasmeen I think she should have a challenging storyline.
Rana and Zeedan should stay together but have something which rocks them as a couple.
Great blog post, Glenn, and totally agree! Wonderful comments and ideas here. I think if Corrie was able to portray Bethany's difficult grooming story so well, I don't see why some more realistic aspects of life for Muslims can't be as well, other than the occasional mention of not drinking and dietary customs.
I feel that a valid point has been made but perhaps my perspective is opposite. It makes sense that we don't see the Nazirs in the pub with the drinking crowd. However, on the Street generally, we don't often see behind closed doors for many characters - it always seems to be the same families. This was definitely an element of the original Corrie, so why not explore it more? After all, the day-to-day "issues" that people face are more likely shared with those close to home.
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