Monday, 9 July 2012

Re: Sinbad 2012, ep 01


What I have uncovered and concluded, after researching the more obscure terms & facts that appeared in the show.

The Amir was the title of secular Muslim rulers, similar to European Prince and possibly Duke, unlike the Khalif or the Sultan title, which was more analogous to the King.

Basra was the medieval name of modern Al Basrah, which is a southern city of modern Iraq, (yes, that Iraq), located near the coast of the Persian Gulf, hence its nickname “Venice of the Middle East”. Setting sail from it, Sinbad and his new crew should have entered the Persian Gulf, a rather narrow strip of the sea, located between Western Asia (Iran) and the Arabian Peninsula – odds that the seafarers expected to see some land (or other ships) on one side or another, thus to end up seemingly on a vast and empty stretch of the ocean or sea was a shock.

Where they could have end up? Considering how heavily the new series seems to be influenced by Harryhausen-era Sinbad movies, I would say in “Elfland”, populated by the Roc, cannibals and island-sized whales (in the original “Arabian nights” tales), among other creatures and beings. However, if the show will try to adhere to realism, then it is the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, i.e. the Arabian Sea.  

What was the name of the first monster? There was none, but the official site talks about the marids, who, in the “Arabian nights”, were a type of genie that lived in the oceans and seas, but... they were nothing like what the show has shown so far. In the “Arabian nights”, the marids were the most powerful of all the genies, capable of granting wishes, and had personalities, and a civilization of their own. The creature that attacked the ship was, honestly, a version of the “future predators” from another UK TV show – “Primeval”. It even looked like a future predator (whenever it was not just a mass of water instead), and was just as powerful with its only weaknesses being its lack of sight and a nature that was too feral and bloodthirsty to be truly intelligent. Both of these traits were demonstrated by “Primeval’s” future predators in abundance.

Next stop – Razia (implied razor?) and her Water-thieves (cannibals?).

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