Bendul (lost Malaysian "Mr. Bean" sitcom adaptation; 1994)
Huzir Sulaiman's depiction of Bendul.
Status: Lost
Bendul (also referred as Mr. Bendul) is the title of a sitcom that was broadcast by the RTM (Radio Telekomunikasi Malaysia) broadcasting station from September 13th, 1994. Like the average sitcom runtime, Bendul's broadcast slot is 30 minutes long, and it is broadcast by TV1 every Tuesday at prime time, 8.30 pm (right after the primetime newscast).
Bendul's first season of 13 episodes ended in December 1994. Most of the second season's information is nowhere online. No videos of this sitcom have been found online, with only 2 screenshots remaining in the internet as of February 2024.
Synopsis
The Bendul sitcom was adapted from the famous overseas sitcom, Mr. Bean, starring Rowan Atkinson which has been around since the 90s. Bendul was played by actor Huzir Sulaiman in the first season, with Harith Iskander taking over in the second season. Instead of carrying around a teddy bear, Bendul's companion is a plush of the titular character Garfield'.[1] According to a witness, an episode showed a woman in high heels being stuck somewhere, while Bendul cuts the heels off her shoe.
This sitcom is still considered a program that shouldn't exist, even the connection to it is also considered to be likely to embarrass anyone. However, when Huzir Sulaiman (former "Bendul" character actor) was chosen to grace the cover of KLue magazine in 2003 (in conjunction with the theatrical production of his work, Atomic Jaya), who would have thought that the article published in the magazine started with a reference to Bendul! Adlin Rosli wrote:
"Huzir Sulaiman once played a Mr Bean-like character in a TV show called Mr Bendul in the mid '90s. Just like the source material, Bendul was the sort of fool who could escape silly situations with comic ease"
"Spend some time with Huzir, however, and you'd inevitably find yourself wondering how this sensitive and intelligent man could have anything to do with a Rowan Atkinson rip-off. The two are nothing alike. Huzir is a Princeton alumnus with a penchant for writing some of the wittiest plays ever performed on these shores."[2]
Trivia
- Coincidentally, the sitcom Mr. Bean, which started in 1990, was finally terminated at the end of 1995, which is about a year after the existence of Bendul.
- Based on memories from multiple users and not facts due to lack of online documentation, the sitcom was successfully continued until the second season where the character "Bendul" originally played by Huzir Sulaiman was replaced by Harith Iskander (this information has not been confirmed).
- Huzir Sulaiman is the scriptwriter of the film Dukun directed by Dain Said which was supposed to be shown in 2007 but said film hasn't been shown due to the connection between the story of the film and a real crime case. The film released an official release in 2018.