Why are people idiots about the obligatory ethnic sidekick?

So there's this show, "Robin Hood," on the BBC. It involves, among other things, a scruffy and kind of gross Robin, an eyeliner-wearing black-clad Guy of Gisbourne, a Sheriff eerily reminiscent of Billy Joel, and some seriously weird script-writing.

What it also involves is perhaps the most absurd ethnic sidekick of all time.

1. It's a woman. Which is neither here nor there, really, but smacks of "all literature/film/television is sexist so here is another female character and damn the torpedoes!" This involves strange, ill-timed, and unfunny comic relief on the sexism theme.
2. It is alleged to be a Saracen. This is so that we can somehow move on and grow and be progressive about a story that's set during the Crusades, following in the grand tradition of Morgan Freeman playing an Arab to Kevin Costner's ineffable portrayal of nobody knows what.
3. Its name is "Djaq." Which is ridiculous and stupid. And, contrary to the beliefs of the writers, does not make for amusing gender confusion.
4. It's an alchemist. So there are explosions. Well, that, at least, is lots of fun, if, strictly speaking, also completely insane. Well, I enjoyed the shrapnel in 300, so I should suck it up.
5. This is the worst one. "Saracen" to me says "someone from the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades." And I checked on Wikipedia and appear to be correct. That is to say, someone from the eastern littoral of the Mediterranean. Well, the actress's name is Anjali Jay, and her features are from somewhere east of the Indus, I'm pretty sure. Which...um...makes her not a Saracen. Whoops.



All I'm saying is, if you're going to have an obligatory ethnic sidekick so you don't look racist, could you not just pick the first person with slightly dark skin and decide he is the particular ethnicity you're looking for?