Despite a hilarious cast and general optimism, the news-comedy show is taking time to find its feet.
By ASI GALShavua Sof cast 88 224(photo credit: Yoni Hamenachem)
Just before I left the set of Shavua Sof, Reshet's new comedy show on Channel 2, cake and wine were brought into the interview room - it was cast member Idan Alterman's birthday. Wine was poured, kisses circulated and the atmosphere was that of a happy, friendly group.
"Wish for good stuff for the show!" everyone yelled to Alterman before he blew out the candles.
Shavua Sof (Weekend) is a panel-based show that airs at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays in which seven comedians talk about current events using pre-recorded clips. The cast - Alterman, Uri Gottlieb, Koby Farag, Rotem Abuhav, Shany Cohen, David Kigler and Ofer Shechter - is among the best Israel has to offer.
I sipped my wine and put my bag on my shoulder. "Okay, the reporter is leaving," said Shechter. "We can stop the charade now; let's get back to work."
He was joking, of course, but tension was apparent everywhere. It was the taping of the third installment, and the first two episodes had been given far-from-complimentary criticism.
Still, the cast was optimistic. "We are only now starting to understand the direction the show is taking," said Abuhav. "Each of us actors, and all the other production staff, is getting the feel of the show. It takes time for a show to achieve its balance."
"Criticism doesn't scare us," added Farag. "We've all gotten bad criticism here and there. What's important is that we feel that we're learning, tightening and sifting out what did not work and staying with what we like."
Unlike other such shows, particularly Eretz Nehederet (A Wonderful Country), in Shavua Sof's panel there are no characters; rather, the actors speaks as themselves. And for Farag, known for his hit TV show The Pajamas, appearing as himself is a new task.
"I'm used to doing characters," he explained. "It's easier for me to improvise as a character than as myself. But I'm learning to do it and enjoying the process."
Gottlieb, on the other hand, is used to playing himself, "yet I realized that I love to do characters."
"And he is excellent at it," Abuhav interjected.
Gottlieb and Shechter were both on a different panel show, Night Club. Shechter lamented that on Shavua Sof there is not as much freedom to improvise as there was there. "We are a bunch of comedians," he explained with dissatisfaction, "and I feel there is more room for us to laugh and ad-lib. But perhaps I need to understand that this show is different, and sticking to the script is better here."
Gottlieb agreed. "I would also like to ad-lib more, but I'm not sure it's appropriate for this show."
THE COMPARISON to Eretz Nehederet is inevitable. Both are panel shows with star comedians and a satirical bent.
"Satire is important and the more shows there are of it, the better," Abuhav said, adding, "and we've learned to find direction on that subject as well."
Shecheter and Gottlieb both agreed that it can be hard to do satire in Israel. "We are a very explosive country. People can get irritated quickly," said Shechter. "It's much easier and more passable to do social satire, such as bits about Israelis abroad, than political satire," Gottlieb pointed out.
But is there actually satire on the show? In a bit I saw filmed that day (on a very beautiful set, I must add), Shas is mocked for purportedly taking bribes. However, the bit is overshadowed by sequential jokes about Big Brother's Yossi Bublil and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer being fat. Shouldn't Ben-Eliezer be mocked for his actions as a politician instead of obesity - again?
Yoav Gross, the producer, stepped in: "In Israel, many times the real news is funnier than any satire. You see Amir Peretz on the news looking through closed binoculars. It's funnier than anything we'll ever think up.
"But we still show satire. We have a bit where Amir Peretz and Ehud Olmert look at a graveyard and talk about examining their work. But it's depressing. We can't do many bits like that. People want to laugh."
As a final question I ask the cast what makes them laugh.
Alterman appreciates "silly humor under a serious exterior - Monty Python, for example."
Farag is a fan of "Sharon Tycher and Eran Zarchovitz on 102 FM" - with whom he occasionally gets to work.
Meanwhile, Shechter touts the Family Guy televisions series and Gottlieb loves The Mighty Boosh, an off-the-wall BBC show. "It's crazy humor uncommon in Israel. For example, they have a talking hand. You can't do that in Israel. People will think you're crazy."
Shechter nods in agreement. They joke around for a while, as a group, and then they get back to work.
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