Eretz Nehederet

Eretz Nehederet (Hebrew: ארץ נהדרת; lt. A Wonderful Country) is an Israeli prime-time television satirical sketch comedy show, that premiered on Keshet's Channel 2 in 2003. It features satirical references to current affairs of the past week through parodies of the people involved, as well as the thoughts of recurring characters. The program's concept is inspired by Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and others. The program is one of the most watched and influential shows on Israeli TV.[1] It is also one of the longest-running scripted shows in Israeli television to date, running for 17 seasons as of 2019. Beginning with Season 15, the program is aired on Keshet 12, in HDTV.

Eretz Nehederet
GenreSatire comedy
Sketch comedy
Created byMuli Segev
David Lifshitz
Asaf Shalmon
Country of originIsrael
Original languageHebrew
No. of seasons16
No. of episodes262 (as of season 14)
Production
Production locationHerzliya Studios
Running time49 minutes
Production companyKeshet Broadcasting
Release
Original networkChannel 2 (Keshet) (2003–2017)
Keshet 12 (2017–)
First shown inIsrael
Original releaseNovember 2, 2003 (2003-11-02) 
present
External links
Production website

It was first filmed in Tel Aviv, and in later seasons, was filmed in the neighboring Herzliya.

The show features a regular cast of comedians and actors, including Tal Friedman (11 first seasons), Eyal Kitzis (the Jon Stewart-type host), Alma Zak, Orna Banai (6 first seasons), Shani Cohen (season 5 and on), Asi Cohen, Eli Finish, Mariano Edelman, Yuval Semo, Roey Bar-Natan, Eran Zarachovitch, Yaron Berlad, Maor Cohen and Dov Navon (4 first seasons). During the third season, Asi Cohen started doing small roles on the show, and by the beginning of the fourth season (fall 2006), Cohen became a regular member.

Eretz Nehederet won the Israeli Television Academy's "Best Entertainment Program" in 2004 and again in 2006, and attracts millions of viewers every season. In a May 2008 poll, web surfers selected all the Season 5 Eretz Nehederet actors from into the top 60 Israeli comedians list. The top 7 spots were all taken by Eretz Nehederet, as well as #9 and #20.[2]

In 2010, Erez Nehederet produced a satire feature film called Zohi Sdom (lit. This is Sodom).

Recurring parodies

Characters

Following is a list of characters shown in Eretz Nehederet, both parodied real-life persons, and entirely fictional characters.

CharactersActorType
Baba Luba (Russian supermarket worker) Tal Friedman Fictional
Hizki (Tour guide) Tal Friedman Fictional
Mahmoud Abu Tir Tal Friedman Parody of Muhammad Abu Tir
Ariel Sharon Tal Friedman Real-life
Vladimir Putin Tal Friedman Real-life
Ehud Barak Tal Friedman Real-life
Ehud Olmert Tal Friedman Real-life
Haim Yavin Tal Friedman Real-life
Assi Dayan Tal Friedman Real-life
Uri Zohar Tal Friedman Real-life
Shosh Atari Tal Friedman Real-life
Adele Tal Friedman Real-life
Modern Talking Eli Finish (Thomas Anders), Tal Friedman (Dieter Bohlen) Real-life
Barack Obama Eli Finish Real-life
Bashar al-Assad Eli Finish Real-life
Shimon Peres Eli Finish Real-life
Moshe Katsav Eli Finish Real-life
Eli Yishai Eli Finish Real-life
Yigal Amir Eli Finish Real-life
Aviv Geffen Eli Finish Real-life
Yuval "The Confused" Eli Finish Real-life
Avi "Yossi" Mazaliko (Sderot resident) Eli Finish Fictional
Giovanni Rosso Eli Finish Real-life
Eyal Berkovic Mariano Edelman Real-life
Itzik Zohar Mariano Edelman Real-life
Diego Maradona Mariano Edelman Real-life
Muammar Gaddafi Mariano Edelman Real-life
Benjamin Netanyahu Mariano Edelman Real-life
Shaul Mofaz Mariano Edelman Real-life
Amir Peretz Mariano Edelman Real-life
Yair Lapid Mariano Edelman Real-life
Condoleezza Rice Mariano Edelman Real-life
Margalit Tzan'ani Mariano Edelman Real-life
Pnina Rosenblum Mariano Edelman Real-life
Dora the Explorer Mariano Edelman Cartoon character
Hillary Clinton Alma Zack Real-life
Yonit Levi Alma Zack Real-life
Galit Gutmann Alma Zack Real-life
Hanny Nahmias Alma Zack Real-life
Tzipi Shavit Alma Zack Real-life
Tzipi Livni Alma Zack (formerly Orna Banai) Real-life
Limor Livnat Orna Banai Real-life
Ruhama Avraham Orna Banai Real-life
Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes Orna Banai Real-life
Raymond Abukasis Orna Banai Real-life
Sigal Azrieli Orna Banai Parody of Inbal Gavrieli
Avigdor Lieberman Asi Cohen Real-life
Gabi Ashkenazi Asi Cohen Real-life
Tal Brody Asi Cohen Real-life
Avi Nimni Asi Cohen Real-life
Mohammad Bakri Asi Cohen Real-life
Uri Geller Asi Cohen Real-life
Dedi Dadon Asi Cohen Fictional
Guy Zohar Asi Cohen Real-life
Yonah Shamir Yuval Semo Parody of Yitzhak Shamir
On Perlin (Olmert's PR advisor) Yuval Semo Fictional
Miri Regev Yuval Semo Real-life
Hassan Nasrallah Yuval Semo Real-life
Mosh Ben Ari Yuval Semo Real-life
George W. Bush Maor Cohen Real-life
Arik Einstein Maor Cohen Real-life
Zohar Argov Maor Cohen Real-life
Mosko Alkalai Maor Cohen Real-life
Gilad Tarhan Maor Cohen Parody of Gilad Erdan (to the style of The Mask)
Sofa Landver Shany Cohen Real-life
Dorit Beinisch Shany Cohen Real-life
Anastassia Michaeli Shany Cohen Real-life
Tzipi Livni Shany Cohen Real-life
Limor Livnat Shany Cohen Real-life
Miriam Feirberg Roey Bar Natan Real-life
Benny Gantz Roey Bar Natan Real-life
Danny Danon Roey Bar Natan Real-life
Gideon Sa'ar Roey Bar Natan Real-life
Ariel Atias Roey Bar Natan Real-life
Bamba's Baby Yaron Barlad Cartoon Character
Netta Barzilai Tom Yaar Real-life

Notable sketches

Angry Birds Peace Treaty shot. A moment before the talks break badly.

In May 2010, a sketch played off tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American President Barack Obama, with Netanyahu trying to smooth over differences as they meet in the White House. A series of accidents caused Netanyahu to set the American flag on fire, stomp on it, and then torch a copy of Obama's proposed Middle East peace plan.[1]

In November 2010, the group used the video game characters Angry Birds in a mock up peace treaty sketch. The skit satirized recent failed Israeli-Palestinian peace attempts. The video quickly went viral across the world. It received favorable coverage from a variety of independent blogs such as Digital Trends,[3] Hot Air,[4] and Intomobile,[5] as well as from online news media agencies such as the Christian Science Monitor,[6] Haaretz,[7] The Guardian,[8] and MSNBC.[9]

In May 2016, the group created the "ISIS at the Eurovision" sketch.[10]

Reactions

Muhammad Abu Tir of Hamas has expressed his discontent with the way he was represented on the program (as a terrorist disguised as a party arranger, who constantly invites Israelis to his "parties" while rolling his eyes).

In a speech on March 21, 2013, President Barack Obama quipped that "any drama between me and my friend, Bibi, over the years was just a plot to create material for Eretz Nehederet. [...] That's the only thing that was going on. We just wanted to make sure the writers had good material."[11]

Canadian journalist and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell discussed the show on his podcast Revisionist History in an episode on satire. Gladwell discusses his own sadness at how American comedians like Tina Fey use satire to mock but never wish to have their point get across, and cites Eretz Nehederet as a key example of political satire done right.[12]

References

  1. Flower, Kevin (19 May 2010). "Israeli TV show attacks taboos with humor". CNN.
  2. Barne'a, Or; Shiloni, Smadar (2008-05-07). "Asi Cohen the Funniest in Israel, Again" (in Hebrew). Ynet. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  3. Van Camp, Jeffrey (November 23, 2010). "Israeli Angry Birds satire goes viral". Digital Trends. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  4. "Breakthrough: Peace talks begin to settle bitter longstanding conflict". Hot Air. November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  5. "The Angry Birds Peace Treaty didn't turn out so well". intomobile.com]. November 23, 2010. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  6. Shaer, Matthew (November 29, 2010). "Angry Birds bound for Xbox, PlayStation". Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  7. "Israeli satire show goes viral with Angry Bird take on peace talks". Haaretz. November 22, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  8. Stewart, Keith (November 23, 2010). "Angry Birds Treaty brings casual gaming into the world of satire". The Guardian. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  9. Popkin, Helen A.S. (November 22, 2010). "'Angry Birds' fail to negotiate peace treaty". MSNBC. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  10. "Israeli Satire of ISIS Performing at Eurovision Song Contest Explodes on Social Media (VIDEO)". Algemeiner.com. 15 May 2016.
  11. Remarks of President Barack Obama To the People of Israel
  12. Gladwell, Malcolm (17 August 2016). "The Satire Paradox". Revisionist History, S1 Ep10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.