MY URBAN KVETCH

TV Show Nails the Religious Singles Scene in Jerusalem

If you've ever watched "Sex and the City" and thought, "I relate because I'm single, but none of them go to shul or make Shabbat dinner," you'll want to check out Serugim, a drama about religious single thirtysomethings in Jerusalem. (For the page about the series, click here.)

Originally, this show came to my attention because a new friend of mine, Shira, plays "neighbor Stacey" in this episode (and because I read about it on Israluv's blog). But I watched the whole thing and found it interesting, resonant, funny and disturbingly familiar (even though the post-denominationalist in me wouldn't define my affiliation as Orthodox).

Many of the same dating/relationship issues that New Yorkers deal with, religious Jerusalemites deal with: feeling like you already know everyone from youth movement, parents who sign you up for speed dating, meeting a potential and then having to compete with other single women for his attention, differences in interpreting the roles of men and women in religious Judaism, the dramatic role of Shabbat dinners, friends who tell you what you want to hear to spare your feelings...it's all in there. As the site notes:

בשכונות רחביה, קטמון, הנחלאות והמושבה הגרמנית התהוותה לה "הביצה הירושלמית", שכבה חברתית חדשה של רווקים ורווקות בסביבות גיל ה-30, חלקם הגדול משכילים ואינטליגנטים מאוד, שאינם מוצאים את מקומם במסגרות הדתיות הקיימות. הם גרים בדירות שכורות הפזורות ברחבי העיר, חלקם סטודנטים, חלקם כבר עובדים במשרות מכובדות וכמעט כולם מחפשים אהבה ומוצא מהמצב שאליו נקלעו – מצב המתנה זמני ("עד החתונה") שהפך להיות מצב קבוע

[Rough translation: In Rehavia, Katamon, Nahlaot and the German Colony is "the Jerusalem Swamp," a new social segment of single men and women in their 30s, most of them educated and very intelligent, who don't find their place in the existing religious frameworkd. They live in rented apartments throughout the city, many of them students, others already working in prestigious roles and almost all of them looking for love and finding that the situation they're in--a constant state of waiting "until the wedding"--has become a more permanent situation.]

Wow. Looks like I picked the wrong time to quit writing a Jewish singles column. Maybe it's time to start that book after all.

Eurovision Report: Liveblogged from Jerusalem

This was my first Eurovision viewing, and it was fun, but I have to admit that the whole thing doesn't seem all that European to me. True, the costumes are over-the-top and the fashion of man-vests as apparently mandatory garb would never fly in America. (Or at least, one hopes.) Israel chose an amazing song, but it's the wrong feel for the fast beats of the techno-heavy Eurovision contest.

The hosts were like an episode of "Ryan Seacrest and Daisy Fuentes Meet the Nunis." Most of the acts sounded like homages to or rehashes of American songs, from 80s hair metal to house/techno, the women looked very similar in terms of hairstyle, and the few original-looking acts were either not original-sounding or so bizarre that you knew there was no way they were going to win. The prevailing language, for both the songs and the commentary, was English, which didn't seem terribly European of them. The one interesting political note was that countries that you'd never pair up were voting for each other: you had Serbia voting for Bosnia-Herzgovina, and Ireland voting for the UK, and various other voting pairs, which might make you believe that music is perhaps the path to peace. That is, if they can get past the Latvian pirates.

Analysis: The open shirt and the ice skating gimmick won, with Russia's Dima, fiddler and ice dancer edging out Kalomira, Greece's answer to Britney Spears (who sang about not being a little girl anymore and having a secret combination), as Russia took the Eurovision title for this year. Fascinating, right?

Shavua tov from Jerusalem.

SNL+Christopher Walken=LMAO

UPDATED WITH "GARDENING TIPS" VIDEO

Seriously, I laughed at Saturday Night Live more last night than I have in a long time, and I think it's because as wacky as he is, Christopher Walken takes a role and commits. How many of us could withstand time in a sketch when the entire premise is making fun of us?

And how many of us would be able to pull off a sketch about "Indoor Gardening Tips by a Guy Who's Afraid of Plants"? Damn, that was funny, and when NBC posts it, I'll embed it here...; check it out for yourself!!

"Have You Met Ted?"--Josh Radnor Owns Up to Jewish Roots

If you're one of the likely thousands of Jewish viewers who tunes in weekly to "How I Met Your Mother," hoping that the answer to the titular situation is "through JDate," here's a word of encouragement--if not about the character's religious roots, then about the actor who portrays him.

Although I'm not sure how he escaped detection by Jewish media outlets eager to embrace the nice, funny Jewish boys of prime time and cinema (see also "Braff, Zach" and "Rogen, Seth"--plus, I'm predicting, Jason Segel, pictured second from left) until now, here's HIMYM's lead actor Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby) profiled in the Forward (in photo, sitting in the chair), and revealing his Jewish communal connections (Columbus Torah Academy, Livnot, Reboot) in a way that pretty much guarantees he'll soon be receiving fundraising phone calls from alumni associations.

Writes writer Rebecca Spence, who apparently got to go visit Radnor in his home in the Hollywood Hills:

He is among the mafia of Hollywood writers and actors who, like Sacha Baron Cohen before him, spent their childhoods at Jewish camps and Jewish day schools. A Midwest native, Radnor grew up in Bexley, Ohio, which he describes as a “30% Jewish suburb.” He attended Columbus Torah Academy through the eighth grade, and in 1997, he studied in Israel on the Livnot program. In one sense, his religious education may have informed his passion for the theater. “I’ve always loved sitting around, reading text and talking about it,” he said, noting that it’s something he first learned how to do while parsing Jewish texts. “I’ve thought, ‘You know, I would have been a good yeshiva bokher.’”

This winter, Radnor spent three days in Paradise, Texas, with some 60 others, including Amichai Lau-Lavie, founder and director of the Jewish theater company Storahtelling. “The thing I love about Reboot,” Radnor said, “is that it’s a genuinely conflicted place. If there’s one thing I love about Judaism, it’s that ‘wrestling with angels’ aspect.”

Well, first of all, shame on Amichai for not introducing me. But secondly, if Radnor ever wants some chevruta time or to read a great new Jewish magazine for our generation, he knows who to call. I've also got a local gal/HIMYM fan who'd love to meet him. And if he'd like a place to crash in Israel this summer, he should give me a call and he can drop by the ROI Summit (applications due this Friday!). Believe me, it would be legen--wait for it...wait for it...--dary.

"House" on Hasidim

In case you missed that episode a few weeks back when House and his team of doctors were working on a Hasidic patient played by Laura Silverman, now PrimeTimeRewind brings you your chance to see what all of the buzz was about. Not only that, but it gives you the coolest feature (if it works, below)...the opportunity to embed as long a clip as you'd like in your blog or on your webpage.

See who's behind this site here.

A Group That Makes Me Giggle: The Whitest Kids U' Know

Back in the day, I loved the Kids in the Hall, an all-male sketch group from Canada that had been discovered and imported by Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live. Due to a few late nights "at the office," I've stumbled across IFC's newest Kids on the block...The Whitest Kids U' Know.

This sketch comedy group doesn't hold anything too sacred or to be too silly for them to tackle. Taking a farmer time traveling to watch him "freak the f*ck out"? They'll do it. A sketch titled "Space Potatoes"? Yup. The true story of what happened to Abraham Lincoln? Done.

Because it's IFC, there's some naughty language and occasionally some brief and usually pointless nudity. But not in this clip below, which I share with you as a writer.

Sometimes, it feels like you've been writing forever. And really, the whole time, you've been writing in pie. Genius.

Hey, Remember "Lost"?

I know...in the fracas of Heroes and the chaos of the Writers' Strike (more on that tomorrow), we've almost forgotten about "Lost." (And "24", but since Jack Bauer's a drunk driver, we can likely wait for him to sober up before he sets up a perimeter.)

But they promised we'd get more episodes in 2008, and it's almost 2008. So we might have known that we'd get an incredibly cryptic trailer to stoke speculations and keep those freeze-framing hatchheads guessing to rebuild the rabid fan base. Enjoy. And if you understand what's going on, feel free to let me know. Hat tip to EW, the source of all knowledge.

Sunday Comedy Recommendation: Demetri Martin. Person.

You remember him from the Daily Show's "Trendspotting" segments, but now I'm watching Demetri Martin on Comedy Central, and just had to share. Of course, since Comedy Central's owned by Viacom, they're not allowing his clips on YouTube and other video sharing sites, so we've got to go straight to ComedyCentral.com for clips (click "Findings").

Martin's killer with his mellow observational tone and astute observations about things like "negative cakes," why people in glass houses should always throw stones, and questions to ask about porcupines aside from about their spikes.

Judgment: Highly recommended, especially on a snowy Sunday.

"Celebrity Apprentice"? Or "Celebrity" "Apprentice"?

I'm torn. When there's a TV show title, you should put the whole title in quotation marks. But when you're trying to make a sarcastic comment using quotation marks -- as in describing people as "celebrities" when they're not really celebrities but are so designated by someone else -- where do you put the quotation marks?

Grammar is hard.

Heroes Liveblog: "Fight or Flight," or "Veronica Mars v. Peter Petrelli"

Hi, and welcome back to Heroes, the second, so-far-a-bit-disappointing, season of a runaway hit that's pretty derivative in parts but we all like it anyway.

[BTW, I've just been criticized for including "spoilers" in the first two paragraphs, which shows up in the RSS feed apparently and ruins the lives of my Israeli friends. Sorry about that. The thing is, I think this episode was kind of lame, and think that these "spoilers" actually spoil very little or nothing. But that's just me...all the same, I'll try to be more vigilant. OK?]

This Ireland storyline is bugging me. I do adore Kristen Bell, but those "Emperor Palpatine" electric bolts coming out of her swaying hands...not so awesome.

As for the New Orleans person who roundhouse kicked a burglar into submission who said she learned it all from watching TV? "My body does things before my brain even knows what's happening..." Yeah, me too. And my superpower is yet to be determined. But at least whatever it is, it will be less lame than "My superpower is, I see things on TV and then know how to do stuff."

Agent Sean Matt Parkman is upset because his dad ran out when he was 13. Probably couldn't handle the bill from Matt's bar mitzvah. Or maybe...because Daddy reads minds too! Me, I got an eagle-eye that finds typos after things have been printed. Yup, that's definitely my superpower.

Holy cow! Matt's dad is evil? Either that or he sent Nathan and Matt into separate hell dimensions via some sort of time portal Hiro didn't have to grimace-create. Speaking of Hiro, I do love the fact that Alias's David Anders (Saaaaark) plays the Japanese warrior Kenzai. And be honest, occasionally, when you're really bored at work and the day is dragging, you stare at the second hand on your clock and try to stop time. It's ok, you can admit it. You squint really hard, and swear that the second hand moves back a smidge.

Ah, so it's not that she's a TV educated person. It's that she's a copycat. Or should I say, Copycatwoman?

Suresh tasers Nikki, despite her cries of "Don't tase me, bro!"

Micah finds a playmate/substitute mommy, and they go to skip rope. Boring.

Peter Petrelli opens the box and finds a one-way ticket to Canada. No wonder he doesn't want to resume his regular life. Then, all of a sudden colors begin shifting on a conveniently placed canvas and out come those spooky white contact lenses. Creepy.

I still don't know if Peter's evil and Sylar's good, or if Nikki's pretending to be "sick" so she can get back into the company, I am pretty darned confused at this point. I wonder how much longer I'll care about characters that are endlessly morphing, good-bad and bad-good.

I don't like that Hellboy-version of Nathan that he sometimes sees in the mirror and is now seeing in the dimension that Mr. Parkman sent him into. Is Mr. Parkman's Apartment 9 some sort of "Empire Strikes Back" tree, where it's all your anxieties and the only thing in there is what you take with you? He's the Nightmare Man of Molly's dreams. You see? Men who run out on their familes? Bad.

"Sorry, Daddy..." who's your daddy, Veronica Mars? Is it Claire's Daddy? Is it Sylar? Or is it the rumored-dead Mr. Petrelli? What's Uhura's role on this show, really? Will Sulu return from the dead? Tune in next week, probably to not find out the answers to any of these questions. Oy.