TV

The special on "Wonderland" was great but short.

Too bad it didn't last another two hours

We would have been happy to receive more of all this fun that was aired on the occasion of 20 years of "Wonderful Land": more recollections and stories from the actors, not only the veterans but also the "younger" ones who were almost not represented in the special.

And above all, the panel of writers revealed the central problem of "Eretz": a lack of women

Salvation songs

04/10/2022

Tuesday, 04 October 2022, 08:23 Updated: 08:48

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Promo for the graduation meeting of "Wonderful Land" (Keshet 12)

It's hard to believe, but "Wonderful Country" is already in its 20th season.

For two decades she made us laugh at the powerful people in the country, served as a mirror that reflected our faces back to us, and defined what it means to be Israeli, for better or for worse.

We trust her to be there every time something happens in Israel that deserves to be commented on, from another election to a new celebrity that pops up in our lives.

After all, if you don't have an imitation in "Wonderland" are you really famous?

Politicians hate her and court her, viewers like to complain that she doesn't innovate, but get infected every year with another accurate catch-phrase from the creator.

Her magic works on us again and again, the hallucinatory characters feel like our old friends.

The years pass, Israel changes - but "a wonderful country" is still here, as stable as ever.

And for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the launch of the "Rainbow" flagship, Keshet celebrated her 12th in the "Cycle Photo" special, where all the actors and actresses who were part of the program throughout its years were gathered, to tell and remember,

From "A wonderful country cycle meeting" (photo: screenshot, Keshet 12)

Although it is a special that is 20 hours long, the 20th celebration program was more like a color report in "Olap Shishi" than a documentary that tries to say something new about the phenomenon.

We have seen programs like this in the past from the same production house, which summarized "Eretz" at its various points and gave us a little peek behind the scenes, a little in the makeup room, a little stories about how amazing imitations like Tzipi Shavit and iconic characters like Shaoli were created.

In fact, this week in "Friday Studio" they did broadcast an 11-minute article promoting the special, in which we saw even more behind the scenes, some makeup, some stories, plus exciting meetings of the favorite actors.

So there's nothing new here, but on the other hand - it's fun.

Always.

It's fun to see the cast members meet and be happy for each other, it's fun to get a window into the creative and happy world of this huge program, it's fun to remember all the characters and sketches that have passed by the screen since 2003, when we were still young.

Yes, this special is more of the same,

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From "A wonderful country cycle meeting" (photo: screenshot, Keshet 12)

You won't get anything deep here, but you will get a glimpse of the program's regular Independence Day barbecue, with all the families, held on a different day because the cast and crew members have been working every Independence Day for 20 years.

You will also get an overview of favorite characters, and stories about the anxieties of the actors the first time they had to perform.

The name of the actor who voted for his impersonator in the election will be revealed, just to keep him (and the impersonator) relevant on the political map, and you will also find out who nursed her infant daughter right during the skit.

Yes, part of the story of "Eretz" is known and told in the past, but when there is so much material, and the interviewees are so captivating, we are always happy to hear more.

The actors, the creator and editor Moli Segev, the show's writers, Keshet CEO Avi Nir, and the men and women of the team, describe the path the show took, from the almost casual proposal in which Segev proposed to Nir the idea for an entertainment show, through the horrible pilot (according to everyone involved, yes? ), and the lessons learned from it. Nir talks about the pressures exerted by politicians and those with various interests in order not to be an object of imitation in the program, or the opposite - to enter it, and the visionary Gabev clarifies that yes, he always fully believed that this program he is building could exist and even be important, even 20 sleep.

Segev explains the guiding principle with which the show went from the first season, and this is the decision to put aside the characters that accompanied the season, however successful and beloved they may be, and move on to something new.

The insistence on reinventing the wheel every year is what makes the series always relevant, every season.

It's not the politicians who come and go (and those who never go...), it's not the part of the political panel that holds Eretz, but the sketches and characters that reflect aspects of Israeliness are the ones that keep it fresh and renewed, and for the most part we'll remember them over the years.

From Luba the cashier to Selma the pharmacist, from the pilos to the turtles, from Reuven's "May you have candles" to Uri Geller's "some lie".

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From "A wonderful country cycle meeting" (photo: screenshot, Keshet 12)

What, it's over already?

Somehow, the special was too short.

I would be happy to have more of this fun.

Another recollection and stories of the different experiences of the actors, not only the veterans, but also the "younger" cast, which has almost no representation in the special.

More real behind-the-scenes footage, showing how the production of the show really works, how this whole huge thing happens at Chal's, not just in general soundbites like "on election day we don't sleep, there's a lot of pressure".

In short, many more things that simply cannot be included in an hour or so, not when there are twenty years of work to sum up.

But I don't worry.

A show that is so important in Israeli culture will in the future receive some kind of docu-series of 6 episodes, something less packaged and sweet with the look of one long promo, like this special.

One day we will get the complete story of "Wonderful Country", not as a brand that should not show any cracks, but with editing that will put less emphasis on feel good and punches, and tell us what it really means to make such an influential TV show for so long a lot of years.

But that will be in the future, probably after "Eretz" goes down and there will be no need to keep this precious product in cotton wool.

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From "A wonderful country cycle meeting" (photo: screenshot, Keshet 12)

In this special we finally got to know some of the members of the team that has been running this whole empire all these years.

Producers, editors, and of course - the people who are responsible for the writing, on which this program stands and falls.

The amusing panel of writers, who reminisced and jokingly debated who was responsible for which iconic line, revealed a well-known problem that accompanies "Amazing Country" throughout its years - it is mostly written by men.

If a woman or two passed through the writers' room of Eretz in the last two decades, they probably didn't stay long enough to leave an impression.

In any case, it is not enough for them to be interviewed in this program, which claims to look back on all the years of work.

True, the cast members have the option of introducing topics and characters that interest them, but it's really not like a female eye, who sits in a room and brings a different worldview than a group of men, progressive and well-intentioned as they may be, are able to bring.

Also, in the "cycle picture" with which the special ended, it was easy to count that there were only 6 (six!) participants throughout all the seasons of the show.

6 of the 24 cast members for his generations.

These are ridiculous numbers that the program should have corrected a long time ago.

Who like "Amazing Country" should know that there is such a thing as funny women, and such a gender imbalance is really not to her level - after all, she is a cultural icon who is closing in on 20 years.

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