Shemesh (TV series)

Shemesh
שמש
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Zvika Hadar
Written by	Assaf Ashtar, Ruby Duenyas
Theme music composer	Teapacks
Opening theme	"Eize Olam" by Teapacks
Country of origin	Israel
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	142
Production
Running time	24 minutes
Original release
Network	Channel 2 (Keshet)
Release	December 25, 1997 (1997-12-25) – June 22, 2004 (2004-06-22)
Related
Ha-Comedy Store

Shemesh is an Israeli sitcom aired by Channel 2 Keshet and produced by Teddy Productions from 1997 to 2004.

The show was successful in its original run, becoming an exclusive show on the satellite provider yes by Season 4 and becoming Israel's second successful sitcom after Krovim Krovim which aired on Hinuchit in the mid-late 1980s.

Premise

The series follows Nahum Shemesh, a young provincial man from the southern Israeli city of Beersheba who moves to central Tel Aviv where he opens a small restaurant, "The Empire of the Sun" (a play on the character's name, as Shemesh means sun in Hebrew, as well as a reference the 1987 Steven Spielberg film of the same name). Over the course of the series Shemesh, along with his friends and neighbors, attempt to navigate through their professional as well as personal lives as they try to find success in the big city. The series sets out to portray a cultural clash between two sides of Israeli society, as the provincial Shemesh is met with the urbanites of Tel Aviv and their "northern" sensibilities. The series also pokes fun as the various stereotypes associated with Jewish subethnicities, such as Romanian Jews being greedy misers, Georgian Jews being of low intelligence and Yemenite Jews being "primitive".

The premise of the show's episodes are usually either absurd or at the very least humorous, some examples include Shemesh buying Bar a video game made by the store owner named "Zultan: The Time Demon", where when the player loses time in real life goes backwards, another example is Sassi being recruited by the Shabak in spite of his lack of intelligence.

As well as drawing inspiration from various American sitcoms of the era, such as Married... with Children and Seinfeld, The series is largely inspired by the life story of its leading actor Zvika Hadar, a rising star at the time, having found success in the big city after growing up in Beersheba and moving to Tel Aviv, and the main character is portrayed as an exaggerated fictionalization of Hadar himself, sharing many characteristics with the actor such as his love of Israeli football team Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

Characters

Main characters

• Nachum Shemesh (Zvika Hadar): A miser of Romanian descent from Beersheba who moved to Tel Aviv to open a restaurant. An avid fan of the football club Hapoel Be'er Sheva, as well as the secret son of Hollywood actor Paul Newman, Shemesh goes through various misadventures throughout the series as he tries to bring success to his restaurant and his love life. Shemesh marries Etti by Season 6 and in the series finale he ends up briefly dying and going to heaven only for him to be sent back down to Earth following the revelation he wasn't supposed to die just yet. He tends to be sarcastic and cynical, especially towards his employees.
• Esther 'Etti' Hillel (Galit Giat): A waitress of Yemenite descent at the "Empire of the sun". Originally from Lod, Etti moved to Tel Aviv looking to become a famous actress, an ambition she pursues throughout the show's run, only finding modest success near the end of the show. She is the main love interest of Shemesh. The two get married by the start of Season 6 and it's in said season she briefly enjoys success as an actress on a soap opera. The soap opera is cancelled due to its network going bankrupt.
• Sasson "Sassi" Feldman-Shvilly/Siton (Zvulun Moshiashvili): "The Empire's" cook, as well as Shemesh' personal assistant, from Ness Ziona. He is often the subject of ridicule, mainly from Shemesh (though it is not uncommon for Tenzer to mock him too), for his short stature and low intelligence, as well as his Georgian background. Despite his naïve and dimwitted nature he is portrayed as a loyal friend and a gifted chef. Is often seen with Ogen, and later Hemmi. He is later revelated to be the long lost son of the Georgian foreign minister. He enters a threeway marriage with the two by the end of Season 4, and earlier in said season it is revealed the origin of his stupidity was due to a magic trick gone horribly wrong.
• Ogen Siton (Orly Weinerman): A dumb blonde stereotype, Ogen is a close friend and love interest of Sassi, with whom she is often seen. She has a brother named Oneg (transl. Pleasure), though this brother of hers either dies following his only appearance in Season 2 or he is completely disowned by their family as their grandmother only has Ogen on her will. it is revealed in Season 4 that her stupidity was merely an act created and assigned to her by the Mossad, although they too are baffled by her stupidity. In that same season she enters a polygamous marriage with Sassi and Hemmi.
• Yshayahu Tenzer (Gadi Rabinovich): The upstairs neighbor of Shemesh' restaurant. A lawyer with an affection for causing chaos and harm to others, as well as a deep love for pastrami sandwiches, Tenzer is often referred to as a "maniac" (מניאק), an Israeli slang word referring to an immoral and mean individual. Is often portrayed as having a friendly relationship with Shemesh, though it is often strained and sometimes borders on rivalry. Tenzer's name is taken from a character from the Shai Agnon short story "Different Faces". He marries an equally sadistic traffic officer in the series finale. Despite the two's love-hate relationship, Tenzer more often than not saves Shemesh from bankruptcy or in some cases prison time.
• Bar Sela (Eliad Nachum): A child who is best friends with Shemesh. He often hangs around at the Empire with Shemesh, as his mother is implied to be neglectful. Having both grown up without their fathers, Shemesh and Bar share a connection in which Shemesh serves as a sort of father figure in Bar's life, watches over him and teaches him his street wisdom throughout the series. Bar's character slowly changes throughout the series as he (and his actor, Eliad Nachum) grows up throughout the span of the series, eventually becoming a hormonal pubescent teenager by the show's finale which includes his Bar mitvah.

Secondary Characters

Every season introduces at least one new character to the main cast. Said characters will typically have a story arc revolving around them before leaving the cast before the end of the season, though some have stuck around for longer.

• Rakefet Sela (Dana Shrier): Bar's often neglectful mother, a spiritual guru of French origin. During the first season she is portrayed as having a sort of friendly-rivalry with Shemesh, as well as a close friendship with Etti. After Season 1 she is only seen in a few episodes, disappearing from the show completely outside of brief mentions after Season 3, and a single appearance in an episode in Season 4 until the show's finale. Her actress still makes in appearance in the show's opening, even in seasons where she does not make a single appearance. This is because the opening of Shemesh was shot as a promo for the series and was therefore never reshot, with additional cast members just being added in.
• Mano Bari (Charlie Buzaglo): A handsome, charming student of philosophy who moves to Israel from Italy. During Season 2 he develops a relationship with Etti. He is revealed to be Bar's biological father, having had a brief affair with Rakefet in Italy. He later marries Sivan after meeting her at the end of Season 3.
• Sivan (Dorit Bar Or): A former classmate and rival of Etti who begins dating and later becomes engaged to Shemesh in Season 3. She is characterized as mean, bossy and with overly materialistic tendencies. Has little regard for Shemesh and his Beershebite sensibilities. The wedding with Shemesh eventually falls through and Sivan attempted to run off with all of the cheques the guests gave away. She marries Mano after meeting him at the end of Season 3, though this is only revealed in the series finale.
• Hemmi Alze/Siton (Yehezkel Lazarov): Copywriter and director of television commercials. He is portrayed as a Yuppie, seeking success in the Tel Avivi "scene". He is introduced in Season 4 as a romantic rival for Sassi over Ogen. The love triangle is eventually resolved when Hemmi, Sassi and Ogen enter a threeway marriage, this marriage is based on the system used for Channel 2, at the end of Season 4. He is portrayed as being quite unintelligent but not as unintelligent as his husband and wife. He disappears following the birth of their child, Yakubu (who is implied to have been made from an affair due to his dark skin tone) and only returns in the series finale where he ends up being the one who accidentally kills Shemesh.
• Marcus Emek (Arieh Moskona): Initially introduced as a wimpy career consultant for Tel Aviv University in Season 2, Marcus is reintroduced in Season 4 as a cunning business man, who is contacted by Shemesh to help save his failing restaurant. During the season he serves as the representative of the unknown Lessees of the Empire, only referred to as "the Koreans". He is overly touchy and lacks social awareness, but is shown to be shrewd and intelligent throughout the season, He is also constantly ridiculed by the rest of the staff. He leaves the restaurant after Shemesh intentionally breaks the terms of his lease with the Koreans. His name is a pun on the Hebrew swear "Cus Emek!" which means "God damn it!", though with the addition of Mar (which in Hebrew can be both Mr and Bitter) his name can either mean "Mr God Damn it" or "Bitter Vagina Valley", as cus in Hebrew slang (and Arabic) means vagina and emek in Hebrew means valley.
• Zoe (Moran Stavitzki): A hip, young and attractive club goer, Zoe moves into the building the show is set in at the beginning of Season 5. She often represents the younger generation of the Tel Aviv community, partying, drinking and taking drugs, in contrast with the older main cast. The rest of the cast (with the exception of Bar) tend to have a difficult time understanding her clubber slang or her taste in music, with Shemesh at one point calling it "electronic noise".
• Ravit Hillel (Sharon Durani): Etti's younger sister. Temporarily moves in with Etti and Shemesh in Season 6. She is portrayed as irresponsible and promiscuous. Having recently returned from a long trip to India, she often indulges in hedonistic pleasures, prioritizing having fun over planning ahead in life. She later returns to India after pretending to stalk Etti to boost her older sister's career.