We, the Israelis, have developed quite a few customs for ourselves, every time we meet a new person. After a short and to-the-point conversation, we are usually asked where this person served in the army, in what city did he grow up, do we have mutual friends on Facebook, and the question that has become too important is what he thinks about ‘Sabri Marnan’, the Israeli sitcom that returned last night for its eighth season.
When I admit and confess that this is one of my favorite series in the blue and white segment, I am often looked at in astonishment with a doubt of expectation, waiting for me to say something else that will contradict my words. So just before we talk about the first and excellent episode of the new season, I will say it in white Kiddush letters: Sabri Marnan is one of the most Israeli television anchors on the screen, who last and for good reason. The familiality that reminds us all a little of our family, the understanding that no one is perfect, to say the least, and the token that falls over and over again and proves that family really isn’t chosen, enables in every new episode this catharsis that we all look for in a sitcom. And yes, those who think the opposite probably didn’t give a real chance to really join the celebration.
So for those of you who are good at it (those who are not, I expect you to fill in the holes in the plot), the episode begins on the tenth birthday of Lali, the daughter of Shai (Dvir Bendak) and Shani Rosen (Rotem Abuhav), who are the heart of the plot that linked the fate of their two families. By an unfortunate mistake, Shay adds to the invitation not only the girls in his old daughter’s class, but his parents, brothers, Shani’s parents, her sisters, and all their plus-ones. Oh yes, and the soft babies of Adam (Tom Avni) and Sapir (Yordan Bracha), his brother and his wife. Remember this, the aforementioned detail from the first act will appear again in the third act, in a completely different context.
As with every re-episode, this event will also become explosive very quickly. Sylvan (Yhoram Gaon) and Rachel (Yona Elian) will suffer, not only from Meriv (Edna Balilius) and Aharon (Kobi Faraj), who will compete with Orna (Yamit Sol) and Moshe (Ami Smolarchik), Pinchas (Tovia Tzafir) and Ricky (Sandra Sade) ) will most likely be connected to this suffering, not to mention Itamar (Yaniv Polishuk) and Smeder, the ex-divorce (Nina Kotler), who will simply come to further mess up the cramped family package. Take a minute to digest.
I know it’s important for you to avoid spoilers, so I’ll just say sporadically that there will be too many people, as we already mentioned, hot dogs in a bun, a policeman, a fateful Snatz, and a moral Tal in his own right. Later in the season? Lots of guest actors, including Moni Moshunov who is also Sade’s real-life husband, and some other absolutely surprising developments.
And on a personal note: Sabri Marnan is the essence of home for me. As someone who was also born into a family that is a hybrid of East and West, and had to deal with the abysmal difference between them, I find myself embracing the situations placed before me and feel that I am simply comfortable. And yes, this is how you should see a sitcom for the whole family, that you really watch it with the whole family, and try, even if in a whisper, to find parallels to the sometimes crazy areas. So in the blessing of the traditional “Khalas” of Shani, Sabri Marnan, you are here to stay, thanks for the daily reminders that a family is a set of people whose relationship is purely coincidental. And it’s not that bad after all.