HaPijamot
Encyclopedia
HaPijamot is a sitcom on Israeli television about a struggling band determined to make it in the real world. The show runs on Arutz HaYeladim
(The Kids' Channel) and Channel 2 (Keshet
).
to Tel-Aviv to launch their band. Unlike many shows, the characters in the show are aware that they are on television; the show features their day-to-day lives. A major aspect of the show is "HaMasach HaLavan" (the white screen), where cast members talk to the viewers. Geri also talks to the viewers when he is alone, often complaining about his wife or just his life in general. There are several interactive episodes, such as an episode which the viewers can fast forward or rewind to decide the outcome of the episode, an episode which the viewers can record ringtones, and an episode with a cheaper form of scratch-and-sniff. The show always ends with Shtifat Kelim (washing the dishes); the characters washing the dishes for Geri and summarize the episode.
A year later, The Kids Channel decided to film a new season in response to high VOD
viewing numbers. Alona Tal stayed in the US (but guest starred in five episodes), and the production team picked Yamit Sol to effectively replace her. Yuval Segal, who played Ilan's cousin in three episodes in season two, joined the main cast. This season debuted on 13 August 2006 and included 25 episodes.
In December 2007 The Kids Channel ordered another season. Dana Frider joined the cast for Yuval Segal (who went to study acting in New York), and Yamit Sol was absent in many episodes due to her psychology studies. Eli Keren Asaf was absent in many episodes too (she was drafted to the army). The season was the longest to date, with 36 episodes. It debuted on 1 September 2008.
Several months later, The Kids Channel ordered two more seasons. They were written between January and March 2010. The 6th season began to air on 1 September 2010. These seasons include 25 episodes each. Yuval Segal returned to the main cast. The 7th season aired in September 1, 2011.
Arutz HaYeladim
Arutz HaYeladim is an Israeli kids cable television channel. It was one of the first cable channels in Israel with Arutz HaMishpaha, Arutz Hasratim and Arutz Hasport.-History:...
(The Kids' Channel) and Channel 2 (Keshet
Keshet (TV)
Keshet Broadcasting or Keshet is a media group and leading television program maker licensed in Israel. Keshet operates under the auspices of the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority . It is one of two operators that have run the main Israeli commercial television channel, Channel 2, since 1993,...
).
Background
The show follows the misadventures of three friends, Ilan, Kobi and Oded, as they move from NetanyaNetanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
to Tel-Aviv to launch their band. Unlike many shows, the characters in the show are aware that they are on television; the show features their day-to-day lives. A major aspect of the show is "HaMasach HaLavan" (the white screen), where cast members talk to the viewers. Geri also talks to the viewers when he is alone, often complaining about his wife or just his life in general. There are several interactive episodes, such as an episode which the viewers can fast forward or rewind to decide the outcome of the episode, an episode which the viewers can record ringtones, and an episode with a cheaper form of scratch-and-sniff. The show always ends with Shtifat Kelim (washing the dishes); the characters washing the dishes for Geri and summarize the episode.
Seasons
The first season of the show debuted on 1st July 2003 and included 23 episodes. The season ended in a special episode called "My Favorite Episode". Because the show attracted a large number of viewers, The Kids Channel decided to order another two seasons, which were written and filmed together. The second season debuted on 28 March 2004 and included 19 episodes. That season ended with a special episode called "The Gold Pyjamas". The third season of the show premiered on 1 July 2004 and included 20 episodes. The season ended with two special episodes, a documentary episode called "Only The Truth" and a trivia contest about the third season called "This That or That This". After the third season ended, The Kids Channel decided to stop the series, because Alona Tal had left for the US, and the trio filmed a new show on The Music Channel.A year later, The Kids Channel decided to film a new season in response to high VOD
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
viewing numbers. Alona Tal stayed in the US (but guest starred in five episodes), and the production team picked Yamit Sol to effectively replace her. Yuval Segal, who played Ilan's cousin in three episodes in season two, joined the main cast. This season debuted on 13 August 2006 and included 25 episodes.
In December 2007 The Kids Channel ordered another season. Dana Frider joined the cast for Yuval Segal (who went to study acting in New York), and Yamit Sol was absent in many episodes due to her psychology studies. Eli Keren Asaf was absent in many episodes too (she was drafted to the army). The season was the longest to date, with 36 episodes. It debuted on 1 September 2008.
Several months later, The Kids Channel ordered two more seasons. They were written between January and March 2010. The 6th season began to air on 1 September 2010. These seasons include 25 episodes each. Yuval Segal returned to the main cast. The 7th season aired in September 1, 2011.
Characters
- Ilan Rosenfeld (Ilan Rosenfeld) – Ilan is the keyboard player of the band and writes a majority of the songs. His main interest is girls, and many episodes involve him trying to get a date, but eventually everything goes wrong. His catchphrase is: "Why do I need all this for?! Let's just pack up our bags and move back to NetanyaNetanyaNetanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
."
- Oded Paz (Oded Moshe Paz) – Oded is the drummer for the band. He is very dimwitted but is the luckiest person in the show. He works at the Hamburgeri and often irritates Geri. His catchphrase is "Gotta go, Gotta go!".
- Kobi Faraj (Kobi Faraj) – Kobi is the guitarist of the band is always hungry and eats almost anytime he can. He is Geri's nephew and Roni's cousin. He can change clothes remarkably fast, so he has many identities, including Naji Comradin Jackson, an Iraqi who is supposedly the "Chairman of the Association for Apartment Management". He takes advantage of an elderly woman (Ms. Bracha) and always eats at her house.
- Gershon "Geri" Mendelbaum (Yaniv Polishuk) – Geri is the owner of the Hamburgeri, a burger joint with apparently inedible food. His hot dogs can make someone faint, throw up, or supposedly die. He is Kobi's uncle and Oded's employer. He hates life and is constantly troubled by his wife Shifra and his daughter Roni. Apart from Roni, Geri also has triplets named Poli, Shaike, and Gavri (the names of the three members of HaGashash HaHiverHaGashash HaHiverHaGashash HaHiver |Tracker]]) were an Israeli comedy group. Often called HaGashashim , they are considered a classic of Israeli entertainment and the most influential comedy act in the history of Israel.The three members of the Gashash were:...
, an Israeli comedy group) who also annoy him. During the last season, Geri discovered "WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
" and tries to change history by editing his and other sitcom characters pages on his magic "Leck-top".
- Roni Mendelbaum (Eli Keren-Asaf) – Roni is Geri's daughter and thinks badly of her father due to his ignorance. She is referred to as annoying, but she is very talented and usually much smarter than any other character in the show. She always forces Geri to give her money.
- Alona Tal (Alona TalAlona Tal-Career:Tal started her career fresh out of the Israel Defense Forces, with a children's musical video tape, in which she played an evil witch. Following that, she appeared in a commercial for a laundry detergent...
) – Alona is the background vocalist and percussionist in the band. She is the threesome's neighbor, and they're always fighting over her. Alona Tal is a regular cast member in the first, second, and third seasons and makes guest appearances in the fourth and fifth seasons.
- Yamit Sol (Yamit Sol) – Yamit effectively replaces Alona in the fourth and fifth season, despite officially "[not] replacing Alona". She has her own agenda and is not just the pretty face of the series. She plays percussion and is a background vocalist in the band in the fourth season. In the fifth season, she lives with Dana and learns psychology.
- Natan Kuperman (Yuval Segal) – Natan is Ilan's cousin from Be'er Sheva and the band's temporary DJ. He shows up a couple of times in the second season and eventually becomes a main character in the fourth season. He is emotional and cries very loudly when he is either happy or sad.
- Dana Frider (Dana Frider) – Dana Frider is Shifra's niece and joins the show in the fifth season. However, she doesn't replace Yamit, as they both star in the Fifth season. Yamit has a smaller part in the fifth season. According to the show, 'she went to learn psychology and won't have as much time to run around with the gang' (she actually studied psychology while the fifth season was being filmed). The characters often mention the fact that Dana Frider was in Nolad Lirkod ("Born to Dance", which aired on Israeli television from 2005–2008) and did commercials for the Israeli shampoo brand Mui Keph (Hebrew for "very fun"). Dana always clarifies to them that they don't even have the right to fantasize about dating with her.
- Shifra Mendelbaum – Shifra is Geri's wife. Geri is always complaining about her, and claims she is very, very fat and ugly. Whenever she calls Geri, she always complains to him and gives him a lot of chores. She doesn't let him speak, and Geri always starts words without finishing. Shifra is never seen in the show except for one episode, when the young Shifra is seen in some flashbacks ("Lucky Gum"). She is also seen in a spinoff, Mendelbaum Private Detective.
Side characters
- Mr. Avraham Latin (Simon Rosenfeld) – Mr. Latin is introduced a side character in the fourth season. He is an old man that lives in the same building as the others. He is deaf and whenever someone talks to him, he responds by saying "What?" He is played by Ilan's real-life father.
- Mrs. Bracha Kirschenberg (Rivka Gur) – Bracha is an elderly woman who owns the building and hates everyone in it. She calls the threesome "African hooligans." She is in love with Naji Jackson (one of Kobi's characters) and always allows him to eat at her house. She is the head of the Mossad, according to the episode "Shem Kod Moustache" ("Secrets").
- Ruby Duenyas (Ruby Duenyas) – Ruby is the show's director. He appears many times in the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons.
- Badash (Nadav Asulin) – The Devil. He was the producer of Geri and Oded Menashe's band. He first appeared in the first season, when he tried to trick Ilan and convince him to join "In Shtink" (Ilan the first star and Ilan the second star). In the fourth season, he represented Mr. Latin in his prosecution against the Pyjamas ("What?", fourth season, first episode). Appears in four episodes in season five and in three episodes in season six.
- Albert (Aryeh Cherner) – Renovated the Hamburgeri and the Trio's home in the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons.
- Shimon Tzimhoni (Nir Ron) – Tzimhoni is Geri's arch enemy; ever since they competed for a student council election, they started an endless feud. He appears twice in the third season, twice in the fourth season, in three episodes in the fifth season, and twice in the sixth season. In the third season, he and Geri competed for the position of mayor. In the fourth season he tried to buy the Hamburgeri, in the fifth he opened a business called Tzimhoburger (in Hebrew "Veggieburger") to compete with Geri's, and in the sixth season he met Geri in the prison.
Kobi's characters
- Freddie "Nice-to-Meet" – Freddie is the band's manager and often does anything in the series that has to do with planning. He talks very fast and tricks people to agree with him. He creates fictional stories about knowing stars. He is aggressive and is feared by many characters in the series.
- Naji Comradin Jackson – Unlike Kobi's other characters, Naji doesn't have a specific purpose other than to "silence" Bracha when she complains about the noise, but in the fourth and fifth seasons this becomes more rare. Ms. Bracha is in love with him and always gives him food.
- Marcel Fuerro – A policeman. He appears when crimes occur or when investigations are needed.
- Sabbaba Sali – RabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. A parody on the Baba SaliBaba SaliAfter this incident, the Jewish population of Tafilalt fled to the nearby city of Arfoud, and then to the city of Boudnib. In Bodniv, Rabbi Yisrael was asked to succeed his brother as rav, but he refused. He wanted to travel to Palestine to print his brother's sefarim...
. He sings songs in English and says "sabbaba" (Hebrew slang for "OK").
- Eddie "Good-to-See" – Freddie's gay brother. He says "Naim li" (Hebrew for "comfort to me", but used as "I'm pleased") as a response to someone else's "Pleased to meet you".
- Meir Einstein - Broadcaster with an obsession to comb his hair. He has a dog named hava is mentioned in one tack and appeared just after the chapter. Based on a true boulevard named Meir Einstein
- Yehoram Zuberbuhler - The announcer of "the only channel". Usually shout his last name. Joined in the sixth season.
- GargamelGargamelIn the fictional world of The Smurfs, Gargamel the sorcerer is the sworn enemy of the Smurfs and the main antagonist in the show and comic books. While described as a wizard in the narration, Gargamel is not depicted as possessing real magical powers to speak of...
- Used to say "I hate Smurfs!". Joined in the seventh season.