While I’ve written before about how Jewish women get theshort end of the stick on TV,
it’s not like Jewish men do much better. Woody Allen set the standard, and the
nebbish, hyper-intellectual loser with girls cliché still sticks (let’s not
talk about how the majority of Jewish male characters on TV are married to or
involved with non-Jewish women – that’s a whole other post topic for another
time).
That’s why I was intrigued to hear that ABC was launching a
weekly series, Of Kings & Prophets,
based on the Biblical story of King Saul, that uppity shepherd, David, the
prophet Samuel, presumed heir apparent Jonathan, conflicted princess Michal and
assorted other supporting players (no word yet if Batsheba will be making an
appearance down the line).
It’s going to be pretty hard to drop stereotypical New York
Jews with their whiny, nasal drawls, proudly un-athletic physiques and
fondnesses for Shiksa goddesses
into, as the onscreen Chyron explains, “Gibeah, the capital of Israel.”
Especially when the producers promise to go “as far as we can” with the sex and
violence. An ABC executive called it “muscular.” The network ran a “may not be
appropriate for all audiences” disclaimer prior to airing the pilot.
Were we finally going to get some atypical Jewish male
representation on TV? And would it be worth watching?
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