A television station entirely devoted to Jewish programming is set to hit the airwaves next month. The station, KVEY, will run on channel 180 and can be picked up on a weak signal throughout the Seattle area.
"So it's a weak signal, what do you want from me?" said Ruth Mecklenberg, KVEY's executive producer. "Turn it up if you can't hear. So what if it has a bit of a crackle to it? It's nostalgic. Like talking to your great-aunt Alice across the country in the seventies."
The station will offer a mixture of music, talk, and educational programming. Cooking shows will air every day of the week (except Saturday, when the station will be dark), with highlights including "Schmaltz It Up with Tante Leah" (Tuesdays at 3 p.m.), "Babka with Bubbe" (Thursdays at noon), and a challah-baking tutorial on Fridays beginning at 10 a.m. and interrupting afternoon programs at intervals to cover the bread's rises, shaping, and baking. "That way the home baker can follow along and watch the progress in real time," explained the show's host, Ethel Blixstein.
Other highlights include a game show called "The Biggest Shlimazel" (Wednesdays at 8 p.m.) and a dance competition hosted by DJ Shlomo "the Bear" Shlomovitz and entitled "So You Think You Can Dance the Hora?" (Mondays at 9 p.m.). The full schedule is not yet set.
"What do you mean the schedule isn't set?" said Mrs. Mecklenberg. "It's been all ready for months, what are you talking about? Besides, is it so terrible if we don't have every single program worked out? You think you can do better, go make your own Jewish TV station."
It is unclear whether the Seattle Jewish community will provide a strong enough market to support the station. "Oy, what do we need Jewish TV for?" asked Moshe Friedman, 86, who spoke to a reporter at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island. "You can't even get a decent bagel in this town. They should learn to make bagels instead of wasting time on TV shows." Mr. Friedman walked out of the room, crumpling the paper plate from his bagel with lox shmear and continuing to mutter about bagels.
Others were more upbeat. "I can't wait to finally learn how to make kreplach!" enthused Miriam Rubin, 42, of Wallingford. "I'm still kicking myself that I didn't get my bubbe's recipe before she passed. Hers were the best!" Ms. Rubin paused to consider. "And cholent. I'm dying to make cholent, but it seems so intimidating, you know?"
"I'm telling you, people are beating the door down for KVEY," said Mrs. Mecklenberg. "It'll be the best thing since knish mixes. Do you know how hard I used to work making knishes? You don't want to know how hard."
KVEY launches on Thursday, July 1, at 8 p.m., with the first episode of its weekly reality show, "Who Wants to Marry a Nice Jewish Boy?"
1 comment:
HILarious.
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