JIN Entertainment
A Spaced-Out Chanukah
BAR & GRILL
Nickelodeon presents a TV special.
MICHAEL ELKIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
W
hat are the prospects
of outsiders ruining
Weinerville's celebra-
tion of Chanukah?
Latke luck.
But that's exactly what a
bunch of oddball aliens want to
do after their space odyssey
lands them in Weinerville.
By the way, where is Wein-
erville? Just a mile north of the
imagination and two laughs to
the left of a smile. Take that
route and you'll find the home
of a special Chanukah show pre-
sented by the Nickelodeon cable
network at 3 p.m. Saturday,
Dec. 16, and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec.
17.
"The Weinerville Chanukah
Special," starring
Marc Weiner, his
handful of
puppets
and spe-
cial guests,
is wacky, wonder-
ful and way- out. Wein-
erville's characters are no
weenies; they're action-oriented
accomplices..
One Chanukah, as they're
about to light up their lives —
including the candles and fire-
place at the Weinerville Ski
Lodge — two unanticipated vis-
itors trip over their welcome
mat. The Sektals — latkes
spelled backward (think of
them as primordial potato
pancakes) — describe their
outer space escape from the
wicked Antidorkus, who wants
all his minions to act the
same way.
The Weinerville
gang decides to
help shelter
their newfound
friends, and go
to the village's sage,
Gonsah K'nocker (por-
trayed by Buster
Poindexter).
K'nocker connects
with the aliens, ex-
plaining how their
saga resembles that
of the Chanukah sto- .-.-.-4--_
ry. Before you can
say Judah Maccabee, all are in-
volved in fighting off the evil An-
tidorkus, who arrives to reclaim
his Sektals.
You don't need a dreidel to
spin the ending: Antidorkus is
sent back to space, and the Sek-
tals join the Weinerville wonks
N
Michael Elkin is the
entertainment editor of the
.Tpwiqh Exponent in
• ORDER OF J.J. PEPPER'S SEASONED
in a rock
FRENCH FRIES
concert cel-
With All Dine In Orders
ebrating
• COMPLIMENTARY GIFT
Chanukah at
While Supplies Last
the ski lodge.
The special snowballed
FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY, DEC. 15, 16 & 17
from an earlier unfinished pro-
ject. "I started work on a
• Family Dining • Late Night Menu • Children's Menu • Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials
Chanukah puppet video about
10 years ago," says the comedi-
• Salads
• Pizza
• Sandwiches
• 1/2 lb. Burgers
an. But when Nickelodeon want-
• Complete Lunch and Dinner Menus
• Heart Healthy Dishes
ed to do a holiday special, they
•Happy Hour 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Casual Fun Atmosphere
knew they were in good hands
with the puppet man.
• LARGE SCREEN TV • DARTS • VIDEO GAMES
Weiner succeeds at what he
wanted to do: Putting the "ha"
• Thursday College Night 9 p.m.
• Special Micro Brew Innventory
back in Chanukah. "I tried to fig-
4
HALSTED VILLAGE PLAZA
ure out how to explain /
Chanukah without being
37610 W. 12 MILE ROAD AT HALSTED, Farmington Hills • (810) 848-9009
preachy," he says.
nday-Saturday 11 ain.-2 a.m., Sundaloon-Midnight
Using aliens from outer space
wasn't such a far-out idea, he fig-
ured. "This way, the Weinerville
gang could explain the meaning
of the holiday to outsiders."
Weinerville has a pretty big
Jewish population, about 20 per-
cent.
"Well, let's see," says Weiner.
"There are about
10 people in Wein-
erville, and Dot-
tie's Jewish and
I'm Jewish."
How about
Boney? "No," he
says of the dap-
per dinosaur. "He's before reli-
gion."
Not all the Jewish jokes made
the show's final cut: Nickelodeon
was circumspect about one con-
cerning circumcision. But much
of the humor is heimish, even
though you don't have to be Jew-
ish to enjoy the wry comments
sandwiched in between the
With Special Guest Mark Hamilton & Jeff Margrette
action. "Everyone will learn
about Judaism," says Wein-
Tracy has been seen on A&E's "Evening at the Improv"
er.
and Lifetime's "Girl's Night Out"
If there is one lesson to be
learned, he says, it is "to stand
up for what you believe in." He
With special Guest Tim Costello • CoCo
knows that firsthand: "I was al-
ways the smallest kid in school,
Jeff has been seen on Showtime's Comedy CLub Network
so I had to stand up."
and has opened for Gloria Estefan
The stand-up comedian is ea-
ger to gauge reaction to this
show. "If it's good," he kibitzes,
"I see a Tisha B'Av
special coming
With special Guest Carey Harlow
up."
P1
0
Jo
Oakland County's
Filmiest
Night Out!!!
Tracy Smith Dec. 15 • 16th
P ULt
Jeff Bran on — Dec. n 20 • 23rd
Dan Wilson — Dec. 29 • 31st
NEW YEAR'S EVE
Dan has been seen regularly on MTV, VH-1, HBO &
A&E's Comedy Specials
"The Weinex-ville Chanukah
Special" will be presented on
the Nickelodeon channel at 3
p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, and
,
7
17
Featuring the exclusive
sketch comedy of
"Mr. Paulie's Fruit and Vegetable Co."
Every Wednesday & Thursday.
65 E. Huron At Mill — New Pontiac
Call For Information & Reservations
(810) 334-6512
SPECIAL GROUP PACKAGES AVAILABLE