The Attractive Young Rabbi

Oct 9, 2024 8:19 PM

Author:Barry Grossman,David De Keyser,Tracy-Ann Oberman,Full Cast,Doreen Mantle

All three series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy drama about the collision between the old and the new in the Jewish community of Hillfield

Abraham Fine lives a settled, comfortable life as Rabbi of Hillfield’s Orthodox synagogue. But his world is turned upside down when a new Reform synagogue opens, led by a female Rabbi, Su Jacobs. Young, single, trendy and full of new ideas, she soon sets about modernisation: introducing her congregation to the delights of the Internet, putting ‘executive boxes’ with TV screens in the pews and offering coffee and croissants during the services – much to Rabbi Fine’s consternation. Fortunately, his wife Sadie is less resistant to change, and is quick to befriend Su and endeavour to keep the peace between her and Abraham.

Written by Barry Grossman, this culture-clash comedy stars David de Keyser as Rabbi Abraham Fine and Tracy-Ann Oberman as Rabbi Su Jacobs, with Doreen Mantle as Sadie. Guest stars include Warren Mitchell, Geoffrey Whitehead and Nadim Sawalha.

Production credits

Written by Barry Grossman

Produced by John Fawcett Wilson

Music: Max Harris

First broadcast BBC Radio 4: 12 November-3 December 1999 (Series 1), 22 September-27 October 2000 (Series 2), 13 February-20 March 2002 (Series 3)

Reviews

Jolly, packed with impressive and silly facts . . . hooray for No Such Thing As A Fish.

—— Observer

Knowledge-packed and riotously funny.

—— The Times

A factually relevant look at a baffling 12 months.

—— Best Books for Christmas , iNews

It’s fair to say the podcast has been “quite” successful. Its episodes have been listened to more than 100 million times, with 1.5 million new streams every month . . . The Book of the Year [is] a compendium of topical facts in 365 categories. It’s laced with their dry wit, and likely to end up in many a pub-quizzer’s Christmas stocking.

—— Daily Telegraph

[No Such Thing As A Fish] drop so many facts your head will spin!

—— Guardian

No Such Thing As A Fish is the hit podcast presented by the funny guys and girls at QI . . . The Book of the Year shares all of the lesser known facts from the year of 2017.

—— Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2

Brilliant and funny . . . educational as well as entertaining. A rare but valuable combination.

—— Huffington Post

Hugely enjoyable . . . this tome is just right: deadpan, sharp and disarmingly offbeat.

—— Event

If you love funny facts as much as we love funny facts then you should get your funny fact-loving faces in front of The Book of the Year.

—— Comedy Central (via @ComedyCentralUK)

QI is such an institution that even the programme’s researchers are taking over the world. Fully justified that is too, as anyone who’s heard their podcast, No Such Thing As A Fish, will confirm. It’s packed with killer facts – and so is this book.

—— Daily Mail

Absolutely ideal for the Christmas holidays.

—— Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 6

A bumper anthology of ridiculous but true facts from the anoraks (and QI researchers) behind hit podcast No Such Thing As A Fish.

—— Metro

Bitesize chunks of truth in a year of fake news. If you love fact-based trivia, you'll get a kick out of this.

—— Funniest Books for Christmas , Irish Times

Since 2003, the Elves have unearthed countless weird and wonderful truths and gems of general ignorance for QI, their 100-million-times-downloaded weekly podcast No Such Thing as A Fish, topical TV spin-off No Such Thing as the News and their many books, such as their newly released Book of the Year.

—— Radio Times

Expect to be amazed.

—— Daily Telegraph

Both fantastically absorbing and entertaining.

—— The Bookseller

The Book Of The Year will prove the perfect Christmas gift, the ideal conversation starter (and stopper), and the ultimate source of wisdom for all lovers of trivia.

—— The British Comedy Guide

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