German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[DRW50]

That was nice of the actresses to pose together to make it easier for fans. What did you think of Suji? And Zoe?

[Ben]

I don't visit this thread much, but when I do the German soaps always seem to be revamping. Are they constantly chasing ratings or simply following trends?

One or the other always seems to have a hostage/murder/birth drama, and I always feel like they're quite OTT - is this a fair assessment? Or can they be quite character driven?

What constitutes high and low ratings in Germany? Why don't viewers stick with the soaps? They seem to go through a revamp every year, yet people don't seem to stick with them. Is it b/c soaps are no longer popular?

Sorry for all the questions Huntress. My previous post was probably better worded until it vanished.

[Huntress]

Well, compared to the US and the UK, daily soaps in Germany don't have a long tradition since the oldest one – GZSZ – celebrates its 21st birthday this May.

Back in the 90s, when the genre was still new, soaps were very popular and GZSZ attracted up to 7 million viewers every day. Those days are long gone, and today the show has 3.5 million viewers on average.

For many years, soaps didn't have much competition from other genres in their timeslots, but then German telenovelas boomed. The soaps tried to keep up with them and introduced telenovela elements like frontburner couples and voice-overs from certain characters. Furthermore, OTT storylines which were big in the 90s where phased out. More realistic sets were built, better actors were hired – instead of talentless models – and the dialogue became sharper and more colloquial.

The heyday of the telenovelas was over in 2008/2009 – only two shows (Sturm der Liebe and Rote Rosen) have survived and are still solid ratings-wise –, but the soaps – with the exception of "Marienhof" – survived.

The current competition are reality soaps, for example "Berlin - Tag & Nacht" which airs opposite GZSZ and AWZ and has hurt both shows in the ratings department because all three have the same target demo. Since BTN became so popular, the soap producers reacted by making the soaps racier and "dumber". This concept works for AWZ because it has always been fast-paced and , but GZSZ has become unrecognizable.

Of the three RTL soaps, I'd say UU is the most stable one. They do a lot of character-driven and good umbrella stories. For example, Rolf murdered Rebecca last September and the aftermath of that event is still being played out with half of the cast involved in the trial. Rolf and Britta are in prison; there's the Britta-Malte love story; Sina is torn between believing Rolf and the rest of the Weigel family which takes its toll on her relationship with Erik; Eva is Britta's lawyer; Rufus, Rebecca's husband, still wants justice etc.

The constant revamps are basically necessary to keep people interested and to get the attention of the media. I think it also shows that the producers nowadays notice when storylines don't work or when actors/characters are unpopular with the audience.

[Ben]

Thanks Huntress for the reply. It explains a lot.

I think it's interesting that you can see how TV trends have impacted on the soaps - telenovelas, now reality soaps (I don't get why people like them). Soaps have taken a lot of knocks, yet they still keep on fighting. Dumbing down is such a vexing TV trend. I think it's sad when a show feels they have to change beyond recognition in order to compete, and still it never really solves the problems, but adds to them.

I'm glad UU hasn't changed too much, and is character driven. I think you can incorporate OTT stories and still develop the characters. I guess it shows that RTL have faith in their soaps, otherwise they would cancel them.

I guess the very nature of constantly revamping, that instability, would drive me away from the shows.

ETA: Looking at those preview photos, I notice the soaps are very young; they don't appear to have a cross-generational appeal, as there doesn't seem to be many older characters. If there are, they aren't appearing in the previews, which leads me to suspect they aren't involved in a storylines. FYI: By older, I mean 50s, 60s, 70s... Are they family based? Like, Neighbours has only just gone back to families, and Hollyoaks is trying to do the same, and that brings a totally different tone to the shows, a more relateable feel.

Edited March 28, 2013 by Ben

[Huntress]

To some extent, German soaps are family based – but very different from those in the US where almost every main character has family ties to someone on the canvas.

GZSZ has always revolved around young people – as did the Australian original "The Restless Years" –, so even today the teenagers and twens are the main focus. There have always been older characters, for example Elisabeth Meinhart, a teacher, who was a motherly figure for most of the younger characters. Parents hardly ever played a main part on the show, though. They usually only appeared for a guest stint. Of course there were exceptions. Currently, the only cast members over 40 are Wolfgang Bahro (Jo Gerner), Ulrike Frank (Katrin Flemming-Gerner) and Clemens Löhr (Alexander Cöster). Tim Williams (Kurt LeRoy) is also heavily recurring. Eva Mona Rodekirchen (Maren Seefeld) is on maternity leave but expected to return in the summer.

The younger characters often form "families" of their own as they share appartments etc. Some of the characters are related to each other as well.

AWZ has always revolved around the wealthy Steinkamp family. Its active members are SImone, Richard, Ben, Maximilian, Jenny, Letizia and Marco. Several family members have come and gone. Active ex-spouses include Isabelle and Lena. Then there's the Öztürk family with Marian, Deniz, Can, Lena and little Alexander. Like on GZSZ and UU, the younger characters share apartments and thus form some sort of family of their own.

On UU, the Weigel family is the main focus point. Other families have moved in and out of the building.

VL has always had one aristocratic family and one or two middle-class families as their counterparts.

I tried to illustrate the relationships between the current main cast members on AWZ, UU and GZSZ. Orange means family ties, pink means current romantic relationship, and blue past romantic relationship.

It's important to note that even though it seems that some characters don't have many ties to the canvas, friendships are not depicted. Furthermore, most characters have family members and past love interests that are no longer on the show.

GZSZ

Important notes: Jo Gerner has three other children; Leon has a brother and an adoptive sister (Jo Gerner's oldest daughter Vanessa); Leon was married to Pia's sister Verena (deceased); John, Emily and Philip are the last remaining members of the Bachmann-Lemke-Höfer family clan (former characters Hannes, Senta, Patrizia, Ben, Lena, Sandra).

UU

Important notes: Irene's oldest son Chris hasn't been since 1997; other members of the extended Weigel clan are either dead or have moved away; Rufus is the last remaining member of the Sturm-Mattern family clan (Ariane, René, Romy, Rebecca, Lili); Malte had a brother (Björn, deceased); Bela has a brother (Nils); Eva has a sister (Meike)

AWZ

[DRW50]

What mistakes do you think GZSZ has made lately?

[Ben]

Thank you Huntress for those detailed family trees. They paint a clearer picture.

[Huntress]

Too many They got rid of all original cast members between 2009 and 2010, rewrote the show's history, pushed couples that had no chemistry (Ayla/Philip, Leon/Pia, Kurt/Jasmin) while other popular couples apparently never get together (Emily/Tayfun, Lilly/Vince), boring stories were dragged out for months etc.

While Senta-Sofia Delliponti (Tanja Seefeld) is leaving the show in June after being on contract for almost 3 years, it has been announced that four new female characters will be joining GZSZ later this year. At the moment, I can't imagine how the show will make use of so many new characters. Maybe they'll bring back at least one former regular, but as this is GZSZ, I doubt it.

---

Meanwhile, the shake-up at AWZ continues: Original cast member Tatjana Clasing (Simone Steinkamp) has reportedly left the show for personal reasons. Her final episode is set to air on June 13th, 2013. During a vacation at the North Sea with her boyfriend David (Andreas Hofer), Simone will take a walk in the tidal flats. When the tide suddenly sets in, Simone is pulled into the ocean and disappears. It's unclear if Clasing will reprise her role at a later point. A recast seems out of the question considering that Simone – together with her on-and-off husband Richard (Silvan-Pierre Leirich) – has always been the pillar of the series.

David and Simone

Due to Simone's exit, her youngest on-screen daughter Vanessa (Julia Augustin) is supposed to make a guest appearance. Vanessa will probably stick around for two months. Augustin previously played the part on contract from September 2006 to April 2009 and from August 2010 to February 2012.

At the same time, another former main character is also returning: Anna-Katharina Fecher is back as Melanie Wendt and she is once again on contract. Fecher had previously played the part from August 2011 to July 2012. Melanie is Sarah's younger sister (Sarah departed the show this past February) and Ingo and Annette's adoptive daughter.

Anna-Katharina Fecher as Melanie

There's also a new man arriving: Carlo Degen will play Joscha Degen, David's second son and Lukas's brother. Joscha is a professional soccer player, but he also has a secret: According to the latest spoilers, he had a relationship with another player. When this other player came out of the closet, he was bullied and committed suicide. Joscha is haunted by the memories of his ex-boyfriend.

Carlo Degen as Joscha

Edited May 9, 2013 by Huntress

[DRW50]

I wonder if Joscha will have a story with Deniz.

Will you miss Simone?

[Huntress]

Joscha will apparently become best friends with Can – which is a bit strange because Can has expressed several times that he despises homosexuality. In one scene he almost threw up at the thought of two men kissing. It doesn't even make sense because he lives with his cousin Deniz who – as we all know – is bisexual.

Simone will be dearly missed. Tatjana Clasing is a wonderful, versatile actress and clearly the best among the AWZ cast. She can pull off any scene and she's great at playing a bitch. However, she has also given Simone a softer side and she's good at comedy too. I think her exit will hurt AWZ a lot because there's nobody who could fill the void she leaves behind. Especially not Jenny.

I also wonder what they'll do with both Richard and David since there are no potential love interests for them other than Simone.

[Huntress]

Verbotene Liebe celebrates 18 years on the air.

New cast members and new main couple Juri Adam (Kristian Kiehling) and Martha Wolf (Julia Sontag)

The villains: Ansgar von Lahnstein (Wolfram Grandezka) and Tanja von Anstetten (Miriam Lahnstein)

Clockwise: Bella (Janina Isabell Batoly), Andi (Dominic Saleh-Zaki), Oliver (Jo Weil), Jessica (Jana Julie Kilka), Kim (Nicole Mieth) and Emilio (Florian Wünsche)

[Huntress]

Some old VL anniversary pictures:

Episode 500 (1997)

Most of the original cast had already left at that point.

Third row (left to right): Joachim Kretzer as Paul Schöner, Roland Pfaus as Tim Sander, ???, Mirco Wallraf as Ramon Santos, Andreas Brucker as Jan Brandner #1, Konrad Krauss as Arno Brandner

Second row (left to right): Meike Gottschalk as Sophie Levinsky, Dinah Alice Schillfarth as Cleo Winter, Isa Jank as Clarissa von Anstetten, Kerstin Landsmann as Kati von Sterneck #2, Claudia Scarpatetti as Susanne Brandner, Broder B. Hendrix as Gero von Sterneck, Michaela Conrad as Ela Anders, Christian Wunderlich as Frank Levinsky

Front row (left to right): Xenia Seeberg as Barbie Marx, Sascha Zaglauer as Rajan Rai

* There are several contract actors missing, for instance Jürgen Zartmann as Christoph. In turn, recurring actors Joachim Kretzer and Xenia Seeberg were pictured.

Episode 750 (1998)

The awful Prozeski era.

Back row (left to right): Daniel Wiemer as Dennis Krüger, Luca Zamperoni as Nick Prozeski, Nadine Brandt as Steffi Sander, Andreas Stenschke as Ulli Prozeski, Christian Wunderlich as Frank Levinsky, Nils Julius as Patrick Brockmann, Roland Pfaus as Tim Sander, Dinah Alice Schillfarth as Cleo Winter, Kerstin Landsmann as Kati von Sterneck #2, Aline Hochscheid as Jackie Lamers

Front row (left to right): Miriam Lahnstein as Tanja von Anstetten, Michael Meziani as Alexander von Deinburg-Thalbach, Andrea Suwa as Jessica Prozeski, Ruth Brück as Erna Prozeski, Peter Zintner as Walter Prozeski, Peter Kotthaus as Nils Petersen

* There are several contract actors missing, for instance Isa Jank as Clarissa, Manuela Alphons as Barbara, Raphaela Dell as Erika and Konrad Krauss as Arno.

Episode 1000 (1999)

The glamour returns.

Back row (left to right): Andreas Stenschke as Ulli Prozeski, Raphaela Dell as Erika Sander, Nils Julius as Patrick Brockmann, Isa Jank as Clarissa von Anstetten, Freya Trampert as Nina Ryan, Konrad Krauss as Arno Brandner, Kerstin Radt as Gabriella Santos, Stefan Wilhelmi as Tilmann Fritzsche, Hendrik Martz as Henning von Anstetten #2, Jürgen Zartmann as Christoph von Anstetten, Peter Kotthaus as Nils Petersen, Daniel Wiemer as Dennis Krüger, Andi Slawinski as Heino Toppe, Gabriele Metzger as Charlie Schneider, Aline Hochscheid as Jackie Lamers

Front row (left to right): Jutta Fastian as Carolin von Anstetten, Kerstin Landsmann as Kati von Sterneck, Nadine Brandt as Steffi Sander, Luca Zamperoni as Nick Prozeski, Marina Mehlinger as Milli Sander, Manuela Alphons as Barbara von Sterneck

Episode 1500 (2001)

The von Beyenbach era and a very large contract cast.

Back row (left to right): Patrik Fichte as Henning von Anstetten #3, Solveig Duda as Marie von Beyenbach, Tanja Wenzel as Isabell Mohr, Carsten Spengemann as Mark Roloff, Martina Servatius as Elisabeth Ryan Brandner, Kerstin Radt as Gabriella Santos, Andreas Potulski as Felix von Beyenbach #1, Karoline Schuch as Lara Cornelius, Luke J. Wilkins as Christian Toppe, Kerstin Kramer as Alexa Seifert, Gabriele Metzger as Charlie Schneider, Jeannine Burch as Beatrice von Beyenbach, Isa Jank as Clarissa von Anstetten, Günter Clemens as Martin von Beyenbach #1, Lina Tiedtke as Franziska von Beyenbach, Markus Prinz as Daniel Fritzsche #1

Front row (left to right): Christoph Dostal as Lukas Roloff, Tanja Lanäus as Jule Roth, Clemens Löhr as Simon Roloff, Freya Trampert as Nina Ryan, Kay Böger as Tom Seifert, Jo Weil as Oliver Sabel, Miriam Lahnstein as Tanja von Lahnstein, Matthias Beier as Jonas Schilling

Edited May 24, 2013 by Huntress

[Huntress]

For the first time in the show's history, AWZ was pre-empted today due to coverage of the massive floods currently happening in Germany and its neighboring countries Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland.

We all love good natural disasters on soaps once in a while, but when it's happening in real life, it's not that entertaining anymore.

[DRW50]

I'm so sorry for you guys I hope you're doing OK.

What was awful about the Prozeski era?

[Huntress]

Thanks for your concern Fortunately, I live in the western part of Germany, not far from the border to the Netherlands and Belgium. We also have floods every now and then here, but it's never as worse as in the east and the southeast. The states of Bavaria, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony are affected the most.

Regarding the Prozeski era: After the first incarnations of Jan and Julia – the twins who fell in love with each other – had left VL in 1997, VL needed a new main couple. Most of the original cast was gone at that point as well, only some of the older characters (Arno Brander, Clarissa von Anstetten. Charlie Schneider, Christoph von Anstetten, Barbara von Sterneck) and teenage brat Kati Sterneck were still there.

Two new families were introduced: On the one hand, there was the the Sander family with Erika and her teenage daughters Steffi and Milli. They were tied to the Brandner family because Erika was the sister of Arno's first wife Iris. Erika's and Iris's brother Tim was married to Julia. Tim was later murdered by Tanja as was his girlfriend Cleo. Erika married Arno, but she later fell in love with Nina Ryan (VL's first lesbian character).

On the other hand, there was the poor Prozeski family who turned out to be relatives of Clarissa's. Clarissa, whose real name is Klara Prozeski, was ashamed of her proletarian past and had never told anyone about her family. The Prozeskis consisted of Erna, Clarissa's mother; Walter, Clarissa's brother; and Walter's children Jessica, Nick and Ulli.

Jessica was supposed to be the "new" Julia. She was to be paired up with Prince Alexander von Deinburg-Thalbach, the new "Jan". This time, the story was reversed with a poor girl falling for an aristocratic man instead of a poor guy falling for an aristocratic woman. However, Jessica and Alexander were very unpopular with the audience so their story was resolved within less than a year. Erna and Walter, who were also unpopular, were killed off in a car crash. Only Ulli and Nick were kept since they were involved in a love quadrangle with the Sander sisters. Nick was supposed to marry Steffi, but slept with Milli, while Ulli was in love with Milli. Later, Nick and Milli received their happy ending, while Ulli became gay and Steffi left to New Zealand with Dennis, Nick's biggest rival.

After the failed Jessica/Alexander pairing, the von Anstetten family and castle Friedenau became the main focus once again. Christoph's son Henning was brought back and he fell in love with a con artist named Carolin Mohr. Later Carolin slept with Christoph and became pregnant with his child. The storyline culminated with Christoph being pushed into suicide by Clarissa in December 2000.

VL even had an opening with both Jan & Julia and Jessica & Alexander to make the transition between both couples more smoothly:
http://youtu.be/JDa3DRVH4pY

Some good vintage clips:

Clarissa vs. Tanja

http://youtu.be/wmxytnNkSFw

Clarissa vs. Barbara

http://youtu.be/M-ufWQw27js

Tanja wants to kill Clarissa, takes Lukas and Beatrice hostage and tries to kill them with carbon monoxide

http://youtu.be/bJ1-Mt75o_o