German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[Huntress]

You're right – they could be sisters (or at least distant cousins ). Although Caroline looks a bit too nice. Clarissa always wore outrageous clothes and hats and was clearly inspired by Joan Collins.

Is the Croatian version still on the air?

[CassieFan]

Believe me, Caroline was a fiercy bitch. That picture was taken from a storyline where she acted that she was paralyzed after Petra's (Julia in VB) car accident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tJj6uqoi10

Petra's and Caroline's accident (season 2 cliffhanger). Petra tried to commit suicide because she found out that she is pregnant with her twin brother Daniel. She also found out that Caroline slept with Zlatko Fijan (the main villain at that time) and reveals the pregnancy to Caroline. Caroline's nemesis Andrea messed up the breaks on the car..

The Croatian version was canceled in 2008. after 805 episodes. However a few months ago, there were some rumors that RTL Television wanted to bring the show back because the ratings of the reruns are great. I am not sure if that's going to happen considering 90% of the cast is envolved in other projects, but who knows. One thing is sure, a new soap will debut this fall on RTL 1.

Can you tell me what happened to the original characters of VB? We could compare the versions.

Edited March 29, 2011 by CassieFan

[Huntress]

I've never been an avid viewer of VL, but I can try

The original cast of VL:

Arno Brandner (1995-present) - Jan, Susanne and Florian's father. Patriarch of the Brandner family. Was married to Iris, then romantically involved with Erika Sander who became a lesbian. Was married to Elisabeth Ryan Brandner von Lahnstein for several years. Currently single.

Iris Brandner (1995-1996) - Susanne and Florian's mother. Was married to Arno. After discovering that Arno had slept with Clarissa, she left the family. Had a new lover and became pregnant, then died of an infection.

Jan Brandner (1st actor: 1995-1997; 2nd actor: 2011-present) - Julia's twin brother and lover.

Susanne Brandner (1995-1997; 2005-2008) - Arno and Susanne's daughter. Left for Argentina in 1997. Returned in 2005, became a lesbian and married Carla von Lahnstein. The two of them wanted to have a baby so Susanne got pregnant by Lars Schneider. I don't know what exactly happened but Carla and Susanne eventually broke up and Susanne left town again in 2008.

Florian Brandner (1st actor: 1995-1996; 1997; 1998; 2nd actor: 2002-2004) - Youngest child of the Brandner family. Anna's boyfriend at the beginning of the show. Flees from the army. To escape a prison sentence, he leaves for Africa to do charity work. Returned in 2002, now a photographer. Married Isabell Mohr Brandner. Left for Italy in 2004.

Clarissa von Anstetten (1995-2001; 2011-present) - The villain and diva. Mother of Jan and Julia. Was married to Christoph von Anstetten. In later years, her proletarian past was exposed. Allegedly died in a plane crash.

Christoph von Anstetten (1995-2000) - Henning's father and Clarissa's husband. Later married Barbara von Sterneck. Had an affair with his son's wife Carolin who became pregnant. Was driven into suicide by Clarissa.

Julia von Anstetten, later Julia Sander (1st actress: 1995-1997; 2nd actress: 2011-present) - Jan's twin sister and lover.

Henning von Anstetten (1st actor: 1995-1996; 2nd actor: 1998-1999; 3rd actor: 1999-2002) - Christoph's son. Was involved with Sophie, then disappeared. Returned and married Carolin Mohr who then had an affair with his father. From 2000-2002 Henning was the key player along with his "forbidden love" Marie von Beyenbach. Tanja von Anstetten wanted to marry Henning and fooled him and Marie into believing that they were siblings. Eventually Tanja's lies were exposed and Marie and Henning planned their wedding. On their wedding day, Henning argued with Marie's ex-boyfriend Mark. During the struggle, Henning fell off a tower and died.

Barbara von Sterneck, later Barbara von Anstetten (1st actress: 1995; 2nd actress: 1995-1999) - Gero and Kati's mother. Clarissa's nemesis. Married Christoph. Was taken hostage by a psychopath. Moved to Singapore.

Gero von Sterneck (1st actor: 1995; 2nd actor: 1995-1997; 1999*) - Barbara's son and Kati's brother. Was engaged to Julia, then became gay. Left for New York. Returned and became a pill-addict. Left town again.

Kati von Sterneck (1st actress: 1995; 2nd actress: 1995-2001*) - Teenage daughter of Barbara. Spoiled brat. Accused Christoph of sexual harrassment. Later became down-to-earth and became the center of the younger crowd. Lost her lover in a plane crash. Eventually followed her mother to Singapore.

Sophie Levinsky (1995-1997*) - Former prostitute. Waitress at the "No Limits". Was involved with Henning and in a triangle with Gero and his bisexual boyfriend. Left for New York.

Fiona Beckmann (1995-1996) - Owner of the "No Limits" café. Knows the truth about Jan and Julia. Left town. Died off-screen.

Anna Konrad (1995-1997) - Florian's girl friend at the beginning of the show. She later fell in love with her teacher and left town with him.

Charlie Schneider (1995-present) - Clarissa's best friend and a socialite. Later, she became Clarissa's enemy. Owns her own restaurant.

* Kati, Gero and Sophie appeared as guest stars during the 10th anniversary episodes in January 2005 along with other former cast members.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Huntress

[DRW50]

Thanks for doing all this. Why are they bringing back characters from the incest story? Is that going to be resumed? I wonder why they didn't ask the original actors back.

Have any fantasy stories ever been successful on German soaps? How did they wrap up the one you mentioned?

[CassieFan]

Thanks Huntress

The Croatian version of the original cast is/was:

The Potter family

Joseph Potter (VL's Arno Brandner, 2004.-2006.) - Petra, Daniel, Matija and Joan's father. Patriarch of the Potter family. Was married to Pearl, but when he slept with Victoria Novack, she left him. Moved to Afganistan in 2006., he converted to islam and married another woman. Returned in 2007. for Daniel's funeral.

Pearl Potter (VL's Iris Brandner, 2004.-2007.) - Matija and Iva's mother. Was married to Joseph. Later, she had a new lover, got pregnant but due to her age decided to have an abortion. In 2007. she moved to Australia to her son Matija with Iva and Dora (Iva's daughter).

Daniel Potter (VL's Jan Brandner, 2004.-2006.) - Joseph and Victoria's son, Petra's twin brother. He was romantically involved with Stella and slept with his own sister Petra. After a few hours, he went missing after he fell from Stephen's yacht in the sea. Although the body was never seen on screen, Pearl and her brother Zlatko eventually identified him. Deceased.

Iva Potter (VL's Susanne Brandner, 2004.-2007.) - Joseph and Pearl's daugter. She got pregnant by Igor and later become a mother to Dora. Was involved romantically with Hope's son. She moved to Australia to her brother Matija with Pearl and Dora.

Matija Potter (VL's Florian Brandner, 2004.-2006.) - Joseph and Pearl's son. Was romantically involved with Lana. He left the show in 2006. to study music in London and he returned to attend Daniel's funeral along his fiancee Carmen. Moved to Australia where he married Carmen and when Pearl and Iva were leaving, it was mentioned that Matija and Karmen became parents of twins.

The Novak family

Victoria Novak (VL's Clarissa von Anstetten, 2004.-2005.) - the main villain. Mother of Petra and Daniel. Was married to Stephen Novak. Was killed by her assistant Nina after 50 episodes. The actress opted to leave the show due to family problems and was later replaced by another main villain - Caroline Novak, Borna's mother and Stephen's first wife who was presumed dead for a long time.

Stephen Novak (VL's Christoph von Anstetten, 2004.-2006.) - Borna's father, Victoria's second and Caroline's first husband. Later married Lidija Bauer. Left to Paris with Lidija to start a new life away from Caroline who made his and Lidija's life miserable.

Petra Novak (VL's Julia von Anstetten, 2004.-2008.) - Joseph and Victoria's daughter, Daniel's twin sister and lover. Had a miscarriage after Daniel's death. Later became romantically involved with Luka Lausic, Hope's son and a former priest. Both stayed till the very end of the show. She got pregnant and left town with Luka.

Borna Novak (VL's Henning von Anstetten, 2004.-2008.) - Caroline and Stephen's son. Was involved with Maja and several other woman. At the end of the show he dated Mirna Saric.

The Bauer family:

Lidija Bauer (VL's Barbara von Sterneck, 2004.-2006., 2007.) - Tina and Leon's mother. Fashion designer. Victoria's friend and Caroline's nemesis. Married Stephen. Moved to Paris.

Leon Bauer (VL's Gero von Sterneck, 1st actor: 2004., 2nd actor: 2004.-2005.) - Lidija's son and Tina's brother. Was engaged to Petra, then became gay. Was killed in a hit and run accident by Marko, Maja's brother.

Tina Bauer (VL's Kati von Sterneck, 2004.-2008.) - Barbara's daughter and Leon's sister. Spoiled brat. Was married with Zlatko Fijan, fell into a coma after he tried to drown her in a pool. Later became a pop singer.

Maja Vukovich (VL's Sophie, 2004.-2006.) - former prostitute. Waitress at "At Hope's". Was involved with Borna and later returned to take care of her sick father in Knin, Croatia.

Hope Horvat (VL's Fiona, 2004.-2008.) - owner of "At Hope's". Knows the truth about Jan and Julia. Her first husband Max died of a heart attack. She became an alcoholic but she recovered. Later was revealed that her son Luka is alive. Her ex boyfriend, Luka's father appeared in 2007 and she dated him until the very end, when he cheated on her. In the final episode, she packed her bags and left Zagreb.

Lana Kos (VL's Anna Konrad, 2004.-2006.) - Matija's girlfriend. Later became a prostitute and a drug addict. She was sent to a facility in 2006. It was mentioned off screen that she eventually recovered.

Stela Vidak (VL's Charlie Schneider, 2004.-2006.) - Victoria's best friend and socialite. Was romantically involved with Daniel. Her first husband Tomislav came back in 2006. but soon died off screen. She moved to Los Angeles with Tomislav's daughter and ex wife Jennifer.

Igor Carevic (VL's ?, 2004.-2008.) - Iva's former boyfriend and Dora's father. Thief, cheater, had a lot of problems with police. At the end of the show he got rich.

Ljubo Carevic (VL's ?, 2004.-2005.) - Igor's brother, Matija and Lana's friend. Left the show in 2005. Moved back home to Split.

Edited March 29, 2011 by CassieFan

[Huntress]

Thanks for that list! In Croatia, Jan and Charlie had an affair? LOL Although Charlie in Germany also had a younger lover, David McNeal (played by Sam Eisenstein who's now Marian on AWZ).

VL's pendant to Igor Carevic would be Oliver Kopp but he wasn't a contract role and left the show pretty quickly. I don't think the Ljubo character existed on the German version although Florian and Anna had a mutual friend named Aki who was a punk.

As I mentioned, Jan and Julia were the first "forbidden love" and are still the most popular couple to have ever graced the show. Their original portrayers have since moved on and have found work in primetime and movies – something that most German soap actors can only dream of. However, Valerie Niehaus is proud that her former VL character is still popular with the audience. She doesn't have a problem with the role now being played by different actress because she won't ever return to daytime. She hopes that the writers can come up with a great storyline for Jan and Julia.

There are only a few soap actors who managed to become really famous. Most soap actors claim that they want to work outside of daytime after having vacated a role, but a few months later they appear on another soap or telenovela. The latest example is the new ZDF daytime drama "Herzflimmern – Die Klinik am See" (the first episode aired today at 4 pm). The cast consists of 18 key players – half of them have starred on a soap or telenovela before.

The answer would be no – and there were only a few of them. In 1996, GZSZ had a storyline that featured a magician who invented some kind of game that several key characters (Flo, Andy, Chrissie, Nico, Nataly etc.) took part in. It was called the "Octagon" storyline and was really bizarre. It all ended with Flo magically disappearing. Of course it was all a scheme by the magician because he wanted to steal Flo's medallion. Two years later the magician returned and blackmailed Vanessa Moreno with a porn tape LOL. In 1999, Unter uns had a storyline where the characters became aliens and constantly chewed green chewing-gum. It lasted one week and was then revealed as one character's dream.

In recent years, all soaps have dropped outrageous storylines and began focussing on romantic stories. This went hand and hand with the popularity of the first German telenovelas. I can't stand telenovelas and blame them for ruining the concept of daytime soaps. I enjoyed soaps when they were soaps and not some wishy-washy romance movie.

[Huntress]

The contract cast of

Verbotene Liebe XL

Notes:

* Nina Bott's character Julia Mendes was previously played by Valerie Niehaus from 1995 to 1997.

* Hubertus Grimm's character Jan Brandner was previously played by Andreas Brucker from 1995 to 1997.

* Nicole Mieth's character Kim Wolf was previously played by Lisa Tomaschewsky from April to May 2011.

* Christoph Mory's character Hagen von Lahnstein was previously played by Tom Viehöfer from January to May 2011.

* Sebastian Schlemmer's character Sebastian von Lahnstein was previously played by Joscha Kiefer from 2007 to 2009.

[DRW50]

Thanks. I love all this stuff. I saw some promo photos at the Gays of Daytime site - at least they are still trying to make the show a success.

What do you think of all this Christian/Olli stuff?

[Huntress]

I think Olli had an affair with a woman (former recurring character Kitty) after his return in 2007. That must have been before he and Christian got together for the first time. I read that Kim takes a liking for Christian, but Rebecca is also still interested in him. However, Jasmin Lord (Rebecca) has already taped her final scenes and will leave the show this summer.

Jessica has always been a very unpopular character – mostly because she's some sort of replacement for Olivia Schneider (Kristina Dörfer), Olli's cousin, who was on the show from 2006 to 2009.

Stephan Käfer (Prince Philipp zu Hohenfelden) won't be a part of "Verbotene Liebe XL" and will depart the show on May 25th, when Philipp and his wife Nico (Verena Bonato) go on a world tour. Since Verena Bonato remains on contract, it can be assumed that Nico will return to the canvas alone later this year. Nico and Philipp were the major couple from 2010 to 2011, appearing first in the opening credits. However, their storyline did not appeal to the majority of fans.

The outline for Jan and Julia's return has also been made public: Julia (Nina Bott) lives on Mallorca with her husband Ricardo (Daniel Sellier) and their son Timo (Remo Schulze). Jan (Hubertus Grimm) is now a priest and has lived in Rome for many years. He then gets transferred to Mallorca where he meets Julia again. Clarissa (Isa Jank) spent the last 10 years in a South American prison. After her release, she wants to cope with her criminal past and begins to look for her two children, Jan and Julia. Arno (Konrad Krauss) goes to Mallorca to visit Julia who he hasn't seen in years. On the island he reunites with his early love Clarissa. When Clarissa learns that her archenemy Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein) is still alive and runs Clarissa's former business, she is furious and swears revenge...

[Huntress]

This was Clarissa and Tanja's final scene in 2001 before they crashed with their plane:

Tanja: "The jungle is right below us. Nice view."

Clarissa: "Next time you fly across it, you'll hopefully be in police custody."

Tanja: "I wouldn't talk big if I were you."

Clarissa: "Then shoot me."

Tanja: "You can't hardly wait, can you? I'm sorry, but you have to wait just a little longer. (To the pilot) What do you want?"

Pilot: "There's a storm front lying ahead of us. That could become a problem."

Tanja: "So?"

Pilot: "You should fasten your seatbelt."

Tanja: "All right. Go back to the cockpit. (To Clarissa) Come on, buckle up."

Clarissa: "Do you really think you'll get through with this?"

Tanja: "You can do an awful lot with ten million."

Pilot: "Excuse me?"

Clarissa (has grabbed the gun): "The game's over, my dear! It's over for good!"

http://mediathek.daserste.de/sendungen_a-z/3280910_verbotene-liebe-extra/6884400_r-ckblick--clarissa-von-anstettens-letzte-szene

[DRW50]

Thanks for finding all that.

I thought that Kitty liked Olli but he didn't, or maybe that was Coco or whoever.

I wonder how this return of the two characters from ten years ago will be. Were they very missed by viewers? The whole exit via plane crash sounded exciting. Were they big diva types?

[Huntress]

Yes, Clarissa is a diva. She grew up in a poor family. At the age of ca. 20, she fell in love with Arno Brandner and gave birth to twins Jan and Julia. When she met Christoph Count von Anstetten, she saw her chance to finally get rich and married him. Clarissa abandoned Jan and left him with Arno, while she and Julia moved to the castle Friedenau. Julia grew up thinking she was Christoph's daughter.

Tanja also grew up in a poor family and first showed up during the show's premiere year. She took care of the horses of the von Anstetten family. Tanja had an affair with Jan, but also slept with Henning von Anstetten, Christoph's son, who she blackmailed with a fake pregnancy. That was the first time that Clarissa and Tanja clashed. When her lies were exposed, she left town.

A few months later, Christoph's brother Ben von Anstetten arrived on the castle, together with his new wife – Tanja. When Ben was murdered, Tanja was the main suspect, but she was innocent. Tanja then had an affair with Rajan, Ben's illegitimate son, who had inherited all of Ben's money. During a trip to India, Tanja murdered Rajan and then got all of the money for herself.

Tanja then kidnapped Clarissa because she wanted to take over Clarissa's business. She also had a short affair with Julia's ex-husband Tim Sander. However, Tim didn't really like Tanja and fell in love with Cleo Winter, a former prostitute. Cleo suspected that Tanja had something to do with Clarissa's kidnapping and investigated. She was duped by Tanja who forced her to commit suicide by slashing her wrists. Finally Clarissa was able to fight Tanja so that she had to flee town. Clarissa asked Tim to find and arrest Tanja. He tracked her down in Portugal, where she outsmarted him once again. Tim was later found dead with slashed wrists and Tanja had vanished without a trace.

In 2001, Tanja returned to town and pursued Henning once again, who at that time was supposed to get married to Marie von Beyenbach. Tanja faked a certificate to make Henning and Marie believe that they are siblings. Henning fell for Tanja and asked her to marry him, not knowning that she planned to kill him after the wedding in order to get the von Anstetten family fortune. Clarissa discovered her plan and hatched a plot to bring Tanja down. Tanja dressed up as Clarissa and shot Henning in front of a group of people. However, thanks to Clarissa's warning Henning wore a bulletproof jacket. Tanja was then arrested by the police but was able to escape. She dressed up as a stewardess and boarded Clarissa's plane to the Bahamas. She held Clarissa at gunpoint but then the plane crashed (see link above) and both women were declared dead.

In 2004, Tanja returned once again and never told anyone what happened to Clarissa. She found herself a place in the von Lahnstein family and married Ansgar von Lahnstein with whom she now has a son, Hannes. She was also confronted with her past as her mother Annegret arrived in town.

One can say that, apart from Jan and Julia, Tanja and Clarissa are the characters that shaped (and carried) the show the most.

[DRW50]

Tanja sounds like a chilling character - it's rare to read about someone who has committed so much murder, and not the type of murder which is written as being justified. Did she settle down after her 2004 return or is she still this way?

I'm glad VL is going back to their past. I hope it pays off.

Is this the same actress who played Clarissa, or a recast?

[Huntress]

Tanja gave up murdering people a while ago LOL But she's still sneaky and evil. Clarissa is being played by her original portrayer Isa Jank.

The final episode (#4053) of "Marienhof" is going to be aired on June 15th, 2011.

This is the official synopsis:

"After Dino has been hit by a car, Stefano blames Constanze for the accident. Toni intervenes and tells them that Dino's condition has worsened. Everyone is worried for Dino's life...

Inge is shocked that she has indeed won a million euros in the lottery. Thorsten is angry that he overlooked the winning lottery ticket which was hidden in a flower bouquet. Olga find Thorsten's greed repelling and argues with him. In the meantime, Inge plans her future..."

Final contract cast:

Bye, bye "Marienhof"

I know it's not a soap, but yesterday Big Brother Germany 11 began. After various changes of concepts during the past seasons (seasons 1,2,3,7 and 9 more or less followed the classic formula, season 4 was BB: The Battle, season 5 was BB: One Year, season 6 was BB: The Village, season 8 was Rich vs. Poor, season 10 was BB: Two Houses), Big Brother 11 is BB: The Secret. Every contestant has a secret that the others must try to uncover. Unlike previous seasons, there are now several contestants in the house that have already participated in other reality shows or have been in the media before. The season will last 100 days.

The 15 contestants:

[DRW50]

So are the famous people on BB the ones who won a pageant or were on the water bottles?

I still don't know why they needed to cancel Marienhof so abruptly, after such a long and popular run. I hate seeing this happen in other countries like it has in the US.