Oh, that's cruel. I hate it when networks draft in a replacement show, testing it out to see if it will rate better. And obviously, it has to be a non-scripted show potentially replacing a scripted show. Game shows, reality shows, they're all about saving money. Are VL's numbers bad?

Compared to the other soaps, VL's numbers are indeed bad. Their market share is horrendously low.

While the production quality is wonderful and the show looks great overall, the storylines are poorly plotted. For example, the Olli-Sascha flirtation had a nice build-up with the two guys developing a real friendship. Then Olli kissed Sascha, Sascha was shocked and didn't know how to react, and Olli stated that he did it because he misses Christian so much. Eventually, the storyline was resolved within two episodes. Olli left town to visit Christian, and Sascha wished him a good flight. In the upcoming previews until the first week of May, Sascha will be involved in another storyline and Olli doesn't appear at all. The two guys had so much chemistry *sigh*

Nevertheless, ARD has started promoting the show's 4500th episode which will air on May 5th, 2014. There will also be three events during the summer months: A "fan day" on the castle set, the annual beachvolleyball tournament with the show's cast and fans, and VL's participation in the Cologne Gay Pride Parade (the biggest Gay Pride Parade in Germany).

In the 4500th episode, Christoph Mory will return as Hagen von Lahnstein. Hagen was presumed dead after a boat crash last year. The older brother of Sebastian, Rebecca and Tristan von Lahnstein and cousin of Ansgar von Lahnstein initially was torn between sisters Marlene and Dana Wolff. He married Marlene, but later chose Dana. Marlene then fell in love with Tristan and later with Rebecca (the von Lahnsteins love keeping it in the family). While in a relationship with Dana, Hagen slept with Jessica Stiehl who became pregnant with his child. Jessica gave birth to their son Maximilian in 2013. After Hagen's disappearance, Dana couldn't adopt the baby, so she tried to fake a lesbian relationship with Jessica in front of the authorities. However, both Dana and Jessica fell in love with Ricardo Mendes at the same time. Ricardo and Dana eventually became a couple and want to get married, but now Hagen returns from the dead...

Left to right: Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein), Jessica (Jana Julie Kilka), Kim (Nicole Mieth), Bella (Janina Isabell Batoly) and Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel)

Left to right: Jessica (Jana Julie Kilka), Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel), Caro (Katja Sieder), Giselle (Kim Riedle), Bella (Janina Isabell Batoly), Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein) and Kim (Nicole Mieth)

Left to right: Kim (Nicole Mieth), Jessica (Jana Julie Kilka), Bella (Janina Isabell Batoly), Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein) and Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel)

Clockwise: Jessica (Jana Julie Kilka), Kim (Nicole Mieth), Giselle (Kim Riedle), Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein), Bella (Janina Isabell Batoly), Caro (Katja Sieder) and Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel)

Glad I never invested in Joscha. I don't understand why AWZ doesn't give Deniz a new male love interest. It's been plenty of time since Roman passed and would probably have more success.

I don't understand why AWZ keeps all the characters that have long run their course (Ingo, Marian, Lena, Ben, Bea, Katja, Deniz) and keeps on firing the newcomers. The only newcomer they should have fired (Letizia) stays even though there is no potential love interest for her.

In other news: GZSZ has found a new Ayla. Actress Nadine Menz will step into the role as of May 2014. Instead of choosing another actress with a Turkish background, Ayla will now be portrayed by a German actress. Menz is also five years younger than her predecessor Sila Sahin.

I agree Huntress. I don't get to watch the whole show (only what people subtitle in English), but from what I do get to watch, there does seem to be several characters on AWZ that should go (glad you mentioned Katja, she has always felt like dead weight to me). Deniz, wasn't Roman his most popular pairing? If they aren't going to ever give him another male love interest, I feel instead of keeping him around they should have written him and Roman off together instead of killing Roman.

I agree Huntress. I don't get to watch the whole show (only what people subtitle in English), but from what I do get to watch, there does seem to be several characters on AWZ that should go (glad you mentioned Katja, she has always felt like dead weight to me). Deniz, wasn't Roman his most popular pairing? If they aren't going to ever give him another male love interest, I feel instead of keeping him around they should have written him and Roman off together instead of killing Roman.

Katja was tolerable when she first joined the show back in 2009. She was the new ice-skating princess and was involved in a triangle with Ben and her nemesis Isabelle. When Ben chose Isabelle, Katja fell in love with Isabelle's brother Tom (who later ended up with Vanessa Steinkamp). Katja was then raped by her trainer and kidnapped by Isabelle. She was held hostage in a container for a while. When she was released, she and Ben got back together, but after a while they broke up again. After that, Katja became dead weight but she was still forced into the most ridiculous pairings and storylines. She had an affair with Maximilian, had the hots for Ingo, spend a night with Deniz and is now involved with Can. While being drunk, she also had sex on the toilet with Ben and hurt her spine in the process. When AWZ replaced its main sport ice-skating with dancing and soccer, Katja suddenly became the soccer team's coach. Somehow Anna-Katharina Samsel seems to be the writers' pet.

As for Deniz: Roman was his only popular pairing and everyone wanted him and Joscha to become an item. I don't understand why they didn't go there and introduced Kai as Joscha's love interest since Joscha was clearly attracted to Deniz at the beginning. Deniz has been involved with Melanie for half a year now.

Like I said, I feel that Deniz has long run his course, but he still has a lot of ties to the current canvas so he'll probably stick around for a while. Same goes for Katja.

As I've mentioned before, Verbotene Liebe will be on hiatus between May 12th and June 1st, 2014.

During this timeframe, the soap's time slot at 6 pm will be taken by the new quiz show "Quizduell" (which is based on the popular mobile app).

However, in an unsual move, the soap will "continue" on the internet. A special called "Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn" (The longest night of Castle Königsbrunn) will be shown on the soap's official website. Every day, a new 3-minute clip will be presented.

In this special, 8 characters will gather on the castle and will play spin the bottle the whole night long. According to a press release, old family secrets will emerge and even some familiar faces will show up.

As stated by her agency, actress Verena Zimmermann Bonato appears in the special. Zimmermann Bonato first joined VL in the fall of 2002 as Nicola "Nico" Brandner who later turned out to be Johannes Count von Lahnstein's youngest daughter. She remained on contract until 2007, returned for a brief guest stint in 2008, and was placed on contract again in April 2010. In February 2012 the actress went on maternity leave and last aired in one single episode in September 2012. One can say that Nico has been one of the most popular characters on the show.

In other news: Anne Apitzsch (Sonja Beckmann) and Eric Langner (Paul Beckmann) are the victims of the big car accident on Unter uns. Both actors joined the cast in the fall of 2012. Their last airdate is May 15th, 2014. With both Sonja and Paul dead, teenage twins Kira and Ringo will become orphans.

Edited May 2, 201411 yr by Huntress

Not a bad idea for VL, although spin the bottle is so cheesy and are the younger characters popular enough for a webshow about them?

What did you think of Nico?

What do you think of the people being killed on UU?

Spin the bottle? That's so 90s. A drinking game would have been more modern. I guess it shows some commitment on VL's behalf to keeping the show in viewers minds, by producing these webisodes during the hiatus. Building an online presence is never a bad thing, IMO.

It's been great reading the posts for this even though the only German soap I've watched full episodes of was Marienhof.

Time Warner Cable had on a channel called German TV here in NYC for about a year and I loved it even though nothing was subtitled. I became a fan of Marienhof. And then, of course, the station got pulled. I kept up with it a little on YouTube but it wasn't the same.

DRW50, doesn't Shabnam #2 on EE remind you of Katrin Ritt who played Yasemin? I think they look strikingly similar, both are beautiful young women.

I had to look up the photos, but yes. Definitely.

What did you think of Nico?

What do you think of the people being killed on UU?

I've always liked Nico because she has always been a breath of fresh air and because she has ties to so many characters. Sadly enough, most of her romantic pairings didn't quite work.

She first came to town in the fall of 2002 with her alleged twin sister Jana and her older brother Robin Brandner. Nico and Jana were complete opposites: While Jana was a shy bookworm, Nico liked to dress as a punk. The three siblings moved in with their uncle Arno Brandner and quickly made friends in Düsseldorf. Later Nico found out that she isn't Jana's twin sister and that her biological father is Count Johannes von Lahnstein. She left her old life behind and moved to Castle Königsbrunn where she had a hard time adapting to the artistocratic lifestyle. In the meantime, Jana had fallen in love with Andi Fritzsche. However, Nico also grew feelings for Andi and they began dating behind Jana's back. When Jana found out, she was heartbroken, but later made peace with Andi and Nico. While Andi and Nico became a happy couple, Jana secretly began working as a prostitute. Andi tried to help Jana and Nico was so jealous that she cheated on him with Luca, an Italian exchange student. Eventually both Nico and Jana kissed Andi goodbye. Later on, Nico was mainly involved in the von Lahnstein family storylines. She had a short fling with Christian before she decided to become a photographer in 2007. In 2008, Jana died after a car crash and Nico attended her funeral.

In 2010, Nico was reintroduced and was paired up with Prince Philipp zu Hohenfelden (played by Stephan Käfer). They were the main couple and were featured first in the soap's opening credits. However, the storyline was very unpopular with the audience and was dropped in the summer of 2011 before VL's was extended to 45 minutes and before the Mallorca storyline with Jan, Julia and Clarissa began. Philipp was eventually killed off – he was run over by Nico's cousin Helena von Lahnstein. Nico mourned her husband for quite a while. She began dating Ricardo, but before they could develop something serious, Nico left the canvas once again.

A collection of Nico's shots on the opening credits:

2003-2004: Double shot with Jana; Andi appearing from the right

2004-2005: New shot; Andi appearing from the right

2005-2006: Double with half-brother Constantin

2006: Reverted back to old single shot

2006-2007: Not featured on the credits

2007: Appearing on the left side behind her father Johannes

2008-2010: Not featured on the credits

2010-2011: Double shot with Philipp

2011-2012: Thoughtful Nico holding her wedding ring / placed next to a shot of Marlene, Dana & Hagen

What do you think of the people being killed on UU?

They were both boring and deserve to be written off the show. The only major storylines they had were the revelation that Paul is Tobias' biological father and Sonja's affair with Paco (her sister Leonie's boyfriend).

Preview pictures for May/June 2014:

Unter uns

01. Seconds before the car crash: Sonja (Anne Apitzsch) and Paul (Eric Langner) 02. After the crash: Joe (Sarah Hannemann) and Easy (Lars Steinhöfel) 03. Ringo (Timothy Boldt) and Kira (Barbara Prakopenka) must cope with the death of their parents 04. Leonie (Maria Kempken) and Paco (Milos Vukovic) 05. Moritz (Marvin Linke) and Lisa (Svenja Jung) 06. Rufus (Kai Noll) and Tobias (Patrick Müller) 07. Leonie visits the graveside 08. Britta (Tabea Heynig) is jealous of Maren (Fiona Erdmann) 09. Till (Ben Ruedinger) and Bambi (Benjamin Heinrich) talk about being a father 10. Henning (Benjamin Kiss) and Ute (Isabell Hertel)

Alles was zählt

01. Joscha (Carlo Degen) says goodbye to his father David (Andreas Hofer) 02. Ludmilla Petrova (Katy Karrenbauer) arrives in town 03. Jenny (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen) grows closer to Erik (new series regular Alexander Wüst) 04. Joscha says goodbye to his best friend Can (Volkan Isbert) as Kai (Alexander Gier) looks on 05. Jenny meets Erik's daughter Emilia (Tabea Willemsen) 06. Letizia (Jennifer Dessin-Brasching) gets arrested for setting up the fire at the Dance Factory last fall 07. Can tells Simone (Tatjana Clasing), Jenny and Ludmilla that a water pipe has burst at the Dance Factory 08. Raquel (Yara Hassan) has to dance with Felix (new series regular Hannes Sell) 09. When Marian (Sam Eisenstein) collapses during a charity run, Katja (Anna Katharina Samsel), Melanie (Anna Katharina Fecher), Deniz (Igor Dolgatschew) and Lena (Juliette Greco) rush to his aid 10. Katja and Can have financial problems

Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

01. David (Philipp Christopher) has still the hots for Emily (Anne Menden) while Tayfun (Tayfun Baydar) remains unsuspicious 02. Sophie (Lea Marlen Woitack) thinks that Alexander (Clemens Löhr) and Gerner (Wolfgang Bahro) don't take her seriously 03. Nele (Ramona Dempsey) is shocked when she finds out that Mesut wants to participate in a porn shoot; Anni (Linda Marlen Runge) is amused 04. Ayla (now played by Nadine Menz) is back in town and meets Emily 05. Ayla is on trial for kidnapping Emily's baby while Emily, Tayfun and Philip (Jörn Schlönvoigt) look on 06. Bommel (Merlin Leonhardt) brings Katrin (Ulrike Frank) flowers 07. Tuner (Thomas Drechsel) has a heart attack 08. When Lilly (Iris Mareike Steen) has an allergic reaction, Philip tries to help her 09. Maren (Eva Mona Rodekirchen) and Katrin celebrate their new business venture 10. Maren comforts Lilly

Verbotene Liebe

01. Back from the dead: Hagen (Christophy Mory) reappears on Königsbrunn 02. Caro (Katja Sieder) and Thore (Philipp Oehme) have to be reanimated after an accident as Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel) looks on 03. Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein) tries to comfort Sebastian (Sebastian Schlemmer) 04. Ricardo (Daniel Sellier, right) is mortified that Hagen is back just as he plans to marry Dana (Diane Willems) 05. Kim (Nicole Mieth) and Justus (Claus Thull-Emden) try to find information on the internet 06. Olli (Jo Weil, front) is being teased by Jessica (Jana Julie Kilka) and Sascha (Sascha Pederiva) 07. Hagen talks to Elisabeth (Martina Servatius) 08. Olli and Tristan (Jens Hartwig) make a deal 09. Ricardo seeks help from Jessica 10. Caro is worried about Thore

Paul seems pretty chill for someone who's about to die...

Some of those still photos for shows always make me laugh. The porn shoot one is hilarious. And then the women hugging and one of them has the glycerin on her face.

Thanks for all the Nico info.

So do these shows still have any type of explicit sex scenes or were they toned down?

So do these shows still have any type of explicit sex scenes or were they toned down?

I don't know what you would consider "explicit" There are still a lot of sex scenes but you never see anything except a man's butt here and there, most notably on AWZ.

The synopsis for VL's special "Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn" has been published by the network. Not only will Verena Zimmermann returns as Nico, original cast member Konrad Krauss will also appear as a ghostly Arno Brandner. Arno was killed off in late 2012 due to Alzheimer.

Here is my translation of the press release:

It is a stormy night on Castle Königsbrunn and a fallen tree blocks the entrace to the castle. Since her flatmate Sascha Vukovic (Sascha Pederiva) cannot reach the castle to bring her home, Jessica Stiehl (Jana Julie Kilka) stays in the kitchen with her uncle Justus Stiehl (Claus Thull-Emden), butler of the von Lahnstein family. They are joined by Tristan von Lahnstein (Jens Hartwig), who cannot sleep, and a drunk Elisabeth von Lahnstein (Martina Servatius), who brings along a bottle of red wine. Together with Sebastian von Lahnstein (Sebastian Schlemmer) and Tanja von Lahnstein (Miriam Lahnstein), who have recently overcome their marriage problems, they decide to spend the night with wine, snacks and the game "spin the bottle"...

A special guest of this party is Arno Brandner (Konrad Krauss), who died in 2012. He will appear whenever the "naked truth" comes to light. What is the reason for Tanja driving away in a black limousine every Tuesday evening? Was Elisabeth really responsible for Arno's death? The big highlight: Arno knows about all of the characters' future lives and will tell the audience what's in store for each and every one of them. He will also be the only one not being surprised when a familiar face returns to the castle between lightning and thunder: Nico von Lahnstein (Verena Zimmermann), who is currently on a cruise around the world, makes a surprise visit and joins the game.

The longer the night, the more intimate the confessions will be: Tanja shows that she is a talented musician: one of Justus's biggest wishes comes true; Nico reveals what she carries around in a mysterious tin box; and Jessica shows a lot of skin when she opens her blouse.

Finally, Kim Wolf (Nicole Mieth) appears in the castle. She films the whole evening with a secret camera. This video evidence will play a central role in the final episode of the web series. Furthermore, Kim still has the cell phone of her missing father Ansgar von Lahnstein (Wolfram Grandezka). On this cell phone, there is a very private video which everyone is dying to see...

In other news: Ulrike Frank (Katrin Flemming-Gerner, GZSZ) appears on the front cover of the June edition of the German version of "Playboy". The 45-year old actress is the sixth GZSZ star to grace the magazine's cover. The others were Sandra Keller (ex-Tina) in 1996, Alexandra Neldel (ex-Katja) in 1997, Saskia Valencia (ex-Saskia) in 2001, Nina Bott (ex-Cora) in 2002 and Sila Sahin (ex-Ayla) in 2012.

Some news:

• Verbotene Liebe returns from its hiatus next Monday. Since its replacement show Quizduell has been a failure, the soap seems to be safe for a while. ARD and the production company Grundy UFA have stated that there will be no breaks any time soon.
• Speaking of VL Jana Julie Kilka is reportedly on her way out. The actress joined the cast in January 2010 as Jessica Stiehl and has been on the frontburner for most of her run, even though Jessica has never been involved in any big "forbidden love" storyline. Usually portrayed as a ditzy blonde with a heart of gold, Jessica has had affairs and flings with various characters (Tristan, Andi, Christian, Daniel, Ansgar, Hagen, Sascha, Ricardo) and even married her best friend Dana Wolf (Diane Willems) to gain custody of her son Maximilian, whose father is Dana's husband Hagen. Kilka's last airdate is still unknown.
• Marcel Saibert has joined Alles was zählt in the recurring role of Luigi Sabatoni, an Italian fashion designer. He will first air on July 10th, 2014. Saibert, who is also a musician, is no stranger to soaps: In 2004, he appeared for a short summer arc on "Unter uns" as Martin "Mars" Sommer. The following year he was brought back – this time on contract. Saibert remained on "Unter uns" for five years.
• Lukas Sauer has joined Unter uns in the recurring role of Aaron Hinz, Ringo's (Timothy Boldt) new love interest. Sauer first airs on July 11th, 2014.
• Carsten Clemens has joined GZSZ in the recurring role of Dr. Lukas Kant, a ruthless surgeon at Jeremias Hospital. He is Philip's (Jörn Schlönvoigt) colleague and will have an affair with Philip's ex-wife Ayla (Nadine Menz). His first airdate is June 2nd, 2014.

Preview pictures for July 2014:

Unter uns

01. Ute (Isabell Hertel) is attracted to Henning (Benjamin Kiss) being dressed up as a drill sergeant 02. Easy (Lars Steinhöfel) tries to convince Joe (Sarah Hannemann) to apologize to Sina 03. With the help of her friends who stage a fake kidnapping, Lisa (Svenja Jung) learns for her exams at the police academy 04. Kira (Barbara Prakopenka) has to work her debts off by cleaning the apartment building 05. Eva (Claudelle Deckert) fights against her feelings for Sascha 06. Sascha (Alexander Sholti) is stricken by his bad conscience 07. Tobias (Patrick Müller, right), who is still mourning his dead father Paul, doesn't want to talk to Easy 08. Ute helps Micki (Joy Lee Juana Abiola-Müller) out 09. Moritz (Marvin Linke) is being blackmailed by Simon, Lisa's trick; Micki is worried 10. Lisa realizes that she cannot run away from Simon

Alles was zählt

01. Letizia (Jennifer Dessin-Brasching) has slept in Deniz's (Igor Dolgatschew) bed 02. At a party, Letizia wants to eat as much as possible 03. A doctor informs Ben (Jörg Rohde), Bea (Caroline Frier) and Ingo (André Dietz) about Julia's condition 04. Isabelle (Ania Niedieck), Simone (Tatjana Clasing) and Jenny (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen) have murdered Rainer Velten (Christian Blümel) 05. Bea is glad that Julia (Jenny Bach) is awake 06. Jenny, Simone and Isabelle try to hide Velten's corpse 07. Jenny and Isabelle 08. Felix (Hannes Sell) chooses to dance with Letizia 09. Raquel (Yara Hassan) and Felix 10. Ludmilla (Katy Karrenbauer) grows suspicious of the three Steinkamp ladies (in the back, with Richard)

Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

01. Sophie (Lea Marlen Woitack) sends Emily (Anne Menden) to a meeting David, not knowing that Emily wants to stay away from David 02. Ayla (Nadine Menz) tries to talk sense into Philip (Jörn Schlönvoigt) who is taking too much pain medication 03. Sophie comforts Emily 04. Tuner (Thomas Drechsel) and Dominik (Raul Richter) wait for the results of Dominik's HIV test 05. Jasmin (Janina Uhse, right) is jealous of Lucia (Yara Bib, center), Anni's (Linda Marlen Runge) holiday fling 06. David (Philipp Christopher) and Emily grow closer again 07. Leon (Daniel Fehlow) and Sophie film a cooking show 08. David is threatened by a mafia member (Tamer Trasoglu) 09. Sophie and Katrin (Ulrike Frank) host a charity event 10. Alexander (Clemens Löhr) and Maren (Eva Mona Rodekirchen) attend the charity event

Verbotene Liebe

01. Sebastian (Sebastian Schlemmer) and Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein) celebrate their success 02. Thore (Philipp Oehme) has fallen out of his wheelchair 03. Tanja confronts Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel) about her choices for the upcoming LCL fashion show 04. After having spent the night together, Olli (Jo Weil, right) apologizes to Sascha (Sascha Pederiva) but Sascha is too confused 05. Ricardo (Daniel Sellier) thinks that he lost Dana to Hagen 06. Giselle (Kim Riedle) enters the catwalk during the fashion show as Thore and Caro (Katja Sieder) look on in the background 07. Rebecca, Tanja, Sebastian and press members watch the fashion show 08. Sebastian and Tanja plan a scheme against Hagen 09. Emilio (Florian Wünsche, right) has agreed to be a model for a gay calendar; Olli is glad 10. Dana (Diane Willems) agrees to move back to the castle to live with Hagen

Edited May 31, 201411 yr by Huntress

So, quite by accident (in the course of checking out soap openings from other countries), I found out that someone is posting full sameday episodes of Verbotene Liebe on youtube. I kinda got sucked in to watching one, and now I'm hooked --- even though I don't speak a single word of German. lol Now I'm going back to what I presume is when they came back from their forced break to catch up to what's current. Granted, I keep episode synopses open (and run through the translator on Chrome) while watching along with the translated character pages from the official site & the wikipedia pages (which are appallingly not current), so I can actually figure out exactly what's going on (although not what they're saying) pretty easily. I'm also rather surprised by exactly how close to the American style of soaps VL actually is (albeit with FAR better production values).

Speaking of VL, yesterday it was announced that Sila Sahin will be joining the soap later this summer The actress left GZSZ this past spring after 4 1/2 years in a very abrupt way (I wrote about this on the previous page of this topic) and her character Ayla Özgül was quickly recast with Nadine Menz one month later.

On VL, Sahin will portray Gina Schmitz, a scheming model. Her first tape date is July 7th, 2014.

This move is quite ironic since Sahin stated she wanted to quit soaps when she left GZSZ.

In GZSZ news: On July 1st, a revamped theme will debut on-screen. German synth-pop duo "Glasperlenspiel" have recorded a new version of the song "Mitten ins Herz" which has been GZSZ's trademark tune since the first episode in May 1992. This will be the fifth version of the GZSZ theme.

The original schlager version sung by Danish singer Bo Anderson was used from 1992 to 1996. From 1996 to 2001 a shortened pop version sung by Viveca was used. Between 2001 and 2006 a pop-rock version was used. The current version debuted in September 2006. At this point, the theme was cut down to 20 seconds.

"Glasperlenspiel" have already appeared on the soap once when the gave a concert at the "Mauerwerk" bar. They rose to fame in 2011 with their single "Echt" which reached the Top 10 on the singles chart. Another success was the single "Nie vergessen" which also stayed inside the Top 10 for a while.

http://youtu.be/YOcCVXJQCy4

http://youtu.be/j1eXPBQYknM