German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[DRW50]

That opening is very...of its time.

I wonder who lasted the longest.

[Huntress]

The style of the opening with those blurred camera shots remained the same until 2010. Roughly every two years, a complete new sequence was filmed, though. Here and there people were removed and added. In August 2010, they introduced that cartoon-like opening which lasted until this past July.

Until 2003, only the young cast members were included in the opening. The older generation was always missing.

The following characters appeared in the original sequence:

Stephen Dürr as Till Weigel & Bodo Frank as Marc Albrecht – Milena Dreißig as Antonia Schwarz – Tatiani Katrantzi as Jennifer Turner & Cecilia Kunz as Corinna Bach – Sebastian Feicht as Alexander Albrecht – Björn Kegel-Casapietra as Armin Franke, Jennifer, Corinna & Oliver Bootz as Chris Weigel – Katja Frenzel-Röhl as Melanie Hoffmeister – Armin & Chris – Till – Marc – Alexander, Corinna, Chris, Jennifer, Armin & Melanie – Janis Rattenni as Anna Weigel* – Till – Alexander – Jennifer – Group scene

* When the show began, Rattenni was 12 years old. Technically she was on contract, but she only appeared infrequently because of child protection laws. When Rattenni came of age, she was eventually involved in major storylines.

I posted a synopsis of the first episode including a cast overview two years ago: http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/27994-german-soaps-gzsz-uu-awz/page-12#entry1120871

[Huntress]

Another cast member has been let go from AWZ: Alexander Wüst who has played the contract role of Officer Erik Schulte since May 2014 will last air on January 23rd, 2015. Erik will die during his wedding to Jenny Steinkamp (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen). During a struggle with Jenny's dad Richard (Silvan-Pierre Leirich), Erik falls from a tower and later dies in Jenny's arms.

A week later, another tragedy hits the Steinkamps and the "Dance Factory": All the dancers and staff members of the "Dance Factory" travel by bus to an important competition. When the bus driver suddenly has a heart attack, the bus is about to fall down a slope. Only two characters will survive the accident – everyone else will die.

RTL calls this catastrophe "the new beginning of AWZ".

Making of:

According to the press release, the following characters will remain: The Steinkamp family (which most likely includes Simone, Richard, Jenny, Vanessa, Ben and Isabelle), Ingo, Bea, Lena, Marian, Katja and Can. We can also assume that Deniz and Iva stay.

This means that Julia, Raquel, Toni and Larissa will all be killed off since their exits were confirmed weeks ago. Never before have so many characters been killed off in such a short span of time (the four dancers plus Erik and Letizia means 6 deceased contract roles in 3 months).

Edited December 8, 2014 by Huntress

[CassieFan]

Change of plans. Instead of 'Verbotene liebe', HRT decided at the last minute they'll go on with 'Hanna – Folge deinem Herzen' starting December 19th.

[Huntress]

Well, I guess "Hanna" is more of a safe bet for HRT because that telenovela only consists of 130 episodes. I never watched a single episode of it.

Even though ARD has run Verbotene Liebe into the ground, they are heavily promoting the show's 20th anniversary in January 2015. A new cast picture has been released featuring the cast members that will appear in the last few daily episodes before the show eventually switches to weekly broadcasts. Once the weekly episodes begin, a few new characters will be introduced. On the other hand, a handful of characters will exit the show before the transition phase begins, and their portrayers were ommitted from being included in the anniversary picture.

Back row: Mickey Hardt as Dr. Jo Helmke (2014-present), Verena Zimmermann-Bonato as Nicola "Nico" Countess von Lahnstein (2002-2007; 2008; 2010-2012; 2015-present), Dominic Saleh-Zaki as Andi Fritzsche (2001-2007; 2009-present)

Middle row: Florian Wünsche as Emilio Sanchez (2011-present), Claus Thull-Emden as Butler Justus Stiehl (recurring: 2007-present)

Front row: Nicole Mieth as Kim von Lahnstein (2011-present), Wolfram Grandezka as Ansgar Count von Lahnstein (2004-present), Christoph Kottenkamp as Officer Frank Helmke (recurring 2011-2012; contract 2013-present), Gabriele Metzger as Charlotte "Charlie" Schneider Helmke (original cast member), Jo Weil as Oliver "Olli" Sabel (2000-2002; 2007-present), Martina Servatius as Elisabeth Ryan Brandner Countess von Lahnstein (1999-present), Tatjana Kästel as Rebecca Countess von Lahnstein #2 (2012-present), Marc Barthel as Tim Helmke (2014-present), Miriam Lahnstein as Tanja Countess von Lahnstein (1995-1998; 2001; 2004-present), Jens Hartwig as Tristan Count von Lahnstein (2009-present), Sebastian Schlemmer as Sebastian Count von Lahnstein #2 (2009-present)

Kneeling: Melvin-Maximilian Eisenstein as Hannes von Lahnstein (recurring: 2011-present)

The following cast members are thus no longer part of the ensemble:

• Janina Isabell Batoly as Bella Jacob (2012-2015), Charlie's daughter and Olli's half-sister, ex-girlfriend of Andi and Tristan, ex-affair of Sascha and Jo, is most likely to be killed off since she falls into a coma soon
• Henrike Fehrs as Alexa Berg (2013-2015), ex-girlfriend of Tristan, con artist
• Daniel Fritz as Per Mertens (2014-2015), Secretary of State, nemesis of the von Lahnstein clan
• Clara Gerst as Lara Cornelius #2 (2014-2015), Elisabeth's daughter, the character was only brought back in November after a 12-year absence
• Sascha Pederiva as Sascha Vukovic (2013-2015), Olli's roommate and ex-fling, will probably go to prison

Edited December 16, 2014 by Huntress

[DRW50]

Thanks. Some of the actors look a little tired/sad. I guess it's not a very happy anniversary...

Do you think they made the wrong decisions in who to cut?

[Huntress]

Well, it's striking that all the members of the von Lahnstein family survived the cut. Other than that, the three Helmke brothers are left plus their love interests Olli and Charlie (who are also related, Charlie is Olli's aunt). Emilio is married to Kim. The only character currently not tied to the von Lahnsteins is Andi but he's probably going to be paired up with his ex-girlfriend Nico (they first dated when they were both teens 12 years ago).

This is the official preview video for the upcoming weeks:

The main storyline is a diamond theft instructed by Alexa. She finally wants revenge on the von Lahnsteins. Because of the theft, the once so powerful family clan is ruined. People will get shot, people will go to prison, people will drink poison...

http://youtu.be/x_XlFZl171s

Edited December 16, 2014 by Huntress

[DRW50]

Would you have kept Lara?

[Huntress]

No, I don't think so. While the actress is quite pretty and looks like a grown-up version of her predecessor Karoline Schuch (who played the part from 2000 to 2002), she is also a bit bland and doesn't have chemistry with anyone. I will miss Sascha and Bella, though.

Today Alles was zählt announced what will happen after the bus crash: Several new characters appear on the scene – and for the first time ever, the main story will be told in the present and in the past simultaneously!

The new contract cast members are Barbara Sotelsek and Helena Reetz as Sonja Brück, Daniel Brockhaus and Lars Dickel as Thomas Brück, Julia Albrecht as Flo Brück, and Lars Korten as Christoph Lubowski.

In the present, Sonja and her teenage daughter Flo witness the bus crash and thus become entangled with the other main characters. Sonja is currently divorcing her husband Thomas and wants a fresh start. Soon she'll be dating Deniz (Igor Dolgatschew). Via flashbacks (which are set in the 90s), the audience will learn how Sonja and Thomas met and how their relationship blossomed. The big question is: Will Sonja and Thomas eventually get together?

Another big storyline will be Vanessa Steinkamp's (Julia Augustin) romance with Christoph, a married man. Jenny Elvers, a quite famous (or rather notorious) actress, has been cast in the recurring role of Christoph's wife Sylvie.

Ingo (André Dietz) has to battle leukemia, and then there's of course the AWZ/GZSZ crossover which brings GZSZ's Pia (Isabell Horn) permanently from Berlin to Essen. Horn's contract status is still unclear, though, because she's still supposed on GZSZ to appear from time to time. Her first airdate on AWZ is February 9th, 2015.

The new contract cast after January 29th, 2015:

• Julia Albrecht as Flo Brück (2015-present)
• ​Julia Augustin as Vanessa Steinkamp (2006-2009; 2010-2012; 2013; 2014-present)
• Daniel Brockhaus as Thomas Brück* (2015-present)
• Tatjana Clasing as Simone Steinkamp (2006-present)
• André Dietz as Ingo Zadek (2006-present)
• Igor Dolgatschew as Deniz Öztürk (2007-present)
• Sam Eisenstein as Marian Öztürk (2006-present)
• Caroline Frier as Bea Meyer Steinkamp Zadek (2012-present)
• Juliette Greco as Lena Bergmann von Altenburg Öztürk (2007-present)
• Volkan Isbert as Can Öztürk (2012-present)
• Christina Klein as Iva Lubowski (2014-present)
• Lars Korten as Christoph Lubowski (2015-present)
• Silvan-Pierre Leirich as Richard Steinkamp (2006-present)
• Francisco Medina as Maximilian von Altenburg (2007-2013; 2014-present)
• Jörg Rohde as Ben Steinkamp #2 (2009-present)
• Anna Katharina Samsel as Katja Bergmann (2009-present)
• Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen as Jenny Steinkamp #4 (2011-present)
• Barbara Sotelsek as Sonja Brück* (2015-present)

* characters are played by Lars Dickel and Helena Reetz in the 90s flashbacks

Leaving before or shortly after January 29, 2015:

• Jenny Bach as Julia Meyer (2013-2015) -> dies in the bus crash
• Naima Fehrenbacher as Larissa Schuhmann (2014-2015) -> leaves town together with Isabelle
• Michèle Fichtner as Toni Fuchs (2014-2015) -> dies in the bus crash
• Yara Hassan as Raquel Santana (2013-2015) -> dies in the bus crash
• Ania Niedieck as Isabelle Reichenbach Steinkamp (2010-2015) -> leaves town together with Larissa, unconfirmed if she's out or just taking a break
• Alexander Wüst as Erik Schulte (2014-2015) -> dies after falling from a tower

[MKA]

Great promo! Quit a lot of spoilers here, I guess, and it's strange to see how many spoilers the German soaps reveals. Over the past few years, also Hotel Cæsar has increased how many spoilers they publish, up to a level I find a little too high, but I recon that the German soaps may reveal even more? Anyway, it seems like quit a catching storyline, with a lot of "twists and turns".

[Huntress]

We usually get detailed daily previews six or seven weeks in advance. If an actor leaves, it is often revealed half a year in advance. But that also depends on the soap and the popularity of the affected actor.

Until a few years ago, there was hardly any media coverage on any of the soaps, and the networks didn't need to promote their shows much, either, because ratings were solid. Then gossip websites boomed and the soaps' ratings decreased, and suddenly everybody's reporting on backstage drama, the actors' private lifes, exits, storyline turns etc. GZSZ and AWZ get the most press (the latter because RTL tries to promote the hell out of it), while UU is usually neglected. Hardly anyone cared about the ARD soaps and Marienhof's cancellation in 2010 went by rather unnoticed. VL's cancellation/transformation/whatever has received a lot of coverage, though.

[Huntress]

Some casting news:

GZSZ is introducing a new contract role on January 28th, 2015 when Sunny Richter appears in Berlin. The part is played by 20-year-old actress Valentina Pahde, who is no stranger to soaps: From 2010 to 2011 she recurred on "Marienhof" as the first (and only) teenage Carolina Behrens until that show's cancellation. Sunny Richter is the daughter of two former characters and thus related to a string of other characters, past and present. In the summer of 1997, Vanessa Moreno and Frank Richter met and instantly fell in love. While Vanessa is the oldest daughter of Dr. Jo Gerner (and the adoptive sister of Leon and Fabian Moreno), Frank is the nephew of original character Clemens Richter. In November 1998, Vanessa fled town after being blackmailed with a porn tape. In January 1999, she called Frank from Taiwan where she had opened up a hotel. Frank followed her to Asia, and aside from a brief guest appearance of Frank's in December 1999, both characters never returned to the screen, although Vanessa has been mentioned here and then from time to time. In 2005, Frank's adoptive daughter Cora and her two infant children also moved to Taiwan to live with Frank and Vanessa. As the last member of the Richter clan, Clemens left town in 2010. He was last seen in 2011 as a guest at Verena Koch Moreno's funeral. Now Sunny comes to Berlin to live with her grandfather Jo, and soon after her arrival, she will set her sights on Leon's son Vince. Jo and Leon are currently on the outs since Leon came between Jo and his fiancé Sophie. If done right, this is going to be some good drama.

Unter uns also introduced a new teenager to its canvas: Amrei Haardt first appeared as Jule Kasper on January 9th, 2015. Jule is the daughter of Caro (Ines Kurenbach) and spent the last few years in South Africa. While Jule is supposed to be 16 years old, her performer is 10 years older – and only 10 years younger than Kurenbach who plays her mother.

At the end of April, there will be a new family moving into the apartment building: The Novaks, consisting of mother Tanja (Mimi Fiedler), father Patrick (Hanno Friedrich) and daughter Fiona (Olivia Burkhart). While Fiedler and Friedrich will reportedly only appear in a recurring capacity, Burkhart will be on contract. According to a press release, the Novaks appear as a friendly bunch but in reality they want to take revenge on the Weigel family. There's already speculation that Fiona could be a grown-up Fiona Fischer, the daughter of Daniela Fischer and resident villain Rolf Jäger!

Rolf first appeared in the spring of 2002 as a new, mysterious Schillerallee resident. Soon after it was revealed that he was Wolfgang Weigel's illegitimate son. Rolf tried to find his place in the family, but nobody trusted him. Rolf met Daniela in 2003, and she was the only woman who returned the psychopath's feelings. However, when she found out that Rolf had only donated his bone marrow to his half-brother Till in exchange for a large sum of money, she broke up with him and left town, not telling him that she was expecting his child. A year later, Daniela and Rolf's paths crossed again. In the meantime, their daughter Fiona had been born. Rolf found out that he was the father and was furious with Daniela. She grabbed Fiona, ran away and was run over by a car. She died at the hospital. To keep Fiona away from Rolf, Weigel matriarch Margot faked Fiona's death and sent her to Argentina to live with Daniela's brother. At first Margot was the only one who knew the secret, but later all the Weigel family members got to know the truth – including Rolf, who tried to track down his daughter, but to no avail.

Four years later, Rolf had another daughter, Marie, with Dr. Pia Lassner. When Pia had an accident, Rolf left her to die in the snow, but she survived and suffered from amnesia. A while later, she regained her memory and tried to kill Rolf with poison, but almost killed Irene Weigel instead. After that incident, Pia almost lost her license to practice medicine and was forced to leave town. Rolf continued to wreak havoc, and after his father Wolfgang's death in 2009, he finally saw his chance to become the head of the Weigel family, much to Till's dismay. In the fall of 2012, Rolf beat long-running character Rebecca Mattern to death. He was committed into an instituion in the spring of 2013, but was eventually released in the fall of 2014. Rolf acted as if he was sane, but he only wanted to steal his half-sister Sina's new born baby. Eventually, Rolf gave up his plans and fled to Brazil last month.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Huntress

[DRW50]

Thanks. Rolf sounds like a nightmare. I wonder if he's returning.

[Huntress]

The bus crash which happened on Alles was zählt last week was among the best soap episodes I've ever seen.

The week before, the wedding of Jenny Steinkamp (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen) and Erik Schulte (Alexander Wüst) took place which culminated in Erik's death after he had been pushed from a tower by a mysterious person. Who committed the crime? Was it Jenny's dad Richard (Silvan-Pierre Leirich), Jenny's paternal half-brother Ben (Jörg Rohde) or Jenny's maternal half-brother Maximilian (Francisco Medina)?

Four episodes later, it was all or nothing for the dancers of the "Steinkamp Dance Factory": While the second-year students – among them Julia Meyer (Jenny Bach) and Raquel Santana (Yara Hassan) – faced their intermediate exam, the new applicants – among them Toni Fuchs (Michèle Fichtner) and Larissa Schuhmann (Naima Fehrenbacher) – had to take part in try-outs to receive a place at the academy. All the students went to the event by bus. Before leaving town, Julia said goodbye to her boyfriend Ben. Julia and Raquel gave everything during their performance, as did Toni and Larissa. Little did they know that this would be their last dance ever...

In the meantime, Julia's sister Bea Meyer (Caroline Frier); who is quite superstitious, asked her tarot cards about the future. Little Alexander had mixed Bea's tarot cards with one of his children's card games, so Bea drew the Death card and a card depicting a bus. Bea was worried about the cards' meaning.

Simone Steinkamp (Tatjana Clasing) told Julia, Raquel and the other second-year students that they had all passed their intermediate exams. Now it was time to decide whether Toni or Larissa would receive a place at the academy. To everyone's surprise, Toni was accepted while Larissa missed out. Larissa was furious and revealed that Toni had faked her age and that she was too old to join the academy. Simone accepted Toni nevertheless. While the other students went home by bus and celebrated their success on the way, Larissa's dream of becoming a professional dancer was over for good.

In Essen, a worried Bea talked to her friend Katja Bergmann (Anna Katharina Samsel) about the tarot cards. She thought that something bad might happen to her husband Ingo (André Dietz) who had just been diagnosed with leukemia. Ingo had accompanied the dancers to the event. Julia called Bea and told her that she had passed her intermediate exam.

Two new characters entered the scene: A woman named Sonja (Barbara Sotelsek) and her daughter Flo (Julia Albrecht) drove towards the bus with the dancers on board. Suddenly the bus driver had a heart attack and the bus lost its way, pulling off the road. Sonja and Flo witnessed the accident.

In Essen, Vanessa Steinkamp (Julia Augustin) told Bea and Lena Bergmann (Juliette Greco) about her encounter with a guy who had rescued her from an angry stray dog that morning. A few moments later, Vanessa was called to the hospital.

When Vanessa arrived at the hospital, she was told about a bus accident that had happened close by.

Inside the bus, the occupants slowly realized what had happened. The bus driver was dead. To their horror, Raquel and Julia discovered that Toni had died of a broken neck.

In Essen, Richard and Simone comforted their daughter Jenny who was still suffering from her wedding nightmare.

At the crash site, Ingo and Raquel discovered that Toni's best friend Iva (Christina Klein) hung halfway through a window and was unconscious. Ingo noticed that the bus was hanging over a cliff and could fall down any moment. Sonja and Juli arrived at the scene and informed the crash victims that they had called for help. Ben called Julia from his cell, but he couldn't understand a word she was saying. Julia broke down in tears.

Sonja and Juli tried to save the bus from falling by tieing a rope to a large rock, but it was too late: The bus crashed down the cliff. At the last moment, Sonja and Juli pulled Iva from the window. Julia and Raquel held hands and exchanged glances. Fade to black...

Sonja was brought to the hospital in a wheelchair with Juli by her side. She told her daughter that everything will be fine.

At "No.7", Bea – with the help of Marian (Sam Eisenstein), Lena, Ben, Deniz (Igor Dolgatschew), Can (Volkan Isbert) and Katja – had organized a party to celebrate Julia's success. Everyone was wondering why she was running late.

Richard received a call from the hospital as Simone looked on.

In the end, the aftermath of the bus crash was shown. Only Ingo opened his eyes. Fade to black.

(This was the final episode for contract cast members Jenny Bach, Yara Hassan and Michèle Fichtner.)

[DRW50]

What a wonderfully vivid description and those screencaps make it even better. Thank you!

Is it still available to view?