German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[DRW50]

Thanks for all this.

[Skylover]

Is there anywhere I can watch GZSZ online more easily?

[Huntress]

The only official way to watch it is http://www.tvnow.de/rtl/gzsz/jahr/2017/5

 

Someone finally uploaded UU's current openings to youtube (okay, almost current, because Kristin Meyer was removed from version B two weeks ago).

 

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And AWZ, although those are not the latest versions, but those from 2016. These versions still feature Judith Neumann as Marie and Carsten Clemens as Veit. Since July 2016, Marie has been played by Cheyenne Pahde, and Carsten Clemens's sequence has been replaced by Tanja Szewczenko (Diana).

 

 

 

[Huntress]

Minor casting news:

• Daniel Brockhaus is departing AWZ on June 14th, 2017. The actor joined the show in January 2015 as Dr. Thomas Brück, the ex-husband of Sonja and father of Leo and Flo Brück. Thomas is the last member of the Brück family to leave the show, as Sonja and Flo were written out in January 2016 and Leo departed in March 2017. Other than being the resident doctor and having an ongoing affair with Isabelle Reichenbach, Thomas didn't really have much to do.
• Maria Wedig is the latest addition to GZSZ's contract cast. The actress started filming on May 22nd, 2017, and will much likely appear on-screen at the end of July. She plays Nina Ahrens "who comes to Berlin to start a new life" (what else is new?). Wedig is no stranger to soaps, having starred on AWZ as Juli von Altenburg from 2008 to 2009 and having played the lead heroine during the 4th and final cycle of the telenovala "Anna und die Liebe" from 2011 to 2012.

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Right in time for Janina Uhse's departure on GZSZ, the show is revisiting Jasmin and Anni's lesbian relationship. The two girls were a couple from 2013 to 2015 and are now on the way of getting back together. However, Jasmin receives an unique job offer in Italy. Will Anni eventually let her go?

 

 

The gay storyline on UU is also heating up, with Ringo and Valentin growing closer and closer. They even have a foursome with two girls which leaves Ringo craving for more. A bit later, Ringo invites Valentin out partying at a gay club where Valentin has a lot of fun. Valentin is also involved in a storyline with his parents Benedikt and Andrea. When one of Benedikt's evil business partners seeks revenge on Benedikt, he threatens to kill Valentin. Andrea, the quiet and oppressed housewife, wants to protect her son and kills the man in self-defense. This will change her life forever.

 

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And this is GZSZ's new opening which premiered on May 17th, 2017. For the first time in the show's history, there are now 3 different versions rotating every day. From 1992 to 1998, there was just one version. Since 1998, the show has always had two different versions (although briefly in 2002 and from 2008 to 2010, the show only used one heavily edited version that only featured characters who were still on the canvas).

 

This is the first opening to feature Thaddäus Meilinger als Felix, Luise von Finckh as Jule, Niklas Osterloh as Paul, and Chryssanthi Kavazi as Laura. The latter debuts on-screen on June 6th, 2017.

 

Version A: Valentine Pahde as Sunny Richter – Ulrike Frank as Katrin Flemming – Wolfgang Bahro as Dr. Jo Gerner – Berlin, Alexanderplatz – Jörn Schlönvoigt as Dr. Philip Höfer & Felix von Jascheroff as John Bachmann – Thaddäus Meilinger as Felix Lehmann – Brandenburg Gate – Janina Uhse as Jasmin Flemming – Eric Stehfest as Chris Lehmann – Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

 

 

Version B: Eric Stehfest as Chris Lehmann – Wolfgang Bahro as Dr. Jo Gerner – Ulrike Frank as Katrin Flemming – Berlin, Alexanderplatz – Luise von Finckh as Jule Vogt & Iris Mareike Steen as Lilly Seefeld – Chryssanthi Kavazi as Laura Weber – Brandenburg Gate – Linda Marlen Runge as Anni Brehme, Thomas Drechsel as Max "Tuner" Krüger, Luise von Finckh as Jule Vogt & Iris Mareike Steen as Lilly Seefeld – Thomas Drechsel as Max "Tuner" Krüger & Linda Marlen Runge as Anni Brehme – Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

 

* When this version debuted on the official GZSZ website, it featured Mustafa Alin as Mesut Yildiz in second position. The tv version features Wolfgang Bahro as Jo Gerner and Ulrike Frank as Katrin Flemming in Alin's place. Alin's status with the show is still unclear, even though the actor has stated that will return during the summer.

 

 

Version C: Anne Menden as Emily Höfer – Clemens Löhr as Alexander Cöster – Eva Mona Rodekirchen as Maren Seefeld – Berlin, Alexanderplatz – Felix van Deventer as Jonas Seefeld & Niklas Osterloh as Paul Wiedmann – Lea Marlen Woitack as Sophie Lindh Moreno – Brandenburg Gate – Daniel Fehlow as Leon Moreno – Janina Uhse as Jasmin Flemming – Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

 

Edited May 30, 2017 by Huntress

[DRW50]

Wow, you don't see foursomes very often on soaps.

[Huntress]

Official GZSZ promo for the next few weeks: "Der Sommer der Entscheidung" ("The Summer of Decisions").

 

Featuring...

 

• Jasmin and Anni are rekindling their romance just as Jasmin is about to leave for New York. Jasmin's final scenes were filmed in Venice, Italy (as seen at the end of the promo).
• Chris is still kept at the psychiatric ward thanks to his brother Felix. Sunny is torn between her feelings for Felix and Chris. Lilly tries to prove Chris's innocence.
• The mysterious Laura Weber appears in Berlin and introduces herself to Katrin as an old friend of the late Till. Katrin trusts Laura and offers her a job, but what is Laura really up to?
• The "Mauerwerk" bar is in danger because John has used illegal money to pay the bills. Now Leon, John and Maren's jobs are on the line.

 

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Edited June 8, 2017 by Huntress

[Huntress]

Even though most of the show is available online, Verbotene Liebe, which ran from 1995 to 2015 on ARD, will be repeated on ONE starting June 19th, 2017. ONE (known as EinsFestival until last year) belongs to the ARD group. They regularly broadcast shows from ARD's vast archive.

 

This youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEg8dmaYzd0X7hu4KNHcuNA/videos has uploaded quite a large number of Marienhof (1992-2011) episodes from 1995, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011.

 

Another youtube channel with various Marienof episodes and opening themes: https://www.youtube.com/user/masterof1990/videos

 

From 1992 to 1994, Marienhof ran twice a week. In January 1995, it was transformed into a daily soap.

 

This was the first daily episode #170 (original airdate: January 2nd, 1995). Verbotene Liebe premiered on the same day.

 

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The final episode #4053 (original airdate: June 15th, 2011)

 

 

[Huntress]

Besides Valentin & Ringo, Unter uns will also feature a second gay storyline in the next weeks involving Easy Winter.

 

Easy, as played by Lars Steinhöfel, first appeared in May 2005 as the rebellious teenage cousin of Björn and Malte Winter. He had to stay with his cousins after his father had been sent to jail. After some time adjusting to his new environment, Easy softened up and became friends with the younger crowd of Schilerallee 10. At first, the character was 15 years old. Over the years, Easy has had relationships with Romy Sturm, Lilli Mattern, Josephine Johlke, Suji Wagner and Fiona Jäger, and he was also briefly married to Charlotte Sommer. Easy turned out to be a talented photographer. Due to his friendship with Valentin and Ringo, he tags along to Cologne's Christopher Street Day parade and meets a guy named Finn. They click instantly and agree to work together on a photoshoot. A bit later Easy realizes that he is attracted to Finn and almost kisses him! This story is about to unfold in mid-July.

 

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There's also a new contract role arriving: Paco Weigel (Milos Vukovic) learns that his father Ulrich has died. Shortly after, a young woman named Saskia (Antonia Michalsky) appears and turns out to be Paco's sister whom he has never heard of before. Paco has been on the show since April 2000. Ulrich was a recurring character in 2001 and again in 2007, played by two different actors. In 2007, Paco's evil wife Lara Martensen was found dead in the courtyard. Ulrich was revealed to be the murderer and was sent to prison. Paco himself has been in a wheelchair for 2 years now.

 

 

GZSZ tweeted a mysterious image today, claiming that a new contract role is about to be revealed. Apparently the new character is linked to Katrin (Ulrike Frank) and Laura (Chryssanthi Kavazi).

 

Edited June 9, 2017 by Huntress

[DRW50]

It's good to see them having more gay stories and not needing to pair all the gay or bi men together. What do you think of this story? Does it make sense to you? 

[Huntress]

 

Actually it doesn't make any sense at all and somehow I think that this will put an end to the Ringo/Valentin story. Easy's portrayer Lars Steinhöfel is gay in real life so this might play a factor in the character suddenly turning to men.

 

Besides Ringo's short-lived romance with Yannik in 2013 and him having some one-night-stands with random extras, UU has never featured a "full-on" gay storyline let alone a homosexual contract role. Ringo identifies as bisexual because he's also had relationships with girls. In the show's first year, Armin Franke pretended to be gay so that Corinna, Jennifer and Melanie, who were sick of their ex-boyfriends and of men in general, allowed him to move in with them. But that's it.

 

In 2011/2012, the show featured a storyline where Bine Kern, who was verbally and physically abused by her boyfriend Nils, grew feelings for her best friend Rebecca, who was married to Rufus at that time. The story received a lot of backlash because it came out of nowhere and felt too contrived. The show reacted quickly and put Bine back with Nils, while Rebecca reunited with Rufus. Bine and Nils were sent packing later that year, and Rebecca was brutally murdered by Rolf.

 

Today UU announced that Stefan Bockelmann will be leaving the soap after 16 years. He will last air in September 2017. Bockelmann joined the show in September 2001 as Malte Winter. The character was originally introduced as a small-time criminal, who eventually learned to leave his shady past behind. He has been the owner of the "Schiller" bar for several years. He has also battled alcoholism repeatedly and was married to Rebecca and Britta Schönfeld. Currently Malte's patching his troubled marriage to Caro Kasper, and according to Bockelmann, Malte will receive a happy ending. This probably means that Caro's portrayer Ines Kurenbach is also on her way out.

[wingwalker]

I hope they don't end Ringo/Valentin, someone's been subtitling it and I've been really enjoying it so far, but going from no gay stories to two, does seem a bit much. Maybe they are going to converge and Ringo/Easy are endgame?  I wonder why UU is skittish with the gay story lines? Verbotene Liebe and AWZ never were, though AWZ seems to have completely forgotten that Deniz is bisexual. 

[Huntress]

 

I've always wondered about this myself, considering that all other soaps, past and present – even some of the short-lived ones that only ran for a year – featured at least one LGBT character long before UU did.

 

But in the same way, German soaps suck at diversity in general. It's all very whitewashed, even though they all take place in cities which have a large percentage of immigrants and are known as gay "hotspots".

 

If you take a look at the current casts of GZSZ http://www.soapsworld.de/gute-zeiten-schlechte-zeiten-gzsz/besetzung, UU http://www.soapsworld.de/unter-uns-uu/besetzung and AWZ http://www.soapsworld.de/alles-was-zaehlt-awz/besetzung, you will see that there's hardly anybody with foreign roots.

 

Until earlier this year, GZSZ had 4 contract roles that were of Turkish origin (Tayfun, Ayla, Selma and Mesut), but they were all written off the show within the span of 6 months. They recently added Greek actress Chryssanthi Kavazi in a new contract role, but her character Laura is supposed to be German.

 

AWZ has Deniz and Marian with Turkish roots (but their portrayers are not Turkish), and UU has Paco who was born in Ecuador (but is half-German). The actor himself is of Serbian descent. And that's it.

 

 

[Huntress]

Easy's first gay kiss takes place in episode #5657 (airdate: July 27th, 2017) 

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Finn is played by Jan-Martin Müller (http://janmartinmueller.de/). Quite a handsome guy... with and without a beard.

 

Edited June 14, 2017 by Huntress

[cassadine1991]

Very interesting stories.

[Skylover]

Thanks for the Marienhof youtube links, I thought that soap should never have ended. It was like a German version of Neighbours to me.