| Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Network: | RTL (German TV Channel) |
| Airdates: | March 3, 1993 (Premiere) December 28, 1993 (Finale) |
| Season(s): | 1 |
| Episodes: | 26 |
| Starring: | Lutz Reichert Christiane Zeiske Katrin Lippisch Christoph Scheermann Silvia Rachor Jörg-Uwe Schröder |
| Related shows: | Married... with Children |
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Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt! (Help, my family is crazy!) was a German adaptation of the American sitcom Married... with Children and ran for 26 episodes on the German TV channel RTL in 1993. The series was a literal translation of the original series, only with German actors. All dialogues and gags were taken from the original translated scripts, except for the names which were changed to German ones.[1] Al Bundy became Jupp Strunk, Peggy was named Roswitha, the children's names were Tim and Biggi instead of Bud and Kelly, and the dog, originally Buck, was named Cobold.[2]
Since Married... with Children had already been on the air (in Germany) for a year, none of the jokes were new to the audience and the series failed miserably which lead to its cancellation after just one season.[3] While it did score higher ratings than the dubbed original, it was not nearly as successful because it had a prime time time slot, which demanded much higher ratings than the afternoon time slot Married... with Children had.[4] Additionally it was aired on Thursday nights only, while the original was aired daily.[2]
The series theme song was "Er gehört zu mir" by Marianne Rosenberg.[4]
Synopsis
The German "Bundy's" are called Strunk: Jupp, Roswitha, Biggi, and Tim along with their dog Cobold live in a plain prefab house in Cologne. Father Jupp sells shoes during the day. When he gets home from work tired all he wants is to have his peace. Sex doesn't even cross his mind. Mother Roswitha is dyed blonde and sloppy. When she cooks, which is a rare occasion, the food is so bad that even the dog gets nauseous. She persistently fights against Jupp's sluggishness and for some affection but almost always unsuccessfully. The precocious, also bleached 14-year-old daughter Biggi has nothing but men on her mind, is selfish, and stands out in school the worst grades. Brother Tim is the most intelligent one in the family: he tries everything to get money from his father and blackmails his sister on every occasion. Apart from that he, too, only has women and sex on his mind. Their neighbors are the Pfeiffer's, well-behaved, tame, and the exact opposite of the Strunk's.[5]
Characters
| Actor | Role | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Lutz Reichert | Josef „Jupp“ Strunk | Al Bundy |
| Christiane Zeiske | Roswitha Strunk | Peggy Bundy |
| Katrin Lippisch | Biggi Strunk | Kelly Bundy |
| Christoph Scheermann | Tim Strunk | Bud Bundy |
| Silvia Rachor | Caroline Pfeiffer | Marcy Rhoades |
| Jörg-Uwe Schröder | Oliver Pfeiffer | Steve Rhoades |
Episodes
| No | Title | Adapted from: | Air date[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt!" (Help, my family is crazy!) | "Pilot" | March 3, 1993 |
| 2 | "Die Superdiät" (The super diet) | "Thinnergy" | March 11, 1993 |
| 3 | "16 Jahre Glück" (16 years of luck) | "Sixteen Years and What Do You Get" | March 18, 1993 |
| 4 | "Die Rennbahn" (The race track) | "Father Lode" | March 25, 1993 |
| 5 | "Ohne Fleiß kein Preis" (No pain, no gain) | "Peggy Sue Got Work" | April 1, 1993 |
| 6 | "Der Bart" (The beard) | "The Razor's Edge" | April 8, 1993 |
| 7 | "Auf den Hund gekommen" (Gone to the dogs) | "But I Didn't Shoot the Deputy" | April 15, 1993 |
| 8 | "Mir reicht's" (I've had enough) | ????? | April 22, 1993 |
| 9 | "Rosi und die Traummänner (1)" (Rosi and the dream men (1)) | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Part 1)" | April 29, 1993 |
| 10 | "Rosi und die Traummänner (2)" (Rosi and the dream men (2)) | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Part 2)" | May 6, 1993 |
| 11 | "Jedem das seine" (To each their own) | "Whose Room Is It Anyway" | May 13, 1993 |
| 12 | "Freie Fahrt für Caro" (Green light for Caro) | "Impo-Dent" | May 27, 1993 |
| 13 | "Das Auslaufmodell" (The discontinued model) | "Her Cups Runneth Over" | June 3, 1993 |
| 14 | "Kampf der Giganten" (Fight of the giants) | "Build a Better Mousetrap" | June 17, 1993 |
| 15 | "Ein flotter Käfer" (A sporty Beetle) | "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?" | June 24, 1993 |
| 16 | "Die Kastration" (The neutering) | "Buck Can Do It" | July 1, 1993 |
| 17 | "Die Bücherei" (The library) | "He Thought He Could" | July 8, 1993 |
| 18 | "Familienbesuch" (Family visit) | "All in the Family" | July 15, 1993 |
| 19 | "Nikolaus" (Santa Claus) | "You Better Watch Out" | July 29, 1993 |
| 20 | "Stewardessen" (Stewardesses) | "Al Loses His Cherry" | August 5, 1993 |
| 21 | "Skatrunde" (Round of skat) | "The Poker Game" | August 12, 1993 |
| 22 | "Heiße Träume" (Steamy dreams) | "Nightmare on Al's Street" | August 19, 1993 |
| 23 | "Stefanie" | "Earth Angel" | August 26, 1993 |
| 24 | "Der Kindersegen" (Fertility) | "Married... without Children" | September 2, 1993 |
| 25 | "Liebe, Geld und Video" (Love, money, and video) | "I'll See You in Court" | December 27, 1993 |
| 26 | "Erster Mai" (May Day/International Workers' Day) | "Hot Off the Grill" | December 28, 1993 |
Trivia
- Ed O'Neill sent Lutz Reichert, who plays the German version of Al Bundy, an autograph when the German show started airing. It read, "For Lutz, Good Luck with Jupp. I hope he is the same windfall for you that 'Al' was for me."[3]
- Reichert mentioned that another reason the German adaption failed was because the concept was dissonant, as a German shoe salesman would not live in a house with American furnishing.[3]
- The stripper group "California Dream Men" made an appearance in the German version of the two-part episode "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" because they were touring Germany at the time.[3]
Videos
References
- ↑ [1]https://www.fernsehserien.de/hilfe-meine-familie-spinnt (German)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.quotenmeter.de/n/32542/der-fernsehfriedhof-hilfe-meine-familie-spinnt (German)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/20-jahre-al-bundy-in-deutschland-a-947496.html (German)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bundyology
- ↑ http://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=Titel&ID=26109 (German)
- ↑ https://www.fernsehserien.de/hilfe-meine-familie-spinnt/sendetermine/-1
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