Dead Like Me - As good as dead

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Television series
German title Dead Like Me - As good as dead
Original title Dead Like Me
Dead-like-me.svg
Country of production United States
original language English
Year (s) 2003-2004
length 41 minutes
Episodes 29 in 2 seasons
genre Fantasy , black comedy
idea Bryan Fuller
production Bryan Fuller (episodes 1-4)
music Stewart Copeland
camera Tony Westman
First broadcast June 27, 2003 on Showtime
German-language
first broadcast		 April 1st, 2008 on Syfy
occupation
synchronization

Dead Like Me - As good as dead (Original title: Dead Like Me ) is an American television series that was developed by Bryan Fuller for the US pay-TV channel Showtime and shot in Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The series revolves around a young girl named Georgia. She walks aimlessly through her life in Seattle , Washington , until she is struck by the toilet seat of a space station and dies, which is not the end for her. After her death, Georgia learns that she must join a group of soul collectors to collect the souls of the deceased before they die - like it or not. Writer Bryan Fuller was inspired by Piers Anthony's novel On a Pale Horse for the series . From April to May 2008 the pay TV broadcaster Syfy broadcast the series in German for the first time. From July 26, 2008, RTL II also broadcast the two seasons of the series on Saturdays. The episodes broadcast on RTL 2 were heavily edited. In 2009 the film "Dead like me - Life after Death" by Stephen Herek was released as a continuation of the plot.

content

On earth there are soul collectors who have the task of separating the souls of the deceased from their bodies shortly before their death and of escorting the souls to their final destination. Death appears as an organized company. For example, there are lists on who will die where and when, as well as a kind of superior who assigns the other soul collectors to their tasks. The accidents that lead to the death of the person are caused by the Gruftlingen (eng. Gravelings ). These are little demons that set things in motion to make someone die.

action

18-year-old Georgia "George" Lass is the main character of the series and also acts as a sarcastic narrator. Before a toilet seat from the discarded and crashing MIR space station kills her on her first lunch break at the temporary employment agency Happy Time, George lives a rather distant existence. Her motto in life: "Don't show interest in anything, then you won't be disappointed - and you won't be given any responsibility". She treats her own life and family with disinterest and is content to live from one day to the next. Her little sister Reggie ignores her, her mother treats her with cynicism. With no ambition to finish college, she got even an insignificant job as an office assistant at Happy Time after dropping out of college and was supposed to sort files.

Shortly after her death, George is informed that from now on she will become a soul collector (in the original: Grim Reaper ) in the department "External Influences". She has to accept this position because she was the last soul to be collected by another soul collector who is now freed from his "post-death task". She is now responsible for collecting the souls of people who are killed in accidents, suicide or murder. For this purpose, the soon to be dying people must be touched by the soul collectors in order to “free” their souls so that the dying do not have to feel the trauma of death - even before the people concerned die. This sometimes proves to be a difficult endeavor and sometimes does not succeed, which means that the souls of the deceased may then be lost. a. the marks of injury from their violent death must endure permanently.

Death (as an organization) has a strict order and hierarchy. As a member of the "middle management", Georges "soul collector" Rube receives a sealed envelope with a list of those who will soon be deceased under his apartment door almost every day, without ever recognizing more than a shadow of the narrator of this news. Rube now transfers the names, places of death and ATZs ( presumed times of death) from this list to PostIt notes and hands each of the soul collectors under him one or more of these orders. The soul collectors then have to be at the place of the imminent event before the time of death of the individual persons, must first identify the person concerned, of whom they only know the surname and initials, and then touch them before their death occurs . The tomb Linge (Engl. Grave Ling ), small ape-like monsters, which can be seen only by the soul collectors, then ensure that the victims-to-be a fatal accident o. Ä. Done by interfering in the events and processes or things in Bring movement or change. The soul collectors even bet now and then on how a death will play out.

In addition, after the death of people, the soul collectors have to look after their souls until they can change to another level of existence via a light animation (each different and tailored to the preferences of the dead). However, this can be quite delayed for various reasons, which sometimes makes the work of the soul collectors more difficult. Nevertheless, they are responsible for the souls they have taken until they “go into the light”, which George's “colleague” Mason disparagingly calls a “light show”.

The “company headquarters” of Rube and his team is “Der Waffle Haus”, a rather Bavarian-style eatery. This is where the group meets, Rube distributes the orders, people talk to each other, eat and use the bar for administrative activities such as "soul bookkeeping", writing self-assessments, etc. As in real life, death occurs here and there when dealing with death Grains of sand in the gears of the routine. But even major events with numerous deaths can not upset the team leader Rube.

Meanwhile, George's abandoned family struggles to cope with George's death. Her mother Joy has depression and suppresses it, while her father Clancy has been cheating on his wife for a long time. George's introverted sister Reggie is also struggling to cope with the death of her older sister; she steals toilet seats from her neighbors and the school to hang them like Christmas tree balls on "her" tree in a nearby wood and tries to hold on to the fact that George is somehow still there and visiting her and her family. Sitting in the seclusion under this tree, she often indulges her thoughts and reads.

characters

Georgia "George" Lass ( Ellen Muth ): The main character of the series. In addition to her job as a soul collector, she has a job at the temporary employment agency Happy Time. Mildred Hagen ("Millie") is the name she uses in her "afterlife" among the living. Georgia lived from 1985 to 2003 when she died at the age of 18 from a space station toilet seat that fell on the earth and hit her of all people. In reality, however, the Mir space station burned up on March 23, 2001 in the earth's atmosphere .

Rube Sofer ( Mandy Patinkin ): The authority figure among the soul collectors, he becomes a father figure for George. When he died and by what was never clarified in the course of the series, but it is suggested that he died in 1926 or earlier after or during a bank robbery. During his lifetime he had a daughter named Rosie, whom he pays a visit as a soul collector shortly before her death. Rube receives the lists that state who will die when and where and is responsible for the organization within the soul collector group.

Roxy Harvey ( Jasmine Guy ): A strong, tough, and independent woman. In the first season she also works as a traffic warden addition to her work as a soul collector, but in the second season a policewoman. In 1982 she was strangled by her jealous roommate because of her invention (calf warmers, i.e. woolen socks without a foot piece to pull over the ankles), because her murderer was after the income from this invention.

Daisy Adair ( Laura Harris ): An actress who often tells stories of sexual escapades with famous movie stars. She died on December 13, 1938 (1939 as the date of death in the series' film) in a fire on the set of Gone With The Wind in Marietta, Georgia . In the bonus material of the DVD edition (first season), however, she explained to Georgia in "Removed scenes" in the clip "If you mean" (24th removed scene) to Georgia that she was shot. Her last thought was "Why hasn't anyone ever loved me?"

Mason ( Callum Blue ): Mason is a quirky but lovable young man who becomes something of a big brother to George as the series progresses. He usually lives haphazardly into the day, takes drugs, deals with them, drinks alcohol, steals and loves the rock 'n' roll of the 1960s. Over the course of the series, he falls in love with Daisy. He died of trepanation in 1966 when he drilled a hole in his head himself for the ultimate kick.

Betty Rohmer ( Rebecca Gayheart ): A self-confident soul collector who copes with her destiny. She takes Polaroid photos of every person whose soul she collects, which she arranges according to personality type, and is convinced that the human psyche only exists in a few, easily recognizable, different classifications. She is about to become a good friend to George when she decides to accompany a soul to the afterlife in season one. After that, she never appears again, and the series didn't clarify what happened to her. Betty died in 1926 jumping off a cliff.

Joy Lass ( Cynthia Stevenson ): George's uptight mother. She likes order, rules and control over their lives and hates the word "moist" (adj .; Engl .: moist ), as this has a sexually-offensive meaning for them. She finds it very difficult to cope with the death of her daughter, as the two of them did not have a good relationship. Therefore, in the course of the series, she tries all the more for her younger daughter Reggie, but she repeatedly pushes back.

Clancy Lass ( Greg Kean ): George's father. He is a professor of English at a university and is respected there. His relationship with his wife suffers after George's death. In the course of the series, he cheats on Joy with one of his students. The marriage with Joy finally fails.

Reggie Lass ( Britt McKillip ): George's younger sister, who was ignored by George when she was still alive. Reggie holds on to the fact that George's ghost still exists and visits the family from time to time.

Delores Diemit ( Christine Willes ): Georges Boss at the temporary employment agency Happy Time. When George introduces himself to Delores, Delores hates her from the first minute. When George dies and returns to Happy Time as Millie, Delores becomes a mother figure to George who supports and believes in her. She had problems with drugs in the 80s, which she often alludes to. She has a cat named Maunzi (original: Murray). For the German version, her surname was changed from “Herbig” to “Diemit” so that the English pun “Delores Herbig as in her big brown eyes” also works in German ( “Delores Diemit, who with the big brown eyes” ).

Crystal Smith ( Crystal Dahl ): The receptionist at Happy Time. A mysterious and strange looking woman who always seems to know more than she says. She speaks four languages, including Russian and Swahili, and was previously with the Special Forces . She also steals office supplies and in one episode helps the soul collectors with office work about the final thoughts of souls.

Charlie ( Spencer Achtymichuk ): A young boy who appears three times on the series. He collects the souls of animals. For the first time in the 14th episode of the first season by a hare , in the 8th episode of the second season by a monitor lizard and in the 13th episode of the second season by GH, the dog of George's family. He has no real home and lives here and there.

background

Bryan Fuller, the inventor of the television series, left the television series after only four episodes because there were disputes between the studio and the broadcaster and he found himself between the fronts as a producer and writer. In various interviews, Fuller said that he couldn't hire the people he wanted and that the television series was on such a low budget that it was impossible to produce the way he wanted it to be. As a result of his exit, some storylines were also dropped. George's father was originally supposed to be gay to tell a story in which George would understand how precious her life really was. If he had stayed on as a writer on the television series, Fuller said in an interview, he would have brought Betty back later as well.

  • The yellow toad (Engl. Toad ), which is shown in the opening sequence of the pilot, emerged in the later course of action as Georges pet again. However, it is then always a frog (Engl. Frog designated). It is in fact, this is a bred color form of the popular Pacmanfrog (dt. Ornate Horned Frog ) - probably: Ceratophrys cranwelli.
  • The name Georgia often appears not only as the name of the main character.
  • The German waffle house is originally called Der Waffle Haus
  • Reggie later Dog GH (Big Dog) is the original JD (Just Dog - Simply Dog )
  • George had a mouse named Speedy Gonzales , a chick named Tweety, and a cat named Sylvester . These are all names of cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes television series .
  • In the eighth season of the television series Stargate SG1 , the original prop from the waffle house is used. Dr. Jackson dies and wakes up in the waffle house, which seems to be an in-between world. He sits down at the table where the group around George usually sits. For some reason he feels compelled to order waffles.
  • In an episode of the TV series Hannibal by Bryan Fuller, Ellen Muth appears as a victim of Hannibal also under the name Georgia .

Cast and dubbing

The German synchronous processing produced the Berliner Synchron on, dialogue director led Heike Kospach that for the dialogue books was responsible.

role actor Appearances
(episodes) 		Voice actor
Georgia "George" Lass Ellen Muth 1.01-2.15 Anne Helm
Rube Sofer Mandy Patinkin 1.01-2.15 Erich Rauker
Roxy Harvey Jasmine Guy 1.01-2.15 Andreschka Grossmann
Daisy Adair Laura Harris 1.01-2.15 Antje von der Ahe
mason Callum Blue 1.01-2.15 Norman Matt
Betty Rohmer Rebecca Gayheart 1.01–1.05 Katrin Zimmermann
Joy Lass Cynthia Stevenson 1.01-2.15 Sabine Arnhold
Clancy Lass Greg Kean 1.01–2.15 1 Gunnar Helm
Reggie Lass Britt McKillip 1.01-2.15 Kristina Tietz
Delores Herbig Christine Willes 1.01-2.15 Astrid Bless
Kiffany Patricia Idlette 1.01–1.03, 1.12–2.15 Gabrielle Scharnitzky
1 Irregular appearances

Episode list

Season 1 (2003)

In season one, Georgia struggles with her new calling and makes some mistakes. At the same time, she is forced to get a job again at a temporary employment agency called Happy Time, as she still has to earn money as an undead in order to feed herself and secure a place to live.

No.
Ges. 		No. German title Original title First broadcast in Germany First broadcast in the USA
1 1 pilot pilot April 1, 2008 June 27, 2003
2 2 New insights Dead girl walking April 2, 2008 4th July 2003
3 3 Back again Curious George April 3, 2008 July 11, 2003
4th 4th Save souls Reapercussions April 4, 2008 July 18, 2003
5 5 The scrapbook Reaping Havoc April 7, 2008 July 25, 2003
6th 6th my room My room April 8, 2008 August 1, 2003
7th 7th Normally crazy Reaper Madness April 9, 2008 August 8, 2003
8th 8th A dead man's recipe A cook April 10, 2008 August 15, 2003
9 9 A new friend Sunday mornings April 11, 2008 August 22, 2003
10 10 Unfinished business Business Unfinished April 14, 2008 August 29, 2003
11 11 Job change The Bicycle Thief April 15, 2008 September 5, 2003
12 12 night owls Nighthawks April 16, 2008 September 12, 2003
13 13 vacation Vacation April 17, 2008 September 19, 2003
14th 14th It's your day rest in peace April 18, 2008 October 21, 2003

Season 2 (2004)

In season two, Georgia slowly came to terms with her fate, even if she's still brooding over her old life and her new life.

No.
Ges. 		No. German title Original title First broadcast in Germany First broadcast in the USA
15th 1 What is the whole circus doing? Send in the clown April 21, 2008 July 25, 2004
16 2 balance The ledger April 22, 2008 August 1, 2004
17th 3 Ghost stories Ghost story April 23, 2008 August 8, 2004
18th 4th Under the surface The Shallow End April 24, 2008 August 15, 2004
19th 5 Hurry up Hurry April 25, 2008 August 22, 2004
20th 6th The agony of choice In escrow April 28, 2008 August 29, 2004
21st 7th Rituals Rites of Passage April 29, 2008 September 5, 2004
22nd 8th Welcome to the club The Escape Artist April 30, 2008 September 12, 2004
23 9 Fibrillation Be Still My Heart May 1, 2008 September 19, 2004
24 10 Do not release Death Defying May 2, 2008 September 26, 2004
25th 11 ashes to Ashes Ashes to Ashes May 5, 2008 October 3, 2004
26th 12 do not forget me Forget me not May 6, 2008 October 10, 2004
27 13 The last day on earth Last call May 7, 2008 October 17, 2004
28 14th take farewell Always May 8, 2008 October 24, 2004
29 15th Return of the Spirits Haunted May 9, 2008 October 31, 2004

Movie (2009)

On February 17, 2009, a direct-to-DVD (Direct to DVD) sequel was released in the United States entitled As good as dead - Dead Like Me: The Movie . Except for Mandy Patinkin , as Rube , whose place was Henry Ian Cusick , in the new role of Cameron Kane , and Laura Harris - her role as Daisy Adair , Sarah Wynter , the entire original cast for the project could be won, whose plot four Years after the last series episode plays. The film was first broadcast on German free TV on July 30, 2011 on RTL II .

DVD publications

information
season 1 Four DVDs in a box set, which contains all 14 episodes of the first season. The DVD also contains an audio commentary from some of the main actors, 30 minutes of omitted scenes, a making-of and a brief description of how the film music was made.
Further information: Length: 600 min, sound: German and French in DS 2.0 and English in DD 5.1, subtitles: German (for the hearing impaired), English (for the hearing impaired), French and Dutch. Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1 (16: 9) .
North America
June 20, 2005
Germany
October 22, 2007
season 2 Four DVDs in a box set, which contains all 15 episodes of the second season. Bonus material includes cut scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes and a photo gallery.
Further information: Length: 660 min, sound: German in DS 2.0 and English in DD 5.1, subtitles: German, English. Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1 (16: 9) .
North America
April 16, 2007
Germany
June 19, 2009

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fernsehserien.de: Dead Like Me - As good as dead: episode guide . Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  2. ↑ In the 1st season, 7th episode ( completely normal crazy , English Reaper Madness ) there is a boy diagnosed as schizophrenic who can also see the tombs.
  3. ↑ imdb trivia
  4. ↑ a b Dead Like Me - As good as dead. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on February 22, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Dead Like Me: Life After Death website for the film . Archived from the original on January 17th, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 4, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deadlikememovie.com
  6. ↑ Amazon.de Dead Like Me Season 1 DVD: Product details . Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  7. ↑ Amazon.com Dead Like Me Season 2 DVD: Product details . Retrieved February 3, 2007.