Lüthi and Blanc

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Television series
Original title Lüthi and Blanc
Country of production Switzerland
original language Swiss German / French
Year (s) 1999-2007
length 25 minutes
Episodes 288 in 8 seasons ( List )
Broadcasting
cycle
weekly
genre Soap opera
Theme music Martin Schenkel feat. Tamy - if ever
production Peter-Christian Fueter
First broadcast October 10, 1999 on SF 1
occupation

The Swiss TV soap Lüthi und Blanc was broadcast by Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) (then Schweizer Fernsehen SF) and was broadcast on SRF 1 (then SF 1).

The first episode was broadcast in October 1999, the 288th and last episode on May 13, 2007. In between, the series ran weekly - with the exception of a 14-week summer break from mid-May to the end of August - on Sunday evening at 8 p.m. on SF 1. The episodes were repeated on SF 1 the following Saturday at 6:10 p.m.

The soap was produced until the end of October 2006 by Zurich-based C-FILMS AG and producer Peter-Christian Fueter . Niklaus Schlienger was the editor-in-chief and thus the master of the content . The main author - with seven colleagues - was Katja Früh .

Plot / content

The TV series, often referred to in the media as “ Chocolate Soap”, has all the characteristics of a classic soap opera. It contains different storylines that deal with the fate of the families around the headstrong chocolate factory patron Jean-Jacques Blanc ( Hans Heinz Moser ), his wife Johanna ( Linda Geiser ), their daughter Catherine ( Isabelle von Siebenthal ) and their son-in-law and Catherine's husband Martin Lüthi ( Hans Schenker ) shoot. The opponent of the Lüthi and Blanc clan and villain of the series is the opaque, scheming banker and illegitimate son of Blanc, Michael Frick ( Gilles Tschudi ).

The locations focus on Zurich and Sainte-Croix VD , the location of the (fictional) chocolate factory JJ Blancs. In addition to the places of residence and work of the named people, the scenes include the “Calvados Bar” in Zurich- Wiedikon , run by Martin Lüthi's mother Lilian (Renate Steiger) and his half-sister Maja ( Tonia Maria Zindel ) and her husband Steve Meier ( Martin Schenkel or Roeland Wiesnekker ), various shared apartments and a farm in the Zurich province. There are also the fictional restaurants “De la Poste” in Sainte-Croix and “Balthasar” in Zurich, which serve as meeting points.

Other important characters are the widowed, scheming gossip reporter Lisbeth Rohner ( Esther Gemsch ), her brother-in-law, the hypocritical pastor Ulrich Rohner ( René Schoenenberger ); Street sweeper and "Calvados" regular guest Willi ( Beat Schlatter ); the son of the Lüthi couple and young lawyer Thomas ( Benjamin Fueter ), his sister Julia ( Stefanie Stämpfli ) and Thomas' ex-girlfriend Lotta Waser ( Viola Tami ). The popular actor Mathias Gnädinger can be seen in the role of the farmer Ruedi Egger . Of course, it should be noted that the person constellations and locations have changed significantly during the more than 200 episodes broadcast.

At the beginning the series was conceived as a cross-language project; The series also ran in synchronized versions on the SRG stations TSR and TSI . In addition to the locations in German and French-speaking Switzerland , there was also a location in Ticino . This concept failed, however, and Lüthi und Blanc was continued as a purely German-Swiss project. What remained was the temporary bilingualism of the series. Although the main actors usually speak German with one another, French is often spoken in the dialect version when conversing with outsiders in Vaud.

In the series controversial topics such as openly lived homosexuality , racism , drug abuse , prostitution , celibacy , incest or polygamy are touched upon. What is striking are the social milieus shown, which are often very different .

The studio

Around 80% of the scenes were shot in a studio in Glattfelden that was specially set up for the soap . In the former spinning mill, there were over 30 decorations for the series. Among the best known were the “Villa Blanc” and the “Calvados Bar”, which actually exist in Zurich and were slightly modified in the studio. The exterior views were shot all over Switzerland, for example in Estavayer-le-Lac (Villa Blanc) or Embrach (farm).

The smaller part, around 20% of all scenes, were shot "on location". The Lüthi and Blanc crew spent around four weeks a year filming in Switzerland.

The shooting was not open to the public, but you could visit the Glattfelden film studios - an opportunity that was used by several thousand visitors each year.

The series was shot up to nine months in advance of broadcast. The scripts were also six months in advance. The film was shot in so-called sub-seasons, which were assigned to a director.

occupation

main actor

actor Role name consequences year
Hans Heinz Moser Jean-Jacques Blanc 1-288 1999-2006
Linda Geiser Johanna Blanc 1-288 1999-2006
Isabelle von Siebenthal Catherine Lüthi, b. Blanc 1-288 1999-2006
Hans Schenker Martin Lüthi 1-288 1999-2006
Benjamin Fueter Thomas Lüthi 1-288 1999-2006
Stefanie Stämpfli Julia Lüthi 1-158, 196, 259-288 1999-2004, 2006
Viola Tami Lotta Waser 1-288 1999-2006
Tonia Maria Zindel Maja Lüthi 1-288 1999-2006
Martin Schenkel Steve Meier # 1 1-140 1999-2003
Noel Wigger Pascal Lüthi 1-218 1999-2005
Renate Steiger Lilian Lüthi 1-288 1999-2006
Yor Milano Franco Moretti 1-117 1999-2003
Esther Gemsch Lisbeth Rohner 1-288 1999-2006
Hanspeter Müller-Drossaart Hanspeter Rohner † 1-45, 287 1999-2000, 2006
Beat Schlatter Willi Huber 1-288 1999-2006
Gilles Tschudi Michael Frick 2-288 1999-2006
Anja Margoni Natalie Rohner 2-120, 184-223, 281-288 1999-2002, 2005-2006
Monica Budde Madame Delley 2–288 (sporadic appearances) 1999-2006
René Vuilleumier Pierre 2–217 (sporadic appearances) 1999-2005
Graziella Rossi Abusinda 3-288 1999-2006
Jessica Früh Dorothea Hurni-Frick 3-288 1999-2006
Daniel Bill Claude 4-26 1999
Patrick Frey Kurt Black 5-288 1999-2006
Bernhard Michel Lucky Schmid † 6-66 1999-2001
René Schoenenberger Ulrich Rohner 9-47, 86-102, 152-244, 280-287 1999-2006
Dorothée charms Angelica 9-47 1999-2000
Anne-Laure Luisoni Madame Fonjallaz 11–287 (sporadic appearances) 1999-2004, 2006
Ludwig Boettger Albert Fink 21-288 1999-2006
Ettore Cella Lukas Wälti-Kern † 27-86 2000-2001
Jodoc Seidel Joseph † 27-90 2000-2001
Sibylle Courvoisier Letti Merian 31–172 (sporadic appearances) 2000-2003
Hanna Scheuring Jeanine Wälti-Kern 32-118 2000-2002
Joris Gratwohl Maurizio Galfatti 37-108 2000-2002
Klaus-Henner Russius Dr. Honecker 46, 66-68, 253-262 2000, 2006
Katharina von Bock Sabina Köster 49-288 2000-2006
Tessie Tellmann Ursula Schmid 50-105, 159-288 2000-2002, 2004-2006
Hansrudolf Twerenbold Heinz Schmid † 50-70 2000
Alfred Pfeiffer Schmuklerski 50-67 2000-2001
Margot Gödrös Filomena Galfatti 58-105 2000-2002
Andreas Kramer Geri 72-140 2001-2003
Jean-Pierre Cornu Dr. Tobler 72-154 2001-2004
Stefan Gubser Andreas Brenzikofer 74-83, 171-196 2001, 2004
Regula Stüssi Secretary Kuster 76-283 2001-2006
Raphael Clamer Alex Weiss 77-120, 164-264 2001-2006
Bernard Michel Daniel Schmid 84-158 2001-2004
Anne-Marie Blanc Esther Weiss 91-116, 177, 219 2001-2002, 2004-2005
Kurt Grünenfelder Jürg Stalder † 93-115 2001-2002
Andrea Marin Margrith "Angelique" Müller 94-126, 151-153, 247 2001-2005
César Keizer Alfred Bernasconi 94-147 2001-2003
Roland Herrmann Paul Nyffenegger 96-133, 168-179, 211-216 2001-2005
Monica Gubser Gertrud Frick † 102-132 2002-2003
Tiziana Burkart Tamara Müller 104-288 2002-2006
Manuel Löwensberg Urs Wicky 112-128, 153-200, 221-288 2002-2006
Mathias Gnädinger Ruedi Egger 120-288 2003-2006
Birgit Steinegger Doris Ruf 141-203, 275-278 2004-2006
Roeland Wiesnekker Steve Meier # 2 143-288 2003-2006
Anikó Donáth Doris Hummer 160, 264-287 2004, 2006
Walter Andreas Müller Bela Straub 163-219 2004-2005
Jörg Schneider Oskar Wehrli 169-288 2004-2006
Sabina Schneebeli Regula Imboden † 175-263 2004-2006
Helmut Vogel Rainer Sanders 196-268, 281 2004-2006
Joel Basman Zizou Imboden 199-286 2004-2006
Andreas Matti René Imboden † 208-216, 254-263 2004, 2006
Hans-Joachim Frick Jori Weiss 219-288 2005-2006
Sara Capretti Bianca Beck 227-282 2005-2006
Jürgen Sarkiss Damian Köster † 244-260 2005-2006
Sophie Redlhammer Muriel Köster 253-288 2006

Guest stars

Over the years, three people involved in the production of the soap died: a technician, the actor Martin Schenkel and the actress Sibylle Courvoisier . Schenkel's role, Steve Meier , was cast with another actor, Roeland Wiesnekker , from the 140th episode , while Courvoisier's role, Letti Merian , was removed from the scripts after Courvoisier's death.

Seasons

Season Number of episodes First broadcast in German-speaking Switzerland
Season premiere Season finale
1 26th October 10, 1999 March 26, 2000
2 43 August 27, 2000 July 1, 2001
3 32 October 14, 2001 May 19, 2002
4th 39 August 25, 2002 May 18, 2003
5 38 August 31, 2003 May 16, 2004
6th 38 August 29, 2004 May 16, 2005
7th 36 August 28, 2005 May 14, 2006
8th 36 August 27, 2006 May 13, 2007

literature

  • Esther Scheidegger-Zbinden: Lüthi and Blanc. An informative, entertaining, slick book about the soap . Werd, Zurich 2001

Web links