Sedwitz

Television series
German title	Sedwitz
Original title	Sedwitz
Country of production	Germany
Production ; company	NSA (New System Agency)
length	30 minutes
Episodes	6 in 1 season
genre	comedy
Theme music	America by Rammstein
music	Rudiger Helbig
First broadcast	September 3, 2015 in Das Erste
occupation
	Thorsten Merten : Ralf "Ralle" Pietzsch; Stephan Zinner : Hubert "Hubsi" Weisspfennig; Matthias Jentsch: Sergeant Ingo Schnaider; Kevin Wilke: Private Dirk Strobel; Olaf Burmeister : Major Neubert; Judith Richter : Astrid Hillebrand; Eva Mähl : Debbie Haueisen; Hannes Ringlstetter : Franz Haueisen; Maria Peschek : Walburga Haueisen; Heio von Stetten : Dieter Meyer; Volker Zack Michalowski : Horst Schuschke; Natalie Hünig : Kerstin Pietzsch; Edith Rücker: Kathleen Pietzsch; Stefan Kügel : Sigge Wetzel; Robert Palfrader : Wladislaw; Hansjürgen Hürrig : Atze Stahlmann;

Sedwitz is asix-part German television series produced in2015 by the production company NSA (Neue System Agentur) on behalf of Bayerischer Rundfunk and Mitteldeutschen Rundfunks for Das Erste ,directed by Paul Harather ( India , Schlawiner ), which together with Stefan Schwarz ( Die Großrussin , Wir should also get divorced ) also wrote the scripts for the series.

The series was broadcast from September 3 to October 8, 2015 on a weekly basis by Erste, Bayerischer Rundfunk and Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, with the episodes being published on the Internet on the Monday before broadcast.

action

The focus is on the GDR border officer Ralle Pietzsch (Thorsten Merten), who in 1988 received the key to a highly secret tunnel under the border from a dying Stasi leader . Instead of handing over the key, he wants to fulfill his son's greatest birthday wish and give him a Rubik's Cube. But it is only available in the western part of the fictional Thuringian-Franconian town of Sedwitz.

Ralle only wants to go to the West once, but then he meets the notoriously unsuspecting Federal Border Guard Hubsi (Stephan Zinner), the enterprising innkeeper Franz Haueisen (Hannes Ringlstetter) and the pretty teacher Astrid (Judith Richter). Before he knows it, Ralle is caught in a web of smuggling, corruption and intelligence. They even want to sell him the “Kaiserwalzer” file before it falls into the hands of Russians or Americans. Above all, Ralle and his new friends are slowly realizing that they can only hold their own if the little people to the west and east of the border stick together.

Characters

Ralf "Ralle" Pietzsch

Thorsten Merten plays Ralf "Ralle" Pietzsch, an East German border officer . The family comes first for him. Then the job comes. And when his wife Kerstin reminds him that life in the exclusion zone also brings problems for the children Kathleen and Ole, Ralle takes it to heart. He urgently needs the Rubik's Cube to distract his son on his birthday from the fact that his friends don't feel like celebrating with him in the Sedwitz exclusion zone.

Hubert "Hubsi" Weisspfennig

Stephan Zinner plays Hubert "Hubsi" Weisspfennig, the BGS border officer. Basically good-natured, he annoys his contemporaries like his new friend Ralle with long speech effusions, for example about the relationship between hair color and women's sexual desire. After all, with women like Debbie Haueisen, this helps him to get one or two dates in the happily wobbling BGS bus.

Sergeant Ingo Schnaider

Matthias Jentsch plays Sergeant Ingo Schnaider, who is indispensable for the GDR border troops stationed in Sedwitz . It mostly works smoothly - and yet remains unpredictable. The occasional insubordination when he thinks he is at eye level with his superior Ralle are consistently blocked by him. Basically, this Schnaider is a positive person who has established himself in his structured existence - until the path to the West beckons.

Private Dirk Stordel

Kevin Wilke is Private Dirk Stordel. He doesn't have a chance, but he uses it. Private Dirk Stordel is the youngest in the group. He likes to be pushed around and ordered a bit. But life is so fine for Stordel. Until his girlfriend writes to him that she has applied for an exit visa and tells him how little she cares about him.

Major Neubert

Olaf Burmeister plays Major Neubert, the commandant in Sedwitz. His little magic tricks are supposed to prove what a skilled fellow this commander is. At best, Neubert suspects that nobody really takes him seriously. He is much more concerned with justifying life's humiliations in front of himself and others. For example, when he watches in disbelief as the cameraman, whom he good-naturedly lets lean a ladder against the wall, seizes the chance to escape.

Astrid Hillebrand

Judith Richter is Astrid Hillebrand. The teacher is a human soul and politically active. When she visits the border with her class, she has had paper planes made beforehand, which then sail from the free to the unfree world as a sign to the poor GDR citizens that they are remembered. Astrid Hillebrand's big heart even fits Ralle, whom she mistook for a bad father on his first visit to the West, whose son suffers from the separation of his parents. He raves about his son so lovingly to her - Astrid melts away and mentally creates a large double bed. But there's a rude awakening for her ...

consequences

Episode 1 - Transformer 257

The year is 1988. The small town of Sedwitz, located in the Thuringian-Franconian border area, is divided. The wall split families and livelihoods a long time ago. When the Federal Border Guard, Hubert "Hubsi" Weißpfennig, has a rendezvous with Debbie, the attractive wife of the enterprising innkeeper Franz Haueisen, in the shadow of the Wall, the GDR border guards Dirk Stordel and Ingo Schnaider look on rather disinterested. The routine ignoring comes to an abrupt end, because veteran Atze Stahlmann is dying. Unnoticed by the others, this GDR border officer entrusted a key to Ralf "Ralle" Pietzsch before his death. It belongs to transformer house 257, where a secret underground passage to the west begins. Because he wants to make his sad son Ole happy for his birthday with the longed-for Rubik's Cube, Ralle uses the tunnel for a first excursion to the west - without the knowledge of his wife Kerstin. But the first car he gets into belongs to Hubsi, of all people - and he prides himself on his knowledge of human nature. It's just stupid that Ralle's complacent superior, Major Neubert, has no idea of his activities.

Episode 2 - Rubik's Cube

Ralle Pietzsch's excursion to the west was almost blown. In any case, the BGS officer Hubsi Weißpfennig is waving his service weapon dangerously in front of Ralle's nose. But he only talks about the Rubik's Cube and then the landlord Franz Haueisen saves him, who wants to give Hubsi his lottery ticket and turns crooked things again in his inn. Major Neubert, meanwhile, is losing his faith in television in the eastern part. Because instead of putting him properly in the picture, the cameraman seizes the opportunity and piles up a ladder to the west. Ralle lets Hubsi drive him to the school in Coburg, where he finally wants to organize the longed-for Rubik's Cube. But Ralle ends up in the middle of the parents' consultation day, where Bruno Patzelt and Miriam Stendelbrecht involve him in an absurd discussion that Ralle escapes by fleeing to the front of the teacher Astrid Hillebrand's office. She thinks he is the very rich father of a boy whose parents want to separate. But in the end Ralle gets the longed-for Rubik's Cube. Back home in the East, Ralle finally wants to enjoy the triumph that he organized the Rubik's Cube for Ole's birthday party. Little does he know that the LPG boss Schuschke has more than one ulterior motive when he asks Ralle's wife Kerstin. And then Ralle experiences a surprise: While crossing the border with Schnaider and Stordel, Hubsi discovers him from the other side of the border fence.

Episode 3 - Real Money

While Sergeant Schnaider and Private Stordel go hunting wild boar with their machine gun, Ralle Pietzsch wants to take his wife Kerstin to the Interhotel. But although there is yawning emptiness inside, the eastern couple are refused entry due to lack of western money. Ralle learns from Sigge Wetzel that antiques can be bought in the West. While trying to organize an old spinning wheel from a barn in order to turn it into cash in the West, he is surprised by Schnaider and Stordel. With presence of mind, Ralle declares the action to be a test, which unfortunately his subordinates would not have passed. The Russian officer Vladislav is waiting for him in the barracks. He asks Ralle whether Atze Stahlmann had not told him or entrusted him with anything else - horribly translated by Major Neubert. Meanwhile, Hubsi is urged on the west side by secret service agent Dieter Meyer to give the level 10 agent "Ernst Thälmann" every help. The spinning wheel that Ralle wanted to monetize in the west is accepted by teacher Astrid Hillebrand as a supposed donation at the village festival and auctioned for 100 DM . Ralle also gets that much when he wins the main prize in the shooting competition - and is then adored wholeheartedly by the teacher. Astrid even gives him her phone number. Ralle uses the 100 DM to finally be able to spend a nice evening with his wife at the Interhotel. The next morning his ID card is missing. Ralle races to the transformer house and is caught red-handed by Schnaider and Stordel.

Episode 4 - The moon has risen

During the nightly border control, Private Stordel gets very sentimental at the idea that his friend Anja, who has traveled to the west, is also just seeing the beautiful full moon. In fact, however, it is a hot air balloon with refugees from the republic who are able to escape because Sergeant Schnaider fires his ammunition in another direction. Ralle has to comfort his wife Kerstin, who confesses to him that her LPG register is missing 10,000 marks . If the money doesn't show up in three weeks, she will go to prison for three years. The very next day, Ralle bought two old chests from the farmer Sigge Wetzel in order to take them through the tunnel to the west side with the help of Stordel and Schnaider, where Franz Haueisen pays them 160 DM plus his denim jacket. Hubsi Weisspfennig reveals to Ralle in the pub toilet that he has learned from the highest circles that he is a top agent and can count on his help. Ralle has to use Hubsis services immediately, because Stordel has disappeared. Ralle lets himself be chauffeured to Hof with Schnaider, because there Stordel wants to confront his girlfriend Anja in the hospital. Ralle can just keep him from this hopeless endeavor and together they go back to Sedwitz - on time for the changing of the guard. But an excavator is parked in front of the tunnel. The situation seems hopeless.

Episode 5 - Emperor Waltz

Because an excavator is blocking their way back through the tunnel in the west, Ralle, Stordel and Schnaider devise a ruse with Hubsi's help to be able to switch back to the eastern part of the border. They throw branches at the signal fence wires until Major Neubert no longer takes the constant false alarms seriously. But then they are caught red-handed by Sergeant Möckl and have to take him on board. Happy at home, Ralle meets a depressed Kerstin, who has already notified her superior Schuschke of the 10,000 marks missing in the LPG till. Ralle promises to get the money. He orders more farm furniture from Sigge Wetzel to sell to the landlord Franz Haueisen in the west. Things are not going well for Hubsi Weisspfennig. Dieter Meyer from the State Security forces him to go on a total trip in the forest with a chainsaw at the front. Could have been that he was wired ... Hubsi is supposed to order Ralle to the bank at the chapel at the west entrance of the tunnel for the next day, because Meyer has the file "Kaiserwalzer" with information about the real causes for the death of Franz Josef Ostrich. But Ralle has other concerns at the moment, as the Russian officer Wladislaw believes that Ralle has had secret information since Atze Stahlmann's death.

Episode 6 - Trick 17

Ralle Pietzsch could never have dreamed that a magic trick by Major Neubert would give him the decisive idea of how to save the GDR peasant cupboards intended for export to the West from being accessed by the state. Ralle urgently needs the money for the closets to save his wife Kerstin from safe prison. With Franz Haueisen, Ralle can get a much better price this time - although a completely dissolved Astrid Hillebrand warns the landlord: Ralle is not who he claims to be, but a fraud. On the way back, Dieter Meyer remembers himself again at Ralle. He finally wants the million for the "Kaiserwalzer" file that the late Atze Stahlmann had promised him. With the 10,000 marks for Kerstin's LPG till, Ralle comes home beaming with joy. But Kerstin is sad. She thinks he's cheating on her because she didn't get to him in the company. Ralle can convince them of the opposite, but that doesn't help much because LPG chairman Schuschke is playing a left-wing game. He stole another 10,000 marks from the cash register, which he cleverly blames Kerstin on - and the revision is already there. Ralle understands what's going on and looks for a last resort.

Naming

The name of the fictional setting, Sedwitz, which gives the show its name, is a play on words from SED and joke . It is intended to refer to the absurdity ("joke") of the separation of Germany monitored by the SED, but as a name type it also represents a form ( -itz ) that occurs frequently (especially in eastern Germany) .

criticism

“There are no teachings and teachings here, here someone is lolling through a crazy world that divides into two crazy hemispheres with lots of eccentric characters. Every figure is a caricature, but a sympathetic one (...) "

- Ursula Scheer : Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“The ARD has developed a grandiose farce about Ossis, Wessis and the absurdities of the division of Germany. "Sedwitz" unfortunately runs on a thankless slot, but the mini-series has great potential. "

- Focus : Focus Online

“On the GDR side of Sedwitz, the rather superficial character study of clumsy Ossi is carried out once again. Those who have the patience to wait for the tunnel and thus the west will not be rewarded. One hopes for light, but at the end of the tunnel it remains simple. "

- Cornelius Pollmer : Süddeutsche Zeitung

“A playful what-if, created in 1988, in which trabby columns, champagne showers and solos were out of the question. A limit experiment with amiable idiots on both sides. "

- Barbara Möller : The world