Stars of the south
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Stars of the south |
| Country of production |
 Germany
|
| original language | German |
| Year (s) | 1992-1996 |
| length | 45 minutes |
| Episodes | 42 in 4 seasons |
| genre | Entertainment series |
| production | Berengar Pfahl Film GmbH |
| First broadcast | 1992 on ARD |
| occupation | |
| |
Stars of the South is a German - television series . The directed by Berengar Pfahl resulting series aired between 1992 and 1996 in four seasons and has the changing lives of some Club - entertainers to content. The series was filmed in various locations and holiday club complexes in Asia , Africa and Europe .
content
The focus of the total of four stars of the south was the entertainer trio Chris ( Mark Keller ), Katharina ( Maria Ketikidou ) and Kai ( Volker Lippmann ). The action started on Crete , where newcomer Christoph joined the local Marengo Club and fell in love with the receptionist Katharina, a local Cretan. The main character ranks were completed by Christoph's initial boss Kai and Christoph's ex-girlfriend Beatrice ( Caroline Schröder ). The further course of the plot led the four listed main characters through different club facilities in different countries: from Crete to Tunisia , from Tunisia to Senegal , from there to Sri Lanka and finally to different southern European countries.
The individual episodes of the series contained self-contained episodes. However, these were embedded in a constantly evolving overall story: The unsteady life of the first episodes gradually led to more sedentary forms of life. After successfully getting through the obligatory conflicts, Christoph and Katharina married in season three and opened a hotel, which is no longer mentioned in season 4. Kai formed a closer relationship with Claudine ( Susanne Wilhelmina ), who had replaced Beatrice in the middle of the second season, who, according to the series, was selling women's underwear in Hildesheim from then on. In terms of character, the roles also went through a certain development in the course of the series. Chris, inexperienced and impulsive in the first episodes, showed the same top dog convictions in the last two seasons as Kai in season one. The latter, on the other hand, was increasingly able to transform himself into a relaxed dropout with alternative country life ambitions and a tourist skipper in the course of the series. The constellation of the last season finally owed its dramaturgy considerably to a new generation of young animators who have now been trained by Chris and Katharina at the animation school.
Series and reviews
In contrast to similar genre productions - for example the successful ZDF series Das Traumschiff - in Sterne des Südens the focus was not on the vacation experiences of well-off ordinary people. Rather, the linchpin of the four series seasons was the life of members of the staff in the various club facilities. The series generated a large part of its tension through a comparatively realistic insider look behind the scenes: Time and again, individual episodes contrasted the contradiction between the well-organized illusionary operation of the holiday complexes and the unconventional, more post-material values oriented values of the main animators.
Despite its character as an entertainment series for a wide audience, Stars of the South did not avoid addressing real problems. Typical labor disputes in holiday resorts à la Robinson Club were also discussed, as was the development of coastal areas for mass tourism or drug problems. The conflicts that result from an unbound life as a star of the south are also presented realistically . The series was also positively received by the press. In November 1992, the television illustrated TV Movie summarized: “A successful balancing act between aspiration and entertainment. Neither holiday kitsch nor an intellectually arrogant parody of holiday clubs. "
Director and actor
The series was directed by Berengar Pfahl , who had already shot numerous documentary and television film productions for ARD. The main actors cast for Stars of the South, on the other hand, were comparatively blank pages when they were first broadcast. Mark Keller, actor of the main protagonist Christoph and originally a car mechanic, had previously been ringed through discos as Dean Martin's imitator. Maria Ketikidou (Katharina) had a leading role in the German film "Heartbreakers" in 1982, but had to be content with smaller supporting roles in the following years. Caroline Schröder (Beatrice) was also largely unknown; also Susanne Wilhelmina (Claudine), who completed the main actor quartet from the second season. Only Volker Lippmann (Kai) had a certain amount of experience as a television actor.
As a counterpart to the young, fresh faces of the four main actors, director Berengar Pfahl repeatedly integrated well-known television actors in supporting roles: Diana Körner ( Liebling Kreuzberg ) and Winfried Glatzeder ( Tatort ) as club bosses and the Leipzig Tatort commissioner Peter Sodann as Christoph's father. For the majority of the previously unknown stars of the South actors, the series turned out to be a not insignificant career building block. Mark Keller then played various series roles on RTL (including Alarm for Cobra 11 ). Maria Ketikidou managed to successfully gain a foothold in the well-known ARD evening series Großstadtrevier . Susanne Wilhelmina had roles in three films, Traces in the Ice , Polski Crash and The Moment of Desire . The young entertainers of the last season could also be seen in various follow-up roles : Natascha Bonnermann played roles in the television series Balko , Die Wache and Lindenstrasse . Sylvia Leifheit appeared in various television films and also had a supporting role in Roland Suso Richter's film 14 days for life . Judith Kernke found follow-on roles in television series such as Die Wache and Alarm for Cobra 11 . Röde actor Lars Pape also appeared in various series and television films on ARD, ZDF and RTL .
Charisma
The ARD broadcast stars of the south in a total of four seasons. Season 1 was first broadcast in 1992 (3 episodes of 90 minutes each). Season 2 was broadcast in 1993 (13 episodes of 48 min each), Season 3 in 1995 (13 episodes of 48 min each) and Season 4 in 1996 (13 episodes of 48 min each). Seasons 1 and 2 ran in prime time, seasons 3 and 4 were broadcast in the evening program. With a market share of around 15%, the series achieved audience ratings at the level that is typical for broadcasters. In the following years there were repetitions in several third programs as well as in the evening and morning programs of the ARD .
This and that
The marketing of the pieces of music and theme songs appearing in the series did not prove to be particularly successful. As a piece of recognition in memory remained only interpreted by Chris actor Mark Keller theme song of the first season: Bel ami .
Seasons and Episodes
The seasons are divided into several main locations, each with several episodes. The countries in which the respective club facilities are located are listed in brackets after the title of the episode.
First season (1992)
- 1. No place for Dean Martin (long episode; Crete)
- 2. Dangers in the Orient (long series; Tunisia)
- 3. African Dreams (long episode; Senegal)
Second season (1993)
- 4. Playing with fire (Fuerteventura)
- 5. Rescue from the air (Fuerteventura)
- 6. A father for Laura (Fuerteventura)
- 7.Fear of flying (Sri Lanka)
- 8. Girls from Radnapura (Sri Lanka)
- 9. Escape from the jungle (Sri Lanka)
- 10. Breakfast at Kai (Turkey)
- 11.Turkish honey (Turkey)
- 12.Aladin in Flames (Turkey)
- 13. Parents wanted (Turkey)
- 14. Above the clouds (Italy)
- 15. Happy family (Italy)
- 16. Power of the Stars (Italy)
Third season (1995)
- 17. Competition for Christoph (Fuerteventura)
- 18. Jonathan (Fuerteventura)
- 19. Dark clouds (Fuerteventura)
- 20th visit from Germany (Sri Lanka)
- 21. Mother's love (Sri Lanka)
- 22. The golden elephant (Sri Lanka)
- 23. Bad game (Turkey)
- 24. Accident with consequences (Turkey)
- 25. Finally vacation (Turkey)
- 26. Death on Crete (Turkey / Crete)
- 27. The marriage proposal (Turkey / Crete)
- 28. Prospect for Success (Crete)
- 29. All in white (Crete)
Fourth season (1996)
- 30. The tightrope walker (Crete / Santorin)
- 31. Light in the dark (Crete)
- 32. Max (Crete)
- 33. Men's excursion (Crete / Santorini)
- 34.Sale sale (Crete)
- 35. When love falls down (Crete)
- 36. Pictures from Paradise (Crete / Turkey)
- 37.Belly dance (Turkey)
- 38.Bel Ami (Turkey)
- 39. Ghost Town (Turkey)
- 40. Patty's Flirt (Turkey)
- 41st premiere (Turkey)
- 42nd New Moon (Turkey)
Web links
- Stars of the South in the Internet Movie Database (English)