Turkish for Beginners
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Turkish for Beginners |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| Year (s) | 2006-2008 |
| Production company |
Hofmann & Voges Entertainment |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 52 in 3 seasons ( list ) |
| genre | Comedy , family series |
| Theme music | From the 2nd season of the Carpathian Dog - Against the rest |
| idea | Bora Dagtkin |
| music | Ali N. Aşkın |
| First broadcast | March 14, 2006 on Das Erste |
| occupation | |
Turkish for Beginners is an ARD television series . It comprises three seasons which were broadcast for the first time in Germany between March 14, 2006 and December 12, 2008. To date, “Turkish for Beginners” has been played in around 70 countries, including the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, France, Spain (Catalonia), and Russia. In Sweden the series is partly used in German lessons in schools.
action
season 1
16-year-old Lena Schneider lives with her brother Nils and her mother Doris, a therapist . Doris falls in love with the Turkish commissioner Metin Öztürk, and the two decide to move in together. For Lena this means that she has to get along with her new siblings Cem, a clichéd macho, and Yağmur, a devout Muslim woman. At first she only discusses her problems by video message with her friend Kathi, who is taking part in a student exchange in the USA for a year. Over time, Lena befriends her new family and also finds a good friend in Doris' patient Axel Mende, who is an orphan. He falls in love with Lena, and after a few complications, the two become a couple.
In the meantime, Cem has also fallen in love with his stepsister and tried to drive a wedge between Axel and Lena. After a while, Lena also develops feelings for Cem. When Axel finds out, he storms away, is hit by a cyclist and seriously injured. Lena and Cem, who have found each other in the meantime, learn about it. Lena reproaches herself and thinks that he tried to kill himself because she no longer wanted to be with him. At Axel's bedside, she swears to stay with him forever. Axel sees through the mistake, but does not explain to Lena that it was an accident. Meanwhile, Doris' father Hermann Schneider (called "Hermi") comes to visit, which Doris is not happy about. When she learns that her father has lost his beloved button factory and his home due to bankruptcy, she lets him move in with the Schneider-Öztürks.
season 2
At the beginning of the second season it turns out that Nils is gifted , and he goes to a boarding school for gifted people in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Axel's lie is exposed and Lena separates from him. Some misunderstandings prevent Lena and Cem from getting together. Lena learns from her mother Doris that Cem is still a virgin and is happy about it. Soon after, she learns from Costa that Cem is said to have slept with a prostitute in order to lose his virginity . Lena then sleeps with Axel, although she is no longer with him. Cem tries to prevent this at the last second, but fails. He informs Lena that he did not sleep with the prostitute to wait for her. He can't forgive her for sleeping with Axel. A short time later he meets the pastor's daughter Ulla, who is friends with Lena. Metin is planning a marriage proposal for Doris. But she wants to overcome her “trauma” before she can get married. When Doris' ex Markus, the father of Lena and Nils, finds out, he travels to Germany to prevent the wedding. He sabotages Doris and Metin's relationship and the two of them fight, but they get along again. Markus realizes that his efforts are in vain and wed Doris and Metin shamanically . In the meantime, Cem and Ulla separate again because Markus uses a trick to make Ulla believe that Lena and Cem had slept together. Cem and Lena then get back together for a short time. Doris' sister Diana now teaches at Lena's school and actively supports the multicultural family in all situations. Among other things, Yağmur, who begins to rethink her beliefs and is ensnared by a secret admirer. After several episodes, Yağmur finds out that it is Cem's Greek friend Costa, initially rejects him, but later feels affection for him. This is particularly evident from the fact that Costa does not stutter when holding Yağmur's hand - like magic. When it is discovered that Yağmur and Costa are a couple, Metin and Cem go wild. Metin threatens Costa's parents that they should keep their son away from Yağmur or that he would have him arrested for his countless petty crimes. At the end of the last episode, Yağmur and Costa try to flee to Greece, but are caught at the gas station in the last second. Lena brings Cem and Ulla back together, Metin and Doris got married, Nils comes to visit from the boarding school for the wedding, Diana and Markus get together and Axel also comes to the wedding from Australia, where he lived for a short time worried about Lena because of sad emails.
season 3
It has been three years since the second season. Katharina Kuhn, Lena's friend, has returned from the United States. Cem has since separated from Ulla and failed her Abitur, while Lena lets Doris persuade her to study mechanical engineering in Braunschweig . After nine months she ends this because she realizes that she has been called to another task. One night, she returns to her family completely broke and exhausted, but doesn't dare to confess to Doris that she has dropped out of her studies. Meanwhile, Cem lies to his family that he is going to a new school and forges his half-year report card. After a short time, the lies of Cem and Lena fly out and the two are forced to think about which way they want to go now. Lena starts with full vigor; she applies for an internship at a youth magazine and fights against her best friend Kathi for an internship .
Cem goes astray in his career. His first dream is to become a rapper before starting an internship with the police. This ends badly: Cem tries to make it clear to his father that his colleagues are Nazis - and he is wrong - and the whole thing ends with a SEK mission at Öztürk-Schneider. As a punishment, Cem is supposed to clean up the evidence room. Instead, he sells the confiscated items and, disguised as a police officer, flashes speeders - until Metin falls into the speed trap. Cem spends a while at home and works at a diner for a day. Through this job, he comes to forge clothes together with his grandmother and Costa. These criminal machinations are also exposed: Costa and Cem are temporarily arrested and have to do social hours in a nursing home.
Meanwhile Doris is fighting against growing old, which Metin cannot understand. She even has Botox injected to stay attractive, but Metin doesn't have the desired effect. When Doris still wants a child with Metin, but this wish cannot be fulfilled because her menopause has started, she learns to come to terms with her age.
Yağmur and Costa split at the beginning of the season, but find each other again. The subject of sex and religion continues to cause arguments in their relationship. It was only when Costa asked for Yağmur's hand and Costa started a career as a fashion designer that the two found a harmonious relationship.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Hermi becomes seriously ill and needs care. Lena and Cem also have a relationship, but it turns out to be not that easy because the two are fundamentally different and very temperamental. You pull yourself together after all, and Lena becomes pregnant by Cem. At first Cem thinks the child is from Mark, who is training to be a police officer at Metin, as Lena claims that they did more than just kiss. Afterwards Lena wants to have an abortion, but her grandfather stops her in a phone call right before he dies. Cem finally wants to help Lena with the supposedly strange child and learns that he is the father. When the two want to tell Metin and Doris, the family watches Grandpa Hermi's farewell video. In it he says that his ashes should be pressed into a diamond that his great-grandson, the child of Lena and Cem, who will be born in nine months, will receive. Doris then interferes in the pregnancy, and the mood between mother and daughter is once more tense. But mother and daughter make up again. Lena temporarily becomes editor-in-chief of the youth magazine, while Cem takes care of the household. After he accidentally found money in the old people's home and thus cleared up an earlier bank robbery, he was invited to take the police exam even without a high school diploma at the invitation of the police chief. But Metin and Doris think that Lena can have a better career and that Cem should therefore become a househusband. Lena quits the job, Cem takes the exam, passes with 51 percent and becomes a police officer. Several months later the child is born, a boy.
The series ends with a family photo, which Lena comments with the words that they have finally become a real family.
characters
Descriptions of the characters from "Turkish for Beginners", arranged according to the number of scenes.
- Lena Schneider ( Josefine Preuss )
Helena Claudette "Lena" Schneider is the leading actress in the series. Lena has a mind of her own and can often be very complicated. She was born in South America and went back to Germany with her mother and brother Nils as a toddler, as they separated from Lena's father Markus. Lena was brought up very openly by her mother and had a carefree childhood without rules, which she later does not consider to be good herself. When Lena learns that her mother wants to move in with Metin Öztürk, she does not approve. She has to share a room with the devout Muslim Yağmur, and Lena does not get along particularly well with Yağmur's macho brother Cem at the beginning. Lena has her first relationship with Axel, whom she meets in her new school. However, her heart belongs to Cem, with whom she later falls in love. After graduating from high school, Lena, persuaded by her mother, begins studying mechanical engineering in Braunschweig, which she breaks off after nine months. She then starts an internship with her best friend Kathi, followed by an internship at a lifestyle magazine. Lena becomes pregnant by Cem at the end of the series. She quits her job and has a son.
- Cem Öztürk ( Elyas M'Barek )
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Cemil "Cem" Öztürk is the macho Turk in the Schneider-Öztürk family. At the beginning of the series he was briefly with Ching, in the second season he has a relationship with Ulla. At the end of the first season, he is also with his stepsister Lena. Costa has been his best friend since the remedial classes for students with a migration background in eighth grade. Cem fails at high school and then tries his hand at rapper. After an abandoned internship at the police force, he and his grandmother and Costa counterfeit branded clothing commercially and are punished with social hours in a retirement home. After a lot of back and forth, he meets his great love and stepsister Lena. He has a son with her and begins training as a police officer.
- Dr. Doris Schneider ( Anna Stieblich )
Dr. Doris Schneider, Lena's and Nils' mother, is a psychotherapist and cannot cook. She tries to organize the upbringing of her children as without rules as possible so that her children see her as friends and not as mothers. After various relationships, including with Markus, she found her great love in Metin Öztürk, whom she married according to shamanic rituals. Doris always had a very tense relationship with her father Hermi; he always preferred his daughter Diana. Only in the last few days before his death does she begin to develop a relationship with her father, in which she tends to cultivate him, and admits to herself that she does need him. She has a split relationship with her sister Diana: on the one hand they go through thick and thin, on the other hand Doris hates Diana for being so pretty, feminine and the favorite daughter. Doris wants to have another child with Metin, but this wish has not come true because of her menopause.
- Yağmur Öztürk ( Pegah Ferydoni )
Yağmur is a devout Muslim woman. After her mother dies, Yağmur tries to keep her mother's faith alive in order to be close to her mother. Much more reserved at the beginning of the series, Yağmur still wears the headscarf every day, but finally takes it off. Yağmur falls in love with the Greek Costa; Due to her understanding of Islam , she does not want to admit her feelings at first. She's getting together with him and they both want to get married. Nevertheless, she remains true to her religion: She doesn't want to have sexual intercourse before marriage and for Costa she wants to be the housewife and mother of her children. At the end of the day, she passed her high school diploma and began training as an interpreter. She works for Costa's fashion company and translates Turkish texts for the Bundestag.
- Metin Öztürk ( Adnan Maral )
Metin's first wife died and he has been the single father of his children Yağmur and Cem ever since. He finds his great love Doris and moves in with the German family. In the second season finale, he marries Doris. Metin is a commissioner. Despite his Turkish origins, he comes across as "very German" - German values and laws are very important to him. He is a romantic and always tries to be a good father and husband.
- Costa Papavassilou ( Arnel Tači )
Costa is Greek. He stutters and is the best friend of the Turk Cem. For a very long time Costa was unaware that he was stuttering ; when he is informed about it, he is plagued by self-doubt and falls into a crisis. Costa falls in love with Yağmur, and although she does not want to know anything about him at first, he does not give up and continues to fight for her affection. When Costa miraculously stops stuttering when he touches Yağmur, Yağmur realizes that they belong together. However, because of his criminal background, Costa is sent to boarding school by his father, comes back to Germany a year later with his Abitur and becomes engaged to Yağmur. After opening a pub and closing it again after its failure, he developed his own streetwear line.
- Diana Schneider ( Katharina Kaali )
Diana Schneider teaches English and maths to her niece Lena as well as to Cem and Costa. After being disappointed by several men, she finally wants to find the right one. Diana is very romantic and has always been her father Hermi's favorite child. Therefore, Diana does not have a very good relationship with her sister Doris at first, who is jealous of her.
- Axel Mende ( Axel Schreiber )
Axel Mende's parents died in a car accident, as a result of which Axel came to Doris for therapy. When their daughter Lena comes to Axel's class, he immediately keeps an eye on her and uses the connection to Dr. Doris Schneider to get to know her better. He falls in love with her and the two become a couple. When he notices that Lena no longer loves him but Cem, Axel takes advantage of the fact that he has been hit by a bicycle and makes this appear as a suicide attempt. When this lie is exposed, Lena breaks up with him. Axel Lena later reports that the youth home has found his aunt and that he wants to move to Australia with her. Out of frustration with Cem, Lena experiences her first time with Axel on this day. Axel visits again for Doris and Metin's wedding.
- Hans-Hermann Schneider † ( Carl Heinz Choynski )
Hans-Hermann Schneider, or “Hermi” for short, is the father of Doris and Diana and thus the grandfather of Lena and Nils. He owns a formerly successful button factory. After he had to file for bankruptcy with his company , he looks for shelter with his daughter Doris, who does not have the best relationship with her father, as he always preferred Diana. The former National Socialist is not very enthusiastic about living with the Turks; his racist remarks during the series are a running gag . Yağmur immediately loves him, although he initially thinks she is Doris' cleaning lady because he believes his daughter is still with Markus. After a brief visit to the old people's home, Hermi falls in love with Esther Rosenstein, a Jew, and experiences late spring when the two become a couple. A short time after intercourse, Hermi has a heart attack. Hermi is now dependent on the help of his daughter Doris. Through the daily care, Doris gets to know the positive sides of her father. After a few days, Hermi dies in the Öztürk-Schneider house, after briefly telephoning to prevent his granddaughter from aborting her child.
- Katharina Kuhn ( Cristina do Rego )
The character Katharina “Kathi” Kuhn has been part of the series from the beginning, but never appears in person, but only through videos that Lena shoots for her friend during her stay abroad. Kathi herself only appears in season 3. Kathi and Lena can stick together like bad luck and brimstone, even if they often quarrel or have quarreled. After Kathi broke off her internship with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier by throwing her mobile phone out of the window with Angela Merkel on the line, she started an internship with Lena at a lifestyle magazine. Kathi has a crush on the policeman Mark, but they don't get together because Mark feels more drawn to Lena, who, however, has nothing to do with him.
- Nils Schneider ( Emil Reinke )
Nils Schneider is Lena's brother. He is more cautious and does not take part in the disputes that prevail in the Schneider-Öztürk house. When he found out about his above-average intelligence quotient , he received a scholarship at a school for gifted students in Switzerland. When he comes to visit Metin and Doris from Switzerland for the wedding, he gets along well with his father Markus, who is conducting the wedding ceremony.
- Ulla Jamuschke ( Susanne Kirschnick )
Ulla is a Protestant pastor's daughter and is very religious herself. Ulla is often very bumbling. She is very empathetic and attaches greater importance to inner values than to the appearance, so that she usually wears worn clothes and horn-rimmed glasses and thus does not correspond to the current ideal of beauty . In Cem's vicinity, however, she tries to appear more girlish and, from her point of view, more seductive, for example by taking off her glasses and opening her ponytail. Cem falls in love with Ulla and they get together. After a brief separation, which Lena is not entirely innocent of, they start all over again. Between the second and third seasons, however, Cem and Ulla split up for an unknown reason, and Ulla is no longer mentioned.
- Markus Lemke ( Andreas Hofer )
Markus Lemke is the father of Lena and Nils and used to be with Doris, but not married due to Doris' trauma. He "lives in the jungle, on the Amazon". When Lena was two years old and Doris was heavily pregnant with Nils, Doris left Markus with Lena. When Markus learns that Doris will marry again, he comes to Germany and "turns Doris 'head a lot," but cannot prevent Doris' marriage to Metin. Lena, on the other hand, initially has problems with her father; after a while they get along very well and Lena even plans to accompany her father to South America. After Markus married Doris and Metin in a shamanic manner, he goes back to South America, but still maintains video contact with Lena in season 3.
- Ching ( Dung Tien Thi Phuong )
Ching is of Asian origin and is portrayed as bitchy and superficial. At first Cem is in love with Ching, who, however, lets him down because his macho behavior annoys her and she is more romantically inclined. Later, Ching gets together with Axel, then with the deaf Murat, with whom she is in direct competition with Yağmur. She ends up appearing again at Lena's birthday party, where she makes out with Murat and asks for a condom.
- Ümet Öztürk ( Lilay Huser )
Ümet is the mother of Metin and therefore the grandmother of Cem and Yağmur. During her visit, Ümet is not very enthusiastic that Yağmur is with a Greek. Ümet often grumbles and often has something to complain about, including her son's relationship with a German woman, as she thinks Doris is too emancipated. But she secretly drives a car and plays video games. Later she gets involved in the criminal business of Cem and Costa. When Metin learns this, he throws his mother out; but she was planning to leave anyway because she feels betrayed by her son.
occupation
Main cast
| actor | Role name | consequences | Season | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josefine Preuss | Helena Claudette "Lena" Schneider | 1-52 | 1-3 |
Leading actress daughter of Doris and Markus; Sister of Nils; Stepsister of Yağmur and Cem; Granddaughter of Hermi; Niece of Diana; Friend of Cem; Ex-girlfriend of Axel and Frieder (feature film); best friend of Kathi; keeps video contact with Kathi in seasons 1–2; in season 3 video contact with Markus; Mother of the child of her and Cem |
| Anna Stieblich | Dr. Doris Schneider |
1-52 | 1-3 |
Psychologist daughter of Hermi; Sister of Diana; Mother of Nils and Lena; Stepmother of Yağmur and Cem; Wife of Metin; Ex-girlfriend of Markus |
| Elyas M'Barek | Cem Öztürk | 1-52 | 1-3 | Son of Metin; Brother of Yağmur; Stepbrother of Lena and Nils; Grandson of Ümet; Friend of Lena's; Ex-boyfriend of Ching, Ulla and Cleo (feature film); Father of the child of him and Lena |
| Adnan Maral | Metin Öztürk | 1-52 | 1-3 |
Commissioner father of Yağmur and Cem; Stepfather of Nils and Lena; Son of Ümet; Cousin of Erol; Husband of Doris |
| Pegah Ferydoni | Yağmur Öztürk | 1-52 | 1-3 | Daughter of Metin; Sister of Cem; Stepsister of Nils and Lena; Granddaughter of Ümet; Fiancée of Costa |
| Arnel Tači | Costa Papavassilou | 1-52 | 1-3 |
Main cast from season 2 fashion designer; former pub owner brother of Dimitri and Giorgo; Fiancé of Yağmur |
| Emil Reinke | Nils "Nille" Schneider | 1-16 36 |
1–2 2 |
Son of Doris and Mark; Brother of Lena; Stepbrother of Yağmur and Cem; Nephew of Diana; Grandson of Hermi; goes to an elite boarding school for the gifted; visits Doris and Metin's wedding |
| Axel Schreiber | Axel Mende | 4-17 24, 36 |
1–2 2 |
Ex-boyfriend of Lena and Ching; goes to his aunt in Australia; visits Doris and Metin's wedding |
| Carl Heinz Choynski | Hans Hermann "Hermi" Schneider † | 11-51 | 1-3 |
Former owner of a button factory. Father of Doris and Diana; Grandfather of Lena and Nils; 'Step-grandfather' of Yağmur and Cem; Friend of Esther; Great-grandfather of Lena's and Cem's child; dies of complications from a heart attack |
| Catherine Kaali | Diana Schneider | 15-52 | 2-3 |
English and math teacher daughter of Hermi; Sister of Doris; Aunt and godmother of Lena and Nils |
| Cristina do Rego | Katharina "Kathi" Kuhn | 37-52 | 3 |
Journalist and former intern at "InBeTwen" Keeps video contact with Lena in seasons 1–2; Lena’s best friend |
Supporting cast
| actor | Role name | consequences | Season | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dung Tien Thi Phuong | Ching | 2-12 26-33 |
1 2 |
Friend of Murat. Ex-girlfriend of Axel and Cem. |
| Susanne Kirschnick | Ulla Jamuschke | 27-36 | 2 | Ex-girlfriend of Cem. Former girlfriend of Lena. |
| Andreas Hofer | Markus Lemke | 28-36 | 2 | Father of Lena and Nils. Doris's ex-boyfriend. Go back to the jungle. Keeps video contact with Lena in season 3. |
| Julian Sengelmann | Mark Schönfelder | 39-49 | 3 |
Policeman in love with Lena. |
| Bärbel Schleker | Henriette "Jette" Zink | 39-51 | 3 |
Former editor-in-chief of "InBeTwen" Goes to Tibet because of burnout. |
| Lilay Huser | Ümet Öztürk | 43-47 | 3 | Mother of Metin. Grandmother of Yağmur and Cem. 'Step-grandmother' of Nils and Lena. Aunt of Erol. Is kicked out by Metin, but goes voluntarily. Great-grandmother of Lena and Cem's child. |
| Annette Strasser | Susanne | 46-50 52 |
3 | Geriatric nurse |
| Us Conradi | Esther Rosenstein | 46-51 | 3 | Friend of Hermi †. |
Parallels to Doctor's Diary
Turkish for Beginners contains some overlaps with and allusions to the RTL series Doctor's Diary , which also comes from Bora Drachtkin's pen: In the series finale in Turkish for Beginners , Doris visits a gynecologist. This is embodied by Kai Schumann , who also plays a gynecologist in Doctor's Diary. In the doctor series Anna Stieblich plays a patient of the same gynecologist who has to sound like Doris in the series Turkish for Beginners that she cannot have children. Another allusion appears when Gretchen from Doctor's Diary thinks about her past and meets her teacher Mrs. Schneider, played by Katharina Kaali . Kaali plays the role of teacher Diana Schneider in Turkish for Beginners .
In addition, several actors had roles in both series:
| actor | Turkish for Beginners | Doctor's Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Anna Stieblich | Leading role as Doris Schneider | Episode role as a patient |
| Annette Strasser |
Supporting role as geriatric nurse Susanne supporting role as stewardess (movie) |
Main role as sister Sabine |
| Arnel Tači | Leading role as Costa | Supporting role as junkyard owner Kalle |
| Bärbel Schleker | Supporting role as Jette Zink | Supporting role as Mrs. Nettelsbacher |
| Cristina do Rego | Leading role as Katharina Kuhn | Supporting role as sister Ingeborg |
| Elyas M'Barek | Leading role as Cem Öztürk | Leading role as doctor Dr. Maurice Knechtelsdorfer |
| Frederick Lau | Supporting role as Frieder (movie) | Episode role as Jonas |
| Josefine Preuss | Leading role as Lena Schneider | Episode role as a family member of a patient |
| Kai Schumann | Episodic role as a gynecologist | Leading role as gynecologist Dr. Medhi Kaan |
| Catherine Kaali | Main role as teacher Diana Schneider | Episode role as a teacher Mrs. Schneider |
| Laura Osswald |
Cameo as herself supporting role as turnkey (movie) |
Main role as sister Gabi |
| Marc Ben Puch | Supporting role as legal clerk (movie) | Leading role as Dr. Günni Gummersbach |
| Pegah Ferydoni | Leading role as Yagmur Öztürk | Episode role as a drug addict patient |
| Sonja Gerhardt | Supporting role as Cleo (movie) | Small role as a student |
| Ursela Monn | Episode role as undertaker | Leading role as Bärbel Haase |
| Us Conradi | Supporting role as Esther Rosenstein | Episode role as a patient |
backgrounds
The author of the series, Bora Drachtkin , grew up in a German-Turkish family (with a Turkish father and German mother), which means that when writing the scripts , personal family experiences - exaggerated in the comic - were included when writing the scripts . Guest authors, often of Turkish origin, wrote individual series episodes.
The house where the exterior shots of the series were filmed is located in Berlin-Friedenau on Niedstrasse and belonged to Günter Grass , who lived here from 1963 to 1996.
The interior shots were taken in a hall rented especially for this series in Volkmarstrasse in Berlin-Tempelhof. The interior of the house was built in this hall. In the hall, all areas leading to the outside (front door, kitchen balcony, door to the rear garden) were also recreated in such a way that they could also be used in the hall as an "outside motif". Otherwise, apart from the floor plan of the entrance area, the furnishings and floor plan of the Schneider-Öztürk House do not match the real floor plan of the house in Niedstrasse. Everything was redesigned from a cinematic point of view and based only on the original house with the windows and doors.
The school that Lena, Cem, Yağmur and Costa go to is the Poelchau Oberschule in Berlin.
Press reviews
At the start of the series on the evening before, there was unusual agreement in the feature sections of the German daily press . Peer Schader from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, for example, wrote about the “best ARD series in a long time”. She described Die Welt as "cheeky, funny, politically incorrect" . Der Tagesspiegel found that Turkish also offered “a lot to think about” for beginners , and the Süddeutsche Zeitung pointed out that “rarely (...) what a multicultural society can ironically mean has (has) been so well stylized for television . ”In the taz , Martin U. Müller also considers the ideas for the second season to be successful and speaks of a“ witty, elaborate and witty ”production.
The series also attracted international attention and received positive recognition: it was the television event of the year for the French Liberation . The series also attracted a lot of media interest in Turkey. The series was the basis of a study on the representation of German and Turkish stereotypes at the University of Erfurt.
Broadcasting and ratings
The first episode of the series reached 2.54 million viewers and had a market share of 10.1% at the start. This rate was below ARD's expectations. Those responsible had originally hoped for a success like Not from Bad Parents and Berlin, Berlin . Since this was not the case, it was initially decided not to continue the series. For this reason, a signature campaign started on April 6, 2006, from which the initiators hoped for similar success as with the ProSieben series Stromberg .
On May 12, 2006, ARD, which had not initially planned an extension of the series, announced: “However, the reactions to this series have been overwhelmingly positive and the feedback from our viewers so far has encouraged us to keep 'Turkish for Beginners' in the program and to broadcast more than just the previously produced first season with twelve episodes (...) On June 26th, filming began on 24 further episodes in Berlin , which is expected to last until mid-December 2006. "
The first episode of Season 2, broadcast on March 27, 2007, achieved a disappointing market share of 8.1% and was seen by 1.64 million viewers. However, a market share of 9.5% was achieved in the target group of people between 14 and 49 years of age. The first season had previously been repeated.
On June 22, 2007, a third season with 16 episodes was announced, which aired from November 18 to December 12, 2008.
Motion picture
In September 2010, Josefine Preuß informed the Bild-Zeitung that a film was being prepared: “Everything is currently in preparation.” In another interview in January 2011, Bora Drachtkin said that the script was being worked on.
Between April 5 and June 7, 2011 the filming of Turkish for Beginners took place in Berlin , Munich and Thailand with all the main actors of the television series . The film, which is a reboot of the series, hit theaters on March 15, 2012.
Differences and parallels
Although the movie offers an alternative narrative of how the Schneider family and the Öztürk family met, the characters in the series remained largely the same. However, there were a few differences between a series and a movie:
- Yagmur looks prudish and reserved in the series than in the movie. An example of this is that Yagmur showed a lot of skin in front of males in the film without any problems, while in the series she was always buttoned up and always seen with a headscarf.
- In the movie one learns the exact reason for the death of Cems and Yagmur's mother.
- Lena's brother Nils is portrayed in the film by Nick Romeo Reimann , in the series by Emil Reinke .
- In the movie, Nils has a different character than in the series. In the series he is introverted and gifted. In the film he is portrayed as a freak.
- Doris has a better relationship with her sister Diana in the movie than in the series.
- In the movie, Doris is portrayed much more childishly and with a false self-image, unlike in the series.
- Metin takes the risk of being followed by convicts as a criminal investigator more seriously than in the series.
- In the movie, Costa was aware of his stuttering even before he met Cem.
Lena's ex-boyfriend named Frieder, played by Frederick Lau , appears in the movie . Frieder wanted to commit suicide and got to know Lena in a self-help group. This is a parallel to the series character Axel Mende, played by Axel Schreiber , who was also suicidal.
Annette Strasser plays a geriatric nurse in the series, while in the film she took on the role of the stewardess of the crashing plane.
Sequence bar
Episode bar for all characters from two episodes
| Sequence bar of characters from Turkish for beginners | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| season 1 | season 2 | season 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23 | 24 | 25th | 26th | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30th | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 |
| Helena Claudette "Lena" Schneider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doris Schneider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cem Öztürk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Metin Öztürk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yağmur Öztürk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nils Schneider | N. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Costa | Costa | Costa | C. | Costa | Costa Papavassilou | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C. | Ching | C. | C. | C. | C. | C. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Axel Mende | Ax. | Ax. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hans-Hermann Schneider | H. | H.-H. | H.-H. | H. | Hans-Hermann Schneider † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diana Schneider | Diana Schneider | Diana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gülcan Süleman | GS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ulla Jamuschke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Markus Lemke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Katharina "Kathi" Kuhn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Schoenfelder | MS | Mark S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| J. | J. | Jette zinc | J. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ümet Öztürk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Susanne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Esther Rosenstein | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23 | 24 | 25th | 26th | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30th | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 |
| season 1 | season 2 | season 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Episode list
Awards
Awards
- 2006: Golden Nymph at the “ Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo ”, Philip Voges and Alban Rehnitz win the “Best European Producer Award” in the Comedy category
- 2006: Prix Italia , Turkish for Beginners, wins the "Best Drama Series or Serial" award
- 2006: German Television Award, Best Series
- 2006: Cinéma Tout Ecran , Geneva “Reflet d'Or CINEMA TOUT ECRAN” for the best series
- 2007: Adolf Grimme Prize in the "Entertainment" category
- 2007: German Civis TV Award in the entertainment category
- 2008: Rockie Award at the Banff World Television Festival in Canada in the Telenovela & Serial Programs category
- 2009: Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo , Best European Producer of a Comedy Series.
Nominations
- 2006: Rose d'Or nomination in the sitcom and social awareness categories
- 2006: Golden Nymph Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo, nomination in the category Best Comedy Series , Outstanding Producer and Outstanding Actor / Actress
- 2006: German Television Award, nomination in the category Best Series / Best Actor Series
- 2006: Prix Europa
- 2007: Adolf Grimme Prize in the entertainment and special category
- 2007: Rose d'Or nomination in the sitcom and social awareness categories
- 2009: International Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Program
Publications
DVD
A DVD box (two DVDs) with all episodes of the first season was released on March 27, 2006. This also contains around 20 minutes of additional material, including an audio commentary on episodes 3, 8 and 12 and some omitted scenes. Two further DVD boxes, each with 12 episodes of the second season, were released on April 16, 2007 and May 14, 2007, each shortly after the TV broadcast of the respective episodes. The bonus material includes audio comments on episodes 16, 26, 30 and 32 as well as deleted scenes, outtakes, making of and interviews. A common DVD box for seasons 1 and 2 has been available since November 2007. A 3-DVD box for Season 3 (episodes 37–52) was released in December 2008, shortly after the last episode was broadcast. It again features audio comments on various episodes as well as a making-of and various outtakes. The Turkish for Beginners Complete Box (seasons 1, 2 and 3) was released on November 6, 2009. This contains all 52 episodes, which corresponds to 1286 minutes and 264 minutes of bonus material.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the series was released on March 30, 2007 on the EMI Music label. The CD contains 21 tracks by different musicians, the most important songs of the series are represented on the record. The title song for the series - “Gegen den Rest”, contributed by Karpatenhund - is also on the CD.
Books
To date, four books by Claudia Kühn have been published on the television series:
- Turkish for Beginners 01 - My Crazy Family (March 2007)
- Turkish for Beginners 02 - Confusion to the power of six (March 2007)
- Turkish for Beginners 03 - Crazy Guaranteed (November 2008)
- Turkish for Beginners 04 - The normal madness (October 2008)
literature
- Marie-Thérèse Mäder: A German series about the others. Turkish for Beginners by Bora Drachtkin, in: Stefan Orth u. a. (Ed.), Film Images of Islam. Marburg 2014. pp. 126–141.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Turkish for Beginners: A Hit Abroad ( Memento of the original from April 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Filmstarts.de, April 1, 2009, accessed December 27, 2012
- ↑ TV station "3xl.cat": Poland, Italy, Sweden ( Memento from December 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ TV station "UR"
- ↑ "Turkish for Beginners": New cinema trailer from the well-known TV series. ShortNews.de, November 25, 2011, accessed December 27, 2012
- ↑ Exemplary worksheet for the series (PDF; 335 kB)
- ↑ Copy of the article by Liberation in French on the website of the production company ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Study at the University of Erfurt
- ↑ AS&S website (ARD-Werbung SALES & SERVICES GmbH) ( Memento from October 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ J. Puthenpurackal: In the "Tatort": Josefine Preuss is suspected of murder tonight ( Memento from September 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Hanna Huge: Interview with Bora Drachtkin: Our men are not telenovela-lovers. Serienjunkies.de , January 26, 2011, accessed January 26, 2011 .
- ↑ Hanna Huge: Turkish for Beginners: First photo from the film. Serienjunkies.de, May 19, 2011, accessed June 22, 2011 .
- ↑ Turkish for Beginners March 15, 2012 in Germany. Kleiner-kalender.de, accessed on September 23, 2011 .
- ↑ TURKISH FOR BEGINNERS comes to the cinema. Presseportal.de, May 19, 2011, accessed June 22, 2011 .
Web links
- Turkish for Beginners in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Turkish for beginners at Fernsehserien.de