Türkisch für Anfänger
Encyclopedia
Türkisch für Anfänger is a critically acclaimed German television comedy series, which premiered on March 14, 2006 on Das Erste
. It was created by Bora Dağtekin and produced by Hoffmann & Voges Ent.
The show focuses on the German-Turkish stepfamily
Schneider-Öztürk, their everyday lives and particularly on the eldest daughter Lena, who narrates the show. During the show's run of 52 episodes, topics covered included both typical problems of teenagers and cross-cultural experiences.
Due to popular demand, the crew shot a third season consisting of 16 episodes, which were aired in Fall 2008.
descent, and decided to move in with him.
But the widower Metin wasn't alone: He has two children, Yağmur (15), his pious Muslim
daughter, and Cem (17), his wannabe gangster son. Now Lena must deal with her extended family. She narrates the show by recording videos for her best friend Kati, who studying in the USA on a Student Exchange Program.
The episode titles imitate those of Friends
(The One with...), for example:
. Doris who is very free-spirited has to get used to her new role as a mother of four instead of two children, her stepson Cem, who is a bit of a macho
, and her stepdaughter who is very critical of her less than decent kitchen-skills.
Meanwhile Lena and Nils have to try to fit in in their new school which is very different from their old school. After some time Lena even finds a new friend, Axel, who falls in love with her. At first, Lena tries to deny her feelings for him, but eventually they become a couple. But things get even more complicated when Cem admits that he is in love with Lena, too and Lena is torn between Cem and Axel.
and hurts himself, he decides to break up with Lena once and for all. He still has feelings for her and although he tries to lose his virginity with a prostitute, he hesitates and decides that he still wants to be with Lena. When Lena finds out that Cem went to a prostitute, she thinks he isn't a virgin anymore and sleeps with Axel. Cem is devastated and doesn't want to speak with Lena anymore.
Doris and Metin have to deal with Doris' father Herman who is broke and needs to stay with his daughter's family - much to their dismay. The house gets even more crowded when Doris' sister Diana visits and gets herself a job at Lena's school. Diana discovers that Nils is intellectually gifted and he leaves the family to go to a high-class boarding school.
Meanwhile Yağmur is flirting online with an unknown boy who turns out to be Cem's best friend Costa, who soon falls in love with the unaware Yağmur. He tries several times to tell her that he is the one she has been writing with but Costa's stuttering
holds him back.
Metin proposes to Doris and after some complications she says yes. But when her old boyfriend Markus, the father of Lena and Nils, finds out about the wedding, he leaves the Amazon
and comes back to Germany to stop Doris from being what she never wanted to be: A housewife.
Lena who is still in love with Cem meets the pious Christian
Ulla and the two girls become friends. Lena wants Ulla to flirt with Cem and then blow him off as revenge but Ulla and Cem fall in love with each other. With her father's help she tries to break them up again at Doris and Metin's wedding.
Das Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
. It was created by Bora Dağtekin and produced by Hoffmann & Voges Ent.
The show focuses on the German-Turkish stepfamily
Stepfamily
A stepfamily, also known as a blended family or reconstituted family, is a family in which one or both members of the couple have children from a previous relationship...
Schneider-Öztürk, their everyday lives and particularly on the eldest daughter Lena, who narrates the show. During the show's run of 52 episodes, topics covered included both typical problems of teenagers and cross-cultural experiences.
Due to popular demand, the crew shot a third season consisting of 16 episodes, which were aired in Fall 2008.
Plot
Lena's life seemed to be perfect the way it was: The 16-year old girl used to live just with her little brother Nils (13) and her mother Doris, a psychotherapist. But unfortunately for Lena, her mother Doris fell in love with Metin, a police officer of TurkishTurkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
descent, and decided to move in with him.
But the widower Metin wasn't alone: He has two children, Yağmur (15), his pious Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
daughter, and Cem (17), his wannabe gangster son. Now Lena must deal with her extended family. She narrates the show by recording videos for her best friend Kati, who studying in the USA on a Student Exchange Program.
The episode titles imitate those of Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(The One with...), for example:
- "Die, in der ich meine Freiheit verliere" ("The One Where I Lose My Freedom")
- "Die, in der ich keine Schwester will" ("The One Where I Don't Want a Sister")
Season 1
The new "family" has to get used to each other - which is much more complicated than Doris and Metin thought: Lena and Yağmur have to share a room, then they all buy stuff! like hookers and other stuff which complicates their sisterhood right from the beginning as does the fact that Lena is an atheist and Yağmur a pious Muslim girl wearing a headscarfHeadscarf
Headscarves or head scarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman's hair and her head. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as for warmth, for sanitation, for fashion or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness, out of modesty, or other...
. Doris who is very free-spirited has to get used to her new role as a mother of four instead of two children, her stepson Cem, who is a bit of a macho
Macho
Macho typically refers to machismo. Other uses include:*Macho , a short-lived disco group in the late 1970s*Pique macho, Bolivian dish*Macho Man , a 1978 disco song performed by the Village People...
, and her stepdaughter who is very critical of her less than decent kitchen-skills.
Meanwhile Lena and Nils have to try to fit in in their new school which is very different from their old school. After some time Lena even finds a new friend, Axel, who falls in love with her. At first, Lena tries to deny her feelings for him, but eventually they become a couple. But things get even more complicated when Cem admits that he is in love with Lena, too and Lena is torn between Cem and Axel.
Season 2
After Axel's suicide-attempt Lena decided to stay with him and forget all about Cem. But this isn't as easy as she wants it to be and when Cem discovers that Axel didn't attempt suicide at all, there doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. But no one believes Cem - not even Lena - and when he falls into a manholeManhole
A manhole is an opening used to gain access to sewers or other underground structures, usually for maintenance.Manhole may also refer to:* Manhole , a metal band from Los Angeles* The Manhole, a computer game...
and hurts himself, he decides to break up with Lena once and for all. He still has feelings for her and although he tries to lose his virginity with a prostitute, he hesitates and decides that he still wants to be with Lena. When Lena finds out that Cem went to a prostitute, she thinks he isn't a virgin anymore and sleeps with Axel. Cem is devastated and doesn't want to speak with Lena anymore.
Doris and Metin have to deal with Doris' father Herman who is broke and needs to stay with his daughter's family - much to their dismay. The house gets even more crowded when Doris' sister Diana visits and gets herself a job at Lena's school. Diana discovers that Nils is intellectually gifted and he leaves the family to go to a high-class boarding school.
Meanwhile Yağmur is flirting online with an unknown boy who turns out to be Cem's best friend Costa, who soon falls in love with the unaware Yağmur. He tries several times to tell her that he is the one she has been writing with but Costa's stuttering
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
holds him back.
Metin proposes to Doris and after some complications she says yes. But when her old boyfriend Markus, the father of Lena and Nils, finds out about the wedding, he leaves the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
and comes back to Germany to stop Doris from being what she never wanted to be: A housewife.
Lena who is still in love with Cem meets the pious Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Ulla and the two girls become friends. Lena wants Ulla to flirt with Cem and then blow him off as revenge but Ulla and Cem fall in love with each other. With her father's help she tries to break them up again at Doris and Metin's wedding.
Season 3
The third season continues two years after Doris and Metin's wedding. Cem failed in school and breaks up with his girlfriend Ulla. After some time, Cem gets Lena pregnant and she decides to become a stay at home mom to take care of their baby boy. Cem on the other hand has to work as a police officer to earn money. Unlike Cem, Yagmur finishes school and becomes a translator while Costa pursues a career in design. Doris fears the natural process of aging and uses Botox injections which speeds up her menopause and leaves her with an inability to have children. Although the show says nothing about Yagmur and Costa getting married, they are still happily together throughout the season. Sadly, Grandpa Hermann dies from a heart attack.Main Characters
- Josefine PreußJosefine PreußJosefine Preuß is a German actress.Preuß was born in Zehdenick, Brandenburg, Germany, near Berlin. Her breakthrough role was Anna Reichenbach in Schloss Einstein , a broadcast for children, in which she starred from 1999 to 2001...
as Helena „Lena“ Claudette Schneider and she is a very tallented girl in the art of knulla - Emil Reinke as Nils Schneider ist eine katze
- Anna Stieblich as Doris Schneider
- Elyas M'Barek as Cem Öztürk
- Pegah Ferydoni known for her cars, she owns a ferrari and a chevrolet, but she looks like a turtle there for she is being raised as a turtle as Yağmur Öztürk
- Adnan Maral as Metin Öztürk
Supporting Cast
- Arnel Taci as Costa Papavassilou
- Axel Schreiber as Axel Mende
- Carl-Heinz Choinsky as Hermann Schneider
- Katharina Kaali as Diana Schneider
- Andreas Hofer as Markus Lemke
- Susanne Kirschnik as Ulla Jamuschke
Awards
- 2006: Nymphe d'Or at the "Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo", for "Best European Producer for a Comedy show"
- 2006: Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
, for "Best Drama-Show or Serial" - 2006: Deutscher Fernsehpreis, for "Best Show"
- 2006: Reflet d’Or CINEMA TOUT ECRAN, for "Best Show"
- 2007: Adolf-Grimme-Preis, for "Entertainment Show"
- 2007: Civis media prizeCIVIS media prizeWith the Civis Europe's media prize for integration, programme performances in radio and television will be honoured which are particularly suitable for the promotion of peaceful coexistence within the European immigration community....
, for "Entertainment Show" - 2008: Banff Rockie Award at Banff World Television Festival, for "Telenovela & Serial Programs"
Nominations
- 2006: Rose d’Or, nominated for "Sitcom" and "Social Awareness"
- 2006: Nymphe d'Or Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo, nominated for "Best Comedy Series", "Outstanding Producer" and "Outstanding Actor/Actress"
- 2006: Deutscher Fernsehpreis, nominated for "Best Show" and "Best Actor in a show"
- 2006: Prix Europa
- 2007: Adolf-Grimme-Preis, nominated for "Entertainment/Special"
- 2007: Rose d’Or, nominated for "Sitcom" and "Social Awareness"
- 2009: International Academy of Television Arts and SciencesInternational Academy of Television Arts and SciencesThe International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is an organization of global broadcasters, with members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies...
, nominated for "Comedy"
Production details
The creator of the show, Bora Dağtekin, grew up in a German-Turkish home (his father was Turkish, his mother German) therefore - according to him - personal experiences influenced his writing. Specific episodes are written by guest writers - often of Turkish descent.DVD releases
| DVD Name | Number of episodes | Release Date | Bonus Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 12 | March 27, 2006 | Audio Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Casting Best-Offs |
| Season 2.1 | 12 | April 16, 2007 | Audio Commentaries, Outtakes, Making Of, Interviews |
| Season 2.2 | 12 | May 14, 2007 | Audio Commentaries, Outtakes, Making Of, Interviews |
| Season 1&2 | 36 | November 15, 2007 | Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentaries, Outtakes, Making Of, Interviews |
Books
Four books, written by Claudia Kühn, have been published accompanying this TV show.- Türkisch für Anfänger 01 - Meine verrückte Familie (March 2007)
- Türkisch für Anfänger 02 - Verwirrung hoch sechs (March 2007)
- Türkisch für Anfänger 03 - Durchdrehen garantiert (October 2008)
- Türkisch für Anfänger 04 - Der ganz normale Wahnsinn (October 2008)
External links
- Official website (German)