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Dinner for One: British comedy Germans have been laughing at for years (2018)
- Tomte 2y agoNo, it‘s not hyperbole. Every German can quote at least parts of the sketch. I‘ve just seen it the first time tonight, and will at least once more. There are at least 14 broadcasts tonight across the public TV stations. And several variations (Cologne dialect etc.) on top.
- Dilettante_ 2y agoJesus Christ now it's on HN, too? I literally cannot escape mention of this on Silvester. /hj t. German
- diggan 2y agoNever heard "Silvester" before and thought it was some new German social network. Turns out it's just "New Year's Eve" in German.
- riidom 2y agoNamed after pope Silvester I., who happened to die on 31.12. .. somewhere around 300 AD I think
- CRConrad 2y agoI'd guess in most countries that follow the Name Day[1] tradition (most countries in Europe and Latin America, it appears), Sylvester's day is on Dec 31st[2]. The Germans just use the name to refer to the day (and spell it with an 'i' -- which TIL seems to be the original spelling); dunno, maybe others do too. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_day [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sylvester%27s_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sylvester%27s_Day
- usrusr 2y agoAt this point I think it's a bit of an NYE tradition on HN to link and upvote that guardian article from 2018. I don't mind it, less confused blank faces when I accidentally recite parts of it to people who aren't German (or Norwegian, apparently)
- leipert 2y agoSame procedure as every year.
- Tomte 2y agoIn general: You should upvote stories you don’t like and be happy. Now you can click on „hide“ and all further submissions will be dupes. Otherwise you‘d see lots of similar submissions of other articles about it.
- vr46 2y agoHad never heard of it before meeting German spouse. Now I can’t get away from it, they’ve all gone next door to watch it.
- twiddling 2y agoRight up there with German fascination with David Hasselhoff
- pvaldes 2y agoDavid Haselnuss in Germany
- mentalgear 2y agoNot just in Germany - I was pretty amazed it was little known in the UK. But I guess every country has their supposed iconic cultural touchstones of outside countries the mentioned countries know little about. BTW: Go watch it if you can find it; it's actually pretty funny the first time around.
- latexr 2y agoFull sketch, with the German introduction skipped. https://youtu.be/To8g9XxAdXs?t=147 https://youtu.be/To8g9XxAdXs?t=147
- thinkingemote 2y agoIronically it's blocked in Britain!
- beardyw 2y agoYou are not missing much. It is amusing, but it's popularity is quite baffling.
- MoreMoore 2y agoAlcohol and it's something you can have on while sitting in the living room with the family, talking about random shit. It's a vibe thing. I certainly wouldn't put it on to watch alone. But in that setting? It's fun.
- beardyw 2y agoYes, I can see that. But it's almost unknown in the UK so it wouldn't work for us.
- archi42 2y agoFor some it's just a beloved ritual and shared experience :-) I've certainly seen it at least as many times sober as I have seen it drunk. First as a kid of course, but also now that I'm older (even though we have no kids and no other requirement not to drink). I have to admit it's funnier while enjoying a nice drink, though ;-)
- Ylpertnodi 2y agoAfter each punctuation mark, you could have added "to me."
- MoreMoore 2y ago
- larusso 2y agoJust this morning I complained about the a news article here listing all the times and channels it will be broadcasted. I mean as a German it’s kinda normal to watch it at least once in life. My English teacher used it as a way to do role play (next to singing Whams last Christmas, the fact that I still know the lyrics speaks volumes how often we had to sing it ;)) Back then one had to wait for New Year’s Eve to watch it. But in the age of YouTube and Co the magic is lost for me. Yes people cling to only watch it on TV only on new years as a tradition.
- jccalhoun 2y agoI guess the opposite of this is that in Austria and Germany they don't really know The Sound of Music. And Edelweiss is not a song everyone in Austria and Germany sing all the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelweiss_(song)#Austrian_attitudes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelweiss_(song)#Austrian_atti...
- Dilettante_ 2y agoCan confirm. All I know about that movie is that at some point a Nun says "What is it you can't face?"
- throw_pm23 2y agoIf you have seen the sound of music a few times, you will surely enjoy Slavoj Zizek's brief analysis of it :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiTum8eQ51E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiTum8eQ51E
- itronitron 2y agoWhat does it mean in this context to be the opposite of this?
- em-bee 2y agoopposite in the sense that everyone in austria and germany knows "dinner for one" and practically noone knows sound of music. while "dinner for one" is relatively unknown in other countries, despite being in english, but most know about "sound of music". i myself heard people talk about "sound of music" when i was travelling in europe and i only first watched it while in latvia. knowledge about "dinner for one" is only spreading in recent decades as it gets shared on social media and international discussion forums, as exemplified in this very thread.
- jccalhoun 2y agoDinner for One is from the UK but hardly anyone in the UK knows about it while people in Germany love it. The Sound of Music is about a real Austrian family but relatively unknown in Austria and Germany while people in the USA (and I would guess other English speaking countries) love it.
- steinvakt2 2y agoSomething like 50% of the people in Norway watch this on "little Christmas eve" - December 23rd. For a lot of people, this is what officialy starts off the Christmas vacation. Edit: Source: I'm norwegian and have watched this sketch with my family every single year since I was born.
- from-nibly 2y agoAKA Christmas Adam
- kolektiv 2y agoI'd heard of it as a thing some years ago, but never actually saw it "in the wild" until I was skiing in Norway over Christmas a few years ago. The hotel had it on in one of the lounges, which filled with a variety of nationalities to watch it, notably lacking the British. We're quite mystified.
- vidarh 2y agoIn fact, one year they were forced to put it on twice, as it was shown as part of a variety show, and was moved earlier than billed, causing an uproar when people realized they'd missed it.
- kasperni 2y agoEveryone watches it in Denmark for new years as well. Probably one of my earliest tv memories. Only met a couple of brits (all of them older) who knew the sketch.
- mhandley 2y agoI'm British, but had never heard of it until I spent New Year with my wife's family in Denmark a few years ago. Indeed it does seem to be compulsory viewing there, and no-one could believe I didn't know it.
- cjs_ac 2y agoI grew up in Australia; our Danish neighbours introduced this to us. SBS (the Special Broadcasting Service, a government-owned TV station that serves Australia's many migrant communities) shows it every New Year's Eve, although always at a different time.
- slwvx 2y agoWhy did this catch on in Europe? It's got some humor and hint of sex, and easy-to-understand English, but is there something more?
- chihuahua 2y agoThere's some Anglophilia among certain parts of the population. They like to create a certain idea of Britishness, and like to associate themselves with that mental image, hoping it will make them appear sophisticated and slightly quirky in a way that makes them superior to the common rabble.
- CRConrad 2y agoFeels hard to believe "Anglophilia" is the main reason people watch it, when it's all about making over-the-top fun -- way beyond Wodehouse, even -- of all the things those "Anglophiles" could be reasonably supposed to love.
- nick3443 2y agoOurs is watching A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. No body else thinks it's so funny.
- bdz 2y agoWatched it for the first time today. Horny men + women being the butt of every single joke. As if it was written by a horny teenage boy. Sure it’s the product of its time but it’s for the good “they don't make films like that anymore”
- jhbadger 2y agoBut surprisingly true to the actual Roman source material (it is basically several comedies by Plautus stitched together). Romans had a rather crude sense of humor by today's standards.
- chasil 2y agoI actually watched it as a stage production. I have never seen the film beyond this clip. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahqu1nd3Zu8 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahqu1nd3Zu8 Hard to believe that Sweeney Todd was from the same man. There are many Sondheim productions around Chicago. The last one that I saw was A Little Night Music.
- klelatti 2y agoMystified as to why NDR (German TV station) would have wanted to record an English language performance of this sketch in 1963. Would they not have preferred a German version? Was there a lot of English language TV being broadcast in Germany at that time?
- mtmail 2y ago(based on the German Wikipedia article) Freddie Frinton, the main actor, refused to make the performance in German. He worked for the British army in world war II and didn't like Germany much.
- quink 2y agoThat's OK and perfectly reasonable, we all love him and Dinner for One just the same.
- qwertox 2y agoI just watched it about an hour ago (same procedure as every year) and this time I was somehow amazed at how good the drunkenness is acted. I did quit drinking alcohol somewhat over 4 years ago, and watching him stumble really reminded me of my worst days in my teens. For a second it made me want to feel that imbalance again, but then I remembered the rest that comes with it.
- tormeh 2y agoThe actor was a teetotaler as well!
- ahartmetz 2y agoTIL he did it on hard mode. It is much easier to play very drunk when (even very) slightly drunk.
- mongol 2y agoQuite long takes as well. Skillfully acted
- ahazred8ta 2y agoRed Skelton and Lucille Ball did the same thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY3eOtJwOhE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY3eOtJwOhE
- CRConrad 2y ago"Lucy Wins A Racehorse" -- was that the link you meant to post?
- ahazred8ta 2y agoThe Vita-Meata-Vega-Min patent medicine act: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=VitaMeataVegaMin&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos https://duckduckgo.com/?q=VitaMeataVegaMin&iar=videos&iax=vi...
- mvellandi 2y agoYup, American expat in Germany here just watched it with family. I didn't understand the fascination but it's become funnier over the years, particularly with kids.
- krylon 2y ago"The same procedure as every year" - the repetition, the ritual is a big part of it.
- itronitron 2y agoYou may want to suggest they watch this as well >> https://archive.org/details/hogans-heroes-s-01-e-01-the-informer_202207/HogansHeroesS01E01TheInformer.mp4 https://archive.org/details/hogans-heroes-s-01-e-01-the-info...
- quink 2y agohttps://www.spiegel.de/kultur/tv/dinner-for-one-sendezeiten-zu-diesen-uhrzeiten-laeuft-der-silvester-klassiker-a-878de364-fc20-4d9c-95a2-74ab646d97d4 https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/tv/dinner-for-one-sendezeiten-... Airs on NDR, WDR, MDR, SWR, BR, HR, RBB (the regional broadcasters, N stands for North, W for West, easy enough) a total of 11 times, plus 6 times in re-stagings in various dialects (no dubbing here). Then once on Das Erste (The First, run by the collaborative federal broadcaster ARD, of the above). And once on ORF's (Austria's public broadcaster) ORF 1. And the Swiss have their own recording of the same sketch, performed by the same two, but with variations of course, once each on SRF 1 and SRF 2 respectively, and the German version on SRF 2 once. In a nutshell, it's on the TV schedule 22 times. Probably a bit more than that if you properly count RB and SR (smaller broadcasters whose schedule is mostly affiliated with NDR and SWR respectively). If you count those separately, add another 7 times.
- snthpy 2y agoTIL that there are variations. I'd love to watch the Swiss version too see how different the gags are from take to take.
- CRConrad 2y ago> And the Swiss have their own recording of the same sketch, performed by the same two, but with variations of course Since the Swiss recording is the one that was shown on Swedish television every New Year's Eve when I was young (maybe still is, Idunno), I've always assumed that's the one they showed in Germany and elsewhere too.
- ulrischa 2y agoSee Google Today: https://www.google.com/search?q=dinner+for+one https://www.google.com/search?q=dinner+for+one
- the_third_wave 2y agoSame In Sweden where this has been a fixed point on television for decades. Christmas Eve - julafton in Swedish, when Christmas is celebrated here - means "Kalle Anka's jul" (Donald Duck's Christmas) on TV, 15.00, 1 hour long. New year's eve means "Grevinnan och betjänten" (the Countess and the servant) which is the Swedish name for this skit.
- vander_elst 2y agoLiterally watching it right now. The best part of the German sketch is that before the sketch there's a presenter explaining why it's funny.
- eigenspace 2y agoI think the little blurb at the beginning is there because not everyone watching it knows English. Because the humour is so physical though, that blurb is mostly all you really need to enjoy it even if you only know German.
- deaddodo 2y agoThe blurb is there because Germans are stereotypically terrible at humor (especially irony and sarcasm). It's a metajoke. I can only hope you're being ironic, in missing that; or it's now doubly meta.
- senthil_rajasek 2y agoSpeaking of little known shows in their own country becoming iconic outside, Are Germans aware how popular the "Didi's Comedy Show" was in India during the 80s? I grew up with that show and still crack up at Didi's antics.
- Tomte 2y agoDieter Hallervorden? He used to be a staple in New Year‘s programmes, but not so much in the last ten, twenty years or so. As a child I always watched his shows. No, I never would have guessed people would know him in India.
- janfoeh 2y agoAt least this German did not, and would not have guessed in a million years. Thank you for telling us this; it completely baffles me, and I love it.
- ahartmetz 2y agoThat's strange! I liked him when I was little, and today I know that he did and maybe still does some more serious stuff as well (mostly on stage). Have you seen his movies?
- weinzierl 2y agoHis movies from the 80s are worth watching, especially "Non-Stop Trouble with My Double", because they have this comedic bitter tragedy I haven't encountered anywhere else.
- senectus1 2y agothat was very funny. thank you!
- mjklin 2y agoVersion with puppets (Bernd the Bread is a popular German character): https://youtu.be/NkS4H5fLcq4?si=QOblB3_C8WeuB4jv https://youtu.be/NkS4H5fLcq4?si=QOblB3_C8WeuB4jv
- kristianp 2y agoThis reminds me of the butler android Kryten from the 90s tv show Red Dwarf. When we're introduced to him in the show, he is attending to the crew of a spaceship, however they have all been dead for an unspecified length of time. But apparently he's named "after a character called 'Crichton' in a play/film called The Admirable Crichton" [1]. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/RedDwarf/comments/1aoio58/the_origin_of_kryten/ https://www.reddit.com/r/RedDwarf/comments/1aoio58/the_origi...
- quink 2y agoIronically despite my central European heritage, I didn't watch Dinner for One, but I just watched that episode this December 29th, being on a Red Dwarf re-watch spree... again.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- apeescape 2y agoThis kinda reminds me of the anime Silver Fang (Ginga Nagareboshi Gin), which is hugely popular in Finland (well, at least among the millenials), but apparently quite unknown anywhere else, even in Japan where it originated from.
- Traubenfuchs 2y agoI don‘t know anyone who watches this.