History of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
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History of the influential show Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, marking its origins and subsequent revival some two decades later.
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[edit] Origins
[edit] Series 1
The first series, co-produced by Witzend Productions and Central Television for ITV in 1983, is the story of seven out-of work builders from various parts of England who are forced to look for work in West Germany. (The title refers to their farewells to their wives and girlfriends - "Auf Wiedersehen" being German for "Farewell", and "Pet" being a North-East English term of endearment.):
- Dennis, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Oz, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Neville, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Moxey, a plasterer from Liverpool
- Bomber, a bricklayer from Bristol
- Wayne, a carpenter from London
- Barry, an electrician from Birmingham
They find work on a German building site in Düsseldorf but despite promises of hotel accommodation, are forced to live in a small hut that reminds them of a POW camp. The rest of the series is driven by the interactions and growing friendships between the various characters: for instance, Barry is an obsessive bore, Neville is an insecure young newlywed, Oz is aggressive and jingoistic, and Wayne is a womaniser. Dennis, being older, more experienced and generally more mature than the others, becomes the de facto leader of the group. Over the course of 13 episodes the "Magnificent Seven" enjoy lots of comic and romantic adventures, until a change in German tax laws forces them to return home.
The series was extremely well-received, with praise for the writing and acting.
The "building site" used for most of the filming was a set created on the backlot of the former ATV studios at Borehamwood (then owned by Central) and sometimes referred to as one of the Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. Following the sale of the facility to the BBC in 1984, the "Albert Square" set of EastEnders was later built on the same site. Such was the attention to detail that the producers imported thousands of bricks from West Germany as these were slightly bigger than those used on British building sites. [1]
The show was one of the first to use lightweight video cameras on location in drama production. Previously used in Electronic News Gathering these were more verstaile and cheaper to use. Interior scenes (such as those in the bar) were shot in studios at Borehamwood. Some location filming was conducted in Hamburg, despite the fact the series was set in Dusseldorf. Spotters will notice that in these scenes all the cars registration numbers begin with HH denoting Hamburg.
[edit] Series 2
A second series of 13 episodes followed in 1986, in which the boys are reunited initially to help Barry complete some building work on his house. Dennis is working for a crooked businessman, Ally Fraser (played by Bill Paterson), after building up large gambling debts to him. Dennis encourages the rest of the gang, to help renovate a country manor house owned by Ally but end up falling afoul of the suspicious locals. When things become a little too hot for Ally he flees to Spain and invites them to follow suit and redecorate his Spanish villa. Once in Spain the gang are soon mistaken for criminals themselves, and the series ends with them fleeing the Spanish police in a motor yacht, together with Barry's fiancée who had only expected a wedding at sea.
The second series received mixed reviews, some thought it was much better than the first series but some felt that it was not as great as they had no longer been under the strain they were in Germany. Holton died before the Spanish indoor scenes were filmed. The script was reworked to explain Wayne's absence from these indoor scenes. In one critical scene, where Bomber manhandles Wayne away from Ally's girlfriend in a nightclub, a double was used.
Location scenes in the UK were shot around the villages of Caunton, Nottinghamshire and Redmile, Leicestershire. Some scenes were also filmed in West Bridgeford, Nottinghamshire (notably the scenes at the Asda supermarket). Studio scenes were filmed at Central's new studios in Nottingham, replacing those at Borehamwood.
[edit] Revival
[edit] Series 3
In 2002 the show was revived, this time as a 6-part series made by Ziji Productions for BBC One. The original writers and all of the surviving cast returned, and were joined by Noel Clarke as Wayne's son Wyman. The storyline revolves around a plan by a corrupt politician (played by Bill Nighy) to demolish the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge (a real-life industrial landmark) and sell it for reconstruction elsewhere. Persuading Oz to get the old gang back together, he then plans to cheat them out of their share of the profits, until a Native American from Arizona (played by Gordon Tootoosis) turns up to announce that he would like to buy the bridge for the benefit of his tribe's casino.
This series featured a re-cap of last episode's events in a voiceover from Dennis at the start of each episode bar the first. This feature was not continued for the fourth series.
The special effects depicting the demolition of the bridge were so realistic that many people believed it was really being demolished, forcing the BBC to add a caption to the last episode reassuring them that it was still there.
Despite some initial scepticism that the reunion would not work, the show was an immediate hit.
[edit] Comic Relief sketch
Some of the cast made an appearance on Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2003, in which they find a suitcase full of money in a Miami hotel room and assume it belongs to a drug dealer who wants to shoot them - but actually it belongs to U2, who invite them to their penthouse.
[edit] Series 4
A fourth series of 6 episodes was aired on BBC One from 4 January to 8 February 2004. Most of the story involves the characters working for the British Embassy in Havana, with Neville being reluctantly recruited as a spy for the British and Oz falling in love with a local ballet dancer. Despite extensive negotiations between the BBC and the Cuban Government, it was not possible to obtain permission to film in Cuba, so the series was actually shot in the Dominican Republic.
[edit] Special
A new "special" comprising two 1-hour episodes was shot in Bangkok and Chiang Mai in July - August 2004 and was broadcast on BBC 1 on 27 and 28 December. Shooting in Bangkok took place partly in the red-light district Soi Cowboy. Pat Roach, although suffering from cancer, had hoped to appear in the miniseries but in the event he was not well enough and died in July. In a nice, and for some touching scene, Dennis reads a letter to the rest of the group while they are all dining in a restaurant, where Pat's character 'Bomber' explains his reasons for not having joined them. The group lift their glasses and drink a toast; "to Bomber !".
The story sees the remaining six working in a British Embassy somewhere in central Africa that is about to be overrun by rioters. Most of them escape uninjured, except for Oz who sustains a painful injury to the backside protecting a female staff member (with whom he is of course having an affair) from a bomb.
The boys then move on to Laos and later Thailand, where Barry's Russian ex-wife (from Series 3) turns up to announce that she is carrying his child following a brief "reconciliation". Barry is then kidnapped and held by guerrillas in a village in Laos. When the others follow they are also captured, but Dennis has the idea (inspired by the film The Bridge on the River Kwai) of working for the villagers to prevent the guerillas from moving them on. Eventually they are able to steal the guerilla leader's mobile phone and send a call for help. It turns out that the man who set them up to the guerillas was actually Neville's corrupt spymaster (from Series 4). Deprived of their hostages the guerillas decide to kidnap him instead.
In the final scenes Dennis, Neville and Oz ask the Embassy to give them an assignment in a nice peaceful country - and find themselves heading back to Germany once more. Following a dedication to Pat Roach, the closing credits of the final episode are accompanied by the opening theme tune from Series 1, bringing the show full circle.
[edit] References
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