Der Fernseher: German Television

by - Sunday, December 01, 2019

A few posts back, I briefly touched on German television in that I imagined what a CSI: Frankfurt episode would look like and how that might translate to at least passable entertainment on television. A closer look at German T.V. tells me that there are quite a few differences to the tube in the U.S., and any other country for that matter.

For beginners, television (or streaming channels, in our age) is still the undeniable standard in the world of entertainment, whether we like it or not. All roads lead to Hollywood, in the end, due to the fact that the studios or streaming services have the budgets of some small European countries. Money talks, and nowhere more so than in the U.S. Chances are you can turn on a German T.V. and you'll be watching an American movie (dubbed, of course), T.V. show or entertainment special dealing with American celebrities.

Now what does German T.V. have to offer that the U.S. doesn't have? Back in the 1980's, your choices were quite clear: you had three T.V. stations, all public and subsidized so that it became quite predictable what you were going to watch. Today, there's more noise in German T.V., especially with cable T.V.  and its accompanying 100+ channels now a reality. That would be popular private channels like RTL, SAT1 or Pro7.

That said, that's not why I watch German television. For the most part, I stick to public T.V. stations. German T.V is like NPR on a screen. The T.V. shows are usually German, with less noise and more information. I've heard outsiders label German T.V. as dry and bland, and there's some truth to that. The news is the news. There's a guy (or gal) reading the news without the bells and whistles. The talk shows, especially those in the political realm, are merciless and uncensored. What to do about climate change? What to do about the extremism gripping Germany now? How do we bridge the income gap? I'm not saying that U.S. television doesn't have these discussions, only that they are more measured. Why? Follow the money. If you are owned by a corporation, you will likely follow said corporation's agenda. Public T.V. can be a little more lose with the rules.

The most famous thriller show, "Tatort", will usually focus on one homicide. Two detectives (it always has to be two) spend the whole show trying to solve the mystery. No guns (or very rarely), no explosions, no Armageddon. Just the old fashioned whodunnit that has remained popular to this day.

Last but not least, despite the lack of car rollovers and mega explosions, German T.V. is not censored. If the proposal is s--t, then that's what it is. No bleeping.

In the end, it's a matter of what you're looking for. Personally, I've become more of an NPR guy, so German T.V. is all right with me...until I remember how T.V. has evolved and I reach for the Netflix remote.

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