Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany • Hacker News Board

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#81

Post by cjpearson » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 2:54 PM UTC

torarnv wrote: post #52

omnibrain wrote: post #16

A little know fact is, that the swiss TV produced their own version with the same actors, but subtle (and not so subtle) differences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP7Q8B8YB5k

What are the differences? Do you have a link to the original?

The NDR version can be watched on their site [0], but it might be region locked. The only notable differences I saw in the Swiss version is they removed the intro and the "Must I?" before taking the admiral's drink.

[0] https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/Dinner-for-One-Das-Original,din...

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#82

Post by thebooktocome » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 2:55 PM UTC

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #74

goto11 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was surprised to discover that Mickey Mouse was more popular and well-known in the US than Donald Duck. Come on, Donald Duck is a much more fun and interesting character!

Is it due to the US being prudes and Donald Duck doesn't wear any trousers/underwear?

No, most Americans don’t perceive him as naked, any more than they do Bugs Bunny or other anthro mascots.

I think it’s the accent. His voice actors are pretty hard to understand sometimes.

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#83

Post by JoeAltmaier » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 2:55 PM UTC

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #41

In the UK, "The Snowman" animation based on Raymond Briggs's picture book appears to have become a tradition on Christmas Eve - since the eighties at least anyway. No child or most adults can watch without bursting into tears. https://youtu.be/ZE9KpobX9J8

Book that does that for parents is "Love you forever". I was asked to read it to the children at church one sunday, by a childless woman in charge of the children's program. I refused. None of the parents would read it.

We didn't want to break down in tears in front of the entire congregation.

The woman was baffled. Maybe it has something to do with having children, I don't know. But after my kids wanted it read at bedtime repeatedly, I burned our copy and told them it was lost.

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#84

Post by Symbiote » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 2:58 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #59

In Poland, the British comedy “keeping up appearances” is very popular for some reason. When I moved to the UK I was surprised it’s almost unknown here for anyone under the age of 60.

Keeping Up Appearances is well known at least by people over 30. It was on prime time TV when we were children.

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#85

Post by DandyDev » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 3:01 PM UTC

sdk77 wrote: post #80

Really nice to see this here. I'm in the Netherlands and it has been a tradition in my family and my mother's family to watch this (on tv) on new year's eve. It's been quite a while since I watched it, living on my own. I'm going to tune in tonight!

Fellow Dutchie here. This has also been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. My parents would actually act out parts of the sketch sometimes.

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#86

Post by Simran-B » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 3:01 PM UTC

There is also a digitally colorized version of Dinner for One from 1999 (possibly geo-fenced):

https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/comedy-und-satire/dinner-f...

It is rarely broadcasted in Germany, however, because people just like the original black and white version better and vocally rejected the colorized version when it was first aired.

There were also plans to record a live version in color in 1968, but Freddy Frinton sadly passed away before it was realized.

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#87

Post by doener » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 3:04 PM UTC

An interesting fact from the German Wikipedia, translation with DeepL:

"The sketch was also part of the New Year's Eve program in the GDR. There, however, not the classic with Frinton and Warden was broadcast from 1978, but an early variant with the actors Ernest E. Regon and June Royal under the title Erinnerungsmahl, which had already been played 20 years earlier on the Munich Varieté stage Annast. Beginning on New Year's Eve 1988, a little less than a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, GDR television then also showed the Frinton version.[28]"

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#88

Post by Semaphor » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 3:09 PM UTC

411111111111111 wrote: post #77

Semaphor wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's maybe clubs for tweens I’m guessing I’m not the only one who thought that "tweens" meant people in their 20s. As a tip: Don’t say you are into tweens. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tween#Etymology_2

Oh, i thought it was people between teen and early twenties, as it looks like a combination of these words. I misused the word, thanks for pointing that out. Really confusing when you stumble upon such a total misconception about the meaning of a word in your own vocabulary.

As I said, I made exactly the same mistake ;) Teen comes from ten, it only makes sense that tweens comes from twenty. IMO we are right and everyone else is wrong ;)

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#89

Post by doener » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 3:13 PM UTC

vander_elst wrote: post #18

The best thing about the German version (if you watch in on tv) is that before the comedy begins, there's an explanation about why it's funny.

Here's the part you mean:

https://www.ndr.de/kultur/dinner_for_one/Dinner-for-One-Hein...

What to keep in mind: It is one of the few pieces of German television tradition that are shown entirely in English - without subtitles. The English is intentionally made so simple that many people without good language skills can understand it. In 1963, however, when the sketch was recorded, a great many Germans knew only a few scraps of English. The explanation is mainly meant to make sure that the following sketch is understood anyway.

Re: Dinner for one: A little-known British comedy famous in Germany

#90

Post by lqet » Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 3:15 PM UTC

German here - New Year's Eve preparations are nearly done. The Raclette is ready, and I have prepared "Do-it-yourself Mr. Bean" and "Dinner for One" for repeated re-watching. My 3 year old loves it, as I did when I was 3, and as my parents did when they were 3 in the 60ies.

The same procedure as every year.