Dinner for One

Ellis Dee · 31-12-2011 2:17pm #1

Ever since 1963, German TV has been showing a very funny programme every year on New Year's Eve. Several other countries have since adopted the same tradition. It's all about an old lady, who always has a dinner for four of her friends, all of whom died long ago, and her faithful butler (played by Freddy Frimpton), who serves the food and drink and does the toasting for all four. In addition to his other duties ...;);)

The phrase "The same procedure as EVERY year" has entered several European languages.

It's about to begin on Finnish TV now, so I'll pour another glass of Turkish red wine and enjoy it again, at the same time as I wish all of you a Happy New Year 2012.:)

Sorry I can't embed YouTube videos, but I suppose you'll be able to view it with the aid of this link anyway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD8k1CnVeAQ&feature=related

MugMugs · 31-12-2011 2:19pm

Is there a discussion you'd like to start about this?

31-12-2011 2:20pm

i've been told before this is hilarious and had to watch it

just not funny at all

mackg · 31-12-2011 2:21pm

MugMugs wrote: »

Is there a discussion you'd like to start about this?

I disagree

bleg · 31-12-2011 2:21pm

Heard about this off my German colleagues during the year! They love it. It's as traditional to them as Turkey & Ham for us.

Itsdacraic · 31-12-2011 2:23pm

Ellis Dee wrote: »

Ever since 1963, German TV has been showing a very funny programme every year on New Year's Eve.

Pull the other one.

sunflower27 · 31-12-2011 2:29pm

I stopped watching when he patted the tiger's head and everyone laughed and I didn't.

Happy New year to you anyway, OP. You can't please everyone

El Weirdo · 31-12-2011 2:33pm

Ellis Dee wrote: »

...German...very funny...

Does not compute.

My name is URL · 31-12-2011 2:41pm

Tradition is an odd thing

biko · 31-12-2011 2:43pm

Aye, I love that one

Ficheall · 31-12-2011 3:16pm

Rape, surely.. and the laughter is most irritating.

Spore · 31-12-2011 3:52pm

Ellis Dee wrote: »

Ever since 1963, German TV has been showing a very funny programme every year on New Year's Eve.

Sweet! Thanks for sharing. Here's watching from Seoul and I had a laugh.

Ellis Dee · 31-12-2011 4:31pm

MugMugs wrote: »

Is there a discussion you'd like to start about this?

No, should there be?

Just wanted to share a different New Year's tradition with anyone who might be interested, but do feel free to express any views you might have.;)

longshanks · 31-12-2011 8:24pm

I know a couple of German girls and they wouldn't shut up about this. Watched it on youtube with them and they were pissed off with me when I didn't find it funny...
'ach you know that in Germany this is our tradition, all your Irish tradition is to drink'
The Germans, a right funny bunch.

donadoni · 02-01-2012 1:34am

Its an interesting phenomena. I am german myself and dont find it funny now, but remember looking forward to Dinner for One when I was a child, as I found it hilarious then. I'd say people like it and watch it because they liked it as children and associate it with New Years eve, an exciting day for a child, when you can stay up for much longer than usual, you can light a firework with your Dad at midnight and so on. Dinner for One has just become a part of it all and New Years Eve is still a special day for most people.

A couple of years ago I brought some irish friends of mine home to Bavaria and they thought the scenery was just like out of the Musical "The Sound of Music".
I didn't have a clue what they were talking about and was informed that it is a movie that is being shown every year around christmas and they couldn't believe that I had never heard of it, being from there, and that it was great and I had to watch it sometime.
I watched it and thought it was the bigest heap of crap that I have ever seen and I'd say people in the UK, Ireland and wherever else it is being shown, liked it when they were children and now associate it with christmas, an exciting and special time for everyone and Sound of Music is just a part of it. Its a bit like Pavlovs dog in both cases.

http://psychology.about.com/od/classicalconditioning/a/pavlovs-dogs.htm

Callan57 · 02-01-2012 1:05pm

Well I thought Dinner for One was hilarious ..... but I doubt I'd want to watch it year after year. Nor do I want to repeatedly watch The Sound of Music ... once was sufficient.

Jesus Wept · 03-01-2012 8:50am

Gave it 5 mins.
Can confirm that it is not funny, is it even trying to be?

donadoni · 03-01-2012 1:23pm

OSI wrote: »

I remember being forced to watch this in German class in school and finding it about as funny as anything German. ie not at all.

Your german class must have been quite a waste of time if you were watching british clips without a single german sentence in it. Did you pass the exam?

Morlar · 03-01-2012 7:02pm

Does anyone know is that clip originally from the BBC ?

donadoni · 03-01-2012 7:08pm

So they tought you that the germans like to watch an english commedian on TV on New Years eve and you think you learned something about german culture and traditions?

donadoni · 03-01-2012 7:20pm

Morlar wrote: »

Does anyone know is that clip originally from the BBC ?

I dont think so. As far as I know it was first recorded by the german TV station NDR. Peter Frankenfeld, an influential german Entertainer from the 60 - 70 's seen it performed on stage in England, liked it and got this TV station to record it at a later stage.

Morlar · 03-01-2012 7:29pm

Parts of it are mildly amusing & the actor was good at playing drunk. It seems to be more of a (good natured) caricature of the english upper class than anything else. Reminded me slightly of 'upstairs downstairs' if it was played for laughs.

donadoni · 04-01-2012 12:42am

Morlar wrote: »

Parts of it are mildly amusing & the actor was good at playing drunk. It seems to be more of a (good natured) caricature of the english upper class than anything else. Reminded me slightly of 'upstairs downstairs' if it was played for laughs.

Agreed. Mildly amusing sums it up. As I said in my earlier post, I think the popularity stems from people watching it as children and associating it with an exciting time and day. And as somebody else pointed out, it would be more than sufficient to watch it once, and forget about it then. Somehow it turned into a cult over the years, not least because of that catch phrase 'Same procedure as every year?' in it,which is now being used a lot in Germany in all kinds of situations where something rather unpleasent repeats itself over and over again.

donadoni · 04-01-2012 1:01am

OSI wrote: »

We watched plenty of German films and TV, read plenty of German books and magazines and listened to German radio in German class. All in an attempt to learn German culture. When we came back after the winter break the teacher thought it would be a good idea to show us what the Germans like to watch on New Years.

I don't see what your big problem is with the fact we watched this in a German class.

Oh dear no, I dont have a problem with it at all. Was just wondering what the point of it is, as much as I would have wondered what the point would have been, if my english teacher would have played Rammstein, Nenas 99 Airballoons or 'Das Boot' in my english classes, because a lot of people in the UK like it. But there.... you explained it to me, fair enough :rolleyes:

Dinner for One

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