Wednesday, November 5, 2014

German Reality TV

There's a show on German commercial TV, VOX, that came up last night with an epic reality show ending.  The show is entitled "Goodbye Deutschland". It's probably been on for at least ten years, and based off the theme of Germans who've finally packed up and left.

Generally, you get a guy or some family who decided that life would be better somewhere else.  The stories laid out....are mostly a three-star saga, built with three central themes.  First, nothing is ever planned well.  Second, limited research is ever done.  Third, the ending can go ever way....with the family in a successful but challenging adaption to the new land, or really blew it and end back in Germany.

Most shows.....I'd say the story and video....equaled a three-star prediction and it was merely entertainment.

Last night? It was a five-star moment with reality TV....a story which really amazed you and a kinda shocking ending.

So, here is the simplified version of the episode.  Siggi is this mid-fifties gal who is on marriage number two, and just married this wonderful new husband a year ago.  Siggi had this dramatic relationship in the 1960s as a teen with this guy she met at some summer vacation episode....Fredi (two years older).  For one brief summer, it was everything you can imagine.  Then, each went back home, and neither was ever able to find the other.....end.

It should have been the end.

But in this case....about six months ago.....Fredi somehow found Siggi on the internet, and contacted her.  Romance blossomed, even though Siggi was newly married.  Internet chat, Skype, and chatter took this all to a new level.

Fredi had gone onto the US years ago and settled in Montana.  He was an American now.

Well...here is the odd thing.  Fredi decided he still loved Siggi, and wanted her to come on over to America.  Siggi dumps her new husband.....moves into a studio apartment, and weeks later packs up to come on to America.  Fredi?  He dumps his wife of thirty years and picks up Siggi at the airport.

Epic moments....love at first sight.  Then you start counting hours.  Within an hour after getting off the plane....they have some hot spicy moment at the RV, with the curtains pulled.

By hour thirty-six in America, reality has hit Siggi.  Fredi is living out of an RV, in a rural camping park in Montana.  No society.  No culture.  No real civilization.

Somewhere by day five, Siggi and Fredi hit some local fair, where some guys in a peppy mode fire off a couple of rounds from a pistol, and Siggi freaks out.

By day seven, Siggi has started packing up, and wants to leave.

The camera crew follows this, and leaves you wondering what exactly Siggi was thinking.....she had to be really lacking in planning over this whole thing.

So, Siggi gets on the plane and leaves.  Fredi, the typical German guy, is standing there and kinda lost on words.  Siggi arrives back in Germany....has words with the husband, and gets something patched up with various explanations.

The dramatic ending?  They spend two minutes with the husband of Siggi, and getting his impression of the recovery.  He kinda hints that Siggi said nothing physical happened, and he believes her.  The producer then hints.....well, the curtains got pulled and something really did occur.  You kinda sense the look on his face.....that wasn't really what he wanted to hear.  And things might not have been solved.

I generally hate reality TV.  But on this occasion....it was an epic story told, and fairly dramatic.  All about love, love gained, love lost, and screwed up life decisions.

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