- Ein Kessel Buntes
"Ein Kessel Buntes" ("A Kettle of Color") was a
television variety show in the formerEast Germany . It broadcast from1972 to1992 . A total of 113 shows were made, six per year. [http://www.fernsehserien.de/index.php?serie=1378] As the name implies, it was broadcast in color, first from the Friedrichstadtpalast theater, and later from thePalast der Republik , as well as from other prominent music halls in other East German cities. Itstitle sequence showed a series of famous clocks inEast Berlin , such as that on theRotes Rathaus and the "Weltzeituhr" atAlexanderplatz displaying the time of broadcast, 8 p.m."Ein Kessel Buntes" was originally hosted by actors Horst Köbbert (who spoke
Low German from the north), Lutz Stückrath (a speaker of theBerlin dialect), and Heinz Uhlig (who spoke Saxon from the south), whose satirical commentary during the live broadcasts often criticized the East German government. They were soon replaced by a rotating cast of celebrities. [http://www.madeinddr.de/gdrsite/tv/index4_(2).htm]The show was meant to compete with those on West German television, which most East Germans could, and did, watch. Its production values were high. Apart from song and dance numbers and appearances from East German celebrities, almost every broadcast featured well-known stars from the west, often after their popularity had peaked in their home countries. [http://www.kimwilde.com/tv/1992/00352/]
After
German reunification , and the dissolution ofFernsehen der DDR , the show was broadcast for a further two years onDas Erste . It is still popular inrerun s and best-of shows.External links
* [http://www.stern.de/unterhaltung/film/501437.html?eid=512223 Stern article about East German television]
* [http://www.dra.de/fernseh1.htm Short page in German about East German television with music clip from the show]
* [http://users.cybercity.dk/~bse5560/kessel.html Fan description in English]
*Literature
*"Das war unser Kessel Buntes", Hans-Ulrich Brandt, Angela Kaiser, Evelin Matt, Günther Steinbacher (ISBN 3-89706-890-7)
*"Ein Kessel Buntes und mehr", Hendrik Petzold (ISBN 3-89812-090-2)
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