Now, I didn’t just watch TV. My mom and I visited Mosbach, where my grandmother grew up. We went up to the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany right in the middle of the Alps. Even though I had been in the country many years ago, I was in awe of how gorgeous Germany is. On top of that, we visited many different relatives all over Bavaria. Before attending our family reunion/my great uncle’s birthday party, my mom sternly told me not to monopolize the conversations with TV and movies. I hadn’t seen my cousins for over a decade, so I was obviously nervous already without this warning.
So what’s practically the first thing my cousin Stefan said to me when we got to talking? “I love American television.” The floodgates opened and the sun shone in my heart. We had a great conversation about all the things we had in common, and at the heart of it were TV and film. Along with my other cousin Max and a few other young relatives I got to know better during my trip, I learned a little bit more about American television in Germany. Now, I know we have quite a few German readers in our midst (Wie geht’s dir heute, Sebastian?), so please understand this is simply what I saw while in your country through the guidance of a handful of residents, not a representation of Germany as a whole.
One of the biggest surprises is how much my cousins raved about Big Bang Theory. Don’t get me wrong … even though I stopped watching the show regularly, I still think it’s very funny and decently written. I just didn’t expect the humor to translate so well into other languages, but apparently it totally does. My cousin Max actually enjoyed watching it in its original English — he said the flexibility of the English language can make the punchlines even funnier. The other big sitcom that’s huge over there is Two and a Half Men AKA Mein cooler Onkel Charlie AKA “My Cool Uncle Charlie” … it makes me wonder what exactly they’re going to do without “Cool Uncle Charlie” next season. But the most interesting part is how enthusiastic the Charlie Sheen fans were. Maybe it’s because he’s from another country and therefore the actor’s ridiculous behavior doesn’t represent Germany, but he has some serious fans over in the Vaterland.
My mom and I also got to experience German TV on our own. We had fun watching American TV with German dubbing … it is probably the first time my mom has ever chosen to watch The Simpsons. While most of the voice actors were just slightly off, the actress playing Lisa was spot on. If I didn’t know better, I’d have guessed Yeardley Smith was just redoing her lines in German. For some reason, Duffman in German made me giggle like crazy, and my mom made fun of me when I could translate “Hurricane Neddy” not through my knowledge of German, but my memorization of the episode itself. I also got to watch Phineas and Ferb auf Deutsch. It was rather surreal hearing Doofensmirtz’s crazy Germanic accent in German; I half expected the universe to implode.
The big German show we did watch was Heidi Klum’s Germany’s Next Top Model. I was especially interested in seeing this because the American version is so freaking over-the-top thanks to one Tyra Banks. Heidi is not nearly as grating, but the show itself is far more annoying because it is so long. The second-to-last episode was two hours long, with the season finale at least two and a half and maybe three hours long. That makes room for a whole lot of filler, and when you have difficulty keeping up with the language as it is, it can make for some confusing television. Say what you will about ANTM, but Tyra Banks does keep the pacing consistent throughout each episode. I did find it funny that there was a rather large musical performance by Lady Gaga in the finale that seemed to overshadow the actual winner that was announced later in the episode. Actually, my male teenage cousin had fun picking apart the contestants … in English, for the sake of his American guest, apparently.
I really did love my trip to Germany, especially getting to know my cousins better. I was so happy to discover that we had so much in common. Like every form of expression, television can bring people together, despite the cultural differences. It’s nice to remember that every once in a while.
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Jul 14, 2011 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Well i dont want to sound rude BUT the german syncro of the bbt is just plain awful.
They are able to translate a third of the jokes at most. So i can see why hed prefer to watch the original version.
Cant say to much about two and a half men but i guess plain jokes are easier translated. Didnt see more than a couple of episodes original and syncronized version combined.
Im german speaking and actually living nearby bavaria so im pretty familiar with german television.
Also my name is sebastian too^^.
When I was there a few years ago, most of the English shows were subtitled, which was great, I could actually watch tv. In France, they were mostly dubbed. But it really is amazing how pervase American media is all over the world.