''Nonni and Manni'' is an adventure

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

produced as a joint venture between Iceland and West Germany. It debuted on 26 December 1988 on

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

channel and lasted for six episodes with the last one being aired on 1 January 1989. The story was based on the eponymous book written by the popular Icelandic children's author

Jón Sveinsson Jón Stefán Sveinsson, better known as "Nonni" (16 November 1857 in Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur – 16 October 1944 in Cologne) was an Icelandic children's writer and member of the Society of Jesus. He left Iceland in 1870 for France, whe ...

, nicknamed "Nonni", who had written several books inspired by his own experiences of growing up alongside his brother Ármann, nicknamed "Manni".Anniversary of Children’s Author Nonni
, '' Iceland Review'', 9 August 2007. Accessed 27 January 2009. The filming for the series took place in Iceland, West Germany and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Plot

Twelve-year-old Nonni (

Garðar Thór Cortes Garðar Thór Cortes (pronounced , born 2 May 1974) is an Icelandic tenor of Icelandic and English parentage. A former child actor, Garðar subsequently trained as a singer in Vienna, Copenhagen and London. He has performed various leading tenor ...

) and his eight-year-old brother Manni (

Einar Örn Einarsson Einar is a Scandinavian given name deriving from the Old Norse name Einarr, which according to Guðbrandur Vigfússon is directly connected with the concept of the einherjar, warriors who died in battle and ascended to Valhalla in Norse mythology ...

) live with their mother Sigrid (

Lisa Harrow Lisa Harrow (born 25 August 1943) is a New Zealand RADA-trained actress, noted for her roles in British theatre, films and television. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Nancy Astor in the British BBC television drama, ''Nancy Astor ...

) and their grandmother ( Concha Hidalgo) on a small farm in 1869 Iceland. Before Manni was even born, the boys' father had gone to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

in search of work to support his family, and they are still awaiting his return. A stranger by the name of Harald Helgasson (

Luc Merenda Luc Charles Olivier Merenda (born 3 September 1943) is a French film actor. He was one of the most prominent actors of the Italian poliziotteschi genre, working several times with Sergio Martino and Fernando Di Leo. He is of Italian origin thr ...

) appears in town one day. He presents himself as the boys' father's best friend and informs them that their father had died of a fever. Before he died, he made Harald promise he would return to Iceland to look after his family. Harald helps the family by working on the farm and becomes a close friend to the boys who immediately take a liking to Harald and start to see him as somewhat of a father figure. Magnus Hansson ( Stuart Wilson) is a local businessman who is in love with Sigrid and has been trying to convince her to marry him. Magnus dislikes Harald due to the close relationship that Harald has been developing with the family and starts becoming increasingly upset over this. When another rich local businessman is killed, Magnus accuses Harald of murder. Upon the advice of the family, Harald flees into the mountains and hides from the authorities while Nonni and Manni, who firmly believe in Harald's innocence, expose themselves to danger and adventure while trying to keep Harald safe and prove him innocent.

References

External links

* 1988 German television series debuts 1989 German television series endings Adventure television series Children's adventure television series German children's television series 1988 Icelandic television series debuts 1989 Icelandic television series endings 1980s Icelandic television series ZDF original programming Television series about families Television series set in the 1860s Television shows based on children's books {{Iceland-tv-prog-stub