''Anna, Schmidt und Oskar'' is a German television program from the mid-1990s that serves a similar niche as '' Sesame Street'' does in the United States. It is aimed at foreign children who live in Germany and are learning German as a second language.

Plot

The show concerns the exploits of Anna, a young music

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, who is forced to take care of Mr. Schmidt, a

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old man with

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

al powers, when her mother, Mr. Schmidt's former caretaker, falls ill. Oskar is a stray dog who Mr. Schmidt adopts. At first, the pair fail to connect, but eventually Oskar is able to know exactly what his master is talking about, as viewed by speech bubbles which appear above the dog's head. As the show progresses, Anna becomes more absorbed in Mr. Schmidt's crazy world. The running joke is that Anna must keep returning to Mr. Schmidt's house to retrieve a plate, which she never actually does.

Goals

The show has two primary aims: *To teach children how to speak German *To teach German children socially accepted customs The latter is best displayed through the door spider (Türspinne). Every time someone opens the door to Mr. Schmidt's house, the door spider instructs them to close the door (Tür zu!). This is supposed to teach German children that it is customary in Germany to close a door after entering a room, as Germans believe open doors produce drafts which might compromise one's health..

References

German children's television series German-language education television programming 1990s German television series {{germany-tv-prog-stub