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(, Sesame Street in English) is a German
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
that airs primarily in Germany and the surrounding German-speaking countries. It is a spin-off of the first preschool programme ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''. The show has been running on
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (; "North German Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to NDR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, ...
(NDR) since 1973, premiering on 8 January in that year. is also shown on the children's channel,
KiKa Kika may refer to: People * Kika de la Garza (1927–2017), American politician * Kika Edgar (born 1985), Mexican actress and singer * Kika Karadi (born 1975), American contemporary artist * Kika Markham (born 1940), English actress * Kika M ...
. It is made for children between the ages of three and seven.


History


The Dubbed Era: 1973-onwards

After a short test run of a few original, undubbed ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' episodes, from August 1972 onward, the German version of the show premiered on 8 January 1973. The first three seasons, or 250 episodes of consisted of the original American episodes dubbed into German in Hamburg. Initially, only the opening and closing songs and sequences were changed, with new lyrics written by Volker Ludwig and tunes by Ingfried Hoffmann. The title of the German theme song is "Der, die, das (wer, wie, was – wieso, weshalb, warum – wer nicht fragt, bleibt dumm!)," almost literally translating to "this, this and that (who, how, what – why, why and why – those who don't ask stay dumb!)." In
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...
felt that the ''Sesame Street'' set was too gritty to suit German children, and consequently developed its own children's programme called '' Das feuerrote Spielmobil'' (''The fire-red Play-mobile''). Variety shows like ''Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten'' in 1975 promoted the show by visiting the original United States set and taping special footage. From 1976 through 1977, the street scenes were dropped, partly as the result of a constant onslaught by protesting parents who were unhappy with the "controversial" character of
Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a Sesame Street (fiction ...
. Instead, a new framing story was created, following the antics of a boy named Bumfidel and his mother. Since these stories did not take place on a street, the show's title was temporarily rendered incomprehensible.


The Co-production Era: 1977-onwards

In 1977, a German street set was built at Studio Hamburg for German framing stories. Samson, a bear (1978–2009, and since 2013) and Tiffy the bird (1978–2005) replaced Big Bird (Bibo) and
Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a Sesame Street (fiction ...
(Oskar der Griesgram) as main characters, and the new version debuted on January 2, 1978. The early puppets were built by Kermit Love, but nowadays, Sesame Workshop builds the puppets for Sesamstraße. Each 30-minute episode featured the new puppets interacting with a pair of human characters; consistently one male, one female. The individual sketches of Sesame Street's original American inhabitants were dubbed over, and remained the main part of the show, but some were edited to omit intros that displayed words in English (such as The Adventures of Super Grover or the Sesame Street News Flash skits). In the following years, more characters were added to the German street scenes, such as the German-built, androgynous Uli von Bödefeld (Uli is short for Ulrich), also called Herr von Bödefeld (1978–1988), and Finchen, a snail (1983, 1989–present). Just as in its American counterpart, the German characters have been remodeled over the decades. Most obvious were changes in Samson and Tiffy; Finchen has also had her fair share of fabric surgery. During this era, the fact that the street stories took place in a studio was never kept a secret. Some parts of the street were simply 'matted in' during an episode, or the characters would ask for help from the studio crew; one episode about Samson trying to scratch a flea ends with the entire studio crew itching. The matting also allowed the characters to show up in different locations, like a beach, a small deserted island that would be surrounded by an entire ocean through the snap of one's fingers, a nearby train station, or the roof of the studio. While Big Bird and
Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a Sesame Street (fiction ...
, both performed by
Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. ...
, had visited for the 10th Anniversary special before, a highlight of this era was the celebration of 's 1000th episode, the "Sesamelly Zirkusshow." It was a circus gala performance taped at "Zirkus Althoff," in which Big Bird appeared alongside the German characters one more time. In 1985 and 1986, no new episodes were taped. Instead, a wild mix of repeats was shown on TV. From 1986 onward, new episodes with two new human actors were produced, and while the studio set remained largely the same, a bicycle shop was added, run by the new residents. Tiffy and Samson were slightly remodeled for the first time for these episodes. In 1988, the studio set and original puppets were destroyed in a fire. The puppets were rebuilt in 1989 with significant changes. The new set was centered around the new bicycle shop that was introduced in 1986, but the street stories no longer took place in a studio set. Instead, a courtyard was added, and new characters were introduced: Rumpel the Grouch (1989–2009), living inside a water barrel, and Buh (1989–2002), an owl housed inside a hollow tree. While the set offered Tiffy a new apartment-like living room in the coming years, it still featured Samson's cave in which he had lived prior to the set change. Uli von Bödefield was removed from the show due to the creators of not wishing to pay licensing fees. Later in the 1990s, the courtyard slowly transitioned into an entire marketplace, a common social center for German towns and even city districts. Leonie Löwenherz (Leonie Lionheart in English), a lioness (1989-early 1990s), was featured for a very short time after the set and puppets were destroyed in the fire. Just like Uli von Bödefeld, she was built by German puppet makers and not the Muppet Workshop. After her short-lived Sesame career, she got her own ALF-like show called "Leonie Löwenherz" on ARD, featuring herself, her two lion brothers, and a few human characters. During this time period, older puppets were re-used for new characters such as Simson (on and off in 1989–2000), Samson's cousin, with slight changes being made to his appearance (equipped with a hat, a tie, or another article of clothing). Originally, Simson was only imagined by Samson and other characters doubted his existence, much like Big Bird and
Mr. Snuffleupagus Aloysius Snuffleupagus (), more commonly known as Mr. Snuffleupagus or Snuffy for short, is one of the characters on ''Sesame Street'', a PBS/HBO educational television program for young children. His head bears resemblances to giant anteaters and ...
in the United States. In 2000, the cast was expanded further, and the sets changed once again. Newcomers to the puppet cast were Feli Filu (2000–2007), the monster reporter, the comic duo Pferd the horse (2002–present) and Wolle the sheep (2002–present), as well as a few recurring grouches, and some Anything Muppets. In 2005, after a 27-year presence on the show, Tiffy was replaced with single mom Moni (2005–2007) and her pink and furry daughter Lena (2005–2009). Since then, has been visited by a more diverse cast of supporting Muppets than any other international version of ''Sesame Street''. One-shot characters include Super Franky, Grouchella, Knut Köffelström, Turbo Theo, as well as various wolves, dogs, and other creatures. In 2006, German audiences' long-time favorites
Bert and Ernie Bert and Ernie are two List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet characters who appear together in numerous skits on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Ernie acts the role of the naivety, naïve and exuberant troublemaker, whil ...
began appearing regularly in newly produced German segments. For the 36th season, the two moved into their own apartment on , above a new human character named Frau Kowalski. The pair were often shown commenting on the street events from their balcony. As more and more previously used Muppets were borrowed from Sesame Workshop, more secondary characters evolved in their own sketches, such as the green Wolf vom Wörtersee in 2007. In 2003, the German co-production's 30th anniversary was celebrated with a press conference and
Axel Schulz Axel Schulz (born 9 November 1968) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 1999, and in 2006. He challenged three times for both the IBF and European heavyweight titles. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 1989 ...
,
Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...
, Bert and
Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...
(performed by Kevin Clash) in attendance, as the show gave a donation of €12,271.00 to
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
. Ernie and Bert appeared on a regular episode that year, as well as on the show's 30th anniversary TV special. Originally, an average episode used to consist of around 50 percent of American material, like most international co-productions of Sesame Street. From 2007 onwards, the American material has been used less often, so that eventually, an average episode contains no more than one or two American-produced sketches. In addition, much as on ''Sesame Street'' since 2002, 's street scenes began to feature mostly at the beginning of each episode. Since 2008, the show has been shot in high definition. On 24 December 2008, a German-produced, 45-minute Christmas special called ''Weihnachten mit Ernie und Bert'' aired, featuring Ernie, Bert, and an Anything Muppet Santa Claus. In 2011, more segments were produced to air both as standalone segments outside the show, and within: "Ernie & Bert Songs" and "Ernie & Bert Märchensongs". From 2010 to 2012, the street stories were all repeats from previous episodes, although other new content was still being produced. Since 2009 the program has been produced solely by NDR. The show's 40th anniversary, on 1 October 2012, saw the introduction of new character Elmo: a resident of the street, who appeared in a treehouse setting as the new host of the show. New characters included a female friend of Elmo's, played by Julia Stinshoff, and Susi Schraube, an inventive girl appearing in a series of stop-motion segments. Established characters such as Rumpel and Samson were retired (although Samson made special appearances on the show in 2013 and 2014), while Pferd, Wolle, and Finchen remain part of the cast. Established characters such as Cookie Monster and Grover made guest appearances. Super Grover 2.0 was also added to the show beginning in 2013.


Characters

The main character is Samson, a large
brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
who replaced Big Bird. Like Big Bird, Samson is a full-body muppet and is the main character. Samson likes to dance the
mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
. "Feli Filu" is a reporter for the show, and has interviewed a number of German celebrities, including president
Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...
. Samson the bear and Tiffy the bird/monster replaced the main character Big Bird (Bibo) in 1978. Other characters added later were Uli von Bödefeld, also called Herr von Bödefeld (1978–1988), Finchen the Snail (1980s), Rumpel the Grouch (1989; a German relative of Oscar the Grouch), and Buh the
Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
(1989). Newer additions are Feli Filu the Monster reporter, the comic duo Pferd the
Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
, and Wolle the
sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
, a few grouches (including Grouchella and an Übergrouch) and some Anything Muppets. Germany's Grouch character is called Rumpel. He hates rain when others love it, but loves rain when others complain about it. He lives in a rain barrel. His best friend is his pet
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
,
Gustav Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
. Little Bird has made some cameo appearances.
Bert and Ernie Bert and Ernie are two List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet characters who appear together in numerous skits on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Ernie acts the role of the naivety, naïve and exuberant troublemaker, whil ...
are among the most popular characters on ''Sesamstraße''. In Germany, they were dubbed by: *
Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...
: Gerd Duwner (1973–1996), in the years 1997–2001 by Peter Kirchberger, and finally in 2001 by Michael Habeck. * Bert: Wolfgang Kieling (1973–1985). From 1986, after Kieling's death Horst Schön took over synchronization, followed by other speakers as Rolf Julich and Christian Rode. Since 2007, both of Martin Paas (Ernie) and Carsten Morar, Haffke (Bert) played, talked and synchronized.


Leonie Löwenherz

Leonie Löwenherz (Leonie Lionheart in English), a female
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
, was featured for a very short time after the set and puppets were destroyed in a fire. Just like Uli von Bödefeld, she was most likely built by Germa
Fabula Filmpuppen
Workshop, and not the
Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and Television station, television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's ...
. After her short-lived Sesame career, she got her own ( ALF-like) show called "Leonie Löwenherz" on ARD, featuring herself, her two lion brothers, and a few human characters.


German Muppet characters

* Samson, a male
brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
, similar in role and full-body puppet, to Big Bird (1978–2009, 2013–present) * Simson, Samson's cousin and lookalike, often seen with a hat or a tie to distinguish him from Samson (on and off in 1989–2000) * Tiffy, a pink female
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
(1978–2004) * Finchen, a (former male, now female)
snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...
(on and off from 1978, 1989–present) * Rumpel, a green Grouch that lives in a rain barrel. He has Gustav, a pet
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
(1989–2009) * Buh, a male
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
(1989–2000) * Feli Filu, a blue female
monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...
reporter (2000–2007) * Pferd, a male
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
(2000–present) * Wolle, a male lamb (2000–present) * Lena, a pink
monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...
baby (2005–2009) * Moni, a female photographer (2005–2009) * Uli von Bödefeld, a male hedgehog-like creature (1978–1988) * Leonie Löwenherz, a lioness (1989-early 1990s)


Humans (1978–1986)

* Henning (Henning Venske, a German actor – 1978–1979) * Lilo (
Liselotte Pulver Liselotte Pulver (born 11 October 1929), sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress. She was one of the biggest stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, where she often was cast as a tomboy. She is known for her hearty and joyf ...
, a Swiss actress – 1978–1986) * Uwe ( Uwe Friedrichsen, a German actor – 1979–1982) * Horst ( Horst Janson, a German actor – 1979–1986) * Ute (Ute Willing, a German actress – 1979–1986) * Ilse (Ilse Biberti, a German actress – 1979–1982) * Elisabeth (Elisabeth Vitouch, a German actress – 1979–1982) * Manfred (
Manfred Krug Manfred Krug (; 8 February 1937 – 21 October 2016) was a German actor, singer and author. Life and work Born in Duisburg, Krug moved to East Germany at the age of 13, and worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage ...
, a German actor – 1982–1986)


Humans (1986–2010)

* Schorsch ( Gernot Endemann, a German actor – 1986–1999) * Bettina ( Hildegard Krekel, a German actress – 1986–1989) * Bettina 2 (Kirsten Spick, a German actress – 1989–1999) * Opa (Grandpa) Brass (Ferdinand Dux, a German actor – 1992–2000) * Pensionswirtin Helmi (Senta Bonneval, a German actress – 1995–1999) * Musiker Alex ( Alexander Geringas, a Hit Music Producer – 1995–2000) * Jiviana (Vijak Bajani, a German-Turkish actress – 1995–2001) * Caro (Caroline Kiesewetter, a German actress – 2000–2002) * Caro 2 (Miriam Krause, a German actress – 2002–2004) * Anke (
Anke Engelke Anke Christina Fischer ( Engelke; born 21 December 1965) is a German comedian, actress, voice actress and television presenter. Personal life Born in Montreal, Canada, Engelke moved to Cologne, Germany in 1971 with her German parents. Early ...
, a German comedian – 2003) * Zauberer PePe (Wizard PePe in English) ( Dirk Bach, a German comedian – 2000–2007) * Ragazza die Wörterfee (Ragazza the word fairy in English) ( Felicitas Woll, a German actress – 2007) * Frau Kowalski ( Adele Neuhauser, an Austrian actress – 2008) * Nils (Nils Julius, a German actor – 2000–2010)


Humans (2010–present)

* Annette ( Annette Frier, a German actress & comedian – 2005–2008, 2013) * Mehmet (Mehmet Yılmaz, a German-Turkish actor – 2003–present) * Ella ( Franziska Troegner, a German actress – 2003–present) * Julia (
Julia Stinshoff Julia Stinshoff (born 27 December 1974 in Bonn) is a German actress. Career Stinshoff started her English, philosophy and comparative religious studies but dropped out of college. From 1997 to 1999, she attended the Stage School of Hamburg as ...
, a German actress – 2012–present)


Theme song

The theme song for is "Der, die, das", whose melody and lyrics have little resemblance to the English version on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''. ''Der, die'' and ''das'' are
nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants of E ...
definite articles in German (so the song's title is "The, the, the"). In October 2012, this song was performed by the German
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
winner
Lena Meyer-Landrut Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut (; born 23 May 1991), also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the event with the song "Satellite (Len ...
who is accompanied by
Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...
on the trumpet.


References


External links

* Sesamstraße on Muppet Wiki * Sesamstraße on German Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Sesamstrasse ARD (broadcaster) Sesame Street international co-productions German television shows featuring puppetry 1973 German television series debuts 1970s German television series 1980s German television series 1990s German television series 2000s German television series 2010s German television series 2020s German television series German children's television series German-language television shows Das Erste original programming German television series based on American television series