No, that's not possible, said the middle man the day before.
Swap the cherished movie night, which made the pandemic a little more bearable, for this show?
Once he had even seen the program on YouTube, a 40-year-old episode, the people who appeared there were long dead. But then, Saturday evening at 8:15 pm, freshly showered, he was sitting in front of the telly.
Philipp Krohn
Editor in business, responsible for “People and Business”.
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It starts with a lot of advance praise.
The Nuremberg audience started with a standing ovation when Thomas Gottschalk entered the “Wetten, dass ..?” Stage.
A man in the second year of the eighth decade of life.
But he will never lose the rogue again.
Just like the enthusiasm when he gets to put on records with his old friend Fritz Egner on the radio.
He steps down the stairs no longer as energetically as he used to, but the Ludwig II outfit is a reminiscence of himself. Just like the Gottschalk wigs in the audience, who cheer him on to a fan club.
“I'm enjoying the evening.
And I also take my time, ”promises the moderator.
Years after Gottschalk did not produce any great moments
The Franconian gave up the game show ten and a half years ago after competitor Samuel Koch injured himself so badly on one issue that he has been paraplegic ever since. What happened in the meantime is not one of the great moments of German television: it died under a moderator who is as self-absorbed as Gottschalk, but who, unlike Gottschalk, believed he had to constantly convince his audience of his qualities. The ZDF falsely thought that it was due to the supposedly outdated format and not to the lack of maintenance of the central virtues of “Wetten, dass ..?” In this last phase.
It takes about 20 minutes for the children to say “really crazy” for the first time with a homemade pizza in their mouth. That's when contestant Vivian had her dog Uno sort a bunch of plastic, paper and organic waste into garbage cans. A very practical skill. “Great, Uno!” Echoes from the sofa. Afterwards, the candidate says that the dog is more likely to come from the idea of “faster, higher, further”. As usual, Gottschalk succeeds better in putting his down-to-earth candidates in the spotlight than his spotlight-tested guests. And he also works well with eight-year-old Emil, who can shimmy through a whole tram on his feet.
They can be seen: the pregnant Helene Fischer sings (the right moment to get the peanuts) and then has nothing else to do for the rest of the evening, the two ABBA composers Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (who have something else in mind), the comedians Joko and Klaas, actor Heino Ferch and his young colleague Svenja Jung (whose name Gottschalk later forgets).
And finally, Gottschalk's predecessor, presenter and inventor of the show, Frank Elstner, makes an appearance and asks him to talk to the ZDF program management in order to revive the concept.
Michelle Hunziker saves Gottschalk from embarrassment
The clever and empathetic co-host Michelle Hunziker, who, like in the old days, lets Gottschalk sail over some cliffs, is always good in the anniversary show when she actively intervenes, while there are lengths when she does not appear. Perhaps the role of the experienced moderator could be upgraded a bit, should there be a revival?
But the sacred “Wetten, dass ..?” Moment occurs when the betting candidate Leon appears on the stage.
As soon as he enters the hall, he is bathing in applause.
Before that, the two middle Bs of the Swedish world star quartet, who had returned after 40 years, had just presented their plans for an event center in London in which their own Abbatars would perform their music.
And now there is a man standing on a white wall who can estimate where 100 countries are in the world and who can throw darts so precisely that they have landed in the correct area on a world map.
German quirkiness that you can shake your head over or be appreciative of.