15 Jahre Zimmer Frei! - DVD

Content: Actually, it was only supposed to be a stopgap for the summer break. But quickly developed the original format Zimmer Frei, not least because of the good-humored host duo Götz Alsmann and Christine Westermann, a real ratings maker for WDR. Now, 15 years and over 500 episodes later, the show is an integral part of the German television landscape and simply cult. Reason enough to celebrate the format's birthday in a fitting manner. 15 Jahre Zimmer Frei celebrates the successful format on five DVDs. Although some details have changed over the years, the basic idea has remained the same: in each episode, a celebrity guest introduces himself as a potential applicant for a room in a fictitious shared flat. The celebrity is then tested on his or her suitability for a WG over a shared meal, house music, intimate conversations and amusing games tailored to the guest in question.

This is usually very amusing, but sometimes surprisingly honest and profound. And in some episodes there were even a few small scandals, but unfortunately there is hardly anything of them in this DVD collection. Instead, fifteen episodes from 1999 to 2011 are included, in which the entertainment value was particularly important. The guests are Rudolph Moshammer, who does not find the gags of field reporter Ingo Appelt about his Daisy funny at all, Reinhard Mey, Harald Juhnke, Hellmuth Karasek, Ulrich Wickert, Katharina Thalbach, Sönke Wortmann, Roger Willemsen, Thomas Anders, Wencke Myhre, Gustav Peter Wöhler, Hape Kerkeling, Joachim Fuchsberger, Semino Rossi and Clueso.

The collection not only underlines the strengths of the format, it also offers a very good overview of how Zimmer Frei has changed in the last 15 years and how little the basic idea has worn out in all the episodes. A very nice and especially amusing collection that fans of the show should definitely not miss!!

Picture + Sound: In the older episodes, which are also still in 4:3 format, minor smudges and picture distortions can be made out here and there. The more recent the episodes, the better the picture quality becomes. By the final episodes, there is little to complain about. The stereo sound is fine and allows the amusing conversations to come across well. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is the bonus episode Happy Birthday Zimmer Frei on the first DVD with the best clips from the early broadcasts between 1996 and 1999. These 45 minutes fly by and definitely make you want more. Even more entertaining is the extra on the last DVD. Here are 45 minutes of the best picture puzzles from 15 years of Zimmer Frei - and there are some really ingenious puzzles. Absolutely worth watching!

Conclusion: 15 Years of Zimmer Frei is a highly entertaining birthday celebration for an award-winning show that has advanced from gap-filler to long-running cult favorite. Fifteen of the best episodes, plus extras worth watching make this DVD box set a must for all fans. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp