The Teacher - The Complete 1st Season - DVD

Content: Stefan Vollmer (Hendrik Duryn) has not worked as a teacher for ten years. In the last few years, he's bounced from job to job without really showing any passion or dedication. But now he wants to prove it to his best friend Elmar (Lars Gärtner): he can be mature and responsible. And so from now on he works like Elmar in a comprehensive school in a problem district of Cologne. And as the new guy, he is immediately assigned to the basement, to the dreaded G-course, where all the hopeless cases are shunted off. On his very first day, Vollmer puts a student in a headlock and gets involved in a one-night stand with a sexy bar friend after work, who turns out to be a student the next day. Not a very good start to the new job - and only the beginning of a more than turbulent school year, in which the non-conformist educator more than once ends up in the office of principal Anita Herenberg (Andrea Bürgin) and clashes with regulations, political correctness or frightening mendacity.

After almost two years have passed between production and broadcast, it actually looked for a long time that the first season of The Teacher, broadcast in 2009, would also remain the only one. But as we all know, dead men live longer and so Stefan Vollmer was allowed to come back four years after his first TV appearance. Satisfactory ratings and the new popularity of such material through Fack ju Göhte then gave the series a third season, with which the fan base could be significantly expanded once again. And so it is then little wonder that Vollmer and colleagues may again in 2016 to the start.

Before it is so far, the nine episodes of the first season now finally appear on DVD. Unlike the later episodes were here the episodes only barely 23 minutes long each, so had classic comedy format. On the one hand, this means that the episodes can't go into too much depth in terms of dramaturgy. On the other hand, these first episodes have a very good pace, which the later episodes sometimes lack. Otherwise, the series impresses already in its early days with a successful mixture of comedy, serious topics and a pinch of romance. And also the actors leave a consistently positive impression, whereby in addition to leading actor Hendrick Duryn, especially Lars Gärtner, known from Stromberg, guest star Frederick Lau (Victoria) or Susan Hoecke as Vollmer's affair Corinna can convince.

No question, even if the series deals with important issues such as religious freedom or bullying, The Teacher in itself offers not much more than a string of clichés. However, these are presented with some genuinely funny lines and such infectious charm that you're happy to overlook the lack of originality and just be thoroughly entertained. If you've only become a fan of the unconventional crammer with the second or third season, this DVD is an absolute must. And also who generally has a soft spot for light entertainment from Germany, should definitely go back to school here. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the first season is on a good TV level. Apart from a few minor flaws, the picture is quite clean, the overall sharpness is satisfactory and the detail presentation can also convince in many moments. Presented in a stereo mix, the audio is primarily dominated by the dialogue, but every now and then the music and ambient sounds also provide a coherent atmosphere. Good!

Extras: Unfortunately, the disc has no bonus material to offer apart from a picture gallery.

Conclusion: Following the success of the third season of The Teacher, the first season, which aired in 2009, is finally being released on DVD. Before the new episodes hit the airwaves in 2016, here's a chance to relive how it all began. Even if primarily clichés are used here, the fast-paced production and some wonderfully striking sayings provide a high entertainment value. The DVD is technically well made, but there is no additional material worth mentioning. For fans of the series, however, there is still a very clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp