Pastewka's Christmas Story DVD

Content: It's Christmas! For Bastian Pastewka, that means having to spend another evening surrounded by his loved ones. But the whole thing also has its good sides, because finally Bastian has sent himself a whole lot of packages, which he can then unpack in peace after the celebration. So the anticipation is great. However, Bastian has promised his girlfriend Anne (Sonsee Neu) to get another Christmas tree - and he still has to do that before he goes to a charity gala in Düsseldorf with his colleague Anke Engelke. Of course, the plan goes wrong and every attempt to organise a proud spruce on the way goes horribly wrong. If only that were the only chaos Bastian causes on this Christmas Eve...

Pastewka's Christmas story is a very successful foretaste of the seventh season of the comedy series, which is scheduled to air in spring 2014. Many series make the mistake of trying to provide a reflective atmosphere for their Christmas specials at the expense of their actual characters. Not so Pastewka. Christmas Sebastian is only particularly nice and generous to one thing on Christmas Eve - himself. And the other characters also retain exactly the same qualities that they display elsewhere in the series. Of course Anne would like it to be harmonious and festive in the family circle, with a beautiful Christmas tree and without quarrels and nagging. But if she would get that, then this would not be a real Pastewka episode anymore.

It's just a lot of fun how Bastian Pastewka presents himself again as a not exactly sympathetic egomaniac. Instead of a Christmas tip, he gives a parcel delivery boy a Christmas card of his own creation, showing his colleague Michael Kessler as a pissing elf. Or he simply snatches the tree reserved by someone else because the tree he ordered doesn't quite match what he promised Anne. The driver, whose wife is about to give birth, he wants to talk away his stately Christmas tree and also his show colleague Bernhard Brink he behaves not exactly according to the spirit of Christmas.

But not only Pastewka himself, also Anke Engelke shows here from a wonderfully self-deprecating side. Her constant grumblings about Bastian's selfish behaviour are only topped by her very clear rejection of anything typically Christmassy. However, this is only really made fun by the ending. The rest of the series characters remain a bit in the background in this special episode. There are some very amusing scenes with Hagen, Kim, Mrs. Bruck, father Volker and manager Regine. But on the whole, the episode is carried by Bastian Pastewka alone with the support of Anke Engelke.

Even if not every gag fits and there are a few small hangs, this Christmas episode is overall a lot of fun. Fans who want to get into the holiday spirit in a very special way or just want to bridge the waiting time until the next season, this DVD: Absolutely recommended!

Picture + Sound: There's nothing to complain about here. The picture is absolutely clean, the sharpness is on a good level for a TV production and also the colors leave a very positive impression. The fact that the sound is only in a stereo mix doesn't really matter, as the amusing dialogue is the main focus here anyway and there is very little real surround potential. Good!

Extras: The DVD also has a few Christmas-themed extras to offer. Starting off with a short, but worth watching Making of (approx. 9:49 min.), which is followed by a fan quiz, at the end of which a little Easter Egg awaits the fans. A wonderfully nasty hit video for the song Auf dem dünnen Eis der Liebe (approx. 2 min.) and six Christmas clips from the weekly show (approx. 15 min. in total) are also still on the program. Good!

Conclusion: Pastewka's Christmas story is not only a worth seeing XXL appetizer for the upcoming 7th season of the multi-award winning comedy series, but also a wonderfully Christmas anti-Christmas comedy. It's very nice that Pastewka has stayed true to his style in this contemplative episode and not toned down his biting humor in favor of festive sugarcoating. Even if not every gag hits the mark, this DVD is overall a real feast for fans! Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp