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The Ultimate Event Guide for the FrankfurtRhineMain Metropolitan Region
March 2024
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Better Blue Than No Bock at All

Premiere of the new TV show by and with Bäppi La Belle

Nowadays, if a TV show reaches over 4 million viewers, it is already considered a ratings hit. The times when big Saturday night shows attracted well over 10 million viewers in front of the TV sets are long gone - only "Tatort" or international football matches seem to manage that. So it sounds almost unbelievable that there was once an actually very unspectacular production of Hessischer Rundfunk, which thrilled up to 20 million viewers for 30 years in over 200 editions.

The talk is, of course, of "Zum Blauen Bock", in which Heinz Schenk together with Lia Wöhr, assisted by head waiter Reno Nonsens, brought Hessian dialect, customs and habits of our beautiful state into German living rooms.

In 1987, the last episode ran and with it the glorious Hesse more or less disappeared from national television. One waited in vain for a worthy successor.

Now Bäppi La Belle - himself a Frankfurt original - has dared to fill this gap. Not with the exact same concept, of course, but a similar one. Together with Bembel GmbH - Agentur für Reklame, Bäppi has come up with the new show "Lieber blau als gar kein Bock", which aims to bring Hessian hospitality back to (internet) TV.

The premiere is now online:

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The Show

With Heinz Schenk, the broadcasts were each recorded in a different Hessian city at the time. This was then allowed to present itself to an audience of millions. With "Lieber blau als gar kein Bock", on the other hand, a cider tavern from Frankfurt or the region will be the focus in each case. They provide the rustic backdrop for the entertainment program, which is determined by music, gags and various guests from culture, politics or city events. And, of course, the audience gets involved as well.

"I want to introduce people that everyone knows, but you don't know anything about," Bäppi says of the concept behind his show. He wants to focus on people who are always encountered in various ways in Frankfurt, who shape our cityscape, but who are still largely unknown.

Overall, he wants to offer viewers an entertaining mix of entertainment and talk show, filled with music, comedy and regional flair. Bäppi himself leads through the show as hostess Lia, the role of sidekick Reno has been taken over by Thomas Isser, the 2nd chairman of the Offenbacher Karnevalverein. For the musical accompaniment is - as in Bäppi's shows - Gabriel Groh as a one-man band responsible.

The Premiere

In late October 2017, the pilot episode was recorded in the "Schönen Müllerin". A cider tavern near the Berger Straße, where many a celebrity has stopped by. The perfect location for the trial balloon. Shortly before the recording, there was a slight nervousness among all participants. But after only a few moments it became clear that the concept was enthusiastically received by the audience. The atmosphere was excellent and actually got better and better from minute to minute. Especially when Bäppi got the audience directly involved, there were really loud and hearty laughs. The selection of guests was just as diverse as it was promised in advance.

So "Wirtin Lia" chatted with city councillor Stella Stilgenbauer, who runs a second-hand boutique for plus-size women in Sandweg, chatted with Joachim Letschert, the spokesman for CSD-Frankfurt or elicited a few interesting details about the work of Stephan Siegler, the city councillor. In between there was lively banter with the audience or with the "Bock of the evening", who had come especially from the Saarland, as well as a performance by travesty artist Ren&eacute; Rexhausen to "These Boots are made for walking".

Colorful and varied were also the musical contributions. These were provided by Torsten Dornberger, owner of the "Schönen Müllerin" and a fixture of the Frankfurt Fasnacht, and by Caser Nova, who had won the "Frau Rauscher Contest" at the Grüne Soße Tag 2017 with his rap version of the song about "Frau Rauscher aus der Klappergass". Of course, Bäppi also grabbed the microphone to perform his version of the Gerd Fröbe classic "Lass doch mal Dampf ab", which he re-recorded with players from FSV Frankfurt.

For the fact that it was a first test, delivered without rehearsals, the recording of the pilot episode really worked out very well. The local audience loved it and the guests also enjoyed the interviews of a different kind. And assuming that with the upcoming recordings some things will be tweaked and a bit more routine will come into the process, the plan to let "Lieber blau als gar kein Bock" become a permanent institution could absolutely work out.

The Next Locations

Synergy Films will be taping the first official episode on 01/22/2018 at the Zum Rad cidery (already sold out!). Then on 26.02. we will go to Zum Grauen Bock and on 19.03. to Lorsbacher Tal in Sachsenhausen. The April show will be recorded at "Zum Lahmen Esel" on 23.04., before a real highlight awaits after a short break in August: a live broadcast from the cider festival at Roßmarkt on 12 August. Then in December, a "Christmas Bock" will be recorded at "Zum Rad". Tickets can be ordered at karten@theatrallalla.de.

For the audience, the guests of each evening should be a surprise. But one thing can already be revealed: It will again be a very colorful mix for the next shows, appealing to different age groups.

We are already looking forward to the next episodes!