Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Watching TV in der Schweiz

Out of boredom, loneliness, and under the guise of improving my German, I watch A LOT of television.  Films, sit-coms, dramas, documentaries are all fair game.  Although I think that watching productions from German-language countries would be better than watching UK and US shows dubbed into German, I sometimes find myself dipping my toe into the tub of familiarity by watching well-worn re-runs from my home country.

Most of the shows from back home shown here are easily spotted.  Grey's Anatomy in der Schweiz becomes Grey's Anatomy: Die jungen Ärzte (the young doctors).  The German title is more of a mouthful, but not difficult to figure out.  How many seasons has Grey's been on TV?  They might need to change the name to: Grey's Anatomy: Die nicht mehr so jungen Ärzte simply for accuracy's sake.

A few shows, however, when translated back into English from their German names, either make little sense or are just plain funny.


90210
What Americans call the show: nine-oh-two-one-oh
What German speakers call the show: ninety/two-hundred-ten

Home Improvement
What Americans call the show: Home Improvement
What German speakers call the show: Listen to Who is Hammering There


Mean Girls
What Americans call the film: Mean Girls
What German speakers call the film: Commitments of a High School Diva

I would like to make clear that I do not watch either of the above television shows listed.  Well, I have not watched Home Improvement in about twenty years, or so, and I have caught the odd 90210 episode as it seems to be in syndication quite heavily back in the States.   I have not seen the film Mean Girls, although I hear it is probably the one vehicle for 'LiLo' that showed her acting chops.  I suppose I really should not be so choose-y when it comes to programs and regard it all, cheesy or not, as a German exercise.  So what's next in the TV watching queue?  I can't decide between a rousing episode of Hawaii Fünf-Null and the film 6 Tage 7 Nächte with Harrison Ford. Hmmm...I have no idea what the film 6 Tage 7 Nächte is in English.
So, Aloha?


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