The Black Forest Clinic
Title card
GenreMedical drama
Written byHerbert Lichtenfeld
Directed byHans-Jürgen Tögel
Alfred Vohrer
StarringKlausjürgen Wussow
Gaby Dohm
Sascha Hehn
Barbara Wussow
ComposerHans Hammerschmidt
Country of originWest Germany
Original languageGerman
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes73
Production
ProducerWolfgang Rademann
Production locationGermany
CinematographyGernot Köhler
Manfred Ensinger
Jürgen R. Schoenemann
EditorsHeidrun Britta Thomas
Inge P. Drestler
Angelika Sengbusch
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time45 minutes
Original release
NetworkZDF
ReleaseOctober 22, 1985 (1985-10-22) 
March 25, 1989 (1989-03-25)

The Black Forest Clinic (German: Die Schwarzwaldklinik, German pronunciation: [diː ˈʃvaʁtsvaltˌkliːnɪk]) is a German medical drama television series that was produced by and filmed in West Germany. The series was produced between 1984 and 1988 with the original airing being from October 2, 1985 to March 25, 1989 on West Germany's ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) television channel.

The series' storyline follows the inner workings of a small fictional hospital in the Black Forest region of Germany as well as the lives of the Brinkmann family of doctors who work at the hospital.

Shortly after broadcasting had begun in 1985, The Black Forest Clinic became a highly popular television event, reaching audiences of over 20 million viewers. 25 years since its debut, it is still highly regarded in Germany. The series had been re-broadcast several times since 1985 and has spawned two television films released 20 years after its initial airing.

Background and development

The creation of The Black Forest Clinic was influenced by the popularity of the Czechoslovak medical drama series Hospital at the End of the City which originally aired from 1977 to 1981 and was broadcast in both East Germany and West Germany.[1] Actor Klausjürgen Wussow in interviews cited long-running American daytime television drama General Hospital as a major influence on The Black Forest Clinic.

The real-life Glotterbad Clinic in Glottertal served as a set for the fictional Black Forest Clinic.

The setting for the fictional hospital was the real-life Glotterbad Clinic in the town of Glottertal located in the Black Forest of Baden-Württemberg.[2][3] Only the exterior of the Glotterbad Clinic was photographed and shown in the series, the filming of action inside the hospital was done in a studio in Hamburg. The name for the fictional hospital was borrowed from the location as well Schwarzwald being the German language name of Black Forest.

The idea for The Black Forest Clinic was conceived by Herbert Lichtenfeld who also wrote the teleplay.[4] The producer of the series was Wolfgang Rademann who had, at that time, been known in Germany as the producer of Das Traumschiff, a German equivalent of The Love Boat.[5] Rademann had for several years attempted to pitch to television networks the idea for a medical television series but with little success due to a lack of interest by the networks.

Principal photography for the series began in the summer of 1984 in Glottertal. Polyphon Film-und Fernsehgesellschaft production company was producing the series for both ZDF and Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF).

Reception and viewership

The Black Forest Clinic quickly achieved a high level of popularity among its viewers.[6] From the series' debut until 2009, the broadcast of the series had been repeated in Germany seven times in its entirety and the series had also been broadcast in 38 countries.[7] On its official website dedicated to The Black Forest Clinic, ZDF has called the series "the first and most popular German medical drama".[7] In 2008 Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany's largest circulation daily newspaper, has proclaimed The Black Forest Clinic "the epitome of German television bliss".[8] The Black Forest Clinic is estimated to have had over 20 million regular viewers.[8][9] The popularity of the series also spawned two television films that were released in 2005 in time for the series' 20th anniversary.[10][11]

Cast and characters

Hüsli museum in Grafenhausen served as the location for Professor Klaus Brinkmann's residence.

List of episodes

List of The Black Forest Clinic episodes

List of episodes
Episode # Date of original broadcast Episode title Notes
Season 1
1October 22, 1985"Die Heimkehr"
(The Homecoming)
Broadcast in two parts as two consecutive 45-minute-long episodes.
2October 23, 1985"Hilfe für einen Mörder"
(Help for a Murderer)
3October 26, 1985"Der Weltreisende"
(The World Traveler)
4October 27, 1985"Sterbehilfe"
(Euthanasia)
5November 3, 1985"Die Entführung"
(The Abduction)
6November 9, 1985"Die Wunderquelle"
(The Miraculous Spring)
7November 17, 1985"Die Schuldfrage"
(The Question of Guilt)
This episode gained 27,970,000 viewers, the all-time highest viewership for any non-football broadcast in Germany.
8November 23, 1985"Der Dieb"
(The Thief)
9December 1, 1985"Der Kunstfehler"
(The Malpractice)
10December 7, 1985"Die Mutprobe"
(The Test of Courage)
11December 15, 1985"Vaterschaft"
(Paternity)
12December 21, 1985"Die falsche Diagnose"
(The Wrong Diagnosis)
13January 2, 1986"Der Versager"
(The Failure)
Broadcast in two parts as two consecutive 45-minute-long episodes.
14January 4, 1986"Die fromme Lüge"
(The White Lie)
15January 5, 1986"Der Mann mit dem Koffer"
(The Man with the Suitcase)
16January 12, 1986"Der Wert des Lebens"
(The Value of Life)
17January 18, 1986"Hochzeitstag"
(Anniversary)
18January 26, 1986"Das Findelkind"
(Foundling)
19February 1, 1986"Gewalt im Spiel"
(Violence in the Game)
20February 9, 1986"Prost, Herr Professor!"
(Cheers, Professor!)
21September 30, 1987"Steinschlag"
(Rockfall)
22February 15, 1986"Ein Kind, ein Kind, ein Kind"
(A child, a child, a child)
23February 23, 1986"Der Infarkt"
(Heart attack)
Season 2
24October 3, 1987"Die Reise nach Amerika"
(The Trip to America)
Broadcast in two parts as two consecutive 45-minute-long episodes.
25October 17, 1987"Der Fremde in der Hütte"
(The Stranger in the Cabin)
26October 24, 1987"Das Geständnis"
(The Confession)
27October 31, 1987"Intrigen"
(Intrigue)
28November 7, 1987"Spätes Glück"
(Late Luck)
29November 14, 1987"Besuch aus Kanada"
(Visitors from Canada)
30November 21, 1987"Udos Entschluss"
(Udo's decision)
31November 28, 1987"Das Vermächtnis"
(The legacy)
32December 5, 1987Die Heimkehr
(The Homecoming)
33December 19, 1987"Nackte Tatsache"
(Brute fact)
34December 26, 1987"Der Tod der alten Dame"
(The death of the old lady)
35January 2, 1988"Die Erbschaft"
(The inheritance)
36January 9, 1988"Der Optimist"
(The Optimist)
37January 16, 1988"Die Freundin"
(Girlfriend)
38January 23, 1988"Glück im Spiel"
(Lucky You)
39January 30, 1988"Trennungen"
(Separations)
40February 6, 1988"Alles Theater"
(Everything Theater)
41February 13, 1988"Wo ist Katharina?"
(Where is Katharina?)
42February 27, 1988"Der alte Herr"
(The Old Gentleman)
43March 5, 1988"Gewichtsprobleme"
(Weight Problems)
44March 12, 1988"Christas schwerster Tag"
(Christa's Hardest Day)
45March 19, 1988"Der Tag der glücklichen Paare"
(The Day of the Happy Couples)
46March 26, 1988"Carola will nach oben"
(Carola Wants Up)
Season 3
47October 8, 1988"Der Anfang vom Ende"
(The Beginning of the End)
48October 15, 1988"Wie du mir, so ich dir"
(Like you to me, so I to you)
49October 22, 1988"Familienleben"
(Family Life)
50October 29, 1988"Hafturlaub"
(Parole)
51November 5, 1988"Auf Leben und Tod"
(Of Life and death)
52November 12, 1988"Der Quacksalber"
(The Quack Doctor)
53November 19, 1988"Arzt zum Nulltarif"
(Doctor for Free)
54November 26, 1988"Ein kleiner Teufel"
(A Little Devil)
55December 3, 1988"Der kranke Professor"
(The Ill Professor)
56December 10, 1988"Udos Konflikt"
(Udo's conflict)
57December 17, 1988"Eine starke Frau"
(A Strong Woman)
58December 31, 1988"Sorge um Benjamin"
(Concern for Benjamin)
59January 7, 1989"Mit Geld geht alles"
(With money, anything goes)
60January 14, 1989"Gefahr für Udo"
(Risk for Udo)
61January 21, 1989"Der zudringliche Patient"
(The Importunate Patient)
62January 28, 1989"Die Rentnerinitiative"
(The Pensioners' Initiative)
63February 4, 1989"Herzstillstand"
(Cardiac Arrest)
64February 11, 1989"Arzt unter Verdacht"
(Doctor Suspected)
65February 18, 1989"Ein Mädchen in Angst"
(A Girl in Fear)
66February 25, 1989"Rivalen"
(Rivals)
67March 4, 1989"Sturz mit Folgen"
(Fall with Impact)
68March 11, 1989"Nierenspende"
(Kidney Donation)
69March 18, 1989"Transplantation"
(Transplantation)
70March 25, 1989"Hochzeit mit Hindernissen"
(Wedding with Obstacles)

References

  1. (in German) Das Geheimnis, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, August 18, 2009. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  2. (in German) Stuff, Brita. Die Schwarzwaldklinik – Heile Welt zu verkaufen, Die Welt, August 22, 2009. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  3. (in German) Luck, Harry. Das Geisterhaus im Glottertal, Focus, August 24, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  4. (in German) Lauterbach, Jörn. Tod eines Traumfabrikanten, Die Welt, January 8, 2002. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  5. (in German) Weinges, Philipp.Wer Sex hat, stirbt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, November 19, 2009. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  6. West German TV soap drowns American hits, Toronto Star, January 6, 1986. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  7. 1 2 (in German) Die Schwarzwaldklinik, ZDF. Accessed March 4, 2010.:"...der ersten und beliebtesten deutschen Arztserie."
  8. 1 2 (in German) Hoff, Hans. Schwester, es ist das Herz, Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 27, 2008. Accessed March 5, 2010.:"...die auch heute noch Inbegriff deutscher Fernsehseligkeit sind."
  9. (in German) Thissen, Torsten. Das ZDF reanimiert die "Schwarzwaldklinik", Die Welt, July 31, 2004. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  10. Die Schwarzwaldklinik - Die nächste Generation, IMDb. Accessed March 5, 2010.
  11. Die Schwarzwaldklinik - Neue Zeiten, IMDb. Accessed March 5, 2010.
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