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Hotel Paradies | |
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Created by | Herbert Lichtenfeld |
Starring | Grit Boettcher Klaus Wildbolz |
Country of origin | Germany |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 27 |
Production | |
Running time | 45 to 52 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ZDF |
Release | 16 January 12 April 1990 | –
Hotel Paradies was a sitcom that aired on ZDF with a total of 27 episodes. It aired twice a week from 16 January 1990 to 12 April 1990, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:50 PM.[1] The show was written by Herbert Lichtenfeld. The director from episodes 1 to 12 was Claus-Peter Witt; he was replaced in episodes 13 to 27 by Michael Günther.[2] The series premiere on 16 January 1990 drew 17.82 million ZDF viewers during prime time.[3]
A married couple, Max and Lisa Lindemann, run the Hotel Paradies as a family business on the Spanish island of Mallorca, which accommodates primarily German vacationers. Their two sons, Frank, paraplegic since a serious accident, and Michael, a motorcycle enthusiast and heartthrob, assist their parents at the reception, and Grandpa Lindemann also makes himself useful. Among others, the Park Hotel owner, Agostino Kroll, who had to sell the Hotel Paradies to Grandpa Lindemann some time ago due to financial insecurity, provides intrigue. Now wealthy, he wants the prestigious property back at any price.
The series also tells a parallel story of a character named Klaus Feller. In a financial emergency, Feller committed insurance fraud. Together with his then-wife Renate Feller, he faked his death and cashed in the life insurance policy taken out on him, which he consequently shared with Renate. He then went into hiding. Under the false name of Harald Kuhn, Feller now runs a car rental business and repair shop on Mallorca. The situation gets dicey when his ex-wife surprisingly shows up on the island together with her friend Jens Hartmann and Ewald Stronk, a former customer of Klaus Feller, who recognizes Klaus by his voice. To save his own skin, Klaus flees into the mountains to the caveman and hermit, Manfred. Stronk takes up pursuit with one of Klaus's cars but crashes it and has a fatal accident. The search for the culprit becomes a major plot point.
The above situation is aggravated by the character Jens Hartmann, a fanatical diver who, with his girlfriend Renate Feller (the ex-wife of Klaus Feller), is in search of a gold treasure hidden in a shipwreck. After a long time, he discovers the gold, but he lacks the necessary money to salvage it. First, he asks Renate for the money, but she refuses. Afterwards, in his madness, he blackmails her ex-husband, Klaus Feller. Knowing about Renate's past, Hartmann threatens to go to the insurance company and expose Klaus. Klaus then leaves for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with his new partner Isabel and sells Max Lindemann his car rental business. In the end, Renate gives Hartmann the money for the salvage. Hartmann is killed during the recovery of the gold bars and Renate Feller is remanded in custody. In the course of the conversation with the detective inspector Ramirez, it comes out that Hartmann has taken out a life insurance policy in favor of Renate.
In each episode, there are also one or two additional stories in which the hotel staff are kept on their toes. The additional roles are usually played by high-profile guest stars.
In at least 3 episodes: