Hallo Spencer

Last updated
Hallo Spencer
Created by Winfried Debertin [1]
StarringJoachim Hall
Wilhelm Helmrich
et al.
Country of originGermany
Original languageGerman
No. of episodes275
Production
Running time29 minutes per episode (German version), 22 minutes (US version)
Original release
Network NDR
ReleaseDecember 27, 1979 (1979-12-27) 
2001 (2001)

Hallo Spencer is a German children's television series, created by Winfried Debertin and produced by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) from 1979 until 2001. [2] In these 22 years, 275 episodes were filmed, including a number of 'specials' featuring the characters taking part in traditional fairy tale and nursery rhyme themed stories.

Contents

It is a puppet based show, featuring characters created and operated in the same fashion as Jim Henson's Muppets and Sesame Street, and, in fact, some of the show's staff were former employees of Sesamstraße, the German version of Sesame Street. To this day, the series is popular and well loved in its home country to the extent that the theme park Heide Park featured a themed area devoted to the show until it was removed in 2017. In 2023, it was reported that the animatronics that came from the area were stolen and vandalized. [3]

The series has been repeated on the commercial channels Nickelodeon Germany and on the pay-TV channel Premiere. Episodes were regularly found on regional broadcast stations until March 2011.

The series has three spinoffs: The Adventures of Max and Molly, Poldi and the Dragons and Spencer Kids.

A film produced for ZDF under the title “Hallo Spencer - Der Film” has been announced for 2024, in which, among others, German television presenter Jan Böhmermann will take on a role. [4] [5] The film premiered at Filmfest München in July 2024. [6]

Plot

Hallo Spencer is set in the fictional German town of Spencerdorf. Geographically, the area is wildly varied: densely forested and lush grassland areas border an arid, extremely localised volcanic area. The US language version was relocated to Spencerville, Ohio, which is a real town. Spencer usually greets the viewers and introduces a special theme for the plot of the episode, e.g. basic things like beds or greetings. The story then shifts around the village with the characters contributing something related to the theme. [7]

Later episodes switched from the village to Spencer's apartment, where he would normally tell a story to the viewer. [8]

Main characters

US character names from the Saban Productions series are listed alongside their original German counterparts.

Spencer (Hallo/Hello Spencer)

The protagonist. In the early episodes, Spencer lived in a television studio, although he later moved into an apartment in the Hallerstraße. He is the mayor of the village, and has at his disposal a videophone with which he can watch and speak to any of the residents at any time. Spencer's first name in the US broadcasts, Hallo, simply means "hello" in German, so the show's original German title Hallo, Spencer is Hello, Spencer in English. There is a sign hanging on the back wall of Spencer's studio displaying the German title and US distributors thought it would be necessary to have an English explanation to that – thus Hallo or Hello in English became Spencer's first name in the US.

Elvis (Elmar)

Elvis is Spencer's assistant. He lives with his girlfriend Lulu in a railway carriage known as the Dream Express.
Puppeteer: Wilhelm Helmrich, Matthias Hirth.
US voice artist: Robert Axelrod.

Lulu

Lulu lives with Elvis in the Dream Express. In early episodes, she had no nose.
Puppeteer: Maria Ilic.
US voice artist: Barbara Goodson.

Peggy

Peggy is Lulu's sister. She only appears in the first 5 episodes.

Nepomuk (Grumpowski Nepomuk)

Nepomuk is an irritable and stubborn creature. His nickname is Nepi (Grumpo in the American version). He dislikes the nickname Nepi, only allowing his friend Kasi to use it. He lives in a large castle.
Puppeteer: Horst Lateika.
US voice artist: Mike Reynolds.

Kasimir

Kasimir (or Kasi for short) is a red creature with unusually long arms, who lives in a chestnut tree that has an elevator built inside it. He is Nepomuk's best friend and the only villager allowed to call him Nepi (although this is not the case in early episodes). Kasi is very helpful, and does many different jobs in the village.
Puppeteers: Herbert Langemann, Martin Leßmann.
US voice artist: Dave Mallow

Poldi

Poldi (the German familiar form of Leopold) is a dragon who lives in a volcanic crater. If irritated by other characters, he will often threaten to eat them (though he never does).
Puppeteer: Friedrich Wollweber.
US voice artist: Michael McConnohie.

Pummelzacken

Pummelzacken is a female dragon. She is Poldi's girlfriend.

Lexi

Lexi is the bookworm of the village. He lives in a mushroom and is continually compiling his enormous library, known as the Lexiklopädie (Lexipedia in the American version). He is attracted to Lisa and was in a relationship with her for most of the series.
Puppeteers: Lorenz Claussen, Matthias Hirth, Joachim Hall.
US voice artist: Ted Lehmann.

The Quietschbeus (The Screech Boys)

The Quietschbeus are a trio of musicians who live in the television studio alongside Spencer. In every episode they perform a song related to the topic of the episode. Their German name is derived from the 'Beach Boys'.

Mona and Lisa

Twin girls who live on a houseboat and are usually found arguing. Mona and Lisa are not identical twins. They can be identified by their different hairstyles. Mona has her hair tied in two pigtails, while Lisa has a single ponytail. Lisa was in a relationship with Lexi for most of the series.
The twins first appeared in Episode 6.
Puppeteers: Petra Zieser, Sabine Steincke, Karime Vakilzadeh, Andrea Bongers (Mona), Eva Behrmann (Lisa).
US voice artist: Lara Cody

Galaktika (Galactica)

Galaktika is an alien from Andromeda. The villagers can summon her by singing. However, in some early episodes, Galaktika appears without the need for a song.
Puppeteer: Maria Ilic.
US voice artist: Barbara Goodson

Nero

Nero is a demon. He appeared only in several early episodes to cause trouble for Spencer and the others, being quickly dropped from the show when it became clear that young viewers were afraid of him.
Puppeteers: Friedrich Wollweber, Matthias Hirth, Joachim Hall.

The series abroad

In the early 1990s, after many years of success in its homeland and in other countries that broadcast a dubbed version of the original series including Mexico, Saban International bought the foreign rights to Hallo Spencer. The show was soon translated and broadcast in many countries around the world, including the Poland, United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Israel, Spain, Singapore, Russia, most countries in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. [9] However, the rushed translations and changes made to the show were often for the worse. The European style of characters speaking over one another worked very badly in other regions, making scenes unintelligible and worse, laughable. This was not helped by the comparatively low budget of the programme.

The North American version was retitled The Hallo Spencer Show and heavily edited by translating and rewriting scripts, cutting seven minutes from each episode in order to fit the American broadcast schedule during its first-run syndication on local networks around 3:00 PM EST/2:00 PM Central Time Zone, and to accommodate the inclusion of a rap at the end, summarizing the events of the episode. The scenes were also rearranged which resulted in continuity errors. The title character, Spencer, was renamed Hello Spencer (Hello an English version of the name instead of the original German Version) now being his first name, due to the impossibility of removing the "Hallo (German for Hello) Spencer" sign usually seen behind him in his office), and many other characters were altered to make them more palatable. Nepomuk also found himself with a first name: Grumpowski, Elvis became Elmar and the house band, the Quietschbeus became The Screech Boys. [9] The series aired from 1992 to 1993. An alternate English dub was produced by PentaTV in the late 2000s. The PentaTV English dub was included as a bonus feature in the German DVDs.

Episode availability

Episodes of the original version are widely available in Germany on VHS and DVD.

The English language version is unsurprisingly rarer. 52 episodes were originally translated and broadcast, but only six have been released on VHS, in three volumes in the United Kingdom. Judging by the contents of the tapes, the American episodes seem to have been chosen at random, with no regard at all to the running order of the original series.
The contents of each tape is as follows:

A Friend from China (Episode 100) and The Storm (Episode 86)

The Visitor (Episode 121) and The Argument (Episode 77)

The Less I See, The More I Hear (Episode 84) and A Million for Mona Lisa (Episode 120)

Another VHS tape was released in the United States in 1993. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Flower Pot Men</i> British childrens television series

Flower Pot Men is a British programme for young children produced by BBC Television. It was first transmitted in 1952, and repeated regularly for more than twenty years. A remake of the programme called Bill and Ben was aired in 2001.

<i>ALF</i> (TV series) American television sitcom (1986–1990)

ALF is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 22, 1986, to March 24, 1990.

Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produced by Hunter-Cohan Productions in association with Embassy Television and Columbia Pictures Television and stars Tony Danza as Tony Micelli, a former Major League Baseball athlete who strives to raise his daughter, Samantha Micelli, outside of the hectic nature of New York City and relocates her to Fairfield, Connecticut, where he works as a live-in housekeeper for a single advertising executive named Angela Bower. The series' cast also includes Katherine Helmond as Angela's mother, Mona Robinson, and Danny Pintauro as Angela's young son, Jonathan Bower.

<i>Tales from the Crypt</i> (TV series) American horror anthology television series

Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series created by William Gaines and Steven Dodd that ran for seven seasons on the premium cable channel HBO, from June 10, 1989, to July 19, 1996, with a total of 93 episodes. The show's title is based on the 1950s EC Comics series of the same name, published by William Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein. Most of the program's episodes are based on stories that originally appeared in that comic or other EC Comics of the time, The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, and Two-Fisted Tales.

<i>Puppets Who Kill</i> Canadian television series

Puppets Who Kill is a Canadian television comedy series produced by PWK Productions and originally broadcast on The Comedy Network. It premiered in Canada in 2002, and Australia on The Comedy Channel in 2004. It has also been broadcast in India, South Korea and Germany. The series was on the digital network Hulu and is currently on CONtv and Tubi in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpson family</span> Family of five fictional characters in animation series The Simpsons

The Simpson family are the main fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge who were high school sweethearts and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town of Springfield, United States, and they were created by cartoonist Matt Groening, who conceived the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted on Fox on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" and were later spun off into their own series, which debuted on Fox in the U.S. on December 17, 1989, and started airing in Winter 1989.

<i>The Hoobs</i> Childrens television series

The Hoobs is a live-action/animated children's television series created and produced by The Jim Henson Company, HIT Entertainment and Decode Entertainment for Channel 4. A total of 250 episodes were produced across five series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci</span>

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance painter and polymath who achieved legendary fame and iconic status within his own lifetime. His renown primarily rests upon his brilliant achievements as a painter, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, being two of the most famous artworks ever created, but also upon his diverse skills as a scientist and inventor. He became so highly valued during his lifetime that the King of France bore him home like a trophy of war, supported him in his old age and, according to legend, cradled his head as he died.

<i>Mona the Vampire</i> Childrens animated television series

Mona the Vampire is an animated children's television series based on the children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman. The series aired in Canada on YTV from September 13, 1999, to February 22, 2006; in France, it first aired on France 3 on October 30, 2000.

Mike Reynolds was an American voice actor and writer.

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company since 1989. In other countries, the television show started its broadcasts after 1989 either in its original English-language version or in a dubbed version.

<i>Blues Room</i> American childrens live-action puppet television series

Blue's Room is an American puppetry television series spin-off from Blue's Clues. It was created by Traci Paige Johnson and Angela Santomero. The show aired on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block, and originated as short segments on Blue's Clues episodes in season 6.

Panwapa is an American children's television series. It is co-produced by the Merrill Lynch Foundation and Sesame Workshop, the latter of which supplied the cast of puppets. The series was first released online via iTunes in 2007 and later premiered on PBS Kids Sprout in January 2008.

Paul Fusco is an American puppeteer, actor, television producer, writer and director. He is best known as the puppeteer and voice of the title character on the sitcom ALF, for which he also served as creator, writer, producer, and director. He formed the production company Alien Productions with Tom Patchett and Bernie Brillstein.

<i>The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee</i> Japanese anime television series

The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee is an anime series produced by Tatsunoko Production. The series features the adventures of a young bee named Hutch. Son of a Queen bee, Hutch is separated from his mother when his native beehive is destroyed by an attack of wasps. The series follows Hutch as he searches for his missing mother, in the midst of a frequently hostile nature.

Hallo aus Berlin is a British educational television series co-produced by the BBC and the Goethe-Institut. It is produced in a 'magazine' style with reports, interviews, music, and animated sequences, aimed at beginner German speakers from ages 4–20.

<i>Sabans Adventures of Oliver Twist</i> 1996 television series

Saban's Adventures of Oliver Twist is a children's animated series created by Saban Entertainment. The series first aired in the United States from 1 February 1996 to 12 February 1997 through Saban's syndicated "Saban Kids Network" strand, totaling 52 episodes. The series began airing in France on TF1 on September 1, 1997, and on Fox Kids on internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALF (character)</span> Protagonist and titular character of American television series ALF

Gordon Shumway, also known as "ALF", is the protagonist and title character of the American television series ALF, and its animated spin-offs, ALF: The Animated Series, and ALF Tales. ALF also starred in the poorly received television film Project ALF, and hosted the short lived talk show ALF's Hit Talk Show. The name "ALF" is short for "Alien Life Form". Paul Fusco created and plays ALF, and he also provides the voice for the character. On ALF, Lisa Buckley and Bob Fappiano assisted Fusco with performing the furry brown alien. During the first season of ALF, Michu Meszaros occasionally wore a full costume when full body shots were needed of the character.

<i>Smile PreCure!</i> Japanese anime television series

Smile PreCure! is a 2012 Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation and the ninth installment in Izumi Todo's Pretty Cure metaseries, featuring the seventh generation of Cures. The series is written by Shōji Yonemura, best known as the head writer of Glass Fleet and Kamen Rider Kabuto. The character designs were done by Toshie Kawamura, who previously worked on character designs for Yes! PreCure 5. Like Yes! Pretty Cure 5, the team has five members with a color scheme of pink, red, yellow, green, and blue, but unlike it the team's members are classmates in their second year of middle school. There are no additional team members. The series aired on All-Nippon News Network (ANN)'s TV Asahi network between February 5, 2012, and January 27, 2013, replacing Suite PreCure♪ in its timeslot, and was succeeded by DokiDoki! PreCure. A film was released in Japanese theaters on October 26, 2012, and a novel was released in 2016, serving as an epilogue that takes place 10 years after the anime's events. An illustration book of Toshie Kawamura's works was released on February 12, 2014. The series' main topics are fairy tales and happiness.

Winfried Debertin is a freelance producer and director known for his contributions to Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), and as the founder of a production company, Penta TV. He has worked as a director and producer since 1988. He received the 2006 ECHO Klassik Award in the Classical Music for Children category.

References

  1. "Winfried Debertin // Review: Hallo Spencer – Classic Edition". kulturnews.de. 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  2. "Hallo Spencer" tummelte sich im Freibad". Kreiszeitung. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  3. "Tostedt: "Hallo Spencer" ging in Flammen auf". Kreiszeitung. February 10, 2023.
  4. "Hallo Spencer - Der Film, TV-Film, 2023 | Crew United".
  5. Gebhard, Christine (May 10, 2024). "Neues deutsches Fernsehen".
  6. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/hallo-spencer-jan-boehmermann-film-puppendoktor-lux [ bare URL ]
  7. Media communication in everyday life: Interpretative studies on children's and young people's media actions. Walter de Gruyter. 14 February 2012. ISBN   9783111416342.
  8. Charlton, Michael (1 January 1990). Media communication in everyday life: interpretative studies on children's and young people's media actions. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN   9783111416342 . Retrieved 11 December 2016 via Google Books.
  9. 1 2 Variety Staff (1992-12-13). "Saban staffs syndie wing, works up its product slate". Variety. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  10. Wyner, Tom; Rosen-Bright, Lynn; Debertin, Winfried (April 17, 1993). Hallo Spencer presents Robin Hood/The Sleeping Beauty. Video Treasures. OCLC   30302773 via Open WorldCat.