Hurra Deutschland was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 satirical series running from 1989 to 1991, appearing regularly on TV station Das Erste

ARD (broadcaster)

ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...

.

Overview

Hurra Deutschland was easily distinguished because of its use of rubber puppets modelled on politicians and celebrities, who were poked fun at in various sketches. The puppets were built out of latex

Latex

Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...

 by GUM Studios, who continue to make puppets even today (many of which were used in the new series).

The show was chiefly political in nature, with the main character undoubtedly being a bumbling and moronic Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...

, with supporting characters Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....

, Hans-Jochen Vogel

Hans-Jochen Vogel

Hans-Jochen Vogel is a politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.- Early years and professional career :...

, Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a German politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party . He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 1974 to 1982 and, after a two-week pause, from 1982 to 1992, making him Germany's longest serving Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor...

 etc. Puppets from the German popular culture entered the ensemble to public appraisal, such as entertainer Thomas Gottschalk

Thomas Gottschalk

Thomas Johannes Gottschalk is a German TV host. He is best-known for hosting the popular show Wetten, dass..?, which he has led to a huge success in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol.-Early life:...

, singer Heino

Heino

Heino is a German singer of popular music and traditional Volksmusik....

 and tennis player Boris Becker

Boris Becker

Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...

.

New Series

A new edition entitled "Hurra Deutschland - Jetzt erst recht!" (Literally: "Hurrah Germany - Now more than ever!") aired in 2003. The show was "hosted" by puppets of Dieter Bohlen

Dieter Bohlen

Dieter Günter Bohlen is a German songwriter, singer, musician, producer, entertainer, TV personality, and writer. Bohlen is best known for being part of popular pop-duo Modern Talking during 1984–1987 and 1998–2003.-Biography:Bohlen took his Abitur in Oldenburg...

 and Daniel Kublbock

Daniel Küblböck

Daniel Küblböck is a German pop-singer and actor who achieved short-lived celebrity in 2003, in the media-circus that surrounded the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar , the German version of Pop Idol, in which he came third...

. However, general critical opinion was that the new series lacked the mordacity and audacity that the old one had - another complaint was that it focused too much on celebrities and sporting figures, whereas the original was so popular as a political series. The remake was cancelled after just one season.

Inspiration

The show was modelled on the long-running British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 series Spitting Image

Spitting Image

Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....

, where many prominent personalities were also parodied with rubber puppets. The show took many key inspirations from its British predecessor, including use of film parody sketches and musical numbers.

See also

• Rubbery Figures
  Rubbery figures
  Rubbery Figures was a satirical rubber puppet series that screened in Australia in various forms from 1984 to 1990. It appeared on TV comedies like The ABC's Rubbery Figures and Fast Forward...
  
  - a similar programme that was made and aired in Australia
  Australia
  Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
  
  

• Spitting Image
  Spitting Image
  Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
  
  - the British series on which Hurra Deutschland was based