Mark Weigel

Hausmeister Krause – Ordnung muss sein is a German sitcom with Tom Gerhardt in the title role, shown from 1999 through 2010 on Sat.1. The series parodies typical German "squareness". Half-day janitor Dieter Krause is the embodiment of the German "square"; he is pernickety, blindly follows order, denounces others, is nosy, consistently puts his own interests above all else, acts subservient to his superiors and is brutish and unjust to those he deemes below him. Many plot elements — mishaps, misunderstandings, and frequent cases of mistaken identity — originate from Boulevard theatre. The characters in the series borrow heavily from those in Tom Gerhardt's film Voll normaaal, in many cases sharing names. In Voll normaaal, Tom Gerhardt played the roles of both Dieter and Tommie Krause; in Hausmeister Krause, Tommie was played by Axel Stein. Daughter Carmen is played by Janine Kunze. Other characters from Voll normaaal, such as Tommie's friend Mario, are relegated to the status of background characters. The scope of action also changed.

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RTL Samstag Nacht was a comedy show, which ran from 6 November 1993 to 23 May 1998 on the German TV network RTL. RTL Samstag Nacht was the first major comedy show in German television, created after the example of the long-running American show Saturday Night Live and broadcast late on Saturday night. It helped comedy in German television to a breakthrough and was a model for several later comedy shows. Karl Ranseier was a recurring character featured in fake news reports telling about his death at the end of each episode. The name Karl Ranseier has become a catchphrase in Germany that has led to its own joke category of Ranseiers which are in widespread usage outside of the comedy origin.

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