After witnessing several of his friends being forced to travel abroad in search for work, Franc Roddam ( who created the excellent 'Quadrophenia' ) devised a comedy serial about a group of men from varying backgrounds travelling to Germany in search for building work, an idea which was then pitched to writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais ( creators of the classic 'Porridge' ). The result was 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'. Three decades after its original transmission, it still proves enormously popular with viewers and it is not hard to see why - absolutely everything about it is perfect. Its enduring popularity is testament not only to the genius of its creators, but also to its wonderful cast.
The first series went out on ITV in late 1983. Three bricklayers - heavy-drinking hard man and Newcastle United supporter Oz Osborne ( Jimmy Nail ), hot-headed Dennis Paterson ( Tim Healy ) and nervous young newlywed Neville Hope ( Kevin Whately ) - all are forced to leave England behind and travel to Dusseldorf to find work on a building site. Upon arrival they find they must share a hut with Bristol born bricklayer and ex-wrestler Bomber Busbridge ( Pat Roach ), Liverpudlian plasterer and arsonist Albert Moxey ( Christopher Fairbank ), gauche Brummie electrician Barry Taylor ( Timothy Spall ) and Cockney ladies man Wayne Norris ( the late Gary Holton ). Over the course of the thirteen-episode run, the 'magnificent seven' ( as they became known ) got to know each other and soon developed a strong affection for one another and conversely viewers at home soon developed a strong affection for the characters. All of them had a grain of truth to them ( don't we all know someone as wild as Oz or someone as gormless and clumsy as Barry ). You could almost say that 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' was a byword for 'male bonding'.
Two and a half years later, after plans for a movie version of 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' came to nothing, a second series was made in which the seven all meet up back in England to help Barry renovate his new house. After work on Barry's house is completed, the seven then move on to carry out renovation work on Thornley Manor ( a derelict mansion in the rural countryside ) and then later a villa in Spain for Glaswegian crook Ally Fraser ( Bill Paterson ) of whom Dennis owes a large sum of money to. The second series, I think, was superior to the first, though it was overshadowed by Gary Holton's death from a drugs overdose. Depsite managing to appear in every critical scene, Wayne's absence was still obvious ( in one episode, a body double was used ). A third series was written soon after in which the lads were to re-build the British Embassy but the remaining cast refused to continue with the show after Holton's death ( that and it was declared too expensive to make ), that is until 2002 when the surviving cast members signed up for a BBC1 revival in which the lads, along with Wayne's illegitimate son Wyman ( Noel Clarke ) bought, demolished and sold the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. I enjoyed the revival, though it still was marred by the absence of Gary Holton.
In 2003, the BBC unwisely commissioned a fourth series ( set in Cuba but actually filmed in the Dominican Republic ), which saw Neville being recruited by MI5, Oz falling in love with a ballerina and Dennis forming a relationship with Wyman's mother. By this point it became obvious that Clement and La Frenais were clutching at straws. The following year, 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' concluded with a brilliant two-part special set in Thai-Land, though this too suffered slightly from the death of Pat Roach. The final scene in which Oz, Neville and Dennis - yet again bound for Dusseldorf - gaze at a photo of their younger selves ( as well as the rest of the 'magnificent seven' ) while Joe Fagin's 'Breaking Away' ( used as the opening theme for the first series ) plays over the credits is bound to bring a tear to they eye of any true 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' fan.
And that, sadly, is where the story of 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' ends however its affection from fans has not diminished one jot with the passage of time.
To those who may be stumped by my summary, it is a remark made towards Moxey by Oz in the episode 'A Law From The Rich'. Great stuff!
The first series went out on ITV in late 1983. Three bricklayers - heavy-drinking hard man and Newcastle United supporter Oz Osborne ( Jimmy Nail ), hot-headed Dennis Paterson ( Tim Healy ) and nervous young newlywed Neville Hope ( Kevin Whately ) - all are forced to leave England behind and travel to Dusseldorf to find work on a building site. Upon arrival they find they must share a hut with Bristol born bricklayer and ex-wrestler Bomber Busbridge ( Pat Roach ), Liverpudlian plasterer and arsonist Albert Moxey ( Christopher Fairbank ), gauche Brummie electrician Barry Taylor ( Timothy Spall ) and Cockney ladies man Wayne Norris ( the late Gary Holton ). Over the course of the thirteen-episode run, the 'magnificent seven' ( as they became known ) got to know each other and soon developed a strong affection for one another and conversely viewers at home soon developed a strong affection for the characters. All of them had a grain of truth to them ( don't we all know someone as wild as Oz or someone as gormless and clumsy as Barry ). You could almost say that 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' was a byword for 'male bonding'.
Two and a half years later, after plans for a movie version of 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' came to nothing, a second series was made in which the seven all meet up back in England to help Barry renovate his new house. After work on Barry's house is completed, the seven then move on to carry out renovation work on Thornley Manor ( a derelict mansion in the rural countryside ) and then later a villa in Spain for Glaswegian crook Ally Fraser ( Bill Paterson ) of whom Dennis owes a large sum of money to. The second series, I think, was superior to the first, though it was overshadowed by Gary Holton's death from a drugs overdose. Depsite managing to appear in every critical scene, Wayne's absence was still obvious ( in one episode, a body double was used ). A third series was written soon after in which the lads were to re-build the British Embassy but the remaining cast refused to continue with the show after Holton's death ( that and it was declared too expensive to make ), that is until 2002 when the surviving cast members signed up for a BBC1 revival in which the lads, along with Wayne's illegitimate son Wyman ( Noel Clarke ) bought, demolished and sold the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. I enjoyed the revival, though it still was marred by the absence of Gary Holton.
In 2003, the BBC unwisely commissioned a fourth series ( set in Cuba but actually filmed in the Dominican Republic ), which saw Neville being recruited by MI5, Oz falling in love with a ballerina and Dennis forming a relationship with Wyman's mother. By this point it became obvious that Clement and La Frenais were clutching at straws. The following year, 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' concluded with a brilliant two-part special set in Thai-Land, though this too suffered slightly from the death of Pat Roach. The final scene in which Oz, Neville and Dennis - yet again bound for Dusseldorf - gaze at a photo of their younger selves ( as well as the rest of the 'magnificent seven' ) while Joe Fagin's 'Breaking Away' ( used as the opening theme for the first series ) plays over the credits is bound to bring a tear to they eye of any true 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' fan.
And that, sadly, is where the story of 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' ends however its affection from fans has not diminished one jot with the passage of time.
To those who may be stumped by my summary, it is a remark made towards Moxey by Oz in the episode 'A Law From The Rich'. Great stuff!