RaspberryLucozade 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!

Thorsten-Krings All three series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet were very much "state of the nation" stuff. The first series showed a country crippled by a socialist government, the second series the changes Thatcherism brought and the third one now shows a world changed completely by the post 1989 events. The lads have all fallen on hard luck: Dennis is reduced to chaufeuring a drug dealer around, Neville's marriage is on the rocks and his business is failing, Wayne is dead, Bomber is terminally ill, Moxy wanted by the police (nothing new there) and Barry is married to a two timing Russian gold digger. To regain their self respect (and some money) they embark on a business venture orchestrated by a shady ex-politician ( a thinly disguised Jeffrey Archer). But Auf Wiedersehen is not just about the "state of the nation" but also about men, friendship and loyalty. So although they don't actually make any money they get back together and find themselves. As usual some of it is very funny, most of it very witty but it also shows the modern world in all its uglyness. For example Neville tells an embittered Dennis: This used to be coal mining country. Now half the men have donned a hair net and package airline meals. This story of friendship and camadery of these different characters leaves you feeling good. I don't think that there has ever been anything on TV that shows the nature of man (as opposed to woman) better and with more understanding.

RadicalTintin Very few things capture a time and spirit as eloquently as this TV series. Germany is the setting for a band of 'brothers' fleeing the mass unemployment and uncertainty of Thatcher's Britain in search of work, money and hope. This TV series contains natural acting, pathos, humour and a gritty realism that manages to combine drama and comedy without an emphasis on sentimentality or bawdy laughs. The series chronicles the debacles of a motley crew of British workers uncertain about Germany, their lives and their futures. Promised a hostel with swimming pool, they end up in a barren hut with no amenities yet friendships are forged and a social life centered on Beck's Beer and brothels ensues. With a memorable soundtrack and performances from relatively unknown actors that inspire, their pursuits become a part of the viewers' lives in a way that very few modern TV series capture. Oz, Dennis, Moxey, Bomber, Barry, Neville and Wayne become personal friends of the viewing public along the way in this story of the working man, ordinary lives and extraordinary situations that although filmed over twenty years ago remain timeless.

Steve Riley I'm writing this 5 episodes into the first BBC screening of the new (third) series. After a 15 year break, I was sceptical that the old magic of this classic series would no longer be there. My fears were unfounded. This is British TV at its very best. The writing is as superb as it ever was back in the 80s. The six surviving main characters, the new seventh `lead' (replacing the late Gary Holton's character, as his son) and all the supporting characters are just excellent. Ten out of ten, no question. I'm taping the entire series and once it finishes I'm going to have a night in with a six-pack and watch the whole lot right the way through again from start to finish. Let's hope that the rumoured fourth series also comes to fruition.