ZDF series
New season “Der Bergdoktor”: The nation’s television doctor is back
Hans Sigl (left) as “Der Bergdoktor” in the new season of the ZDF series
© Barbara Bauriedl / ZDF
“Der Bergdoktor” is one of the most successful series on German television. Around seven million people regularly tune in to ZDF when Dr. Martin Gruber rushes to his patients. Now the 15th season begins.
It’s “Bergdoktor” time again: In the 15th year, the team of the long-running ZDF hit shot at the Wilder Kaiser in Austria – the result can now be seen. The traditional winter special runs on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. A week later the new season begins. One thing is clear: the life of the Gruber family is going haywire again. Also because a new woman appears who causes a stir. For beginners in the world of the “Bergdoktor” there is a review and for experts a mini outlook.
How it all began: After years in New York, Dr. Martin Gruber (Hans Sigl) back to his home country of Austria. His mother Lisbeth (Monika Baumgartner), brother Hans (Heiko Rupprecht) and his daughter Lilli (Ronja Forcher) live on his parents’ farm. From a biological point of view, however, Lilli is Martin’s daughter – because he once had an affair with Hans’ wife, who has since died. So the brothers’ reunion isn’t easy. But the family pulls together. Martin takes over a practice and stays. Lilli now has two fathers.
Everyday life at the Bergdoktor: Martin Gruber is really always there for the patients – usually he only has one. For him, no car ride is too far, no mountain hut is too far away and no holiday is sacred. The patients always end up in the nearby clinic, where the mountain doctor spends almost more time than in his practice. If necessary, he is in the operating room. And he’s always fooling around with his friend, the surgeon Dr. Alexander Kahnweiler (Mark Keller).
“Der Bergdoktor” has to deal with complicated cases
The patients: The mountain doctor rarely has to deal with a simple cold in his practice. Complicated cases open up for him. Together with Kahnweiler, he succeeds in diagnosing the worst diseases: Huntington’s disease, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, there has even been a case of plague and the doctor also had to deal with a deadly virus. One of his patients had developed a life-threatening allergy to her husband’s DNA – the couple had to separate. Such human fates affect the doctor.
Sympathizers and pain in the neck: It is dramaturgically important that there is stress from time to time in the ideal “Bergdoktor” world. The Grubers are among the positive figures. Mama Lisbeth keeps the family together, takes care of the breakfast eggs (“Mirror or scrambled?”) and worries a lot about her sons’ unsteady lifestyle. Hans is a good-hearted guy, but his nerves sometimes get the better of him. In the meantime he mutated into a bad boy when he wanted to sell the farm. But that’s in the past. Cheerful nature Lilli has grown from a little girl to a young woman. She has survived teenage fluff well. Their fathers are mighty proud of them.
“Der Bergdoktor”: Two more seasons are planned with Hans Sigl
The characters who saw on the nerves include the hostess Susanne, who desperately and in vain wanted to turn the farmer Hans into a waiter in her inn. The love affair with Rike almost cost the Bergdoktor his life. The insurance woman had thrown herself at him and her mentally disturbed son had almost killed the doctor after a fall while climbing. Fortunately, this incident ended the Rike chapter. The subject of Anne, the Bergdoktor’s girlfriend, is not over. For years she has been annoying with absurd allegations, tried to ruin the Gruber farm and continues to make theater because of Martin’s ex-girlfriend Franziska.
What’s coming? Martin’s ex-girlfriend Franziska is expecting a baby from him. After some back and forth, Franziska decided to move to New York and raise her son there alone. The mountain doctor is reluctant to give up his child. Stress is to be expected – especially since Franziska’s mother shows up, who has what it takes to be a bitch.
What is the balance of the main actor Hans Sigl? In an interview with the German Press Agency, he said: “There have been retrospective moments this year, along the lines of: ‘Man, do you remember where we started?’ That was also very sentimental, it’s not just a serial production, but we are very aware of how lucky we are that this format is supported by the audience in such a way that is something extraordinary in today’s television world. So that this content has achieved this standing makes us very proud.” There is no end in sight: According to Sigl, seasons 16 and 17 are already being planned.
“Der Bergdoktor” runs every Thursday at 8:15 p.m. on ZDF