Johanna (1989– )

Stars:

Ute Lubosch, Cornelia Lippert, Karin Düwel

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ute Lubosch	...	Johanna (7 episodes, 1989)
Cornelia Lippert	...	Heidi (7 episodes, 1989)
Karin Düwel	...	Christel (7 episodes, 1989)
Brigitte Krause	...	Erna (7 episodes, 1989)
Gerry Wolff	...	Schorsch (7 episodes, 1989)
Jürgen Mai	...	Reinhard (7 episodes, 1989)
Viola Schweizer	...	Walli (7 episodes, 1989)
Stefan Martin Müller	...	Kalle (6 episodes, 1989)
Myriam Stark	...	Ramona (6 episodes, 1989)
Holger Franke	...	Martin (6 episodes, 1989)
Peter Mohrdieck	...	Ede (6 episodes, 1989)
Wolfgang Winkler	...	Kühne (6 episodes, 1989)
Ernst-Georg Schwill	...	Rocker (6 episodes, 1989)
Sylke Stegemann	...	Familie Rothermund (5 episodes, 1989)
Manuel Ziel	...	Alex Rothermund (5 episodes, 1989)
Hanns-Michael Schmidt	...	Helmut (4 episodes, 1989)
Deborah Kaufmann	...	Gudrun (4 episodes, 1989)
Ursula Staack	...	Astrid (4 episodes, 1989)
Wilfried Pucher	...	Familie Rothermund (3 episodes, 1989)
Theresia Wider	...	Alte (3 episodes, 1989)
Klaus Ebeling	...	Fahrer (3 episodes, 1989)
Renée Kubsch	...	Fahrgast (3 episodes, 1989)
Günter Schubert	...	Horst (3 episodes, 1989)
Carl Heinz Choynski	...	Fredi (3 episodes, 1989)
Eva Schäfer	...	Rentnerin (3 episodes, 1989)
Maria Remakina	...	Erster Fahrgast (3 episodes, 1989)

Storyline

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Genres:

Family

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Details

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

1 September 1989 (East Germany)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Transit Tribulations

This seven-episode series (each lasting an hour) must have been one of the last that were produced in the German Democratic Republic before the Wall fell in November 1989. The East Berlin street scenes are so incredibly different from how they looked just a year later.

Johanna is a tram driver, married to a bus driver, and mother of three children: a (rarely seen) son who works in the Navy, a rebellious teenage daughter, and a little son who goes to elementary school. Also in their apartment lives her childhood friend Heidi, who is "Meister" (team leader) at the tram company.

If you like scenes with trams in street traffic, like me, you get an abundance of them, mostly Tatra KT4D in orange-white livery. Most of the episodes deal with the tribulations of the tram drivers, in majority female, with minor accidents, trouble with boss, adultery, divorce, new love... and ultimately, a historical double-decker bus.

I found this series on YouTube, watched the first episode, and then decided to watch all seven of them, which took me until 5:00AM on Sunday :^) From this, I think you can guess my fascination. I lived in West Berlin when the Wall was opened, so I could refresh memories, but also follow the well-wrought plots with increasing fascination. Loved it. 9/10.