That was the last edition of "Wetten, dass...?"
Cher, Take That and Helene Fischer: just once more, the big names came to chat on the famous sofa with someone who has never wanted anything other than to entertain people his whole life. Thomas Gottschalk showed everyone once again how good he still is at it.
"That's enough, that's enough!" says Thomas Gottschalk, visibly moved by the thunderous applause from the audience, which refuses to die down. "Sit down, man, I have to start!" The whole hall shakes once more for someone who brought an entire generation together in front of the TV and who has had his very own mission his whole life, which he has always loved: to entertain people.
In a perfectly fitting burgundy suit, Thommy greets his companion and "Wetten, dass...?" creator Frank Elstner before his first guest, without whom, as he says himself, his life would have been very different. And, of course, the first grumblers immediately start whining into the net when Gottschalk makes a mistake and calls the actor Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweinsteiger. A few curmudgeons sit in front of their keyboards like referees, just waiting for the man to make a mistake.
But Gottschalk glides through the show as smoothly as butter. It's his evening. You can tell that he has long since stopped worrying about whether the TV nation will punish him the next day for not being gender-neutral or whether one of his snappy remarks has "fallen out of time". Don't bend, just do your thing: That's what he's always done.
Schweighöfer, Schweinsteiger, Stappenbeck
And so he welcomes not only Matthias Schweighöfer, but also former footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger and his wife, once the best tennis player in the world, Ana Ivanović. At some point during the evening, actors Jan Josef Liefers and Stefanie Stappenbeck also take a seat on the famous sofa. Schweighöfer, Schweinsteiger, Stappenbeck: minor blunders, not worth mentioning.
You can criticize the fact that some parts of the show are a bit long-winded, but to attribute this to the presenter would be completely wrong. In fact, this evening, like many others, has something decelerating, almost nostalgic about it, although Thommy was keen to emphasize "that this is not going to be a public devotion".
We watch Horst, a breeder of pedigree poultry, learn how to recognize his roosters by their crowing and reminisce about the 1990s as Matthias Schweighöfer talks about his new film "Girl You Know It's True" about the pop duo "Milli Vanilli", in which the 42-year-old plays music producer Frank Farian.
A brief jolt goes through your heart when Take That perform their cult hit "Back for Good", the audience turns into a sea of lights and you wonder for a moment whether you should find Mark Owen's moustache cool or somehow funny. Some of the idols of yesteryear have turned gray. My God, are they really over 50?
In 36 years, Gottschalk has welcomed so many contestants, but it's like Frank Elstner says: people will remember. Of little Felix on his skateboard, of the dog "Amie", who was taught to recognize numbers by his owner, or of the contestant Julia, who can recognize bets from several decades by 216 coloured barcodes.
In between, Helene Fischer and Shirin David sing "Atemlos" together and Twitter is of the opinion that the pop star is guaranteed to have lost a bet, because "there's no other way to explain this duet". There is a slightly heated exchange for a moment when Gottschalk can't help but reiterate his dislike of social media and influencers. But the rapper is happy to explain the internet to him and what it's like when you have a pimple and "relate" to it. This would make others who also have pimples feel better understood.
Help from politics and through his time with Cher
Some influencer then also takes Take That backstage for "social media", saying that's how it's done nowadays, that people are now "digitally on the move" a lot. And it's also very cool and casual when a 21-year-old calls the world stars who have made music history "boys".
Time and again, Thommy proves that he was born with a quick wit, for example when he says bluntly: "We need help from the politicians, things are going downhill in Germany." Or when he says during a chat with the legendary Cher that she's "been around a bit longer".
At the end, Jan Josef Liefers and Stefanie Stappenbeck sing "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher for Gottschalk and the viewer thinks: Wait, that sounds better than the duet between Ms. Fischer and this rapping "feminist"!
After his 154th show, Thommy now says goodbye for good. He doesn't want it to be a sad farewell and refers to the way people talk about him on social media: "My physical and mental state was never special".
But before the next shitstorm sweeps over him again, "I won't say anything anymore". He now speaks differently at home than he does on television. In short: Gottschalk would rather call it a day than be banned from speaking.
At the end, he is driven off the stage by an excavator, on which his good buddy Mike Krüger is also standing. He waves from high above and bids a grateful farewell to his audience, who have carried him through time. 36 years, Thommy, 36 years! Someone has to imitate you!
Despite the farewell, the spirit of entertainment lives on as viewers eagerly anticipate who might fill Thomas Gottschalk's shoes on TV. Many believe that the new host should also embody the same engaging charm and wit that Thomas brought to the screen for decades.
In fact, some viewers even suggest that the next presenter should invite Thomas Gottschalk himself as a guest, as a tribute to his remarkable career in entertainment and TV. After all, Thomas is synonymous with the word 'entertainment' in Germany, having thrilled audiences for decades with his shows and witty humor.
Source: www.ntv.de
