I was hoping someone here would know of this show and let us know whats going on. It looks interesting even if you can't understand the language. The couple in question is Paula (Brunette) and Franzi (blonde).
A few links
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=vlc8qrq5fPU&mode=related&search=
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx7jM9dP_kc&NR=1
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=1_6h9zmo6hc&mode=related&search=
Submitted by
on August 27, 2007 - 12:05pm.
well, I never watched that
Paula (the blonde) loves Franzi, who gives her the usual "let's stay best friends etc" stuff thinking that she's straight. Franzi offers to be a testperson for Paula to kiss her so she can see she doesn't like kissing women ... at least in theory (both of them never have been with a woman before) . (Un-?)fortunately for her, Paula likes it, and Franzi also starts dreaming about that kiss...
Oh well, that's probably almost as confusing as watching those clips without understanding German...
GZSZ - new lesbian story line
First: I don' watch GZSZ normally. If I let myself to a German soap it would definitely have be the more mature Verbotene Liebe (VL), who have been having the longest lasting lesbian character on a show on German TV - Carla (Carla-Hanna, Carla-Susanne now...).
Anyways; don't have any tv at the mo', but caught up on youtube with yr links provided. Yeah, seems they only got into the lesbian story line at the end of July when making out of 2 best friends (Franzi & Paula) a possible romantic story line.
The storyline:
(Background) Both girls, apparently best friends, have their boyfriends (brothers to each other). Franzi (the blonde) is sharing an appartment with another girl who's into girls. Paula the soon-to-be-police woman, the brunette, seems to live with the 2 boys/brothers.
(Plot) Franzi has been having feelings for Paula for quite some time and can no longer keep this to herself. After discussing how she feels with her flat mate she finally lets Paula know about her feelings for her at a party (after previously having kissed her "incidentally"). Though Paula thinks one falls in love with a person and not a man or a woman, she cannot really handle the situation. As a result of Franzi's confession, the girls end up fighting over every bit at any time. Both boyfriends are getting pissed off with the situation as their gfs are constantly bitching around for no reason. At some point Paula almost tells them what Franzi had confessed.
Paula continues to run away from Franzi. Only after some incident where Franzi sort of saved her, she calms down a little. Talking to Franzi's flat mate about the girl's situation, she has to face the fact that it is her having a problem with Franzi's love confession and that now it is no longer Franzi who has to sort things out.
(ok, still the odd confusion there of "loving" both bf and Paula but ok, it is a soap... the way this lame relation girls-bfs is portrayed it is sooo obvious that none of 'em could really be in love with either of their bfs but whatever....).
Paula should consider that it may be her knowing deep down to have feelings for Franzi too.
Now she acts "normal" towards Franzi again and offers her to help for her roller's permit.... and Franzi would let her.
actio supra reactio // in vino veritas
Update ;-)
Just a little correction, the brunette, Paula, is actually married. I also don't watch the show, but my girlfriend has always had a weakness for German soaps, which usually intensifies when a new lesbian storyline crops up... ;-)
By now, the girls have had sex (in an atrociously bad sex scene, but so are all the straight sex scenes on the show, all so very innocent) and Paula is guilt-ridden. Franzi has split up with her boyfriend, as she can no longer pretend to love him. He is currently trying to find out why she split up with him.
Franzi told her best friend about the whole thing, she and the gay character mentioned above are the only ones who know about Franzi's affair with Paula. In a recent episode the best friend of Paula's husband saw the girls kiss, he is now trying to bring Paula to confront her feelings and decide. Paula is still on the "but she is just a girl and it's not the same, technically I didn't cheat"-trip. Franzi is intend on getting Paula to break up with her husband, though I don't really see that happening just now. These two are one of the really solid, meant-to-be couples on the show.
Something tells me that Franzi will turn out to be gay, though.
SPOILER:
On cootv.de you can always check out spoilers (in German), according to that site, John will find out about his wife's affair and Franzi will be told by Paula that nothing further will come of their relationship. Looks like Franzi will indeed turn out to be a gay character.
SOME CLIPS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX4U_eJpgbU&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbIHQt1K6Kg&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R8HKpYKtRA&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yMTGGCYyJ0 (the horrible sex scene!!)
Such drama!
Some very nice people have been adding English subtitles to the GZSZ clips, so I've put together a playlist of the whole story with English subs. It's a fun watch, yes the kissing & sex scenes are rather lame, but am greatly enjoying all the drama :)
Here's the playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F27E903182EE4BF4
I'm just hoping that Franzi doesn't become a crazed stalker but hoping the writers have a but more respect for the character as she seems to be a long established one.
Also here's a good music vid with appropriate music!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Sk3sueVY8
I think the kissing scenes are quite good
For those who care: The
For those who care: The storyline is back, after a looong hiatus by the actress
who plays Paula. Paula hence disappeared for a while, after her husband
accused her of being gay and thus questioning the whole relationship and all
feelings she ever had for him. I don't think Paula is gay, and neither did she,
and she was very hurt by her husband's reaction and ongoing hatefulness toward
her after the cheating, so she left. Franzi went back to her boyfriend
after this, which annoyed the hell of me, because she obviously loved Paula.
Now Paula is back and Franzi basically broke down when she saw her. All the
emotions came back, to the annoyance of her boyfriend (who is sooo annoying
and hateful and despicable in this storyline, awful!). She told him
things like "It's just a phase" etc, but somehow I still think it won't be.
The actress that plays Franzi will leave the show soon, so I bet on a
"OMG, I AM gay" storyline with her subsequently leaving Berlin to get some
distance, as Paula probably won't feel the same way and return to her husband.
That happened before in this show with one of the most popular female characters,
she ended up having a girlfriend and then immediately after moved to San
Francisco. Gay couples aren't meant to stick on this show, I think.
But we'll see, I am glad they picked the plot up again, it was so insane that she
just stayed with her boyfriend as if nothing had happened.
Sorry, somehow the formatting on this post really screwed up and I can't fix it, hope it's still legible!
Franzi
is HOT!!! There's a lot of stuff they could have done better in the show... But I still watch it because of Franzi.. yep, I'm that superficial;)
And german girls are fun. All the ones I have known have been really cool:)
Of course German girls are
Of course German girls are extremely cool.... ;-)
Now the storyline took a twist with Franzi starting to take cocaine, which is actually part of another character's storyline (a model wannabe who has been taking the stuff for a while and is dragging her friend Franzi down with her). Franzi wants to numb her feelings for Paula with the drugs, I see baaad things happening, especially as the actress proclaimed that she'd prefer to leave the show with a spectacular death scene. Hmm.
SPOILERS:
I read that Paula actually starts to fantasize about Franzi again, which I really didnt see coming - the storyline is picking up, I think. We will see how Paula's feelings play out.
I'm that superficial, too,
More Drama to Come...
Well, by now the german-fanbase is shaken because of the things that are going to happen...
For now I can say that the soap chose the ultimate ending, mostly because the actress of "Franzi" (the blonde) wanted her charackter to die...
So, now for everyone who wants to know:
SPOILER!
Paula realizes she is very much in love with Franzi and they share a romantic night together. However, after going to her husband to break up with him - because she simply can't stay with him, now that she accepts her feelings, Paula is not really able to do so, because John (her husband) has a problem himself (something with his sister Emily), so she tries to help him first. Franzi misunderstands the whole situation - she thinks Paula has changed her mind again...and tries to numb her pain with drugs.
I don't know how it all happens, but right after that there is a fire at the "Fasan" (a restaurant) and Franzi is not able to escape the flames. Paula tries to save her life by risking her own - but it is too late. Franzi dies! (I do not know if the two are able to confess their feelings a last time...the spoilers don't give it away :-( ... but the fans in Germany hope for it. They cannot bear the thought of Franzi dying, without knowing Paula loves her.)
SPOILER END!
The German-Fan-Community now is mostly shocked and on the loss of words, because of the bitter ending... which is by the way typical for this soap (story airing from May 27th to June 6th)
Okay, I hope the spoilers didn't ruin your hopes.. Maybe we can expect a few romantical scenes? Let's hope and wait.
Oh and please excuse my English - I'm not a narrative speaker ;-)
Oh gosh...
I should not have read your spoilers. Though I actually didn't have high hopes for them anyway. RTL isn't that great with gay/bi storylines - see Roman/Deniz on AWZ, but that one is actually also picking up again...
In today's episode of GZSZ Franzi's now ex-boyfriend - I can't remember his name - told Paula the real reason of them splitting up. I guess there will be a lot more of Franzi and Paula this week and next week before the now known bitter ending. It will be interesting to see what happens to Paula afterwards - do you have any idea if she will stay on the show?
--
It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. And I'm feeling good.
I think Paula stays, the
I think Paula stays, the actors who play Franzi, Mark and Sandra are all leaving soon. I mean, they do have to do something with Paula, she can't just go back to being straight. And the actress is VERY open to playing gay, she said "Lips are lips" in an interview... ;-) The actress who plays Franzi hated the storyline and said it was the hardest thing she ever had to act. Right, and playing a drug addict was easier than playing a lesbian? Oh, Puuuuhlease...! The things she said about the storyline made me dislike her a lot, so good that she's gone, we don't need abusive comments from straight actresses so terribly scared of us gay ladies....
They can't "turn" her straight again....
For as far as i know, Paula will have a coming-out (to her firends, collegues etc), because they can't have her turning back to being straight after mourning Franzi for more than 5 weeks...its not like now that her lover is dead, she gets back to her ordinary life ;-)
She breaks up with John (her husband) and he wants to end their marriage with a divorce - which is a final statement - there will be no "John and Paula getting back together"-storyline....thank God!
We have to wait what will happen next! However it looks like Paula won't forget Franzi anytime soon - maybe at some point (in a show like GZSZ, you never know how long it will take) there will be a new woman in her life? ... but personally I hope not too soon - that would be as if she has forgotten Franzi already!
And to Jasmin Weber (who played Franzi): It is only a rumor that she "hated" the storyline, she only said that it was difficult for her,that she couldn't identify with these feelings, because she never was in love with a woman and that she was afraid to portray it wrongly. She said in an interview: "It isn't important if you are in love with a women or a man - love is love!"
However I understand what you are thinking, I was shocked at the rumors too...
As cliched and staged as it
As cliched and staged as it was (candle light, tank-tops and their obviously trade-marked playing with each others hands) I enjoyed Franzi's and Paula's soon-to-be-destroyed happy ending in last night's episode. I know, I'm too soppy/soapy for my own good.
Is it just me or have Jasmin Weber's acting skills much improved with her gay story line? I don't know if she liked to hear it but I found her much more convincing as love-struck, heart-broken gay lady than straight girlfriend of Philipp or Sebastian. And no, the red nails can't change my impression, sorry Jasmin :)
Best scenes so far
Is it just me or have Jasmin Weber's acting skills much improved with her gay story line? I don't know if she liked to hear it but I found her much more convincing as love-struck, heart-broken gay lady than straight girlfriend of Philipp or Sebastian. And no, the red nails can't change my impression, sorry Jasmin :)
It`s not just you. She also got better and better throughout this whole storyline. Sometimes she nails her lines so perfectly that I`m left speechless. Josie Schmidt also has her moments though, especially her eyes told the whole story in yesterdays episode.
I also found some things to be very staged (I wouldn`t necessarily say cliched). Some lines were quite corny too. And the kisses are probably not L-Word-standard. But what they do have is chemistry in masses. It`s the best I`ve ever seen on television. The looks between them are killing me sometimes. Both actresses may have there weak points acting-wise, but their interactions are always so emotional that you don`t really care if they have to say a ridicolous line here or there. Their love is abolutely believable and I think that also enchants many viewers who don`t speak German.
Tht doesn`t mean that the soap has handled their gay storyline thoughtfully though. Some of the things stated in these months were actually quite homophobic, although they might not have been intended to. There were some unnecessary and soap-like back and forths as well, but in the end it doesn`t take anything away from the beautiful couple, even if it`s gonna end badly.
I interpreted the many candles (usually I find them to be a little bit too much) and the reddish colour to be a LOT of foreshadowing of what is going to happen and from this point of view it was executed nicely. The hand-playing thing also stood out to me, but after a few viewing I completely fell in love with this scene. I think t`s all about reconnecting there, Franzi who was left heartbroken and insecure and Paula, who finally accepts her feelings. You can clearly see the balance, Franzi is still very much broken while Paula feels finally redeemed. They also fall victim to this in the end, sadly enough.
Honestly I`m surprised that this doesn`t get much more coverage on AfterEllen, despite some stupid turnouts and other stuff, the beauty never goes away (and that after about 10 months of suffering and hoping) and makes it completely remarkable in it`s own way.
This is definitely a story that will stay in my head and heart.
__________________________________
The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever.
Why is Jasmin Weber leaving GZSZ?
Jasmin Weber's official
Franzi and Paula (GZSZ)
Awww, that was so sad. Franzi's dead. *sniffles* Paula risked her life and ran into the burning building to save her, but to no avail. Fortunately, she could still tell her that she loves her, it would have been even more horrible if Franzi had died thinking Paula didn't love her. I think both actresses were really powerful in these last episodes, Paula fighting for, now mourning her lover, these were really powerful scenes.
I found a few really good Franzi and Paula music video on YouTube, here are two links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zMPnt4R6IU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfP53FxrW9c
Too bad that they didn't get a longer storyline. They have great chemistry. I really like this couple - best friends, then lovers, fighting their feelings, then accepting them - and still no happy ending. A real pity. I wonder what's going to happen with Paula now.
So I only JUST found this
So I only JUST found this show on Youtube. For someone who speaks absolutely no German at all, I was quite happy to see that it was easy to follow.
My beef is, I find the show... and then they kill one of them off!
Maybe it's me.
Maybe I ruined it for everyone.
At least I know how to say "I love you" in German now.
Always handy...
I guess...
Online Petition
Hi there,
I am new here and discovered this thread. I am a huge Franzi and Paula fan. It was a beautiful love story and I wish TPTB had ended it differently. Actually I didn't watch the end, because I learnt from Xena. I still can't watch that episode - after 7 years.
A friend of mine and I created an online petition to get some sort of revival of the Franzi and Paula lovestory. Here is the link to our website: www.franzi-and-paula.de
where you can find a description of our petition. It has changed a bit though as we are aware that a spin-off will be highly unlikely. We now would like RTL television to consider an alternative ending for the story, e. g. for a DVD box with the episodes. We are convinced that Jasmin Weber (Franzi) would be available for that. An alternative end is the least RTL can do for the fans. It was not necessary to end the story like that. We are amazed at how many fans from different countries this story has. It would be great if you supported our fight and signed the petition as well. Thank you.
Heike
Franzi and Paula 4 ever
Heike, that's a really good idea, I'm sure such a DVD would sell really well. It would be so nice to have all the Franzi and Paula scenes as a collection, and an alternate ending would be even nicer. Paula saving Franzi from the flames, the two of them having a future together. :) I bookmarked your website, I hope the petition will be a success. Good luck!
More music videos which I found on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akfx4Rn74Qw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chPPczSY4xo
Such a great couple.
My Franzi and Paula Video
Thank you Nicki. I really hope TPTB will consider producing a DVD. We still have to solve some copyright issues regarding the website, but I hope it will turn out well.
Btw. I made the first video you posted the link of (ROCfan74 is my YouTube username). I hope you liked it :-)
Franzi and Paula Video
Of course I liked it, that's why I posted the link!! What are the chances that I'd pick your video, huh?! :) There are so many Franzi and Paula videos on YouTube, it's really amazing - and such a tribute to these wonderful characters - and to the actresses who play them.
What do you think is going to happen to Paula now? Wouldn't it be great if she realized that she didn't just love Franzi, but that she's actually a lesbian?
By the way: I love your profile pic!
Franzi and Paula rule!
I'm glad you liked the video :-) I had to make a positive video about them. I can hardly visit YouTube anymore, because of all the sad videos.
I don't know what will happen to Paula. It would be great if she realized that she's a lesbian, but I wouldn't really want her to see with anybody else but Franzi. But I don't watch the show anymore anyway so I guess it doesn't matter what I want. I just couldn't bring myself to watch the horrible end and now I am glad that I didn't. I still see Franzi alive and well and happy with Paula that's why I try to avoid spoilers as good as possible.
Thank you regarding my profile pic. I liked that scene and so I used it for the pic.
Btw. our forum will probably be online tomorrow on our Franzi and Paula website. There is also an English speaking section. Just in case you're interested.