This TV sketch show series was originally based on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in, to the extent that even similar-looking sets were used, in particular this wall with many small windows that was used to deliver multiple-person jokes. But the show was not a carbon-copy, more than enough was added to make it stand up on its own.
First, it was given a large extra portion of sex. This intention was clear from the beginning, since the co-hosts Elisabeth Volkmann and Ingrid Steeger had both made their living in the years before the show by appearing in dozens of softcore sex comedies. Their Klimbim gowns were pretty outrageous, and occasionally they even appeared in the nude - in the 1970s that was rather unusual and daring for a prime time terrestrial TV programme, even in Germany. This extra portion of sex was not purely visual though, the jokes and sketches themselves were often saucy, and some regular characters were clearly oversexed.
Another invention was to use a sitcom element in the show, the Klimbim family. This sitcom within the show could perhaps be described as a cross between the Bundy family in "Married... with Children" and the students in "Young Ones, The" (1982). In other words, you watched in a mixture of amusement and horror, certainly relieved that nobody like that would live anywhere near you. Although the characters in that sitcom were all outrageous caricatures, it still gave the show's regulars plenty of opportunity to show off their comedic skills, and slightly surprisingly none of them was found wanting.
First, it was given a large extra portion of sex. This intention was clear from the beginning, since the co-hosts Elisabeth Volkmann and Ingrid Steeger had both made their living in the years before the show by appearing in dozens of softcore sex comedies. Their Klimbim gowns were pretty outrageous, and occasionally they even appeared in the nude - in the 1970s that was rather unusual and daring for a prime time terrestrial TV programme, even in Germany. This extra portion of sex was not purely visual though, the jokes and sketches themselves were often saucy, and some regular characters were clearly oversexed.
Another invention was to use a sitcom element in the show, the Klimbim family. This sitcom within the show could perhaps be described as a cross between the Bundy family in "Married... with Children" and the students in "Young Ones, The" (1982). In other words, you watched in a mixture of amusement and horror, certainly relieved that nobody like that would live anywhere near you. Although the characters in that sitcom were all outrageous caricatures, it still gave the show's regulars plenty of opportunity to show off their comedic skills, and slightly surprisingly none of them was found wanting.
