The Black Forest Clinic

The creation of The Black Forest Clinic was influenced by the popularity of the Czechoslovak medical drama series Hospital at the End of the City which originally aired from 1977 to 1981 and was broadcast in both East Germany and West Germany. Actor Klausjürgen Wussow in interviews cited long-running American daytime television drama General Hospital as a major influence on The Black Forest Clinic. served as a set for the fictional Black Forest Clinic. The setting for the fictional hospital was the real-life Glotterbad Clinic in the town of Glottertal located in the Black Forest of Baden-Württemberg. Only the exterior of the Glotterbad Clinic was photographed and shown in the series, the filming of action inside the hospital was done in a studio in Hamburg. The name for the fictional hospital was borrowed from the location as well — Schwarzwald being the German language name of Black Forest. The idea for The Black Forest Clinic was conceived by Herbert Lichtenfeld who also wrote the teleplay. The producer of the series was Wolfgang Rademann who had, at that time, been known in Germany as the producer of Das Traumschiff, a German equivalent of The Love Boat. Rademann had for several years attempted to pitch to television networks the idea for a medical television series but with little success due to a lack of interest by the networks. Principal photography for the series began in the summer of 1984 in Glottertal. Polyphon Film-und Fernsehgesellschaft production company was producing the series for both ZDF and Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). ==Reception and viewership==

The Black Forest Clinic quickly achieved a high level of popularity among its viewers. From the series' debut until 2009, the broadcast of the series had been repeated in Germany seven times in its entirety and the series had also been broadcast in 38 countries. On its official website dedicated to The Black Forest Clinic, ZDF has called the series "the first and most popular German medical drama". The Black Forest Clinic is estimated to have had over 20 million regular viewers. The popularity of the series also spawned two television films that were released in 2005 in time for the series' 20th anniversary. ==Cast and characters==

served as the location for Professor Klaus Brinkmann's residence. • Klausjürgen Wussow — Klaus Brinkmann • Gaby Dohm — Christa Brinkmann • Sascha Hehn — Udo Brinkmann • — Elke • Evelyn Hamann — Carsta Michaelis • — Mischa • — Hildegard • Alf Marholm — Mühlmann • — Ina • — Mrs Meis • Horst Naumann — Dr. Römer ==List of episodes==

List of The Black Forest Clinic episodes ==References==