'Mein Neuer Bester Freund'

The state of German broadcasting leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from the odd documentary on Arte, there is very little that’s actually worth sitting through. One show that does occasionally manage this is the German adaption of the British show My New Best Friend with actor Christian Ulmen (Mein neuer Freund). Each week, Ulmen pretends to be the new friend of a contestant from the public. He’s introduced to the contestant’s family and friends who are unaware of the scam. The characters Ulmen becomes are always the most appauling cases and although the production is on the whole, fairly shabby, the reactions of the unwilling friends and family is far more entertaining and insightful than your average reality tv show or spoof series.

Very popular, but not entirely sapped of all worth, is the music programme Tracks from Arte. Co-produced in both France and Germany it introduces non-mainstream and often subversive bands in a way, that avoids the usual MTV hyperbole and glamour. Although their choice of content sometimes strays into the neeedlessly bizarre, it’s worth watching for up-coming bands before they get completely tainted by one of the major labels.