1985. The year NRW landed in the future. In Essen, the new IC Experimental was unveiled and set a German rail record of 317 km/h. In Cologne, astronauts prepared for the first space mission under German leadership. And in Münster, a Delorean travelling through time left its mark. The film is narrated by Sabine Heinrich, who grew up and went to school in the Ruhr area and suddenly found herself smog-free in 1985.
In Aachen eröffnete nach 15 Jahren Bauzeit das wohl modernste Krankenhaus der Zeit: das Uniklinikum – anzusehen wie ein Ufo. Die Kinderärztin Lisa Lassay und der Krankenpfleger Wolfgang Klein betraten ihre neue Arbeitswelt 1985 zum ersten Mal. Sie erzählen, was es für sie und ihre Patienten hieß, sich auf diesem neuen Planeten zurecht zu finden und einzuleben.
In Cologne-Bocklemünd, WDR built the future of television and launched the first German soap opera: Lindenstraße. Sybille Waury moved in as Tanja Schildknecht at the age of 15 and hasn't moved out since. She tells how she had to grow into the role of the little beast Tanja as a well-behaved 15-year-old, grew up with her and finally even found the love of her life.
Gunther Nogge experienced his worst day as director of Cologne Zoo in 1985. Because a keeper had accidentally left the monkey cage open, the chimpanzee Petermann escaped, attacked Nogge and seriously injured him. Petermann, a public favourite and celebrated stage star in the 1950s and 1960s, was shot while trying to escape and became a Cologne legend.
The film "Back to the Future" in 1985 marked the beginning of a new era for two docs from Münsterland. From then on, their childhood dream of converting a Delorean into a time machine accompanied them. In 2015 Marty McFly landed in the future and with him Dr Oliver Wirtz from Borken and Dr Josef Hesse from Münster-Roxel. Because it was only now that they got to know each other and brought the conversion to perfection together. Until even Hollywood itself stopped by.
For the quick-change artist Günter Wallraff, things went right to the bottom in 1985. In the role of the Turk Ali Levent, he uncovered massive abuses as a temporary worker at various companies. His book "Ganz unten" (All the way down) caused a big stir and sold over 5 million copies.
In 1985, the sporting scene was out of this world. And not only because Boris Becker won Wimbledon. In the DFB Cup final, the underdog Bayer 05 Uerdingen defeated the big Bavarians. From now on, Krefeld was a football town and Wolfgang "Cup" Schäfer had not only made himself unforgettable with his winning goal.
Ten prominent personalities from NRW are sponsors and spokespersons for the films. They tell the stories and events of their highlight year and thus make the series "Our Country - The 80s" a very personal and entertaining journey back in time to an explosive decade.
First broadcast: Friday, 14 September 2018, 8.15 p.m., WDR
OUR LAND 1985 - Back to the Future
1985. The year NRW landed in the future. In Essen, the new IC Experimental was unveiled and set a German rail record of 317 km/h. In Cologne, astronauts prepared for the first space mission under German leadership. And in Münster, a Delorean travelling through time left its mark. The film is narrated by Sabine Heinrich, who grew up and went to school in the Ruhr area and suddenly found herself smog-free in 1985.
