History Series / AufWiedersehenPet

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Wayne and Barry.

* PowCamp: Series One, frequently. Multiple Shout-Out to those 1950s British [=PoW=] films - [[Movie/TheWoodenHorse]] in particular. Series Four has various Shout-Out to [[Movie/BridgeOnTheRiverKwai]] with Barry in the Colonel Nicholson role at times.

It was eventually revived for a few years in 2002, DarkerAndEdgier. With the six remaining members, Timothy Spall (Barry), Christopher Fairbank (Moxey), Jimmy Nail (Oz), Tim Healy (Dennis), Creator/PatRoach (Bomber) and Kevin Whately (Neville) returning and Noel Clarke filling the gap as Wayne's son, Wyman.

* PowCamp: Series One, frequently. Multiple Shout-Out to those 1950s British PoW films - [[Movie/TheWoodenHorse]] in particular. Series Four has various Shout-Out to [[Movie/BridgeOnTheRiverKwai]] with Barry in the Colonel Nicholson role at times.

It was eventually revived for a few years in 2002, DarkerAndEdgier. With the six remaining members, Timothy Spall (Barry), Christopher Fairbank (Moxey), Jimmy Nail (Oz), Tim Healy (Dennis), Pat Roach (Bomber) and Kevin Whately (Neville) returning and Noel Clarke filling the gap as Wayne's son, Wyman.

* PowCamp: Series One, frequently. Multiple Shout-Outs to those 1950s British PoW films - [[Film/TheWoodenHorse]] in particular. Series Four has various Shout-Outs to [[Film/BridgeOnTheRiverKwai]] with Barry in the Colonel Nicholson role at times.

* PowCamp: Series One, frequently. Multiple ShoutOuts to those 1950s British PoW films - TheWoodenHorse in particular. Series Four has various ShoutOuts to BridgeOnTheRiverKwai, with Barry in the Colonel Nicholson role at times.

[[{{Dramedy}} Comedy-drama]] from the writing team of Dick Clement and Ian [=LaFrenais=]. Season One (1983-1984) involved seven manual labourers from various parts of the United Kingdom. It was the mid-Eighties and there were [[Music/TheSpecials no jobs to be found in this country]], so they travelled to Germany to find work, forming themselves into a tight-knit group amid all the CultureClash. They even used ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'' title.

* MisplacedNationalism: Addressed by Dennis in "Who Won the War, Anyway?"
-->'''Dennis:''' After a week they've lost their passports, they've got pissed, lost most of their money, and become ridiculously nationalistic for the country that can't even bloody employ them in the first place!
** Much parodied in the Cuban scenes referencing ''Film/TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai'', especially Barry's "Colenel Nicholson" act while locked in the metal hut.

* BritainIsOnlyLondon: Very much averted here, as almost every part of England is represented by the main seven. Neville, Oz and Dennis are [[UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland Geordies]], Barry is from TheMidlands, Bomber is from TheWestCountry and Moxey is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Liverpool}} Liverpudlian]]. Wayne is the only Londoner.

* ActorExistenceFailure:
** Gary Holton (Wayne) died of a drug overdose during filming of the second series; he had filmed all of his outdoor scenes but had to be written out of some of the indoor scenes (generally by having a character remark that he was out with a girl). He was replaced in the remaining series by Noel Clarke as Wayne's illegitimate son, Wyman. The final episode of Series 2 opens with a [[InMemoriam spoken dedication to Holton's memory]] by Tim Healy.
** Pat Roach (Bomber) was terminally ill when shooting began for the 2004 Christmas specials, and died that July. In the series, Bomber is said to have retired, and the other six raise a glass in his honour during a restaurant scene, toasting, "To Bomber!" [[InMemoriam A dedication to Roach's memory]] appears at the end of the final episode.

* TheCastShowoff: Jimmy Nail, a former nightclub singer, was given a chance to display his singing in the second series.

* BritishAccents: The heavy regional accents (Geordie for Dennis, Oz, and Neville; Cockney for Wayne; Bristol for Bomber; Wolverhampton for Barry; Scouse for Moxey[[note]] Only the first four are using their native accents; Pat Roach (Bomber) was a Birmingham native, Timothy Spall (Barry) is a Londoner, and Christopher Fairbank (Moxey) was born in Hertfordshire.[[/note]]) make the series rather difficult to understand for viewers outside the United Kingdom.

* UsefulNotes/TheFalklandIslands: Where we find Oz and Barry at the beginning of season two.

* BritishAccents: The heavy regional accents (Geordie for Dennis, Oz, and Neville; Cockney for Wayne; Bristol for Bomber; Brummy for Barry; Scouse for Moxey[[note]] Only the first four are using their native accents; Pat Roach (Bomber) was a Birmingham native, Timothy Spall (Barry) is a Londoner, and Christopher Fairbank (Moxey) was born in Hertfordshire.[[/note]]) make the series rather difficult to understand for viewers outside the United Kingdom.

[[{{Dramedy}} Comedy-drama]] from the writing team of Dick Clement and Ian [=LaFrenais=]. Season One (1983-1984) involved seven manual labourers from various parts of the United Kingdom. It was the mid-Eighties and there were [[Music/TheSpecials no jobs to be found in this country]], so they travelled to Germany to find work, forming themselves into a tight-knit group amid all the CultureClash. They even used ''TheMagnificentSeven'' title.

* SympatheticCriminal: Moxey.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The 2002 revival had Bomber suffering from a serious illness and Moxey and Dennis struggling with extreme poverty. Also featured drugs, hitmen, organised crime an illegal immigrant almost forced into prostitution, and the various issues surrounding the use of gangmasters providing East European labour on the Middlesbrough Bridge contract.

* BarBrawl.

* ContinuityNod: In the first episode, Neville acquired an embarrassing tattoo on his arm whilst drunk and couldn't afford to have it removed again. When he briefly appears shirtless in the 2002 revival, it's still there.

* EmbarrassingTattoo: Neville, who is the nicest of the characters and happily married to Brenda, wakes up after a night of drinking to find "Neville Loves Lottie" tattooed on his arm. He doesn't even ''know'' anyone called Lottie.

* SmugSnake: Ally Fraser. And Geoffrey Granger even more so. And [[DoubleAgent Tarquin bloody Pearce]].

* VillainsOutShopping: "He was only going for a Tandoori chicken!"

** Gary Holton (Wayne) died of a drug overdose during filming of the second series; he had filmed all of his outdoor scenes but had to be written out of some of the indoor scenes (generally by having a character remark that he was out with a girl). He was replaced in the remaining series by Noel Clarke as Wayne's illegitimate son, Wyman.
** Pat Roach (Bomber) was terminally ill when shooting began for the 2004 Christmas specials, and died that July. In the series, Bomber is said to have retired, and the other six raise a glass in his honour during a restaurant scene, toasting, "To Bomber!"

* ActorExistenceFailure: Gary Holton (Wayne) died of a drug overdose during filming of the second series; he had filmed all of his outdoor scenes but had to be written out of some of the indoor scenes (generally by having a character remark that he was out with a girl).

* AboveTheInfluence: Wayne reluctantly turns down Bombers daughter because she's too young, vulnerable and only looking for attention (and he's been threatened with castration) and he mentions turning down two [[Music/TheRollingStones Rolling Stones]] groupies who mistake him for Ronnie Wood because it goes against his code to trick them like that.

* ActorExistenceFailure: Gary Holton.

* BerserkButton: Never harm or threaten one of Oz's friends in front of Oz.
** Though he also has a bit of a HairTriggerTemper in general.

* BookEnds: Series One begins with Dennis, Oz and Neville on the ferry on their way to Germany. The second of the hour-long Christmas specials end with the exact same scenario, and Neville gives us a TitleDrop.

* ChivalrousPervert: Wayne refuses to take advantage of teenage girls or trick Rolling Stones groupies who think he's Ronnie Wood into sex and he seems to treat the women he sleeps with quite respectfully. He did cheat on his wife but unlike other characters who mistreat their wives he expresses genuine remorse for it.
* CrazyJealousGuy: The Turkish pimp and his knife. Ally Fraser shows the potential to be this when he warns Wayne off Vicky
* ClingyJealousGirl: Brenda, in the first season.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The 2002 revival had Bomber suffering from a serious illness and Moxey and Dennis struggling with extreme poverty. Also featured drugs, hitmen, organised crime and an illegal immigrant almost forced into prostitution.
** also the various issues surrounding the use of gangmasters providing East European labour on the Middlesborough Bridge contract

* DomesticAbuse: Vicky is the target of this from Ally Fraser. Moxy comes from a family with a violent stepfather who molests his sister

* FanserviceExtra: There was a few of these in the Spanish episodes.

* IHaveNoSon: Oz in series three.

* JerkAss: Ally Fraser, Geoffrey Granger, Arthur Pringle and [=MacGowan=].
** Not to mention Tarquin Pearce.
* [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jerk Ass With A Heart Of Gold]]: Oz (sometimes).

* LovableRogue: Oz, Moxey and Wayne.

** much parodied in the Cuban ''BridgeOnTheRiverKwai'' scenes, especially Barry's "Colenel Nicholson" act while locked in the metal hut.
* {{Mooks}}: Ali Fraser and Mickey Startup both have them. Big Baz could be considered a [[TheDragon dragon]].

* NativeAmericanCasino: The revival series had a plot involving our heroes demolishing a historic bridge in England, and rebuilding it across a canyon in Arizona to provide access to a Native American casino.
** a ''ShoutOut'' to an urban legend relating to the sale of the old London Bridge and its re-erection in Arizona as a tourist attraction

* ProtagonistCentredMorality: When Oz mistreats people he's an anti-hero that you root for. When a character like Herr Grimwald or Arthur Pringle mistreat the group then they are a villain deserving of humiliation.

*** averted in several directions by Dagmar, who seems to be developing a genuine relationship with the unhappily-divorced Dennis - until their night in a hotel is spoilt when the rest of the Brits turn up, having burnt down their hut in a drunken prank gone drastically wrong

* SympatheticAdulterer: Bomber who frequently visits brothels despite being married with 5 children

* SmugSnake: Ali Fraser. And Geoffrey Granger even more so.
** Tarquin Pearce. Dear God, [[DoubleAgent Tarquin bloody Pearce]].

* TheUnintelligible: Oz with his strong accent in the first two seasons.
** LampShaded by Moxey: "Nobody understands a tossing word you're saying."

* BritishFrozenRocksWithPenguinsAndLandmines: Where we find Oz and Barry at the beginning of season two.