Line #10 Series/Stromberg


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stromberg.jpg]]
2
3	->''"An office is like... riding a roller-coaster. Constant ups and downs. If you have to do it for eight hours, every day, sooner or later you will throw up."''
4	-->-- '''Stromberg''', in the very first lines of the series
5
6	''Stromberg'' is a [[GermanHumour German]] {{Mockumentary}} WorkCom, on air since 2004. There are currently five seasons and one [[TheMovie movie]]. ''Stromberg'' is a ForeignRemake of Gervais' and Merchant's BritCom ''[[Series/TheOfficeUK The Office]]'', although it took a lost lawsuit for the makers to acknowledge this. Like ''Series/EinHerzUndEineSeele'' three decades before, this is one of the very few German sitcom remakes that are actually ''good''.
7
8	The main setting is an office of the fictional insurance company ''Capitol Versicherung AG'', more precisely the Department of Damage Adjustment M to Z, presided over by UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist Bernd [[CharacterTitle Stromberg]]. Like in the British original, the characters are very aware of the [[InUniverseCamera cameras being on them]], all the time. Stromberg in particular can often be seen cracking jokes and showing off for the camera.
9	----
10	!!This show provides examples of:
11
12	* TheAlcoholic: [[spoiler:Herr Becker becomes one in season five.]]
13	* AsideGlance: Stromberg, whenever he has just cracked one of his unfunny jokes.
14	* BackForTheFinale: At least if you consider TheMovie to be the GrandFinale, wherein both Tatjana Berkel and Sinan Turçulu are back. And at the very end, there are also cameos of some other characters.
15	* BaldOfEvil: Bernd Stromberg. Yeah okay, more like Sparse Hair Of Being A JerkAss. Stromberg also tries to make out Möllers, the bald-headed and somewhat gruff canteen chef, as a villain, even though his long-standing enmity with Stromberg is entirely the latter's fault.
16	* BerserkButton:
17	** For Stromberg, it's anyone making any reference about his "age".
18	** For Berthold, it's anyone calling him "Ernie", although this is downplayed in later seasons.
19	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The InUniverseCamera rarely has any influence on the plot, with two exceptions:
20	** Ernie improvising a lonely hearts ad into the camera - [[spoiler: and being successful with it!]]
21	** After Stromberg has been accused of sexual harassment, Becker watches the footage from earlier that day, in order to find proof of this.
22	* BigEgoHiddenDepths: Stromberg shows signs of this [[spoiler:in episode three of season two.]]
23	* BreakTheCutie: Tanja Seifert in the fourth season, utterly failing in her new position as assistant department chief.
24	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ernie may be a social outcast, but he's still the most competent worker in his department.
25	* CardboardBoxOfUnemployment: Near the end of the film, Stromberg gets fired from his job at the insurance company and can be seen leaving the office with a bankers box holding a globe, a trophy and an honorary certificate.
26	* CharacterTics: Two of Stromberg's personal tics is to groom his beard and tug his tie.
27	* CharacterTitle
28	* ColdOpening
29	* ConvenientMiscarriage: In season five, when Jennifer got pregnant.
30	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: In the movie, [[spoiler: where the Capitol directors plan massive job cuts, yet have a sex orgy in a luxury brothel.]]
31	* CreatorCameo: Series creator Ralf Husmann has made four brief appearances as co-worker Hans Schmelzer throughout the first three seasons.
32	* CringeComedy: Especially Stromberg has to suffer in this regard.
33	* GirlfriendInCanada: During the first few episodes of Season Two, Ernie is often having phone conversations with - he claims - his new girlfriend. Ulf naturally thinks that he's just faking it. [[spoiler:Nope! The gal is real.]]
34	* FunWithAcronyms: The new system on the flip chart in Season 4:
35	-->'''V'''orgänge
36	-->'''O'''rganisieren
37	-->'''D'''elegieren
38	-->'''Z'''uordnen
39	-->'''E'''ntscheiden
40	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: When Jennifer gets pregnant with Stromberg's child, she seriously considers having an abortion. Only after persuasion by Ernie does she decide against it.
41	* HalfArcSeason: Most noticeable in season four, with Stromberg's [[ReassignedToAntarctica new position in Finsdorf]].
42	* HeroicBSOD: Ernie, after his girlfriend leaves him and his mother dies, falls into a serious depression, and even [[spoiler: attempts suicide]].
43	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Happens often to Stromberg when he has a plan e.g. [[OpinionFlipflop for how he can suck up to his superiors]].
44	* HypocriticalHumour: Whenever Stromberg gives a statement directly contradictory to something he has said just one or two scenes earlier.
45	* IncompetenceInc
46	* TheInspectorIsComing: In the episode "Lulu" from season 3, where the Capitol headquarter sends an inspector, in order to have him investigate the proceedings in their departments (In particular Stromberg's). [[spoiler:Stromberg's department actually gets praised, whereas the others departments get a bad rating.]]
47	* InUniverseCamera: Also, In Universe Interviews.
48	* JerkJock: Football fan Ulf is this towards Ernie.
49	* LawOfInverseFertility: While Tanja and Ulf are trying to have a baby and it turns out that Ulf is infertile, Jennifer gets pregnant even though she did not plan to.
50	* MeanBoss: Guess who.
51	* TheNicknamer: Bernd Stromberg. Constantly. He could easily be considered one of the best examples of this trope. A short selection of the nicknames he gives to people:
52	** Bert(hold) Heisterkamp: [[Series/SesameStreet Ernie]]
53	** Herr Becker: Uncle Detlef, Mecker(=nagging)becker
54	** Sabine Buhrer: [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sabbeln Sabbel]]
55	** Frau Berkel: Tuberkel (tubercle), Eva Braun, Die Führerin
56	** Lars Lehnhoff: Blockflötengesicht (recorder face)
57	** Frank Montenbruck: Monte, Aktenmongo (filing mong)
58	** Rita Klüver: Lumpen-Erna (Rags-Erna)
59	** Herr Möllers: Nazi cook
60	** Vanessa Schubert (Ernie's black girlfriend): [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Blanco Roberta Blanca]], choco crossie
61	** Birgit (his wife): Biggie
62	::Rarely, Ulf falls under this habit too, e.g. when he calls Lars Lehnhoff "Grinsekatze" ([[CheshireCatGrin Cheshire Cat]]).
63	* OfficeRomance: Ulf and Tanja have one. [[spoiler: Stromberg and Jennifer begin one in season 4.]]
64	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Ernie is often trying to remind everyone that his given name is actually Berthold. [[Series/SesameStreet Guess where his nickname stems from.]]
65	* OpenMouthInsertFoot: Stromberg, with basically every line, leading to constant VerbalBackspace.
66	* PointyHairedBoss: Bernd Stromberg of course. He himself would consider his own supervisors to be this, even though they actually embody the role of the OnlySaneMan.
67	* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Averted, due to this show being a {{Mockumentary}}.
68	* ReassignedToAntarctica: In the first episode of season four, Stromberg ''[[FailureIsTheOnlyOption almost]]'' manages to get promoted to department chief. But due to his unrestrained JerkAss behavior, he instead is reassigned to a far off little boring village, called Finsdorf.
69	** At the end of series two, he's also reassigned to the company's archive (in the gloomy basement) after making unflattering comments about his bosses daughter.
70	* RedOniBlueOni: Stromberg and Turçulu in season one.
71	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: [[spoiler: The Capitol exec's having a sex orgy in the movie? In real life, a large German insurance company had a similar scandal.]]
72	* SickeninglySweethearts: Ulf and Tanja.
73	* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted in the fourth season, which seems almost like a {{Retool}}, with Stromberg losing his position and [[ReassignedToAntarctica being reassigned to a far off boring little village]]. Another aversion is [[spoiler: Erika Burstedt, one of the main characters, dying]] at the end of season three.
74	* StealingFromTheTill: [[spoiler:Erika admits to stealing toner for her printer in episode six in season one, which gets her temporarily fired.]]
75	* StraightMan: Somewhat averted with Ulf who is notably less witty, intelligent and GenreSavvy than his UK counterpart Tim. Played straight with Stromberg's superiors.
76	* TheMovie: A crowd funded movie (titled ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Stromberg - Der Film]]'') came out in 2014.
77	* TallPoppySyndrome: When the (hitherto) very popular Tanja Seifert is promoted to department manager deputy, her colleagues, her boyfriend Ulf and (certainly) Stromberg all sabotage her efforts, causing her to be relegated to her old position.
78	* UltimateJobSecurity: Luckily for Stromberg, who more than once was on the verge of being fired. The worst that happens to him is being [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To Finsdorf]].
79	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Bernd Stromberg. He is a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk - and yet, we root for him! Which might be because, for all his shortcomings, he doesn't ''quite'' deserve all the bad things that happen to him. Especially in season 4.
80	* VerbalBackspace: Stromberg quickly proves himself a master at this. At least, that's what he thinks.

Context Series / Stromberg