The year is 2045. Germany is the thriving heart of Europe, and whoever it was who said that they have no sense of humour has been proven well and truly wrong, for last night on the publicly funded GBC (German Broadcasting Corporation) Germany was treated to a new series of its favourite sitcom.
Set in a hotel, it’s called Fehl Turmen, which translates into English as literally “faulty towers”, and is so-named in tribute to an English sitcom from seventy years ago with a name that sounded like that.
The hotel owner, Basil Fehl, and his wife Sybil, had their hands full last night with a consignment of English guests, and Basil is warning all his staff:
“Don’t mention Brexit – I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it.”
He was alluding to the moment earlier when he’d done an impression of Nigel Farage, raised an imaginary glass of beer, and said “bloody foreigners”.
Of course, it all gets ugly when a family of English guests are ordering lunch:
MOTHER: I’ll have the gammon.
BASIL: Ah yes, David Cameron, he announced the referendum.
FATHER: And I feel like some fish please, I’ll have the cheesy ray.
BASIL: Ah, Theresa May, what was it she used to say? Oh yes, that’s it, strong and stable!
SON: Can I just have a hot-dog?
BASIL: Oh yes, Jacob Rees-Mogg, he was there too.
DAUGHTER: And I’d like some won-tons please.
BASIL: Oh of course, Boris Johnson, what an imbecile! That silly red bus, hahaha! [Making speech marks] Three hundred and fifty million! And people believed him!
At this point the children are crying.
BASIL: What are they crying about?
FATHER: Will you stop talking about Brexit?
BASIL: You started it!
FATHER: No we did not!
BASIL: Yes you did, you voted leave!
And so it continued until the English guests stormed out. This segment only covered the last ten minutes of the episode, but already it’s all the viewers are talking about.
The show is already being dubbed into French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and every other continental language, it’s being lapped up by audiences all across Europe.
Although how it will go when it gets an English translation is anybody’s guess.