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Medicopter 117 – Jedes Leben zählt

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Medicopter 117 – Jedes Leben zählt
Logo
Theme music composerSylvester Levay
Country of originGermany
Austria
No. of seasons7
No. of episodesPilot Movie + 81 Episodes
Original release
Release12 January 1998 (1998-01-12) –
28 June 2002 (2002-06-28)

"Medicopter 117 – Jedes Leben zählt“ (English: Medicopter 117 – Every life counts) is a German language television series that RTL and ORF broadcast. Medicopter 117 has seven seasons in 81 episodes and a pilot movie.

Medicopter 117 started in Germany and Austria on 12 January 1998 with the pilot movie “Der Kronzeuge”. Over 6.67 million people watched the series in Germany. The series ended in 2002.

Broadcasters

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 Germany RTL

 Austria ORF 1

 Hungary RTL KLUB

 Czech Republic TV PRIMA

 Slovakia JEDNOTKA

 Poland TVN

 Ukraine NTN

 Lithuania TV3

 Latvia TV3

 Estonia TV3

 Russia REN TV

 Romania AXN

 Bulgaria DIEMA

 France TF1

 Belgium RTL TVI

 Netherlands RTL 4

 Spain CUATRO

 United Kingdom CHANNEL 5

 Canada SÉRIES+

 Iran TV5

Description

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The Medicopter 117 is a fictitious rescue helicopter somewhere in the German Alps whose crews rescue people in danger.

The most expensive episode was the last episode in the first season. In the episode “Der Absturz”, a helicopter crashes in the mountains after a collision with a cable car rope. The crash sequence took one minute and cost 1 million DM to film.

The episode "Geisterflieger" (Insecticide) was originally set to air on 11 September 2001. This episode was supposed to be the first one of season four. Because of the episode's parallels to the attacks of 9/11, it was broadcast on a later date.

But the producers broadcast "Geisterflieger" on 17 September 2002 because its plot was crucial for the entire series. The paramedic Enrico Contini had his first appearance there. Some of the plotlines had to be refilmed because some of the former characters were gone and new ones had appeared in the series. So there are two different versions of this episode. The fourth season began with the episode "Rettet Susi" (Save Susi) on 18 September 2001.

From 2008 to 2012, all the Medicopter 117 seasons were released on DVD.

The series aired in several countries with the original German audio, but with English subtitles. It ran in United Kingdom on Channel 5.

Helicopters

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The Medicopter 117 is a BK 117 made by the German helicopter manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. The BK 117 has a special color scheme in red and yellow.

Medicopter 117 used two helicopters. The producers borrowed the first helicopter (registration D-HECE) from the DRF (Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht). When they did not use the D-HECE for the series, it flew real rescue missions at DRF locations. The DRF had ended its cooperation by the beginning of the fifth season. Later, the D-HECE was painted in the DRF colors (red and white).

The second helicopter (registration D-HEOE) was a former police helicopter in Baden-Württemberg. After its Medicopter career, the D-HEOE flew rescue missions for different operators like DRF, IFA (Internationale Flugambulanz) and the Austrian operator Flymed. This helicopter was used for sightseeing flights a few times. Today, the D-HEOE serves as an offshore helicopter in the North Sea.

List of episodes

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Pilot Movie
# Original airdate Title
0 11.01.1998 Der Kronzeuge (The Main Witness)
Season 1
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 12.01.1998 Tödliche Dosis (Deadly Dose) 01
2 19.01.1998 Die Geiselnahme (Hostage Situation) 02
3 26.01.1998 Kurzschluss (Short Circuit) 03
4 02.02.1998 Flug in die Hölle (Flight to Hell) 04
5 09.02.1998 Inferno ohne Ausweg (Inferno with No Way Out) 05
6 23.02.1998 Blinde Wut (Blind Rage) 06
7 02.03.1998 Gift in den Adern (Poison in the Veins) 07
8 09.03.1998 Der Absturz (The Crash) 08
Season 2
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 14.09.1999 Über dem Abgrund (Above the Abyss) 09
2 14.09.1999 Der Bankraub (The Bank Robbery) 10
3 21.09.1999 Nasses Grab (Wet Grave) 11
4 28.09.1999 Viren an Bord (Viruses Onboard) 12
5 05.10.1999 Blinder Alarm (Blind Alarm) 13
6 12.10.1999 Die falsche Maßnahme (The Wrong Method) 14
7 19.10.1999 Knockout 15
8 01.11.1998 Schulbus in den Tod (School Bus on the Way to Death) 16
9 02.11.1999 Gejagt (Hunted) 17
10 09.11.1999 Unter Verdacht (Under Suspicion) 18
11 16.11.1999 Mission ohne Ausweg (Mission with No Return) 19
12 23.11.1999 Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart) 20
13 30.11.1999 In letzter Sekunde (At the Last Second) 21
Season 3
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 14.03.2000 Irrfahrt am Himmel (Odyssey in the Sky) 22
2 21.03.2000 Die Todesfalle (Death Trap) 23
3 28.03.2000 Zwischen Leben und Tod (Between Life and Death) 24
4 04.04.2000 Die Feuertaufe (Baptism of Fire) 25
5 11.04.2000 Fahrt zur Hölle (Trip to Hell) 26
6 18.04.2000 Kidnapping 27
7 25.04.2000 Fehler im System (System Error) 28
8 02.05.2000 Gehetzt (Hunted) 29
9 09.05.2000 Die rollende Bombe (The Rolling Bomb) 30
10 16.05.2000 Todessprung (Leap of Death) 31
11 23.05.2000 Horror 32
12 30.05.2000 Bodenlos (Bottomless) 33
13 06.06.2000 Corrers Rache (Correr's Revenge) 34
Special Episode
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
/ / Geisterflieger (Ghost Flight) /
Season 4
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 18.09.2001 Rettet Susi (Save Susi) 35
2 25.09.2001 Geld gegen Leben (Money Vs. Life) 36
3 02.10.2001 Tödliches Wissen (Deadly Knowledge) 37
4 09.10.2001 Liebe oder Tod (Love or Death) 38
5 16.10.2001 Super-Gau (Major Accident) 39
6 23.10.2001 Mobbing (Bullying) 40
7 30.10.2001 Kokain (Cocaine) 41
8 06.11.2001 Mr. Radio 42
9 13.11.2001 Die einzige Zeugin (The Only Witness) 43
10 20.11.2001 Lebendig begraben (Buried Alive) 44
11 27.11.2001 Kamikaze 45
12 04.12.2001 Auf der Flucht (On the Run) 46
Season 5
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 12.03.2002 Der Zug (The Train) 47
2 19.03.2002 Flucht ohne Wiederkehr (Escape with No Return) 48
3 26.04.2002 Plutonium 49
4 02.04.2002 Höhenangst (Fear of Heights) 50
5 09.04.2002 Inferno 51
6 16.04.2002 No Risk, No Fun 52
7 17.09.2002 Geisterflieger (Ghost Flight) 53
8 24.09.2002 Verschollen (Vanished) 54
9 01.10.2002 Rufmord (Character Assassination) 55
10 08.10.2002 Im Labyrinth (In the Maze) 56
11 15.10.2002 Geldtransport (Money Transport) 57
12 22.10.2002 Die Flammenfalle (Firetrap) 58
13 29.10.2002 Rache um jeden Preis (Revenge at All Costs) 59
14 12.11.2002 Blinde Passagiere (Stowaways) 60
Season 6
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 07.10.2003 Bodyguard 61
2 14.10.2003 Blitzschlag (Thunderbolt) 62
3 21.10.2003 Verschüttet (Buried Alive) 63
4 28.10.2003 Das Feuerwerk (Fireworks) 64
5 18.11.2003 Falsche Zeit, falscher Ort (Wrong Place, Wrong Time) 65
6 25.11.2003 Freier Fall (Freefall) 66
7 02.12.2003 Blutige Spende (Bloody Donation) 67
8 09.12.2003 Vier Elemente (Four Elements) 68
9 20.07.2006 Mikado 69
10 27.07.2006 Abgezockt (Ripped Off) 70
11 10.08.2006 Blindflug (Blind Flight) 71
12 17.08.2006 Flammenmeer (The Lake of Fire) 72
13 24.08.2006 Heißer Schnee (Hot Snow) 73
Season 7
# Original airdate Episode title Episode number
1 31.07.2006 Flug ins Ungewisse (Flight into the Unknown) 74
2 13.07.2008 Spiel mit dem Tod (Playing with Death) 75
3 31.08.2008 Feuer! (Fire!) 76
4 07.09.2008 Der Tunnel (The Tunnel) 77
5 14.09.2008 Eisiges Gefängnis (Icy Prison) 78
6 14.09.2008 Ohne Skrupel (Unscrupulous) 79
7 21.09.2008 Gegen jede Chance (Against Every Chance) 80
8 28.09.2008 Angst! (Fear!) 81

Cancellation

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Shortly after the end of the 7th season, RTL announced that it would no longer invest into making the series. The reason they gave was that ″We showed everything there was to show, normal rescues, rescues on ships, rescues in the mountains, rescues from helicopter to helicopter, rescues on motorway bridges and many, many dramatic scenes. Over time, this would all just become similar or even repeat itself. That's why we're forced to stay with 82 episodes in 7 seasons.″ (RTL press release)[citation needed]

See also

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