Helene and boys

Helene and the boys is a French Televised series in 280 26 minutes episodes, created by Jean-François Porry, produced by AB Production and diffused May 25th 1992 with the November 22nd 1994 on TF1. It is about a Spin-off of the series First Kisses , centered on the character of Helene Girard, interpreted in the two series by Helene Rollès.

Synopsis

The series puts in scene the adventures, mainly sentimental, of a group of students, tackling recurring subjects such as the music, the flirts and the agreements and disagreements between the characters.

Helene Girard, the big sister of Justine (the heroin of First Kisses ), entered with the FAC of Paris-XIV. She became girlfriend with Johanna and Cathy, which occupy the same room as she in the residence hall. As of the first episode, they make the meeting of three boys, Nicolas, Etienne and Christian, three musicians. At once, the couples are formed. With the wire of the episodes, they will be done and be demolished, with the liking of the meetings and the frauds.

Distribution

Episodes

See also: Helene and boys: list episodes

The series is diffused daily by TF1, in four “seasons”: from May 11th, 1992 to June 26th, 1992 (episodes 1 to 28), from September 7th, 1992 to December 31st, 1992 (episodes 29 to 97), from May 20th, 1993 to September 10th, 1993 (episodes 98 to 177) and from July 5th, 1994 to November 22nd, 1994 (episodes 178 to 278).

Comments on the series

The series is derived from First kisses (Helene being the older sister of Justine, the heroin of this one), itself being derived from Salut Muscular the . Helene and the boys has two derived series thereafter, joining together the majority of the characters: the Miracle of the love and Holidays of the love . The idea of this series would have come to Jean-Luc Azoulay by noting great popularity from Helene in First Kisses .

Like the others “sitcoms AB”, the recordings of Helene and the boys are done with the chain, with an aim of producing approximately an episode per day. All these series have recourse to laughter recorded in background music (or " laughter in boîte") at the time of the humorous passages.

Criticisms towards the series

As of its appearance with the screen, Helene and the boys is the target of violent criticisms in the press. Fact that it is produced by AB Productions, which produces already the Club Dorothée since 1987 on TF1, and which is itself prone to many criticisms (in particular about the supposed cartoons violent one that he diffuses), is undoubtedly not foreign there.

Principal criticisms relate to the absolutely unrealistic aspect of the life of students depicted in the sitcom. One does not know clearly which studies the protagonists follow and due: never, during the 280 episodes of the series, one does not see them in progress and one sees them rather little revising their examinations. In addition, these students do not seem to know any money problem. They pass their life to drinking fruit juices with the “cafèt'”, in the room of gym or in discotheque without never regulating their glasses but do not need to work to pay their rent or their studies. The girls prefer to find themselves with the garage to listen to the boys to repeat. The rooms of the students are not either credible, in particular that of the girls with its iron bedsteads forged with gildings.

The characters are considered to be caricatural and very smooth, with the image of heroin, the nice good friend who never deviates from the right way. None of them smokes nor does not drink. The girls are rather romantic, the boys make music. All the actors are white and there is no interbreeding. The quality of the scenarios, supervised by the producer Jean-Luc Azoulay, under his pseudonym of Jean-François Porry, is blamed, for their lack of originality, and the repetition of the same asepticized sentimental diagram. The characters evoke only very seldom sexual relationships and they are never shown (what can be explained by the hour for great listening to which is diffused the series and by the young age of the televiewers concerned). One can note besides that the only couple sharing a common life, Jose and Bénédicte, is never put in scene at his place.

The approximate play of the actors is also criticized. At the time, the majority of the actors are initial and the requirements of turning (an episode per day or almost) do not facilitate their work. This shelf is found in all the productions AB which invade the antenna of TF1 the following months ( Honey and bees , Girls of at side , etc), galvaudant the image of the sitcom, before the French diffusion of Friends .

Introduction of the facts of company

Passed the first episodes, some facts of company are however introduced into certain scenarios, in particular under the impulse of the scenario writer Emmanuelle Mottaz. Thus, inter alia, Johanna approaches a sect old New (episodes 83/85), Sebastien is found at the hospital after an motorbike accident (episode 134), Laly is dépîtée to learn homosexuality from a boy whom she covets (episode 133), Linda tries to commit suicide by swallowing a tube of sleeping pills (episode 147) then made a miscarriage (episode 203), Therese is victim of sexual harassment (episode 155), Nathalie escapes a collective rape (episode 188) then fears to be contaminated by the AIDS after a relation not protected with Thomas Fava (episode 208), Taxi suffers from Kleptomanie (episode 262)…

The drug problem as for him is mentioned twice in the series. First of all, in episodes 105 to 109, Christian sinks at the point to be found in the gutter the arms full with traces of punctures, before leaving itself there thanks to the support his friends. Later, during a meeting of recording with Thomas Fava, Helene is doped without her knowledge, by eating a Space cake. These episodes (of the 228 to the 233) are not diffused by TF1, which does not want to be likely to see the image of its tarnished heroin, contrary to televisions Belgian, Swiss and Russian. It is the same for the last two episodes of the series, during which the boys fight, and who are cancelled at the last minute.

A social phenomenon

In France, the series is looked at each day by 4 to 6 million televiewers, that is to say up to 52% of market shares, and makes it possible TF1 to renovate its public. Certain episodes are followed by 90% of the girls and the women from 4 to 24 years. Helene and the boys replaces thus the series Santa Barbara . The series is also diffused in Belgium, in Suisse, Spain, Norway, Russia and in many Eastern European countries. A German-speaking version (for RTL+) and an anglophone version are also a time announced, before being abandoned, just like a project of film.

This opposition between virulent criticisms and an indisputable success makes Helene and the boys a social phenomenon, present in one of many newspapers at the time. In 1999, the sociologist Dominique Pasquier considers the success of the series, starting from written letters with his actors.

A promotional tool for AB Productions

The success of the series also makes it possible AB Productions to ensure lower costs the promotion of its subsidiary company AB Disques. The song of the credits For the love of boy (who reaches the fourth place of the Top 50 in France and remains classified ten weeks in the ten best sales) lance the career of singer of Helene which the first album, left in 1989, had not been success. Moreover, starting from Peut-être that in September , each new individual of Helene is used as fine credits with the series (just like songs of Christophe Rippert in First Kisses or those of Mallaury Nataf in Honey and the bees ).

But certain titles are moreover included in the screen of the series. Thus, one sees Helene recording in studio the title Peut-être that in September , whose Christian signed the music, or For the love of a boy , written by Nicolas during his military service. It is generally one of these songs which also illustrate the sequences where the characters reconsider with the past.

Lastly, for surfer on the popularity of the character of “Cricket of love”, the producer Jean-Luc Azoulay also makes record an album with Sebastien Roch, Silences , whose first extract, With the bar of Jess remains 16 weeks with Signal 50.

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