Familie Heinz Becker is a German television series that aired from 1992 through 2004. The show revolves around the lives of Heinz Becker and his family, as well as those of neighbors and onlookers, although the focus of the series changed over the course of the series. In the first season, much of the humor was derived from Heinz's petty behavior; the character of his wife, Hilde, was not played for laughs. During seasons 2-4, Hilde's character became more naive but was devoted; much of the humor came from family dialogues. After Season 4, the focus shifted more to public life. Seasons 6 and 7 are not as well esteemed by critics as they repeat a number of older jokes and much of the comedy came from awkward situations, misspeaking, and other more mainstream comedic elements.
Commissioned to make a working-class family drama for public television, up-and-coming director Rainer Werner Fassbinder took the assignment and ran, dodging expectations by depicting social realities in West Germany from a critical—yet far from cynical—perspective. Over the course of five episodes, the sprawling story tracks the everyday triumphs and travails of the young toolmaker Jochen and many of the people populating his world, including the woman he loves, his eccentric family, and his fellow workers, with whom he bands together to improve conditions on the factory floor.