''Being Forty'' (
Polish: ''Czterdziestolatek'', alt. spelling: ''40-latek'', lit.: ''The Forty-Year-Old'') is a Polish television
comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
series originally broadcast in Poland between 1975 and 1978. The initial series enjoyed so much popularity that it was continued and led to the release of a feature film ''I'm a Butterfly, a 40-year-old's Love Affair'' and a New Year's Eve television program in 1975.
The series was written by Jerzy Gruza and Krzysztof Teodor Toeplitz and was broadcast on
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network.
After 2015, when the right-wing po ...
. In total, 21 episodes were produced.
The series followed the fate of a
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
family and explored topics related to
midlife crisis
A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 45 to 65 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's grow ...
, such as extra-marital affairs, attempts to quit smoking, obsession with hair loss, efforts to maintain physical fitness, pride in achievements and professional life, the desire to seek self-fulfillment through social activities, etc.
20 years later the series was remade in the mid-1990s with a cast that included Joanna Kurowska, Wojciech Mann and Wojciech Malajkat.
Episodes
# The toast, or closer than further (Toast czyli bliżej niż dalej) 1974
# Struggle with addiction, or maze (Walka z nałogiem czyli labirynt)
# Come by whenever you'd like, or dulled stimuli (Wpadnij kiedy zechcesz czyli bodźce stępione)
# The portrait, or how to be loved (Portret czyli jak być kochanym)
# Physical fitness, or the fight against the birth certificate (Kondycja fizyczna czyli walka z metryką)
# Flora's hair, or the maze (Włosy Flory czyli labirynt)
# Judym or a social action (Judym czyli czyn społeczny)
# Opening of the route, or free time (Otwarcie trasy czyli czas wolny) 1975
# Family, or strangers at home (Rodzina czyli obcy w domu) 1975
# Postcard from Spitsbergen, or enchantment (Pocztówka ze Spitzbergenu czyli oczarowanie) 1975
# Somebody else's misery, or defense witness (Cudze nieszczęście czyli świadek obrony) 1975
# New deputy, or the meteor (Nowy zastępca czyli meteor) 1975
# The scapegoat, or the rotation (Kozioł ofiarny czyli rotacja) 1975
# Małkiewicz case or
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
(Sprawa Małkiewicza czyli kamikadze) 1976
# Expensive gift or revisit (Kosztowny drobiazg czyli rewizyta) 1976
# Where have you been or
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
(Gdzie byłaś czyli Szekspir) 1976
# A cunning beast, or the cristal (Cwana bestia czyli kryształ) 1977
# War game or on the billet (Gra wojenna czyli na kwaterze) 1977
# Away from people, or something of your own (Z dala od ludzi czyli coś swojego)
# In self-defense, or the hunt (W obronie własnej czyli polowanie)
# Shadow-line, or the first serious warning (Smuga cienia czyli pierwsze poważne ostrzeżenie) 1977
Cast
*
Andrzej Kopiczyński as Stefan Karwowski, ''Czterdziestolatek''
*
Anna Seniuk as Magda Karwowska, wife of Stefan Karwowski
*
Irena Kwiatkowska
*
Roman Kłosowski
*
Janusz Kłosiński
*
Leonard Pietraszak
*
Janusz Gajos
Janusz Gajos (; born 23 September 1939) is a Polish film, television and theatre actor as well as pedagogue and photographer. Professor of Theatre Arts and an Honorary Doctor of the National Film School in Łódź, he is considered one of the ...
*
Halina Kossobudzka
*
Władysław Hańcza
Władysław Hańcza (18 May 1905 – 19 November 1977) was a Polish actor and theatre director.
Education and debut
In 1924, he graduated high school in his hometown of Łódź. Afterwards he studied philosophy and Polish philology at the Adam Mi ...
*
Wojciech Pokora
*
Katarzyna Łaniewska
*
Mieczysław Waśkowski
*
Zdzisław Maklakiewicz
*
Bohdan Ejmont
*
Ryszard Pietruski
*
Stefan Friedmann
*
Stanisław Tym
*
Wacław Kowalski
Wacław Kowalski (2 May 1916 – 27 October 1990) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1947 to 1983.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1916 births
1990 deaths
Polish male film actors
Polish ...
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Jarosław Skulski
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Leon Niemczyk
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Grażyna Szapołowska
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Alina Janowska
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Bożena Dykiel
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Edward Dziewoński
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Piotr Fronczewski
*
Tadeusz Pluciński
*
Lech Ordon
*
Wojciech Pszoniak
*
Jan Pietrzak
*
Krystyna Feldman
*
Jerzy Turek
*
Joanna Szczepkowska
*
Wiesław Gołas
Wiesław Ryszard Gołas (Polish: vʲε.swav 'gɔ.was 9 October 1930 – 9 September 2021) was a Polish actor and Armia Krajowa soldier. He was cast in the role of Tomasz Czereśniak in ''Czterej pancerni i pies'' (Polish: ''Four tank men ...
*
Jan Kobuszewski
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Andrzej Krasicki
*
Aleksander Sewruk
*
Jan Kociniak
*
Krzysztof Kowalewski
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Polish comedy-drama television series
1970s Polish television series
1974 Polish television series debuts
1977 Polish television series endings
Television shows about midlife crisis
Telewizja Polska original programming
Television shows set in Warsaw