Sing Auld Lang Syne and watch Dinner for One

 And now, just in time for New Year’s Eve, you must watch Dinner for One. This roughly 15-minute film (there are different cuts) is virtually unknown in North America. But it is a huge, HUGE, hit in Germany and some other European countries. It is watched almost religiously by perhaps half the German nation every New Year’s Eve. And its refrain “same procedure as every year” has entered the popular German vocabulary - in figures of speech, headlines, even political debates. It’s rather a silly and yet extremely charming sketch. Two English actors, Freddie Frinton and May Warden, play butler James and aged dowager Miss Sophie. Sophie has invited four of her closest friends to dinner only she doesn’t remember that they have died long ago. James fills in for them, adapting the mannerisms of each guest while also serving the meal’s courses and, of course, drinks. Each time he makes the rounds there is a toast, and you can image what takes place, increasingly hilariously, as the dinner proceeds. Dinner for One was written almost a century ago by Lauri Wylie and revived (in its original English) for German television in 1963. It has since become a cultural institution, as symbolic of New Year’s Eve as watching the ball drop (this year without crowds) and singing Auld Lang Syne. And many other Nordic European countries have also picked up the sketch. In fact, it’s now the most re-broadcast television program in history. So, tomorrow night, join tens of millions of people (mostly European) around the world, and watch this zany, absurd comedy for the ages. Who knows, maybe it will become a world viewing tradition yet.