Bibi and Tina

Bibi and Tina are the main characters of the German children's radio drama series of the same name, produced by the network Kiddinx. The Bibi and Tina Riding Farm episodes are a spin-off to the Bibi Blocksberg radio series. Tina and the Martinshof first appear in episodes 43 and 44 (The Riding Farm) of Bibi Blocksberg. In episode 47 (The Horse Show) they appear once more. The radio series Bibi and Tina began subsequently in 1991. The series consists of 103 episodes, including 2 specials (As of: October 2021).

Bibi and Tina was also made into an animated series, which now includes many episodes. The more recent episodes of the series also include stories without a radio equivalent. Many of the radio episodes were additionally published as a novel.

In March 2010, the first audiobook of the series,  Schatten über dem Martinshof , was published, followed in September by the second audiobook,  The Hungarian Horsemen, in September 2011,  Der wilde Hengst   was released as the third installment in the series. In May 2019, the voice actors of the main characters performed a live radio play in front of an audience for the first time. The performed radio play "Zoff" is not included in the regular audiobook series and was written specifically for the live performance in Berlin. A sound recording of the performance was published on the official Bibi and Tina YouTube channel and on streaming services.

Voice Actors and Casting
The casting of the voice actors has roughly stayed the same since the beginning of the show in 1991. The only exceptions are the castings of the narrator and Holger Martin.

In 1998, Joachim Nottke, who voiced the narrator fell ill and was unable to work. He was replaced by Ulli Herzog, the director, in the 32nd episode (Das Schmusepony) and eventually died in the same year. The episode was later revoiced by Gunter Schoß. After being recast two times, Schoß became a regular member of the cast and voiced the narrator from episode 35 onwards. The role of Holger Martin was recast three times. It is noteworthy that Holger Martin didn't actually appear in the episodes 25 to 49 and was only listed in the credits. Eberhard Prüter died unexpectedly in 2014 and was replaced by Sven Riemann as Graf Falko von Falkenstein.

Since the beginning of the show Susanne Martin has never been voiced by Evelyn Meyka, since Arianne Borbach was a better fit for the role of a young woman.

Characters
Bibi Blocksberg is a 13-year old blonde girl who has special skills: She is a witch. Bibi lives in Neustadt, on the outskirts of Gersthof and loves to spend her holidays on the Martinshof. She is a natural when it comes to horseback riding. During her first-ever riding lesson, Bibi already proves so much talent that she is allowed to ride her favourite horse, a challenging white mare named Sabrina. In later episodes, Sabrina becomes mother to a foal named Felix. Bibi is very self-confident, cheeky, and loves to perform magic, which is why she casts several spells in each episode even though Ms Martin does not approve.

Tina Martin lives on the Martinshof. She loves horses but she especially loves her own horse, Amadeus, who is a brown stallion. Tina is a year older than Bibi. She has medium long, red hair. She is a not a witch but she enjoys that Bibi is able to cast spells. She is very sharp, full of ideas, and uses them to support the shenanigans that Bibi has in mind with her spells. Tina's boyfriend is Alexander von Falkenstein. Every time he is in contact with another girl or neglects Tina, she feels jealous and hurt.

Ms Martin is Tina's mother. She lives together with her children Tina and Holger at the Martinshof after her husband, Tina's and Holger's father, died in an accident. Ms Martin, an animal lover, whose first name is Susanne, is a pretty, reasonable and good-natured woman. She is responsible for the management and finances of her farm. These tasks are difficult sometimes, since her only income is the money, children pay for their holidays at the Martinshof. Furthermore, Ms Martin is a gifted and passionate baker. Especially her butter cake is very popular.

Holger Martin is Tina's big brother and Ms Martin's son. He is 18 years old and appears very often in the Bibi and Tina episodes. Tina and her brother often tease each other, but basically get along very well. Holger is the riding instructor at the Martinshof and is responsible for the physically demanding yard work. His stallion is called Pascal, and becomes the father of Felix in the later episodes.

Earl Falko von Falkenstein, who is leasing the Martinshof to Ms Martin, is the owner of this farmyard. He is a very wealthy man and he owns a lot of precious horses. His favorite horse is Cleopatra, a dark Arabian mare. Even though good manners are important to him, and he often seems a bit arrogant, he is not superficial at all and he actually is of good nature. Rather, he fosters a friendship with Ms Martin, who he went to school with, and even had a liaison with when they were younger. He does not care about her middle-class origin and income. He lives with his son Alexander at Castle Falkenstein and owns a lot of land and numerous forest areas in the surroundings. Falko von Falkenstein has a goatbeard and therefore, he bears resemblance to a billy goat. This is the reason why the billy goat of the Martinshof, called Hoheit, is named after the lord.

Alexander von Falkenstein is the Earls son and at Bibi and Tina's age. Despite his rich father he is not arrogant. Alex loves to ride, especially his black Arabian stallion Maharadscha. Alexander often finds his father's fastidious behavior annoying but still accepts him as an authority figure. He usually bows to his will and even attends boring family meetings, etc., even though he does not feel like it. Bibi and Tina find him sometimes cowardly. Alexander, who is called Alex by most, is just like the two girls an avid horse lover.

TV cartoon series
On July 3, 2004, the animated series Bibi and Tina was premiered on ZDF. The spin-off to the series Bibi Blocksberg contains 54 episodes, each 25 minutes long.

Cinema adaptations
On March 6, 2014, the film Bibi & Tina (film) was released in cinemas starring Lina Larissa Strahl and Lisa-Marie Koroll in the leading roles. The movie was shot in Summer 2013 under the direction of Detlev Buck in northern Germany. The sequel Bibi & Tina: Bewildered and Bewitched (Bibi & Tina: Voll verhext) was released in cinemas in December 2014. The third movie Bibi & Tina: Girls vs. Boys (Bibi & Tina: Mädchen gegen Jungs) premiered in January 2016. Bibi & Tina: Perfect Pandemonium (Bibi & Tina: Tohuwabohu Total) is the fourth and last movie of the series premiering in 2017. All movies were directed by Detlev Buck.

Another feature film was announced in July 2021. In the same month, filming began with the cast of the Amazon series and a few other roles. Bibi and Tina: Simply Different was shot under the direction of Detlev Buck and released on February 17, 2022.

Series
After releasing four movies, Detlev Buck produced the Amazon Prime Series Bibi & Tina – The Series. The first season contains 10 episodes, each 20 to 25 minutes in length. Filming took place in the north of Germany starring Katharina Hirschberg as Bibi Blocksberg and Harriet Herbig-Matten as Tina Martin and has been available on Amazon Prime since April 2020.