” is the longest-running weekly series in the history of Polish television, which has accompanied viewers since November 7, 1999. For 25 years, the production has featured hundreds, if not thousands, of extras and actors – both less and more famous – as well as other personalities of the Polish entertainment industry. One can even go as far as to say that it is difficult to find a greater saturation of popular people than in the hospital in Leśna Góra. Who hasn’t played in this series? It also featured the greatest legends of Polish cinema, such as Barbara Brylska, Daniel Olbrychski, Leon Niemczyk and Barbara Krafftówna on the one hand, and on the other, “Na dobre i na evil” also starred, among others, Zbigniew Religa as himself, Przemysław Saleta (Gwiazdor), Edyta Górniak and Sławomir Zapała.
A very impressive cast of “For Better and For Worse”
In fact, almost entire families played in the production: apart from Marian and Bartosz Opania, the production included the brothers Paweł and Rafał Królikowscy, as well as the wife of the elder of them, Małgorzata Ostrowska-Królikowska. The Damięcki clan also had a similarly large representation in “For Good and for Bad”: Mateusz Damięcki, his sister Matylda Damięcka and their father, Maciej Damięcki. There are many, many more such examples.
On Sunday, November 7, 1999, at 4:30 p.m., the broadcast of the first episode of “Na dobre i na bad” began. The first season was watched by an average of 5.53 million viewers, which means that subsequent episodes were watched by 44.7% of viewers sitting in front of TV sets at that time. Next the series did even better, because it had an average of 7.24 million (which translates into a 54.2% share in the viewership market), and the third series jumped with this result to 8.37 million viewers (61.85%). The record came with the next, fourth season. This one was watched by an average of 8.7 million people, which gave a 62.2% share of the viewership market during the series’ broadcast. Today, television stations dream of such results.
Overall, “For Good and for Bad” started with a strong cast: it was impressive that Emilia Krakowska (the unforgettable Jagna from TV’s “Chłopy”) and Barbara Brylska (“Pharaoh”!) agreed to star in the series as the housekeeper and mother of Dr. Kuba Burski (Artur ¯mijewski), Marian Opania and his son Bartosz appeared. And then the production also featured such characters as Emil Karewicz and Stanisław Mikulski, known from “Stakes Greater Than Life”, Magdalena Zawadzka (Zybert’s sister-in-law), Nina Andrycz, Leszek Teleszyński, Leon Niemczyk, Ewa Wiśniewska, Jan Kociniak, Krzysztof Globisz, Olgierd Łukaszewicz, Dorota Stalińska, Franciszek Pieczka, Maja Komorowska, Edward Linde-Lubaszenko, Stanisława Celińska, Andrzej Grabowski, Krystyna Feldman, Bożena Dykiel and Grażyna Wolszczak, Arkadiusz Jakubik and Zbigniew Zamachowski.
‘For better and for worse’ – photos from episodes Artrama / TVP – promotional materials
Over a quarter of a century, a lot has changed in the series’ plot, including the main cast. And yet, at the beginning, Alicja Bachleda-Curuś appeared in the series, playing the girlfriend of Tomek, the son of Dr. Kuba. Later, his student friend was, for example, Maciej Zazdrowieny, and Maja Ostaszewska played his aunt. Exactly, Małgorzata Donovan, Dr. Zosia’s sister, who worked in a pharmaceutical company with the demonic character played by Piotr Adamczyk in that version.
Few people remember that Nanny Frania and Mr. Skalski had met before
Viewers may have forgotten that it was thanks to Mariola’s role as a ballroom attendant that she gained nationwide popularity. It was also in Leśna Góra that her heroine met the handsome millionaire Henryk Weiss-Korzycki in 2004, whom she married in episode 238. The so-called spice of the whole matter is added by the fact that he played the role of this wealthy bachelor. Their on-screen chemistry was so convincing that in 2005, Dygant and Kot were cast in the main roles in the comedy series “The Nanny”. Of course, she played the successful babysitter Franciszka Maj, and he again played the role of the handsome millionaire and widower, Maksymilian Skalski. They did so well that the creator of the original, Fran Drescher, decided that the Polish version of her sitcom was one of the best of dozens of local productions created around the world. Another thing is that Tamara Arciuch and Adam Ferency, who appear in “Nanny”, also appeared in “Na dobre i na evil”.
TVN also spotted Paweł Wilczak in “Na dobre i na evil”, who won the hearts of viewers as the sympathetic ex-prisoner Mareczek. The hero underwent effective resocialization, earned the love of his sister Bożenka (Edyta Jungowska), became a paramedic and made Wilczak one of the most popular actors in Poland. In 2002, he got the main role in “Kasia i Tomek”, where he also established a permanent relationship with his partner Joanna Brodzik. The series became a nationwide sensation, and Wilczak and Brodzik became the Polish “power couple”. This probably wouldn’t have happened without the adventure in Leśna Góra.
An interesting fact is that he played one of Mareczek’s friends. The role of Zenek Słodki gave the creators an excuse to show the audience the actor as an Elvis Presley imitator, something Milowicz was particularly famous for at the beginning of his career. There was also a distinctive wig and a guitar, and even a retro car.
‘For better and for worse’ – photos from episodes Artrama / TVP – promotional materials
By the way, in one of the sections, Mareczka’s road also intersects with a firefighter named Felek. Of course, he becomes a hospital patient, but then returns in several episodes, for example to go down to the canal as part of a rescue operation. He played this character, who also appeared in “M jak miłość” from time to time as Kosmala, the man of “Złoty”. Only then did the actor appear in the comedies “Ciało” and “Vinci”, which earned him both the sympathy of viewers and wide recognition. Interestingly, in “Vincim” he had the opportunity to use his experience from the set of “Na dobre i na evil”, after all, he also circulated the channels there (just like in the Oscar-nominated “In Darkness”). It gets even more interesting when it turns out that his colleague from the set of “Vinci” also appeared in “For better and for worse”, while still a student. Let us add that the cast of the series also starred in two different episodes, the one cast with them in Machulski’s comedy. In the first series, he portrayed the football player “Lufa” (his fiancée was played by Małgorzata Kożuchowska), and then he became a “town resident”.
Who today still remembers well that at the very beginning Robert Janowski played in “Na dobre i na evil”? He played the role of musician Mikołaj Mellado, who was first the fiancé of Dr. Zosia (Małgorzata Foremniak), and then dated Monika Zybert (Jolanta Fraszyńska). In fact, it even had a morally intriguing plot, because he also had a sort of amorous fascination with the character of Daniel Stolarski (played by director Jacek Borcuch). There was also a strong theme of Zosia’s romance with her school sweetheart, whom he played.
‘For better and for worse’ – photos from episodes Artrama / TVP – promotional materials
How did this happen? Let me explain: at the end of the fifth season, Zosia and Kuba were supposed to get a divorce, and Burska went to visit her hometown of Krosno. There she met Rafał Olesiński, with whom she had feelings during high school. In episode 184, viewers saw the lovers dancing under the open sky and kissing passionately. After the summer break, it turned out that they spent the night together, which Zosia quickly began to regret. Rafał appeared unannounced in Leśna Góra, he harassed her at work, he professed his love on his knees, but he definitely overdid it with exuberance. Zosia was seriously scared when she heard that her lover had already bought a house for them together. She then told Kuba that she was seriously afraid for her life. These ordeals made the estranged spouses come back together, and Rafał disappeared for good – he last appeared in episode 211 in 2005.
‘For better and for worse’ – photos from episodes Artrama / TVP – promotional materials
Jarosław Jakimowicz played in several episodes (including “Poznam panią”, “Zastańć łodość”, “Król Młodych” and “Na Ratunek Zosi”) and he really could get away with , who has been playing the role since 2002 For better and for worse” in the role of nurse Magda. It so happens that they both starred in the episode “Na Ratunek Zosi” – neither of them probably suspected that in 2020 they would start hosting a supposedly socio-political program “In contra” on TVP Info. Among the people of “good change” on TVP in the cast of “Na dobre i na evil” you can also find former Minister of Culture Dominika Figurska, the star of “Smolensk” Beata Fido and the presenter Ida Nowakowska.
The universe of “For better and for worse”
The creators of Medical Tapeworm liked to surprise viewers and sometimes cast famous people who did not act professionally. In this way, not only Zbigniew Religa (played a doctor) and Przemysław Saleta appeared in the series, but also Tomasz Kammel as a TVP3 reporter, Maciej Dowbor as a journalist and Beata Sadowska as a journalist. As if under the conditions, Rafał Maserak also played the role of a dancer (let us remember that he was also Małgorzata Foremniak’s partner in one of the first editions of “Dancing with the Stars”, the actress broke up with her husband for him), and in the episode “Odnaleźć się” she played a singer Nika Werner. She came to Leśna Góra after a suicide attempt.
‘For better and for worse’ – photos from episodes Artrama / TVP Promotional materials
The singer of the band Łzy, Anna Wyszkoni, in turn played the role of the film star Kalina Wach. In episode 412, her character goes to Dr. Kuba for a hernia operation, and at the same time wants to ask Burski for a tummy tuck. – I was nervous before entering the set, and that was good for me, because the first scene required a lot of emotions. I think because of my nerves I didn’t have to play very hard. Then I felt more and more at ease – the singer recalled working on the set. She also revealed: – There is a moment in the series when Kalina has a problem with unpleasant comments about herself on the Internet. They concern her appearance, behavior, speech… And this is my everyday life. And it is impossible to completely distance ourselves from such criticism. Such comments hurt and no one can tell me that we can ignore them, she said.
‘For better and for worse’ – photos from episodes Artrama / TVP – promotional materials
“For better and for worse” is not the only series in which Magdalena Ogórek starred. Guest appearances included: in the comedy “Tenants”, where she played the secretary Rysia. To make it more interesting, the series about medics from Leśna Góra also featured many cast members of the same production – the series also featured Olga Borys (she played Ola, a receptionist at the “Health & Beauty” clinic), Michał Lesień (the proud role of Grażyna’s husband ) Marek Siudym as Stanisław Grzelak, Michał Milowicz and Ewa Szykulska (Teresa).
In general, the cast of various popular productions appeared on the set of “For Good and For Bad”. The famous series “Kogel-Mogel” by Ilona Łepkowska was represented by, for example, Grażyna Błęcka-Kolska (Galasowa, Marysia’s mother), Krzysztof Kiersznowski (Tomasz Mirowski), Zdzisław Wardejn (Kotowicz, father of Kamila / Janusz), Katarzyna Łaniewska (Maria Szewczyk), Aleksandra Hamkało (Julka Burska) and Ewa Kasprzyk (Elżbieta Żak, hospital manager). “Ranczo” also had its numerous representatives (including Katarzyna Żak, Violetta Arlak, Cezary Żak, Artur Barciś, Dorota Chotecka, Ilona Ostrowska, Magdalena Kuta, Jacek Kawalec) and “Klan” and “Ojciec Mateusz”. In fact, two witchers played in “For Good and Bad”, because the cast included both Michał Żebrowski, who played Geralt in the TVP series and film, and Jacek Rozenek, who voiced the same character in the world-popular game. from CD Projekt Red. There are plenty of such examples and who knows how many more there will be.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
