The show was first aired in Germany in October 1964 under the title Robinson Crusoe as four 90-minute episodes by co-producers ZDF television, and syndicated in the USA the same year.
The English-language version's theme music, which the BBC requested before they would buy the serial,[citation needed] has been praised.
Radio commentator Glenn Mitchell said "The theme tune, with its rumbling introductory notes suggesting the rolling waves of the on-screen title sequence remains distinctive, as does the full incidental score, comprising numerous cues that in each case represent some part of Crusoe's existence.
It is the story of a young Englishman's struggle for survival on an unknown desert island, and his recollections of his adventures prior to the shipwreck that brought him there, in particular his involvement with slave traders.
In the latter half of the story a group of cannibals arrive on his island; he repels them by means of explosives, and in the process rescues a man from becoming their next meal; he names him Friday.
In the end he comes to terms with his less than exemplary past, and becomes a better man thanks to his experiences on the island, befriending Friday and putting his life in order.
Franco London Film made three different cuts of the show available (four-part, six-part and thirteen-part versions) to accommodate the broadcasting requirements of countries buying the serial.
The success of this production led to a series of 16 French/German co-production adaptations of classic adventure and children's novels between 1964 and 1983, for ZDF and ORTF in France.
Franco London Film, in association with Deropa Films (Germany), were involved in the next four serials: Don Quixote the Man of La Mancha, produced by Walter Ulbrich and Henry Deutschmeister in 1965 (the last to be made in monochrome); Die Schatzinsel/L'ile au Tresor in 1966, an adaptation of Treasure Island that starred English actor Ivor Dean as Long John Silver; Les Aventures de Tom Sawyer in 1968 (broadcast in 13 parts on BBC1 from 1970 to 1974); and finally Die Lederstrumpf Erzahlungen an adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novels featuring Natty Bumppo, collectively known as The Leatherstocking Tales, (including The Last of the Mohicans) in 1969.
Other scenes were edited from the German version, for example the looks of distaste upon Hoffmann's face in the first episode as he rolls a shipwrecked body in the sea, and tries to eat an insect.
While travelling on a ship from Brazil to Africa, a violent storm casts Robinson onto a deserted island off the coast of South America.
In the intervals of building a shelter and making furniture, Robinson recalls how he was assumed to be dead by his friends and was sold into slavery.
While rebuilding his home he recalls how he escaped from slavery and the events that led him to become owner of a Brazilian banana plantation.