Die Toten von Marnow

There are surprises around every corner in this series. The two protagonists are very competent cops and extremely troubled individuals, spectacularly played by Petra Schmidt-Schaller and Sascha Alexander Gersak. (Both were awarded well earned German TV Prizes.) Also standing out: Anne Schäfer and Jörg Schüttauf. No black and white, good against evil here. Unusual for a German production, the good guys are corrupt, take the law routinely into their own hands, try desperately to get away with it and to bring down the real villains for good measure. One memorable scene after the other: A crime victim taking revenge in a shocking way within minutes after the deed. The heroine telling how she lost her whole family. A stunning action sequence with the hero trying to save his own family. A second season would be very welcome.

As this German series, set in the city of Schwerin in the former East Germany, opens a man enters an apartment and discovers a body on the sofa... the body of somebody he intended to murder! He searches the apartment looking for a list of unspecified information. When the body is discovered by the police it is hanging in the bathroom with a message suggesting he was a paedophile carved into him. The case is investigated by Detectives Frank Elling and Lona Mendt. The soon have a second case when a man is found with his throat cut. The evidence suggests the same killer but there is no obvious connection between the victims beyond the fact that the first regularly stayed at a holiday site on the lake near where the second lived. The investigation will expose secrets dating back to the days of the communist DDR and place those investigating in danger; various personal issues don't help matters for them.

I really enjoyed this series. The central mystery was intriguing and had some good twists and turns before the truth is revealed. The opening scene immediately grabs the viewers' attention and get them hooked as we wonder just why two different people wanted this man dead. The main characters are interesting; normal police officers with various imperfections and problems. The actors all do a solid job. The setting adds to one's enjoyment; forests, lakes and some impressive old buildings... not everything east of the old Iron Curtain is grey concrete as those us who grew up before it fell imaged at the time. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Euro-drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in German with English subtitles.

Well obviously since this is a show - so no pun intended. I do not want to write this too often, but for a German show this is not half bad (it actually is quite decent to say the least). The actors are well chosen - and the story is good. Now does it sometimes feel that it could have been a bit shorter? Sure, but I never felt bored ... so I would not hold that against it.

Our main characters have been well cast - and they have flaws. They do things that normal cops should not do ... but where would we be and what tension would we have, if everyone would be just perfect? Exactly. So take this with a grain of salt .. and if you have the time give it a go ... especially if you are a fan of the genre.

The story was captivating from beginning to end.

German crime series are very different from US productions. Characters are more real, the story line is less contrived than US shows (yet still not wholly realistic) - but this is escapist TV.

The acting is good, the scenery beautiful, the cinematography excellent.

Overall, a highly recommend several hours of excellent entertainment.

The show should have you hooked after the first episode, otherwise it is not for you.

Note: I watched the original German so I cannot comment about dubbing nor translations/subtitles which I sadly have seen to often be terrible.

Hi, my review is based on seeing the original German production. Germany has a long history of producing fine crime dramas, it is the most popular genre in television. The series "The Toten von Marnow" is in my opinion, one of the best shows ever made in this genre. Everything about this series has been beautifully crafted and I'll list some of my reasoning below.

Firstly, the realism of the characters. The cops in this show are absolutely not like your typical Hollywood maverick cops who seem to win every fight, have an IQ of 150 and are disrespectful to their bosses. The main protagonists are just ordinary detectives, both with tragic back stories, which become involved in a conspiracy reluctantly. Each bad decision they make leads to further unforeseeable consequences. They are portrayed brilliantly with a full range of emotions by the leads Sascha Alexander Gersak and Petra Schmidt-Schaller.

The antagonists are equally well portrayed and their motivation, based on misdeeds of the bankrupt former East German government at the end of it's reign, is understandable. There are not hoards of minions being thoughtlessly slaughtered on the way to solving the crime. The people behind the conspiracy are not evil masterminds or one dimensional villains, they are just ordinary people too, who just want the story buried, so they can go on with their new lives in the West.

The pacing of the series is almost perfect. Each episode ends leaving you wanting to see how it develops further. There are plenty of truly unexpected moments in the series, and the conclusion, where the reason for the crimes and the actions of the perpetrators is revealed is both poetic and understandable.

Definitely worth watching if you're a fan of realistically portrayed crime dramas.