Derrick

My wife and I watched this show in Melbourne, Australia. We were absolutely hooked by not only the believable plots but by the excellent acting by Derrick and his offsider. We found it an interesting window into Germany, its culture and over time became quite familiar with Munich and its surrounds.

The show was shown in Australia by the quite excellent SBS and was shown without ads. The fact that it was sub-titled didn't matter at all... it was compulsive viewing over many series.

If I was to rate this series, it would have to be 9 out of 10.

When I was a boy, before cable and satellite TV, we had only five TV stations to choose from. One of the highlights on TV every week was the "Freitagskrimi" - every Friday an episode of one out of four or five different crime series was shown (they were rotating those series), and none of them created the kind of cult following that Derrick did.

Derrick is set in Munich. I live in Munich, and I totally love this town. Watching Stephan and Harry cruising on Maximilianstrasse in their BMW is just cool! There's also this cliche about the rich and famous that lends Munich a certain kind of air and as Derrick is usually investigating in these circles you get to see all the villas, expensive cars and champaign guzzling wives of wealthy manager types. In fact this is sometimes so over the top that it can only be a satirical stab at the Munich "Schicki Micki" society (Munich's "important" people).

Anyway, a lot more sets this series apart from standard murder mystery fare. There is a very distinct cold, claustrophobic atmosphere that make a Derrick episode immediately recognizable when you're zapping through the channels even if none of the two main protagonists are present in the scene. This perfectly matches Derrick's highly analytical method of crime solving.

There's also the great chemistry between Derrick and his sidekick Harry. Many episodes have them sitting face to face in their office, which is then typically only illuminated by a dim desk lamp, replaying the statements of those interrogated, uncovering contradictions and pinning down a possible suspect.

Well, I'm not surprised that 281 murderers failed to get away with their crime before Derrick retired. Now matter how good you think your alibi is or how well you can keep your cool - you won't withstand this man's piercing eyes and sharp mind!

Whenever I catch an episode on German TV (there's almost always some station airing the series) I watch it. The series was sold internationally to stations in more than 100 countries so there's good chance you might be able to see it sometime. Try it if you're in the mood for something slightly different!

This is the greatest detective show ever to be sent on norwegian TV. Horst Tappert and Fritz Wepper play Munich KriminalPolizei officers who take their jobs seriously. We never see the two in their homes, the office is the closest we get. The office is spartanly decorated with maybe some curtains and a small flower. Derrick sits by his desk until midnight waiting for a phonecall, and answers Der KriminalPolizei. Many of his "clients" are easteuropean pimps and kriminals, and angstridden upper middle class wifes in their 40s and their families.

These peoples houses have all white walls and tasteful interiors. Oh, Derrick has almost never fired a gun or used other forms of violence , and he only drives a Mercedes. And always in a suit and a coat. His assistant, Harry Klein used to wear a leather jacket. GREAT.

Coming from neighboring Poland, I had two German episodes in my life, both spanning a couple of years. The first one was in the 80s. I remember "Derrick" from that period, watching it regularly together with "One Case for Two" and "Tatort" productions. It was a good entertainment and helped me to learn German. Additional attraction of "Derrick" at that time was the fact that I remembered Fritz Wepper (playing Harry Klein) from famous "Cabaret" and very exciting WW-2 drama "The River Line". After leaving Germany, I always tried to remember that period of my life by regularly reading German books and watching some German productions in the original language. That way I came across the episodes from "Derrick" from the 70s, which simply captivated me. I started to understand why this series became popular in several countries. It offered a new approach by showing who has done it (like "Columbo"), but the most original for me was a combination of the crime genre with that of social drama. Some of the episodes could have been made by famous directors of the Italian, French, or Czech schools, but "Derrick" never got over-sentimental or boring. Those early episodes have almost the power of watching documentaries about the 70s. So I put "Derrick" alongside my other favorite crime TV series like "Columbo", "Taggart" or "Wallander"..

I grew up with this series too. I probably started watching this when I was 4 or 5 years old, and watched it up until recently. I normally never watch German series, but this one was something special. Todays kids may find it antiquated and corny, but I like it.