"Tatort" (1970)TV series 1970-????

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

29 November 1970 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A long running German cop show where detectives work to solve a crime.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Male Female Relationship | Murder | Crime Investigation | Cop

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Miroslav Nemec	...	Kriminalhauptkommissar Ivo Batic / ... (53 episodes, 1988-2008)
Klaus J. Behrendt	...	Hauptkommissar Max Ballauf / ... (51 episodes, 1990-2008)
Udo Wachtveitl	...	Kriminalhauptkommissar Franz Leitmayr / ... (51 episodes, 1991-2008)
Ulrike Folkerts	...	Lena Odenthal / ... (46 episodes, 1989-2008)
Peter Sodann	...	Kommissar Ehrlicher / ... (45 episodes, 1992-2007)
Bernd Michael Lade	...	Hauptkommissar Kain / ... (45 episodes, 1992-2007)
Michael Fitz	...	Carlo Menzinger / ... (44 episodes, 1991-2007)
Dietmar Bär	...	Hauptkommissar Freddy Schenk / ... (43 episodes, 1984-2008)
Manfred Krug	...	Hauptkommissar Paul Stoever (41 episodes, 1984-2001)
Charles Brauer	...	Hauptkommissar Peter Brockmöller / ... (40 episodes, 1981-2001)
Karl-Heinz von Hassel	...	Kommissar Brinkmann / ... (40 episodes, 1971-2001)
Andreas Hoppe	...	Mario Kopper / ... (37 episodes, 1996-2008)
Götz George	...	Kommissar Horst Schimanski / ... (34 episodes, 1971-1991)
Joe Bausch	...	Dr. Joseph Roth / ... (34 episodes, 1998-2008)
Dietz Werner Steck	...	Kommissar Ernst Bienzle / ... (34 episodes, 1973-2007)
Eberhard Feik	...	Kriminalhauptkommissar Christian Thanner / ... (32 episodes, 1972-1995)
Walter Nickel	...	Techniker Walter / ... (32 episodes, 1992-2007)
Gustl Bayrhammer	...	Kriminaloberinspektor Melchior Veigl / ... (30 episodes, 1971-1992)
Dominic Raacke	...	Till Ritter / ... (28 episodes, 1985-2008)
Tessa Mittelstaedt	...	Franziska Lüttgenjohann / ... (27 episodes, 1999-2008)
Rita Russek	...	Hannelore Schmiedinger / ... (26 episodes, 1982-2007)
Helmut Fischer	...	Kriminalhauptmeister Ludwig Lenz / ... (26 episodes, 1972-1987)
Peter Espeloer	...	Peter Becker / ... (26 episodes, 1999-2008)
Annalena Schmidt	...	Frau Keller (26 episodes, 1998-2008)
Rüdiger Wandel	...	Günter Gächter / ... (24 episodes, 1992-2007)
Willy Semmelrogge	...	Willy Kreutzer / ... (24 episodes, 1972-1980)
Annekathrin Bürger	...	Frederike / ... (23 episodes, 1999-2007)
Ernst-Georg Schwill	...	Lutz Weber / ... (23 episodes, 1991-2008)
Chiem van Houweninge	...	Hänschen (22 episodes, 1982-1991)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Company:

Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)

Trivia:

Between 1985 and 1989, the networks ARD from Germany and ORF from Austria co-produced thirteen episodes, which were only aired in Austria (see "Tatort" (1985)).

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#10.3)" (1997)

Add another comment, please

There's not a single comment (so far) for 'Tatort'? That's really hard to believe, since it's a very long running and popular series here in Germany. I have seen some episodes, but not enough to consider myself an expert on the series. If you are an expert, please go ahead and add another comment.

Normally I always include a rating for the titles I comment on, but I think it would be unfair to do so in this case. I don't think I have seen any of the episodes from the 70s except for 'Reifezeugnis', and I haven't seen many of those of later years. I don't consider myself a fan of the series.

So what can I tell you about 'Tatort'? I think that, at least nowadays, too many episodes suffer from bad scripts. Often the cases are too confusing because they cram too much into the 90 minutes running time. If you are interested in examples, go to the user comments page for the episode 'Das Böse'. I have written a comment on it. There's also a somewhat similar comment for 'Der Kormorankrieg', titled 'Execrable' and written by a user called 'moabitnik'. (Please keep in mind that user comments are subject to change and deletion. Though it's unlikely, a comment might be different or gone tomorrow. I only refer to other comments because I think it would be redundant to repeat information that can be read elsewhere.)

Some more information that might be of interest:

Some episodes were only shown in Austria. They are listed as a spin off on the 'movie connections' page for 'Tatort'.

'Reifezeugnis' is perhaps the most famous episode. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen of 'Das Boot' fame and stars a young Nastassja Kinski.

I guess Schimanski, played by Götz George, is the most popular 'Tatort'-detective. He got a spin off series and two theatrical movies were made with him.

The German experimental rock band Tangerine Dream wrote the title track for 'Das Mädchen auf der Treppe' and scored a hit with it in Germany.

Some episodes are no longer shown as reruns because their content is deemed too controversial. Some episodes have been edited after their original airing, for example because of unwanted product placement.

Every German who has a TV set is required by law to pay fees for the station that produces 'Tatort'. Believe it or not, you have to pay for it even if you don't watch it. So the makers don't have to try hard to get funding for the next episodes. I guess the quality of the series might improve if they had to try harder.

Based on the episodes I have seen in the last few years, I would give 'Tatort' a rating of four points out of ten. But, as I have mentioned above, I might be wrong, since I haven't watched many of the episodes, so I won't rate it.