"Derrick" (1974) TV series 1974-1998

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

Release Date:

20 October 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime

Plot:

Stephan Derrick is "Oberinspektor" at the Munich police. Together with his assistant Harry Klein he has to solve murder cases...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Detective | Munich Germany | Cult Favorite | Character Name In Title

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Horst Tappert	...	Oberinspektor Stephan Derrick (281 episodes, 1974-1998)
Fritz Wepper	...	Harry Klein (281 episodes, 1974-1998)
Willy Schäfer	...	Willi Berger / ... (165 episodes, 1975-1998)

Runtime:

60 min | Germany:60 min (281 episodes)

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (1974-1995) | Stereo (1995-1998)

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Telenova Film und Fernsehgesellschaft

Trivia:

One of the most successful German TV exports, having been broadcast in 102 countries.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Florida Lady: Der verlorene Sohn (#1.9)" (1994)

Started out good, but ended up boring

A true classic and without doubt one of the best known German 'Krimis'. I like the episodes from the 70's and early 80's best. Not only because of the sometimes hilarious nostalgia, but the episodes were - in relation to to the later episodes, that is! - fast-paced, and much less boring.

In the 90's, almost every episode concluded in philosophical chatter and most killers were obsessed with "the beauty of death". The series moved away from the whodunnit genre, simply because viewers could no longer guess who was the killer. Even the least obvious characters turned out to have a dark side. The nicest, least suspicious people suddenly turned out to be killing lunatics with no motive but some philosophical crap, and Derrick seemed more of a shrink than an "Oberinspektor". Also, the series moved from the people-next-door environment, mostly in the 70's, to the rich people exclusively in the 90's, which made it sometimes repetitive.

Nevertheless, if you like detective series, whodunnits, and last but not least the German "Krimis", I can recommend this, along with "Tatort" and the "Der Alte" series as a close second. These three were the most popular German cop shows in the 80's and early 90's.