Derrick
|
|
- For other uses, see Derrick (disambiguation).Missing image
Kleinderrick.jpgWepper and Tappert on the job.
Derrick is a German TV series produced by ZDF, ORF and SRG between 1974 and 1998 about Oberinspektor Stephan Derrick (Horst Tappert, born 1923) and Inspektor Harry Klein (Fritz Wepper), who solve murder cases in Munich and surroundings.
All 281 60 minute episodes were written by veteran screenwriter Herbert Reinecker (born 1914) and produced by Helmut Ringelmann. As a rule, new Derrick episodes were broadcast on Friday night at 8:15. The series gained enormous popularity and was aired in more than 100 countries worldwide. Even before its last episode was shown on October 16, 1998 it had acquired cult status.
The series took a noticeable turn towards psychological drama as time progressed and Derrick approached retirement age. Acting on a hunch, Derrick would ignore a number of possible suspects right from the start and, instead of doing the legwork often shown in police movies, would follow the main suspect to his or her favourite haunts and involve them in lengthy conversations, claiming that he had to get to know them better. Towards the end of the show the murderer, now revolted by what they had done, would then be prepared to confess to his or her crime without Derrick having to produce any further piece of evidence. Generally, there is little violence and bloodshed and no shoot-out at the end.
Derrick&Klein.jpg
Derrick and Klein do not seem to have any private lives—at least they are not shown and they in no way interfere with their work, which they frequently pursue in the evening. In that respect and also in the way he goes about a case, Derrick resembles Lt. Columbo. However, as Eco has pointed out, Columbo is the obedient, seemingly helpless servant of a community of rich and powerful Californians while Derrick, elegantly dressed and impeccably behaved, always appears in control and superior even to the wealthy people he is tracking down.
Just like an earlier television series, Der Kommissar (also written by Reinecker), Derrick has an impressive list of guest appearances by prominent German and Austrian actors and actresses playing either the culprit, the victim, or an innocent witness to the crime. Celebrities include Anne Bennent, Heinz Bennent, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Horst Buchholz, Traugott Buhre, Cornelia Froboess, Uschi Glas, Karlheinz Hackl, Michael Heltau, Harald Juhnke, Curd Jürgens, Gudrun Landgrebe, Inge Meysel, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Lilli Palmer.
In 2004, an animated feature film, Derrick—die Pflicht ruft, was released. Tappert and Wepper themselves were the voice actors for Stephan Derrick and Harry Klein respectively.
External links
- Umberto Eco: "L'ispettore Derrick e i tedeschi (http://www.ifa.de/zfk/themen/00_2_italien/ieco.htm)" (2000) (in Italian)
- Umberto Eco: "Derrick und die Deutschen (http://www.ifa.de/zfk/themen/00_2_italien/deco.htm)" (in German)
- Antonia Loick: "Inspector Derrick Is Still in Action, to the Delight of Viewers in over 100 Countries (http://www.goethe.de/kug/mui/rut/thm/en74619.htm)"
- All episodes listing (http://digilander.libero.it/krimiserie/Derrick/Storia/Catalogo.htm)de:Derrick