Kommissar Rex
|
|
Kommissar Rex (or Inspector Rex) is a popular Austrian-made police television drama.
The series is set in Vienna and focuses on the three-man staff of an office of the Kriminalpolizei - the Austrian Crime Squad - specifically a Mordkommission, or Homicide Commission. In addition to the three policemen, the office is staffed by a German Shepherd called Rex (or Reginald von Ravenhorst, to give his full name) who functions variously as a cadaver dog, a sniffer dog (for both contraband and narcotics) and as another pair of eyes and ears for his team.
The original team at the office were Richard Moser (played by Tobias Moretti), Stockinger (Karl Markovics) and Höllerer (Wolf Bachofner). This team was also assisted by forensic expert Dr Leo Graf (Gerhardt Zeemann) and retired policemen Max Koch (Fritz Muliar). Later arrivals included Christian Böck (Heinz Weixelbraun) replacing Stockinger, Alexander Brandtner (Gedeon Burkhardt) replacing Moser and former statistics officer Fritz Kunz replacing Hollerer. An even later incarnation of the series featured a male-female duo of Nikki Herzog and the clumsy Marc Hoffmann working alongside Kunz. Dr Graf is the only character not to have departed the show.
The show is scripted entirely in German, generally Austrian Dialect and shot on location. Subtitles are used for international markets.
Kommissar Rex has been shown in the following countries:
- Austria (ORF)
- Australia (SBS network)
- Croatia (HRT)
- Czech Republic (Prima network - dubbed)
- Finland (Nelonen)
- Germany (Sat.1)
- Greece (Alpha and Alter - dubbed)
- Hungary
- Iceland (RUV)
- Italy (RAI network - dubbed)
- The Netherlands (RTL Group Netherlands)
- Norway
- Portugal (SIC network)
- Romania (Prima TV)
- Russia (RTR)
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
| Contents |
Characters
Moser
The first "team leader", Richard "Richie" Moser is a hard-bitten cop who, as the first season begins, is going through a bitter divorce from his wife Gina, who takes all their furniture. Moser is also attempting to quit smoking, due to medical problems to do with his circulation. An ex-truck driver, Moser credits Max Koch with keeping him from a life of crime, at one point telling Koch that "I'd be on the wrong side of the law too, just like him", referring to a young pickpocket he has just chased through central Vienna.
Moser befriended Rex after Rex's master was shot and killed by an escaping suspect and, in order to save the dog from being put down, "adopted" him without ever filling out any of the official paperwork. He famously declares at one point that "My taxes pay for this dog, so why can't I give him a better home?" Being a bachelor, Moser exchanges glances with many of the attractive women featured in the storylines. However, with the exception of a brief and work-interrupted relationship with his local vet (of which Rex thoroughly disapproves), he forms no permanent romantic attachment.
As Moser's personal life resolves from its original state, his sense of humour returns. This is noticeable in the general lightening in the tone of the show from the initial episodes ("Diagnosis Murder" being a prime example) to ones with more light-hearted banter among the officers.
Rex
A trained police dog, Rex is the legitimate star of the show. Establishing shots frequently show him demonstrating a new trick - unlatching doors, pushing trolleys, pointing to drugs or corpses - which then turn out to be useful in the course of the episode.
Initially, Rex and Moser share an apartment at Marrokanergasse 13, Wien-Landstraße, however the pair go house-hunting quite early in the series. The house they eventually find is owned by a man who does not want dogs there, however Rex is able to alert him to a gas leak and in gratitude he allows Moser and Rex to stay.
Rex is frequently called upon to resolve difficult situations, including helping a young girl in shock and preventing a woman from committing suicide. One famous episode features Moser using Rex to resolve a hostage situation by telling him to creep up behind the criminal and "frighten him" (following Rex's earlier success at frightening Stockinger by jumping on him from behind).
There is also a considerable element of humour in Rex's activities. He constantly annoys Stockinger by pulling on his coat and stealing his shoes. Later, Hollerer keeps a running score of Bock's success against Rex - not a flattering result for the officer.
Rex reacts particularly well to words like "Frau" (woman) and, later, "Tierarzt" (vet). During a scene in which Stockinger claims that Moser "doesn't understand women at all now", Moser tells Stockinger, "Don't say that word. Every time you say 'woman' he [Rex] runs off with my laundry". Stockinger asks him what Rex does with it, to which Moser replies, "He washes it". Later, after the departure of the vet, Moser is working undercover and needs to ensure Rex won't greet him. He tells Stockinger, "You only need to say 'vet' to him and he'll stop whatever he's doing", a statement which results in a memorable scene involving Stockinger walking after Rex at a crime scene calling out "Vet! Vet!"
Rex has an uncanny penchant for ham rolls, or "Wurstsemmeln" in the local dialect. He is introduced to them by Moser, who tells him, "I practically live on these".
Stockinger
The "straight man" to Rex - and, increasingly, Moser - Stockinger ("Stocki" for short) is a character who becomes much more likeable as his part in the series develops. Stockinger is pencil-thin and always appears to have a very serious demeanour. In later episodes, this is revealed as a cover for his schemes to outsmart Rex, who seems to instinctively want to associate with him. Stockinger is by no means a "dog lover".
Stockinger is married and uses his marriage to jokingly claim expertise over Moser where it comes to the fairer sex. Frequently, when a case hinges on the behaviour of a female witness or suspect, Stockinger gently tells Moser, "Richard, since your divorce, you've lost your touch with women". Stockinger's wife, it seems, is not greatly pleased with her husband's choice of career at times, and Moser often reminds him of this.
Another of Stockinger's idiosyncrasies are his constant references to surgery which was performed on him - most likely for stomach ulcers. He seems to delight in telling stories about this surgery at the most inopportune moments - such as when the others are sitting down to lunch.
Eventually, Stockinger is transferred to Salzburg and leaves the series. Moser, in his farewell address, jokingly tells Stocki that, "You have been a bad cop, a bad man, and not at all a good friend".
Höllerer
The overweight Höllerer is a constant source of comic relief in the series. Generally found ensconced behind his desk working the phones, his face visibly falls whenever Moser and Stockinger (or, later, Brandtner and Böck) require him to do fieldwork. That said, he is capable of a surprising speed when running and can also demonstrate driving skills the equal of most other officers.
Höllerer tends to take a co-ordinating role where an operation is being planned, rather than actually going undercover or making the bust himself. In these situations, he reveals himself to have a very clear head and to be capable of dealing with the most unusual contingencies which tend to manifest themselves where his partners are concerned.
Höllerer has a soft spot for Rex as the series progresses, after first voicing concern that Moser did not adopt him through the proper channels. This is shown by his keeping score between Böck and Rex in the early episodes featuring the former. Höllerer takes inordinate delight in seeing the man bested by the dog.
Höllerer's departure from the series is brought about by his retirement to care for his ailing mother, a woman about whom he often speaks. He is replaced by Fritz Kunz.
Of all the recurring characters in the series, Höllerer's accent is the thickest. The viewer familiar with High German will often be at a total loss to understand the Viennese dialect of the officer.
Dr Graf
Dr Leo Graf is the forensic pathologist consulted by the detectives. On occasion, he is found at the crime scene itself, however he is normally to be found in his pathology lab. Gerhard Zeemann is the only actor to appear throughout the long-running series as the same character.
Dr Graf is a prickly personality, but underneath this exterior he has a very dry wit - frequently regaling the detectives with the gruesome details of a murder against their will.
He also seems strangely at home in his lab, surrounded by dead bodies. Many of the earlier episodes play off the contrasting reactions of the policemen (especially Moser and Stockinger) and Graf to the death all around them.
At times, however, Dr Graf clearly resents the pressure put on him by the policemen. One memorable telephone exchange involves Moser agreeing on a number of Cuban cigars to pay Dr Graf for working on the weekend. Another time, Graf's car is towed while he is investigating a murder scene. The resulting invective he uses towards the authorities responsible is startling, to say the least.
Where Graf is very amiable towards Moser's team, this relationship progressively changes as Brandtner arrives. Early episodes featuring Brandtner also feature very formal dialogue between policeman and forensic scientist - generally involving the German "Sie" form of address (the polite form). Eventually, this exterior is broken down and the new team are invited to call him Leo - a sign of considerable familiarity in German or Austrian society. Accordingly, Brandtner's greeting of Graf alters to the more familiar "Servus" from the formal "Guten Morgen".
With Hoffmann and Herzog, however, the relationship is more of a teacher-student one. It emerges early that Hoffmann was lectured in forensic techniques by Graf, and it is clear that much of the awe felt by the considerably younger policeman for his august mentor is still present. Graf also assumes a much more advisory role with this team, appearing only once per investigation as opposed to being constantly on call.
Max Koch
Familiarly known to all as Max, Koch is a retired policeman who saved Moser from a life of crime and became something of a mentor to him. Many early episodes feature Moser asking Koch for advice - often in a café or a pool hall. It is, in fact, advice from Koch which is responsible for solving many of the more baffling cases, as his insights into human psychology - particularly female psychology (something he often claims Moser has had no knowledge of since his divorce) - prove correct.
As the series progresses, Koch's role alters to that of being a useful spy for Moser in certain situations where his team are too well-known. It is Koch's visit to a restaurant which provides the breakthrough in one case, while he stumbles upon the solution to a particularly brutal homicide while sitting in a park with Rex. Koch is increasingly reluctant to do Moser's work, although he is always told that this will be the last time. As Stockinger points out, it always is the last time...until the next request. Moser also tries to appeal to Koch's sense of adventure which, as Max famously explains, is satisfied by eating goulash and not knowing if he will suffer from "Rinderwahnsinn" (Mad Cow Disease).
Following Stockinger's transfer to Salzburg, Koch assists the team in reorganising the office. His snide remarks about Stockinger's files result in Höllerer telling him to read through them all (to which Koch responds that he's doing more work since he retired than he did when he worked). He also spreads out his pipe collection on Stocki's old desk and declares that he will "open a pipe shop" while the team attempt to find a replacement for Stocki.it:Commissario Rex