Derrick

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.

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.

Chief Inspector Derrick solves crimes in Germany in an hour each. I remember enjoying this series greatly growing up in India, most because the series always brought closure each episode, and never dragged out like most other Indian detective series. Often focusing on social, psychological, or 'why did he do it' kind of themes rather than your typical whodunnit, I have fond memories of Derrick. Horst Tappert has a commanding presence as Derrick, and together with Harry and Berger (I've always thought three was too small a team) gets the criminal in all the episodes I saw. 'Harry, Get the car.' is a line that comes immediately to mind when I think about the series.

Derrick remains my favorite long running detective series, one of the several out of Germany we had a chance to see on Indian Television.

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.

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.