Renaldo Matlin

Just saw this episode on DVD and was blown away. I'm a lifelong fan of "Derrick" living in Norway, and I enjoy even the most boring and lifeless episodes of the show, but "Toter Goldfisch" is one of the most incredible pieces of TV drama I have ever seen! Herbert Reinecker who wrote every single episode of the show (281 episodes!) really outdid himself with this one. No spoilers but it starts with the suicide of a wealthy woman who was exploited by a swindler and fortune hunter, but since it technically wasn't "murder", Derrick and Klein can't investigate. What follows is the story of the young con artist, his partner in crime (who is also his lover), their next victim - a woman 25 years his senior - and finally: MURDER. I won't get into details, but the story creeps under your skin with an ensemble of believable and tragic characters, which eventually leads to an incredibly emotional and gut-wrenching finale. There are no winners in this realistically sad story, not even Stephan Derrick and Harry Klein, there can be only losers.

Out of the 281 Derrick-episodes made between 1974 and 1998, I would rank this in the all time top 10. It's one of the most well-written pieces of human drama and crime stories I have EVER seen on the small screen.

And here I thought Herbert Reinecker could only write stories about drug addicts and strippers. Boy was I wrong!

It's a bit sad to think of all the great and unique industries of the past that just went the way of the dinosaurs and became extinct. This short documentary deals with one of those, the old-fashioned production of something we now take for granted; ICE! I saw the film here in Oslo a few weeks ago, and it was a beautifully shot and poignant presentation of a small pond with a cool (!) history.

Thanks to the film, this story of the past will now live on. Personally I think it's important to know your local history, so I'm hoping this is only the beginning in a long series of documentaries about the weird and fascinating stuff that has happened here in Oslo. The city is over a thousand years old, so there should be plenty to document! Did you hear me - you bureaucrats running the city - more movies like this!