The 50th "Tatort" anniversary is due in the coming week. To get you in the mood, a few facts, figures and interesting facts about the cult series.
Next week the Sunday crime series "Tatort" celebrates its 50th birthday. The first crime thriller in the series aired on November 29, 1970. Although it was not officially called "Tatort", just "Taxi to Leipzig", it was integrated into the series as a kick-off film after its completion. At that time, actor Walter Richter (1905-1985) went on the hunt for criminals as Hamburg commissioner Paul Trimmel in a cross-border crime thriller.
The Trimmel crime thriller "Exklusiv!" (1969) was subsequently added to the crime series as the 9th episode. The 1000th episode in the series was named after the first "Taxi to Leipzig" (2016) and was a crossover. In addition to Maria Furtwängler (54) as Commissioner Charlotte Lindholm from Lower Saxony and Axel Milberg (64) as Kiel Commissioner Klaus Borowski, several actors from the first crime novel from 1970 were seen in small supporting roles.
What criteria must a "crime scene" meet?
The Sunday crime series is a broadcasting slot where filmmakers and viewers have and expect the greatest possible artistic freedom. However, there is a lowest common denominator and these are the criteria a "crime scene" should meet. These ideas for today's cult format come from Gunther Witte (1935-2018). Fix is, for example, always the same approximately. 30-second opening credits, which have remained unchanged since the start of the series except for minor modernizations.
"This opening credits have written themselves in the memory of generations and contributed significantly to the fact that the 'Tatort' has become a recognizable brand," says the broadcaster. The intro was created by Peter Hoheisel (BR), the music comes from jazz musician Klaus Doldinger (84, "Das Boot"), Udo Lindenberg (74) sat on the drums in the first version and the eyes and legs in the opening credits belong to the former actor Horst Lettenmayer. In the Schimanski episode "Der Pott" (1989) he was seen as a murder victim.
According to "Südwest Presse", he summarized the three most important elements in Witte's canon of rules for the Sunday crime thriller as follows: "The regionality, the leading role of the commissioner and the demand that the viewer should consider the stories in our reality to be possible." It is also still true that there is usually a murder victim at the beginning and a convicted murderer at the end.
Originally, a "guest inspector" from another city should always appear in every new crime thriller. In this way, the individual films should be interlinked. However, this rule has not existed for a long time, today the so-called crossover episodes are rare and real highlights for the fans.
Who are the investigative kings?
Including the new Bremen colleagues, 22 "crime scene" teams are currently investigating all over Germany. The longest-serving employee is Lena Odenthal (Ulrike Folkerts, 59) from Ludwigshafen. She has been with us since 1989, so for more than 30 years. The Munich duo Batic / Leitmayr (Udo Wachtveitl, 62 / Miroslav Nemec, 66), who have been investigating together since 1991, have more cases under their belt.
In terms of popularity ratings, however, the Münster investigators Thiel / Boerne (Axel Prahl, 60 / Jan Josef Liefers, 56) have been unbeatable for years – which is regularly reflected in the audience rating. However, the record rate stems from the 1970s – and probably unmatched – when there weren't that many television programs. The most successful "Tatort" of all time is called "Red – Red – Dead" and was broadcast on New Years Eve 1978. 26.57 million viewers watched Commissioner Lutz (Werner Schumacher, 1921-2004) convict the woman murderer Konrad Pfandler (Curd Jürgens, 1915-1982).
The anniversary stamp
For the 50th anniversary of "Tatort", the Federal Ministry of Finance has issued a special stamp from the series "German TV Legends". You can see a scene from the opening credits. This is to honor the cultural-historical importance of the crime series. The 80-cent stamp has been available from Deutsche Post AG since November 2, 2020.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary, the crossover double episode "Tatort: In der Familie" (November 29th / December 6th, 8:15 pm, the first) will be shown with investigators from Munich and Dortmund.