Ein Fall für zwei

Ein Fall für zwei
The logo of the series.
Format	Legal drama Crime drama
Created by	Karl Heinz Willschrei
Starring	Paul Frielinghaus Claus Theo Gärtner Günter Strack Rainer Hunold Mathias Herrmann
Country of origin	Germany
Language(s)	German
No. of seasons	29
No. of episodes	266
Production
Executive producer(s)	Georg Althammer Hans Joachim Mendig
Running time	approx. 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ZDF
Original run	September 11, 1981[1] – present
External links
Website

Ein Fall für zwei (A case for two) is a German television series, which premiered on September 11, 1981 on the broadcasting corporation ZDF. The series, which is situated in Frankfurt am Main, shows two main characters, a defense attorney and a private investigator, who solve crimes.

The character of the private investigator has been the same for the entire lifetime of the show. Josef Matula (played by Claus Theo Gärtner), a former German police officer, has gone into private business. His method of investigation is very effective and direct, and he sometimes even resorts to dirty tricks.

In contrast, the attorney character has changed several times. The first attorney was Dr. Dieter Renz (played by Günter Strack). Dr. Renz retired in episode #60 and was replaced by Dr. Rainer Franck (played by Rainer Hunold). In episode #149, Dr. Franck was offered a job as a law school teacher instead, and he was thus replaced by Dr. Johannes Voss (played by Mathias Herrmann). In episode #182, Dr. Voss was shot dead by an escaping criminal, and was in turn replaced by Dr. Markus Lessing (played by Paul Frielinghaus).

Most of the episodes follow a simple pattern. Someone is murdered, and the police arrest the most likely suspect. The suspect, claiming to be innocent, hires the current attorney in the series (Renz, Franck, Voss or Lessing) as his lawyer. The attorney does all the paperwork, talks with the police and goes to court. Meanwhile, Matula does all the actual research and detective work - "gets his hands dirty", so to speak. Matula often gets into fights, and even though he is in his early sixties, he often knocks the bad guys out. In the end, the original suspect usually (but not always!) turns out to be innocent after all, and the real culprit is found.

In late 2006 through early 2007, most episodes in the series included Matula visiting a strip club, to interrogate the owner or one of the customers, with very brief footage of topless female dancers. Very few, if any, other German detective shows share this theme. Current episodes have abandoned this theme.

The building of the show is very similar to the American legal drama Perry Mason, even though Ein Fall für zwei doesn't spend much time in a court room.

External links

• Series homepage on ZDF.de
• An unofficial fan site, containing extensive information
• Episode guide
• Ein Fall für Zwei at the Internet Movie Database

References

1. ^ First Airdate