Writing a screenplay for a long time series like Tatort must be quite challenging. The main characters are well known and your story has to fit to their antics. So far the writers for the team from Münster have sometimes stretched the liability to either side, but remained in the frame. Their trademark is the ongoing bickering between the chief of police and the forensic expert, the working class grumpy against the upper class know-it-all. They are some funny sidekicks as well, the attorney of state with the deep voice , Thiel's taxi driving father and the rather short assistant of Boerne.
Another problem is, that many plots have been used over and over again. Many successful film plots get copied and reworked for the small screen. Sometimes the writers can't resist to use a certain plot line although it does not fit well with the main characters as we know them.
This is what happens in "Wolfstunde". Komissar Frank Thiel is sure to be on the track of a serial killer but nobody believes him. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But to make it more exciting, he has a serious conflict with all the regulars, beginning with Professor Boerne down to Thiel's assistant Nadeshda. Where Thiel and Boerne clash in every show, they used to do it in a rather comical way and you could tell that neither of them takes it seriously. It often includes real slapstick and of all the teams, this is the one that looks more like a parody than any other.
But not this time. Immediately from the beginning, everyone acts as if something has happened of which we know nothing. The conflict is serious and all of Thiels colleagues behave as if he had never gotten a single case straight. The lone wolf is a creation for this particular episode and everybody seemed to have forgotten how they used to work together before. The story itself is quite well done but on the expense of confusion. I wonder if the next episode will continue in this new serious tone or will go back to the familiar style. It definitely was more fun!
Another problem is, that many plots have been used over and over again. Many successful film plots get copied and reworked for the small screen. Sometimes the writers can't resist to use a certain plot line although it does not fit well with the main characters as we know them.
This is what happens in "Wolfstunde". Komissar Frank Thiel is sure to be on the track of a serial killer but nobody believes him. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But to make it more exciting, he has a serious conflict with all the regulars, beginning with Professor Boerne down to Thiel's assistant Nadeshda. Where Thiel and Boerne clash in every show, they used to do it in a rather comical way and you could tell that neither of them takes it seriously. It often includes real slapstick and of all the teams, this is the one that looks more like a parody than any other.
But not this time. Immediately from the beginning, everyone acts as if something has happened of which we know nothing. The conflict is serious and all of Thiels colleagues behave as if he had never gotten a single case straight. The lone wolf is a creation for this particular episode and everybody seemed to have forgotten how they used to work together before. The story itself is quite well done but on the expense of confusion. I wonder if the next episode will continue in this new serious tone or will go back to the familiar style. It definitely was more fun!