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Ingo Marquart (Klaus Löwitsch) has been released from prison, something inspector Köster requested to be informed about - but Köster has died last episode and his replacement Kress (Rolf Schimpf) hasn't arrived yet. And Köster/Kress's assistant Heydmann (Michael Ande) just doesn't know how to deal with the situation. The problem here, Marquart believes he's been set up for jailtime by three "friends", Kramer (Peter Fricke), Pfeiffer (Amadeus August) and Sass (Udo Thomer), and learning Marquart has been released, these three start to panic, especially Kramer, who has become Marquart's wife Helga's (Evelyn Opela) lover over the years. Then Sass is shot dead - but it couldn't have been Marquart, as he was actually at the police station talking to the finally arrived inspector Kress, asking for his case to be re-evaluated - so perfect alibi. Kramer and Pfeiffer flee to the country, but it isn't long before Pfeiffer's shot dead - and again Marquart has a perfect alibi, as Kress calls him at his homes miles away from the scene of the crime right after the murder has been reported. What strikes Kress odd is that Marquart is a bit too quick in identifying the murder weapon as Kramer's, almost as if he has set up Kramer ... and of course, ultimately exactly this turns out to be the case.

Concerning premise, this one resembles an old episode of Der Kommissar, In letzter Minute (also by producer Helmut Ringelmann), almost to the t, and some of the dialogue here is actually stilted enough to be worthy of Kommissar-scribe Herbert Reinecker. Of course, eventually this episode veers off and presents us with a whole different culprit - but the story isn't made any better by that, just more convoluted. And while the idea to introduce the new lead of the series, Rolf Schimpf, through the back door, sure is inspired, it fails to impress, also because Schimpf lacks Siegfried Lowitz's charisma. And to not give another new series regular, Charles M. Huber - an actor of colour, something big in 1980s Germany -, a decent entry at all doesn't exactly prove inspired writing, also taking into account of course that Huber played another role in the Der Alte-episode Der Leibwächter only the year before. So in all, rather tired German crime TV, about as inspired as the episode's very generic title (which translates "his first case").

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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