WOLFF - KAMPF IM REVIER (SAT.1)

Andreas Wolff is back. Left dead in the finale of the long-running German crime drama Wolffs Revier, the Hauptkommissar returns in a TV movie called Wolff - Kampf im Revier.

Wolffs Revier ran from 1992 to 2005 on private channel Sat.1 and concluded with a 90-minute special, Wolffs Revier: Angst, in May 2006. Created by the great scriptwriter Karl Heinz Willschrei (Tatort, Der Alte, Ein Fall für Zweï), it starred Jürgen Heinrich as Wolff. Klaus Pönitz was his partner Günther Sawatzki, later replaced by Steven Merting as Tom Borkmann. And Nadine Seiffert was Wolff's daughter Verena. The theme intro was composed by Klaus Doldinger.

« I can't bring people back from the dead. It's not a pretty picture. I DON'T LIKE DOING IT! »

The channel should have followed the wise words of Aladdin's genie instead of commissioning this disappointing Wolff - Kampf im Revier. Heavily injured five years ago, Andreas Wolff endured a coma, a painful rehabilitation, and now he works as a lecturer at the police academy. But he struggles to cope with his everyday life with an addiction to drugs. Worse, he becomes the #1 suspect in a murder case. Actually the idea to age Wolff in full Horst Schimanski mode is really smart. Except that the excellent Jürgen Heinrich is treated like a guest star in the revival of his own show.

Intended as a pilot, the TV movie is mainly centered on Kommissar Marck (Stephan Luca), a former student of Woff, and his new partner Vicki (Nadeshda Brennicke). With a little time and less running, Marck could certainly do well in one of the Tatort series from ARD. The problem is that Kampf im Revier is "sold" with Wolff's name in front of it. At least Heinrich, rather impressive in the action sequences, has some fun doing the White Rabbit. Back as Verena Wolff, quasi-mute Nadine Seiffert has less luck in a nod to the Saw movies.

Produced by Producers at Work for Sat.1, Wolff - Kampf im Revier is written by Anna Dokoupilova (Der letzte Bulle, Doktor Martin) with additional script work by Annette Simon, and directed by Christian Alvart. A sour return with a sour ending, anyway it seems ratings will spare us a series.

In German:

http://www.sat1.de/film/der-sat-1-filmfilm/wolff-kampf-im-revier
http://www.quotenmeter.de/cms/?p1=n&p2=54387&p3=
http://meedia.de/fernsehen/schwaches-comeback-fuer-kommissar-wolff/2012/01/18.html (Ratings)

EIGHT IS ENOUGH

Hustle, the BBC One hit drama created by Tony Jordan and launched in 2004, returned on Friday for the premiere of its eighth and final series. Original cast members Adrian Lester, Robert Glenister, Robert Vaughn and Rob Jarvis are back with Matt Di Angelo and Kelly Adams - aboard since series five.

After making money from the London 2012 Olympics, Mickey Stone and his team of conmen have a new mark found by Albert: Dexter Gold, a fast-talking, smooth-dressing and ruthless "cash for gold" businessman. His gold exchange activity is designed to part the old and vulnerable from their treasures in return for a pittance but Dexter is also a middle man for stolen gold bullion. He likes war movies so the grifters pose as a rogue army unit and convince him they have some of the gold of Colonel Gadaffi.

« When you think about it, we're a bit like Robin Hood.
- Yeah, well, we do take from the rich.
- Only instead of giving to the poor...
- ... We buy clothes. »

A suprisingly weak opener, written by Tony Jordan and directed by Alrick Riley, in which the talent of guest star Paterson Joseph (Survivors) is wasted as he plays one the most caricatural adversaries of Mickey's gang. The team depreciates its own standards by targeting a 21st century Nellie Oleson. They are also so self-conscious it recalls the darkest hours of the fourth series. The fate of Eddie's beloved photo of footballer Ian Rush is painfully stretched as a "subplot". And the reappearance of Dexter near the end of the episode is non-necessary and far-fetched.

It's nice to see Hustle back for this last run. We'll miss our favourite con artists, let's hope this was an accident. Next week the great Bill Bailey is back as Cyclops, the character he played in the fifth series.

http://www.cultbox.co.uk/spoilers/episode-guides/2593-hustle-series-8-episode-guide
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13307876
http://www.daemonstv.com/2012/01/13/hustle-series-8-episode-1-bbc/

SOKO LEIPZIG - DIE SCHWARZE WITWE (ZDF)

SOKO Leipzig members Ina and Jan are investigating an apparent suicide while their boss Hajo Trautzschke awaits the arrival of his friend Jack Meadows, a retired British cop. In a bar, Jack spots a familiar face from a case unsolved in London.

Aired since 2001 on German pubcaster ZDF, UFA Fernsehproduktion's "Krimi-Serie" SOKO Leipzig is one of the spin-off series of SOKO 5113, launched in 1978. In 2008, ITV and ZDF joined forces for a crossover between SOKO Leipzig and the long-running police drama The Bill, produced by Talkback Thames (owned by RTL Group via Fremantle Media) (1). Two versions were filmed simultaneously by British director Robert Del Maestro, with a script jointly written by Frank Koopmann & Roland Heep and Steve Bailie. This special, in which Hajo Trautzchke (Andreas Schmidt-Schaller) went to London with his colleague Ina Zimmermann (Melanie Marschke), aired first on ITV1 in november 2008 as a two-parter called Proof of Life.

« Einmal Cop, immer Cop. »

In september 2009, the German version, titled Entführung in London ("Abduction in London"), aired as a special feature-length episode of SOKO Leipzig. The Bill was axed by ITV1 in 2010 after 27 years but one of its characters, Jack Meadows, played by Simon Rouse, is now retired and visiting Leipzig for a 90-minute special of SOKO Leipzig. In Die schwarze Witwe ("The Black Widow"), aired by ZDF on December 30, 2011, Jack arrives in his own Cessna - called "Jack's Sparrow"! - to spend a few days with his friend Hajo. Meanwhile, Trautzchke's colleagues Zimmermann and Jan Maybach (Marco Girnt) investigate the death of Leo Karmann, a geologist who apparently threw himself out of the window. But they clash with LKA detectives Stravinsky (Robert Dölle) and Müller (Michael Schenk).

As Jack Meadows is having a drink with Hajo, he sees a face from the past: Karen Bishop, suspected of having murdered her husband in London. But in Germany the woman is known as Irene Karmann (Anica Dobra), and she's the wife of the dead geologist. Is Meadows really visiting a friend or is he in Leipzig for some unfinished business? Why is he carrying a gun? And will his friendship with Hajo Trautzchke be jeopardized by Irene? « Schuldig oder nicht schuldig. Das ist die Frage, » in this brilliant episode written by SOKO Leipzig scribes Markus Hoffmann (SK Kölsch, Alarm für Cobra 11) and Uwe Kossmann, and directed by Robert Del Maestro. Del Maestro worked on several SOKO Leipzig since Entführung in London/Proof of life and is undoubtedly the ideal director for this reunion.

Past the oddity of hearing Simon Rouse dubbed in German with an English accent, the actor is excellent and shares great scenes with a thespian of Andreas Schmidt-Schaller's caliber. Jack Meadows fits naturally in the "Krimi" atmosphere, and retirement suits him well enough to believe that he would deserve his own special as a private investigator. The music is composed by Andreas Hoge and the cinematography is by Christian Paschmann and Gareth Hughes. SOKO Leipzig: Die schwarze Witwe is produced by UFA Fernsehproduktion Niederlassung Leipzig and Norbert Sauer for ZDF and ZDF Enterprises. Henriette Lippold, Norbert Sauer and Jörg Winger are the producers.

(1) From 1994 to 2006, German private channel RTL even aired a local adaptation of The Bill called Die Wache.

http://www.robertdelmaestro.com/main.html
https://backstage.rtlgroup.fr/public/htm/en/Dailynews_FS.aspx?id=dailynews_3FF685498F8E4793A4BF6022697C8963&newsdate=17112008
https://backstage.rtlgroup.fr/public/htm/en/Dailynews_FS.aspx?id=dailynews_0647E8B245B74E559E5B01B2BCA97CEE&newsdate=07092009
http://www.wunschliste.de/4543/episoden