Kottan ermittelt (1976–1983)

"Kottan ermittelt" (which translates as "Kottan investigates") is one of the defining moments of Austrian television. Masquerading as a police/crime series, it is actually a fierce anarchic... See full summary »

Stars:

Walter Davy, Curt A. Tichy, Bibiane Zeller

1 win.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Walter Davy	...	Paul Schremser (19 episodes, 1976-1983)
Curt A. Tichy	...	Alfred Schrammel (19 episodes, 1976-1983)
Bibiane Zeller	...	Ilse Kottan (18 episodes, 1977-1983)
Carlo Böhm	...	Erwin Drballa (15 episodes, 1978-1983)
Chris Lohner	...	TV-Ansagerin (15 episodes, 1976-1983)
Lukas Resetarits	...	Major Adolf Kottan (14 episodes, 1980-1983)
Franz Suhrada	...	Fritz Schreyvogel (14 episodes, 1978-1983)
Peter Patzak	...	Polizist (14 episodes, 1976-1983)
Kurt Weinzierl	...	Oberst Heribert Pilch (13 episodes, 1981-1983)
Gusti Wolf	...	Mutter Kottan (12 episodes, 1982-1983)
Ernst Konarek	...	Rudolf Horrak (12 episodes, 1979-1983)
Michaela Mock	...	Polizeiärztin (10 episodes, 1981-1983)

Storyline

"Kottan ermittelt" (which translates as "Kottan investigates") is one of the defining moments of Austrian television. Masquerading as a police/crime series, it is actually a fierce anarchic satire on the Austrian police and Austrian society in general. There are no heroes, only anti-heroes, and the police officers, who are all incompetent caricatures to varying degrees, often solve their cases more by chance than through actual investigation. Major Kottan (the name is a spoof of hardboiled German dime-store novel hero Jerry Cotton) was played by no less than three actors over the course of the series, each giving the character a fairly distinct personality: grumpy, prejudiced misanthrope; sarcastic cynic ; and anarchic nihilist -- the common factor being that each is too caught up in his own preconceptions to actually solve the case. Then there's Inspector Schrammel, who is an incompetent clown, and Police Commissioner Pilch, who is obsessed with catching flies (in the early episodes)...

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Plot Keywords:

police | satire | slapstick comedy | running gag | murder | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

Austria

Language:

German

Release Date:

8 August 1976 (Austria)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by The Uppercrust (1982)

User Reviews

Austrian Cult Series

This is one of the rare examples of an Austrian TV series with a definite cult status. People strongly disagree about which of the three Kottan incarnations was the best, typically either favouring the subtle Peter Vogel or the wacky Lukas Resitaris. I always favoured Resitaris' interpretation, i.e. when the series went completely over the top.

The real star though was not the title hero, but one of his main adversaries: Polizeipräsident (police commissioner) Pilch, a man possessing the combined egos of Margaret Thatcher and John Shaft. In particular, I was always looking forward to his news conferences, held in that special room in which the ceiling lights created the impression of a halo.