Der dunkle Fleck (20 Oct. 2002)

Director:

Peter F. Bringmann

Writers:

Stefan Cantz, Jan Hinter

Stars:

Axel Prahl, Jan Josef Liefers, Sandra Leonhard

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Axel Prahl	...	Hauptkommissar Frank Thiel
Jan Josef Liefers	...	Professor Karl-Friedrich Boerne
Sandra Leonhard	...	Jennifer Müller
Dieter Kirchlechner	...	Hermann Alsfeld
Friederike Kempter	...	Nadeshda Krusenstern
Christine Urspruch	...	Silke Haller, genannt 'Alberich'
Oliver Bokern	...	Bernd Bulle
Mechthild Grossmann	...	Staatsanwältin Wilhelmine Klemm
Claus Dieter Clausnitzer	...	Herbert Thiel (as Claus D. Clausnitzer)
Renate Schroeter	...	Annette Alsfeld
Thomas Wüpper
Bastian Trost	...	Ludger Alsfeld
Michaela Schaffrath
Johannes Rotter
Carola von Seckendorff

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

police

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Genres:

Crime

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

20 October 2002 (Germany)

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Colonia Media Filmproduktions GmbH, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

User Reviews

The first 'Münster-Tatort': The Dark Stain

Hauptkommissar Thiel has himself moved from Hamburg to Münster in order to live near his father. When he meets his landlord and neighbour Professor Boerne he learns that Boerne is a forensic expert and that they will work together. The first case for the new team involves a woman who has disappeared and a bog body. They find out that there's a link between the two...

This episode is really entertaining in my opinion. The plot is better than those of the (two) other episodes of the 'Münster-Tatort' that I have seen so far. There aren't as many suspects, clues, and coincidences. It's easier to follow the plot, and there's more suspense. I really wondered who the bog body was, how and why that person died, and how the body got there. (There's one big coincidence that the plot depends on very much: that the bog body surfaces at exactly the right point in time. I usually don't like these big coincidences that are loved (and used ad nauseam) by so many script writers of German TV-thrillers. But I didn't dislike the coincidence in this episode as much as I usually do because it seems to have a symbolic meaning: even if you submerge your guilt deep in your memory or conscience there'll be a day when it comes back to the surface.) The comedy element is good, too. Boerne and Thiel's banter is funny in my opinion (and, to my taste, not as overdone as in 'Ruhe sanft' (#1.659)). I also liked Boerne and "Alberich's" banter and the slapstick (Boerne losing a (tooth-) crown and lisping after that, a nice contrast to his exaggerated self-confidence).

But there also was something that I didn't like at all. (SPOILER warning.) The suspect is a member of the local gentry called Alsfeld. That means he's Roman-Catholic and rotten to the core. That is a cliché that is overused in thrillers set in Münster. Boerne says that Alsfeld is too Roman-Catholic and 'honourable' to have arranged an abortion for his daughter's child. He seems to be of the opinion that that was hypocritical because it would have been better to spare his daughter the emotional stress of having to bear the child (it's a product of incest (it's true that, besides the emotional stress, there would also be a slightly higher risk of birth defects, but this risk is much, much lower than popular belief has it. Please consult the (modern) encyclopaedia of your choice if you don't believe it)). And it's true that she later commits suicide. But in my opinion, Alsfeld couldn't know that in advance. He didn't take the easy way out but ran a higher risk that the shame becomes known, which would mean that his and his family's honour would be compromised, too. (I don't say that Alsfeld is a good guy; he committed some crimes, and he really is a hypocrite. I just don't think that (in that particular situation) he should have acted the way Boerne suggests.)

But it's still an enjoyable episode in my opinion. If you have seen some of the other episodes with Thiel and Boerne, and liked them, and missed this one, I think you should consider watching this one too if you have the chance because you will probably like it, too.