Im Namen des Gesetzes () is a German television series. It follows the work of Berlin based criminal police officers and public prosecutors.
Plot
The series is based on the long-running U.S. television series Law & Order and uses a similar narrated intro and scene change titles.
Mistakes
The police officers and prosecutors act in the same way the detectives and district attorneys in Law & Order do, although they actually interact different in Germany. Especially the procedures in court are completely different as it is mainly the judge who questions the defendants and witnesses.
Intro
Much like Law & Order, every episode starts with a narrated intro.
Die folgende Geschichte beruht auf Tatsachen. Sie schildert die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft bei der Bekämpfung von Straftaten. Die Staatsanwaltschaft beauftragt die Polizei mit der Aufklärung der Straftaten und klagt die Täter vor Gericht an. Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft handeln im Namen des Gesetzes.
In English:
The following story is based on actual events. It tells of the co-operation between the criminal police and the prosecutor's office when combating criminality. The prosecutor's office orders the police to solve crimes and charges the offenders in court. Police officers and prosecutors act in the name of the law.
Characters
The series follows two officers of the criminal police: one senior detective () and one junior detective () as well as a senior and a junior prosecutor (). A medical examiner () is also frequently featured.
In contrast to most other police procedurals in German television, the audience learns nothing personal about any of the characters. Neither do they express personal feelings or emotions as it is frequently shown in Law & Order.
While the senior detective remained the same over the course of the series, the junior one changed multiple times. The prosecutors stayed the same for the first 10 years but afterwards, they changed multiple times as well.
Character name Portrayed by Position English translation Years Law (detectives, medical examiners & forensic scientists) Stefan Kehler Wolfgang Bathke Kriminalhauptkommissar Principal Detective 1994-2008 Mark Eschenbach Matthias Bullach Kriminaloberkommissar Senior Detective 1994–1996 Peter Wolniak Uwe Fellensiek Kriminalkommissar Detective 1996-1998 Ralf Bongartz Max Gertsch Kriminalkommissar Detective 1998-2000 Axel Bonhoff Wolfgang Krewe Kriminalkommissar Detective 2000-2008 Dr. Duhler Klaus Schindler Gerichtsmediziner Medical Examiner 1998-2008 Svenja Björson Li Hagman Kriminaltechnikerin Forensic Scientist 2005-2008 Order (prosecutors, judges and advocates) Dr. Gerhard Lotze Oberstaatsanwalt Senior Prosecutor 1994-2004 Dr. Steiner Wolf-Dietrich Berg Oberstaatsanwalt Senior Prosecutor 1998 Dr. Max Brunner Oberstaatsanwalt Senior Prosecutor 2004-2005 Dr. Tobias Kampen Axel Pape Oberstaatsanwalt Senior Prosecutor 2005-2008 Karin Kerstin Magdalena Ritter Staatsanwältin Prosecutor 1994 Charlotte Glaser Britta Schmeling Staatsanwältin Prosecutor 1994-2005 Susanne Clausen Brigitte Beyeler Staatsanwältin Prosecutor 1999-2002 Lisa Sturm Mariella Ahrens Staatsanwältin Prosecutor 2005-2008 Eva Hardenberg Sandra Borgmann Staatsanwältin Prosecutor 2008 Annekathrin Bürger Vorsitzende Richterin Presiding Judge 1998-2004 Walter Tschernich Vorsitzender Richter Presiding Judge 1998-2004 Bodo Wolf Vorsitzender Richter Presiding Judge 1998-2007 Hans Peter Hallwachs Vorsitzender Richter Presiding Judge 2000-2008 Norbert Ghafouri Vorsitzender Richter Presiding Judge 2002-2008 Heidrun Gärtner Richterin Judge 2003-2008 Gotthardy Angela Hobrig Haftrichterin Custodial Judge 2000-2002 Siegfrid Rasch Karl-Heinz von Liebezeit Rechtsanwalt Advocate 2000-2007
References Production website
:de:Im Namen des Gesetzes (in the German Wikipedia) Production website