The Junior detective series TKKG is a German series of audio dramas and novels created by "Stefan Wolf", a pseudonym used by Rolf Kalmuczak.
The characters and their creator
In all German-speaking countries they are the most commercially successful series of novels of their type, apart from The Three Investigators. They call themselves TKKG, after the initials of their names: Tarzan (later renamed in Tim due to the name "Tarzan" being trademarked), Karl, Dumpling (in German , in Austria called "Klumpling") and Gab(b)y; an unofficial fifth member is Gaby's Cocker Spaniel, called Oskar. Since 1979 they continually solve all sorts of crimes, from thefts and robberies to kidnappings and terrorism.
The books were written by Rolf Kalmuczak, under his pen name Stefan Wolf. In June 2004 TKKG changed their publisher from Pelican to CBJ - They published volumes 07, 14, 54, 77 and 84 in January 2005 as a new edition with the CBJ brand name.
Tim Peter Timotheus Carsten is the leader of the TKKG gang, who are named after the initial letters of their names or nicknames. Tim is 14, but mentally and physically far ahead. A tanned athlete, he particularly enjoys judo (he has a brown belt) and volleyball. For two years (at the beginning of the series) he's been living in a famous boarding school, and is pupil of class 9b. His father, an engineer, had a fatal accident when Tim was only 6 years old. Tim's mother, a book-keeper, works hard to earn enough money for the expensive school money for their son. Tim loves adventure and hates injustice, and has a big crush on Gabby, of whom he is very protective.
Previously, Tim was originally called Tarzan by his friends because of his athletic prowess, but he did not want to be compared with this 'half-finished bodybuilder' after he had seen a very bad movie about him (the change actually came about because the name Tarzan was trademarked at the time).
Karl The smartest of the quartet, Karl Vierstein is sometimes nicknamed Computer because he has an eidetic memory; whatever he's read he never forgets - perhaps because his father is a professor of mathematics and physics at the local university.
He goes into the same class as Tim, but he does not live at the boarding school. He is tall and lanky, but not athletic. He is nearsighted and is virtually helpless without his glasses, which he polishes whenever he's nervous.
Dumpling (German nickname: "", which means "dumpling". Klößchen is called Klumpling in Australian audio book editions and in the official English translation of the movies. Mostly this is because the K is needed to form the TKKG brand.)
His actual name is Willi Sauerlich. He lives together with Tim at the boarding school, where they share a room. His parents are rich - his father owns a chocolate ware company - but Willi likes to spend more time with his friends.
His nickname is derived from his passion for chocolate; he never can keep his fingers off anything sweet. Therefore, he grows steadily bigger around the hips. Nevertheless, he is a reliable comrade, and having a rich father as an asset has proven useful time and again. Dumpling secretly wishes to be as athletic and sprightly as his friend Tim.
Willi is actually also quite close with his father, mainly because of their common desire to eat well; Mrs. Sauerlich is a very strict vegetarian who makes them eat anything vegetable - and only vegetable. So the two keep a secret stash of the good things in the cellar, where they help themselves whenever they have the chance.
Gaby Gabriele Glockner (in Australian audio book editions she is called "Gabby" with a double "b") is affectionately nicknamed "" ("Paw") by her friends because she loves animals and makes every animal - particularly dogs - shake paws with her. She is the daughter of police commissioner Emil Glockner and his wife Margot, who runs a small grocery store. Like Karl, she lives with her parents in town and attends Tim's boarding school only for lessons. She is very good at English and backstroking.
With her golden blonde hair and blue eyes with long eyelashes, she is quite pretty. Actually, she is also quite close to Tim, although she rarely shows it as much as he does.
Oskar The mascot of the group is Gaby's black and white Cocker Spaniel. He accompanies the group practically anywhere.
The town with millions of inhabitants / "town of millions"
The homeland of the TKKG gang is a fictitious town with millions of inhabitants somewhere in Germany. There the TKKG gang live and go to school. Tim, however, comes from a city which is a four-hour drive away. While there are speculations amongst fans that the town is actually Munich, mostly due to the usage of typical southern german vocabulary in the series as well as the "towns of millions" being stated to be the capital city of a german state, Kalmuczak frequently dismissed these as false, claiming that the similarities were purely coincidental.
Radio dramas The series has appeared since 1981 with the radio play label Europa 231 audio books were recorded and released (since 1981). CD Releases of Episodes 1 to 99 were discontinued in 2012. In 2017, Episodes 19, 20 and 37 were removed from Streaming Services, resulting in Physical Releases of these Episodes becoming sought after Collecter's Items.
Actors
Narrator: Günther Dockerill (Episodes 1 to 56), Eric Vaessen (Episodes 57 to 60), Günter König (year 1998 / Episodes 61 to 110), Wolfgang Kaven (Episode 111 to 229), Nic Romm (since Episode 230) Tim/Tarzan (Peter Carsten): Sascha Draeger Karl Vierstein: Niki Nowotny (Episodes 1 to 197), Tobias Diakow (since Episode 198) Klößchen (Willi Sauerlich): Manou Lubowski Gaby (Gabriele Glockner): Veronika Neugebauer (Episodes 1 to 43, 53 to 166), Scarlet Lubowski (Episodes 44 to 52), Rhea Harder (since Episode 167) Inspector Glockner: Wolfgang Draeger (Episodes 1 to 37, Episodes 182 to 220), Edgar Bessen (Episodes 39 to 178), Achim Buch (since Episode 221)
Episode list
By 2024, 231 audiobooks have appeared, as well as seven special episodes (Treasure island with seven secrets (1995), The secret of TKKG (1995, re-issue 2010), An almost perfect Christmas menu (2018), The horror of Christmas comes tomorrow (2020), The cursed Easter egg (2021), Terrible Christmas everywhere (2021), Even crooks celebrate Christmas (2023)):
001 ... Die Jagd nach den Millionendieben (The hunt for the millionaire-thieves) 002 ... Der blinde Hellseher (The blind clairvoyant) 003 ... Das leere Grab im Moor (The empty grave in the swamp) 004 ... Das Paket mit dem Totenkopf (The skull-labeled package) 005 ... Das Phantom auf dem Feuerstuhl (Phantom on the fire-bike) 006 ... Angst in der 9a (Fear in class 9a) 007 ... Rätsel um die alte Villa (Mystery of the old mansion) 008 ... Auf der Spur der Vogeljäger (Tracing the bird-hunters) 009 ... Abenteuer im Ferienlager (Adventures in the holiday camp) 010 ... Alarm im Zirkus Sarani (Panic at Circus Sarani) 011 ... Die Falschmünzer vom Mäuseweg (The forgers from "Mice Way") 012 ... Nachts, wenn der Feuerteufel kommt (By night, when the Arsonist comes) 013 ... Die Bettelmönche aus Atlantis (The begging monks from Atlantis) 014 ... Der Schlangenmensch (The contortionist) 015 ... Ufos in Bad Finkenstein (Ufos in Bad Finkenstein) 016 ... X7 antwortet nicht (X7 does not respond) 017 ... Die Doppelgängerin (The Doppelganger) 018 ... Hexenjagd in Lerchenbach (Witch-hunt in Lerchenbach) 019 ... Der Schatz in der Drachenhöhle (The treasure in the Dragon's Cave) 020 ... Das Geheimnis der chinesischen Vase (The secret of the Chinese Vase) 021 ... Die Rache des Bombenlegers (The revenge of the bomb-planter) 022 ... In den Klauen des Tigers (In the claws of the tiger) 023 ... Kampf der Spione (Fight of the spies) 024 ... Gefährliche Diamanten (Dangerous diamonds) 025 ... Die Stunde der schwarzen Maske (The hour of the black mask) 026 ... Das Geiseldrama (The hostage drama) 027 ... Banditen im Palasthotel (Bandits in the Palace Hotel) 028 ... Verrat im Höllental (Betrayal in Abyss-Valley) 029 ... Hundediebe kennen keine Gnade (Dog-thieves know no mercy) 030 ... Die Mafia kommt zur Geisterstunde (Mafia comes at witching hour) 031 ... Die Entführung in der Mondscheingasse (Kidnapping at Moonlight Lane) 032 ... Wilddiebe im Teufelsmoor (Poacher in "Devils Swamp") 033 ... Wer raubte das Millionenpferd? (Who robbed the million-horse?) 034 ... Vampir der Autobahn (Vampire of the motorway) 035 ... Die Nacht des Überfalls (The night of the assault) 036 ... Das Geschenk des Bösen (The gift of evil) 037 ... Der letzte Schuss (The last shot) 038 ... Die weiße Schmuggler-Yacht (The white smugglers-yacht) 039 ... Die Gift-Party (The poison party) 040 ... Duell im Morgengrauen (Duel at dawn) 041 ... Heißes Gold im Silbersee (Hot gold in the Silver Lake) 042 ... Anschlag auf den Silberpfeil (Assault on Silver Arrow) 043 ... Gefangen in der Schreckenskammer (Imprisoned in the Fright-Chamber) 044 ... Um Mitternacht am schwarzen Fluss (Midnight at the Black River) 045 ... Unternehmen Grüne Hölle (Operation: Green Hell) 046 ... Hotel in Flammen (Hotel in flames) 047 ... Todesfracht im Jaguar (Death-freight in the Jaguar) 048 ... Bestien in der Finsternis (Beasts in the darkness) 049 ... Bombe an Bord (Bomb on board) 050 ... Spion auf der Flucht (Spy on the run) 051 ... Gangster auf der Gartenparty (Gangsters at the garden party) 052 ... Überfall im Hafen (Assault at the port) 053 ... Schüsse aus der Rosenhecke (Shots from the rose hedge) 054 ... Alarm! Klößchen ist verschwunden (Help! Klumpling's missing!) 055 ... Der Mörder aus dem Schauerwald (The murderer from awe-forest) 056 ... Todesgruß vom Gelben Drachen (Death greetings from the yellow dragon) 057 ... Jagt das rote Geisterauto (Chase that red phantom car!) 058 ... Der doppelte Pedro (Pedro's Double) 059 ... Trickdieb auf Burg Drachenstein (Snatcher at Castle Dragonstone) 060 ... Der Teufel vom Waiga-See (The devil from the Lake Waiga) 061 ... Im Schatten des Dämons (In the Demon's shadow) 062 ... Terror aus dem "Pulverfass" (Terror from the "Tinderbox") 063 ... Die Falle am Fuchsbach (The trap at fox creek) 064 ... Schwarze Pest aus Indien (Black plague from India) 065 ... Sklaven für Wutawia (Slaves for Wutawia) 066 ... Gauner mit der "Goldenen Hand" (The crook with the "Golden Hands") 067 ... Hinterhalt im Eulenforst (Ambush at the owl forest) 068 ... Rauschgiftrazzia im Internat (Drug raid at the boarding school) 069 ... Achtung! Die "Monsters" kommen (Danger! The "Monsters" are coming) 070 ... Wer hat Tims Mutter entführt? (Who snatched Tim's mother?) 071 ... Stimmen aus der Unterwelt (Voices from the underworld) 072 ... Taschengeld für ein Gespenst (Pocket money for a ghost) 073 ... Herr der Schlangeninsel (Master of Snake Island) 074 ... Im Schattenreich des Dr. Mubase (In the Shadow Realm of Dr.Mubase) 075 ... Lösegeld am Henkersberg (Ransom at Henkersberg) 076 ... Die Goldgräberbande (The Gold-Diggers Gang) 077 ... Der erpresste Erpresser (The blackmailed Blackmailer) 078 ... Heißer Draht nach Paradiso (Hotline to Paradiso) 079 ... Ein Toter braucht Hilfe (A dead one needs assistance) 080 ... Weißes Gift im Nachtexpress (White poison on the Night Train) 081 ... Horror-Trip im Luxusauto (The horror journey in the limousine) 082 ... Spuk aus dem Jenseits (Spook from the afterlife) 083 ... Hilfe! Gaby in Gefahr (Help! Gaby's in danger!) 084 ... Dynamit im Kofferraum (Dynamite in the trunk) 085 ... Freiheit für gequälte Tiere (Freedom for tortured animals) 086 ... Die Schatzsucher-Mafia schlägt zu (The Treasure-Hunter Mafia strikes) 087 ... Der böse Geist vom Waisenhaus (Evil spirit of the orphanage) 088 ... Kampf um das Zauberschwert "Drachenauge" (Fight for the magic "Drageoneye" sword) 089 ... Feind aus der Vergangenheit (Enemy from the past) 090 ... Schmuggler reisen unerkannt (Smugglers travel anonymous)