The bull from Tölz

Television series
Original title	The bull from Tölz
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Year (s)	1995-2009
Production ; company	Alexander Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH ; Sat.1
length	about 90 minutes
Episodes	69 in 14 seasons ( list )
genre	Detective film ; comedy ; Heimatfilm
Theme music	Steinhauer / Daansen
idea	Claus Peter Hant
production	Ernst von Theumer junior
music	Kristian Schultze , Uli Kümpfel , Jo Barnikel , Stephan Wildfeuer
First broadcast	January 14, 1996 on Sat.1
occupation

Der Bulle von Tölz is a German crime series commissioned by Sat.1 . Ottfried Fischer played the main role, Chief Inspector Benno Berghammer . After the death of actress Ruth Drexel (Resi Berghammer) in February 2009, the production of further episodes was discontinued. The series was also broadcast on ORF .

action

The Hollerhaus at Neufahrner Weg 3 in the Ickingen district of Irschenhausen ; The backdrop of the Berghammer guesthouse.

The plot of the series takes place in and around Bad Tölz . The main characters are Chief Inspector Benno Berghammer, his mother Theresia "Resi" Berghammer and Benno's colleague Sabrina Lorenz and Nadine Richter.

In addition to the criminal cases, the episodes focus on the characters' peculiarities and their relationships with one another, such as the quarrels and taunts between Benno Berghammer and his mother.

characters

main characters

Benno Berghammer

The obese Chief Inspector Benno Berghammer lives with his mother Resi in their pension in Bad Tölz. He is single and lives according to the “ Hotel Mama ” principle. The relationship with his dominant mother is a running gag that runs through all of the consequences. Berghammer himself likes to criticize the current politics or the political balance of power in Bavaria, especially the (alleged) amigo conditions of the local greats of the CSU , whereby the party is never named and is often described as "Bavarian Unity Party". Benno's political stance is a caricature of an “urbayerischen Sozl'n”: He often and gladly criticizes the prevailing conditions, but has no real interest in changing them and sometimes knows how to use them ( “… that's positive Catholic felt!” ). Berghammer also criticizes the Catholic Church in disputes with the local clergyman prelate Hinter, whereby Berghammer shows biblical security and theological understanding - skills that he has retained from the time of the altar boys. The commissioner, who was born in Bad Tölz, often has a trump card in his hand because he is deeply rooted in the area in the investigation, for example because he knows many officials from his school days, from whom he can elicit insider information from time to time.

Regardless of the time of year and the environment (indoors or outdoors), the chief inspector's clothing consists of brown corduroy trousers, a piped shirt and a pepper-and-salt jacket. Deviations (golf trousers, suit with tie, etc.) only occur on special occasions, such as shooting a promotional video for the guesthouse.

Shooting of the "Bull" on Marktstrasse in September 2006

Resi Berghammer

Although Resi likes to share the house with Benno, the desire for grandchildren prevails, and so she leaves no stone unturned in pairing her son with the next best woman, an undertaking that she never really succeeds. Resi Berghammer is no less committed professionally: She tries everything to ensure that her guesthouse always remains attractive to her guests (computer, internet, expansion, Feng Shui). Resi only gets nervous when Benno messes with "high animals" because she has respect for offices and titles. She is also very good faith; in the episode Der Zuchtbulle she got a glass of "fitness pills" from a guesthouse, which she mixed Benno into the food in the hope that they would make him more popular with women. However, they made Benno obnoxious and nothing came of a relationship again. Ruth Drexel , the actress of Resi Berghammer, paused from episode 64 to episode 68 for health reasons , but returned again in episode 69, Adventure Mallorca .

Sabrina Lorenz (until 2006)

Chief Inspector Sabrina Lorenz ( Katerina Jacob ) is Benno Berghammer's colleague. She comes from Berlin , so she's not an easy job as a “Prussian” in Bad Tölz, Bavaria, where she has been working since 1996. However, Sabrina always knows how to master problems with “female assertiveness”. While her colleague always prefers to take on the more convenient tasks in criminal cases, he likes to leave Sabrina the unpleasant work that is annoying for him. She also calls Benno the "rabbit" over and over again to annoy him. Sabrina was always a suitable daughter-in-law for Resi Berghammer, but Benno saw it very differently. The 58th episode, Cooking , is the last in which Katerina Jacob can be seen as Commissioner Lorenz. Many fans regret her departure because she got along very well with Ottfried Fischer in front of and behind the camera and this benefited the role.

Nadine Richter (from 2006)

Nadine Richter, played by Katharina Abt , is Benno Berghammers' new colleague in the episodes that were broadcast on ORF from December 2006 and on Sat.1 from February 2007. Katharina Abt made her debut as Commissioner in the episode Nobody Knows the Dead . When Sabrina wanted to stay pregnant in Berlin, the public prosecutor Benno Berghammer presented his new colleague, who came from Güstrow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . After a few disputes, Nadine Richter was able to establish herself, not least because of her satirical streak, which Benno impressed. In developing Nadine's character, the attempt was not “only” to create an adequate replacement for Sabrina, but rather to equip the new colleague with her own distinctive profile from the start. Katharina Abt made her first appearance as secretary Brigitte Neuhierl in 1998 following the death of a straw man .

Minor characters

In addition to the three main characters, there are other people who play regularly, but not in every episode, for example the coroner Dr. Robert Sprung ( Norbert Heckner ), the local building contractor Anton "Toni" Rambold ( Gerd Anthoff ), an old school friend of Benno, the local prelate Barthel Hinter ( Michael Lerchenberg ), the member of the Bundestag Hans Meidenbauer ( Alexander Held ), public prosecutor Dr. Georg Lenz ( Moritz Lindbergh ) and Police Chief Anton Pfeiffer ( Udo Thomer ). After the sudden death of the actor Udo Thomer, the Nuremberg screenwriter Doris Jahn created the new character Wachtmeister Schmidt ( Norbert Mahler ). In the old episodes, the public prosecutor Dr. Zirner ( Diana Körner ), State Secretary Berthold von Gluck ( Klaus Guth ), District Administrator Siggi Wallner ( Friedrich von Thun ) and Mayor Franz Wegener ( Bernd Helfrich ).

Well-known actors such as Marijam Agischewa , Rainer Basedow , Sebastian Bezzel , Gregor Bloéb , Hans Brenner , Mathieu Carrière , Ulrich von Dobschütz , Jenny Elvers , Veronica Ferres , Wolfgang Fierek , Florian David Fitz , Lisa Fitz , Eisi Gulp , Joseph Hannesschläger , Henry Hübchen , Thomas Limpinsel , Gerd Lohmeyer , Henry van Lyck , Sunnyi Melles , Karl Merkatz , Antoine Monot, Jr. , Corinna Nilson , Uwe Ochsenknecht , Götz Otto , Olivia Pascal , Sissi Perlinger , Sepp Schauer , August Schmölzer , Gisela Schneeberger , Jutta Speidel , Max Tidof , Christian Tramitz , Fritz Wepper , Oliver Wnuk and Helmut Zierl could be seen in guest roles.

Some actors have appeared in various supporting roles several times. Gottfried Drexler holds the record with nine appearances: as a building contractor in the first episode, The Amigo Plot ; urgently wanted in Leiche as a building contractor and friend of the mayor; in Mountain of Desires as an unemployed academic; in murder in a madhouse and death on tour as a guesthouse; in death on Rose Monday as a traditional costume maker; in battue as Dr. Edenhofer; in A Fatal Affair in his greatest role with the cops as Resis allied jumper and subsequently Murder as a porter in the case of an auction .

occupation

actor	Role name	consequences	Year (s)	Remarks
Ottfried Fischer	Benno Berghammer	01-69	1996-2009
Ruth Drexel	Theresia "Resi" Berghammer	01-69	1996-2009	in episodes 64 to 68 "on Mallorca"
Katerina Jacob	Sabrina Lorenz	01-58	1996-2006	in episodes 16, 22, 31, 32, 35, 43 and 47 "on vacation" or "on further training"
Katharina Abbot	Nadine Richter	59-69	2006-2009
Udo Thomer	Anton Pfeiffer	02-57	1996-2005
Michael Lerchenberg	Prelate Behind	01-68	1996-2008
Hans Peter Hallwachs	Police chief Matern	01-14	1996-1998	drives in episode 14 "for further training" and then does not appear again
Klaus Guth	State Secretary Berthold von Gluck	03-53	1996-2005	Fatalities as a result of the breeding bull
Gerd Anthoff	Anton "Toni" Rambold	03-69	1996-2009	Benno's school friend
Bernd Helfrich	Mayor Wegener	02-11	1996-1997
Friedrich von Thun	District Administrator Wallner	01-21	1996-1999
Diana grains	Public Prosecutor Dr. Zirner	02-37	1996-2002
Carin C. Tietze	Katja "Hasi" Flemisch	12-69	1997-2009	Rambold's partner
Norbert Heckner	Forensic doctor Dr. Leap	24-68	2000-2008
Alexander hero	Member of the Bundestag Meidenbauer	42-69	2003-2009
Moritz Lindbergh	Public Prosecutor Dr. Lenz	53-69	2005-2009
Norbert Mahler	Policeman Schmidt	59-69	2006-2009

Episodes

Up to No. 58, new episodes were first broadcast on Sat.1 and only then on ORF. From the 59th episode, ORF showed the new episodes shortly before they were broadcast on the German broadcaster. For many years, the series was broadcast on both channels on fixed weekly slots that were only used temporarily for other thematically similar series (e.g. Der Pfundskerl or Stadt, Land, Mord! ). Older episodes were repeated in irregular order between the first airing dates of new episodes. In 2010, Bayerischer Rundfunk acquired the rights to the series and showed all episodes to be repeated until 2012. The series has been broadcast on Sat.1 Gold since 2015 . In addition, the episodes are repeatedly broadcast on ORF 2 and on the home channel.

Some episodes were not broadcast in the order in which they were produced. The episode Der Tölzi, announced as the 50th anniversary episode, was broadcast as the 49th episode, although Benno Berghammer made an allusion to his 50th successful case at the end of the episode and the film with the words “... and that should stay that way for the next 50 cases “Ends.

Special features and curiosities

On television it is suggested that the police station is located directly on Tölzer Marktstrasse. The first episodes were filmed in what is now the Stadtmuseum (former town hall) at Marktstrasse 48. The location was later relocated to the foyer in the spa and spa district (Ludwigstrasse 14) of Bad Tölz, partly because of the undisturbed location.
Benno and Resi's house is not in Bad Tölz, but about 25 km north-northwest in the town of Irschenhausen , a part of the municipality of Icking . It is the Hollerhaus at Neufahrner Weg 3, which has often been a location for films.
As a curiosity, Berghammer's vehicle - a BMW 6 Series Coupé with the official license plate TÖL-TM 112 - does not have a passenger seat. According to Fischer, this is to be understood as an homage to the series Somehow and Anyway , where Sepp drives an Alfa Romeo Giulia . Two vehicles of the same type were used for the filming, but one was clearly missing the back seat. Berghammer's vehicle was parked at BMW in Munich during the breaks. Once it was stolen while filming, but it was quickly recovered undamaged.
Katharina Abt, who played Benno Berghammer's new colleague from 2006, already appeared as Brigitte Neuhierl in the episode Death of a Straw Man (1998). There even a relationship is developing between her and Benno, but she is exposed as a murderer. When she then wants to take her own life, she is saved by Benno. Thomas Helmer also makes a guest appearance in this episode .
Michael Lerchenberg alias Prelate Hinter also has a brief appearance at the end of the episode An Order for the Murderer (1999) as Edmund Stoiber , whose part he traditionally took on at the Nockherberg .
Norbert Mahler, who has played Wachtmeister Schmidt since the death of Udo Thomer, had previously appeared in the episodes Sioux City (2001) - as Stefan Rohrmoser - and Freier Fall (2003) - as city architect.
In the episode Der Zuchtbulle (2005), Ottfried Fischer stands next to a bull and says: “Dope a bull, who does that?” The song Tambourine Man can be heard in the background . This obviously alludes to the scene from Somehow and Anyway , in which Sir Quickly (Fischer) plays this song to his ox so that it runs faster in the ox race.
The Bavarian songwriter Willy Michl plays a school friend of Benno Berghammer in episode 61 (closed season , 2007). Although under a different name (Walter Bruckner) and with a different background, he practically plays himself; when he leaves Tölz, he sings his famous song Isarflimmern . In addition, at the end of this episode, with the dispute between Bruckner and Resi about the "Pfannakuachasuppn", there is an allusion to episode 17 ( Schein or Sein ) of the series Zur Freiheit , in which Willy Michl also had a guest appearance. In episode 65 ( Bulle und Bär , 2008) Willy Michl appears again in the role of Walter Bruckner.
Benno Berghammer is (like Ottfried Fischer) a fan of the local ice hockey club EC Bad Tölz .
Ottfried Fischer and Ruth Drexel had supporting roles as Benno and Resi Berghammer in the first episode of the 2006/2007 series on Sat.1 and ORF 1, Stadt, Land, Mord! .
In the ARD series Pfarrer Braun , with Ottfried Fischer in the title role, there are several ironic allusions to the "cop". For example, when Michael Lerchenberg alias Prelate Hinter suddenly appears in a supporting role as a judge, so state and church swap roles.
The Bad Tölz spa administration has adjusted to the "bull tourism", a tour of locations and locations in the city can be booked. The tour is led by a tourist guide in traditional costume with a stylish film reel under her arm. The tourist guide walks through the city with the “bull pilgrims” and explains the key scenes. In addition, the guide In the footsteps of the bull has been published, which leads to many filming locations in and around Tölz and offers further information.
The young Benno Berghammer and his mother Resi made a guest appearance in the 2007 movie Tödlicheverbindungen , a crime thriller based on true events, set in Bad Tölz in 1978. Benno is played by Florian Gmeiner, but spoken by Ottfried Fischer.
In the episode Murder in the Madhouse , Ruth Drexel's then partner, Hans Brenner , plays the role of Professor Roth, a former admirer of Resi Berghammer.
In the episode The Marriage Candidate , Ottfried Fischer plays the murder victim Bertram Söllner.
In the episode Sport is Mord , Benno gives his friend and teacher, who is retiring, a book whose author, according to the cover, is a certain U. Thomer: an allusion to the police officer Pfeiffer, who was played by the actor Udo Thomer.
Although Benno Berghammer sits at the dining table with his mother in almost all episodes, you never see him eating - in contrast to Pastor Braun .
The concept of the ZDF crime series Die Rosenheim-Cops is based on the bull von Tölz .
Since September 2014 there is a private bull from Tölz Museum in Bad Tölz .