Detective Thiel, the mafia and a lovesick university professor Boerne.

– Commissioner Thiel, the Underworld Syndicate and a charming academic Boerne

2 out of 5 pointsComedy, humor and a bit of suspense: even after its 20th anniversary, the Münster “Tatort” does not shake things up

What is it about?

Young lawyer Nikolas Weber (Hadi Khanjanpour) is found shot dead in his office. Before this incident, Weber had a fight with one of his clients: the Münster mafia boss Nino Agostini (Claudio Caiolo). Agostini is furious because Weber has lost a case. In addition, Weber and his partner in the law firm Erik Nowak (Hendrik Heutmann) had problems with the bar and were at risk of losing their licenses.

Also involved in the case is prominent lawyer Friedhelm Fabian (Jan Georg Schütte). He is the best friend of forensic pathologist Professor Karl-Friedrich Boerne (Jan Josef Liefers). Fabian and his wife Veronika (Proschat Madani) are planning to move to Central America. For their farewell party, they invite Boerne, his assistant Silke Haller (ChrisTine Urspruch), detective Frank Thiel (Axel Prahl) and prosecutor Wilhelmine Klemm (Mechthild Großmann).

The day after the party, lawyer Fabian is kidnapped while walking his dog. Now Boerne and Thiel must find a murderer, solve a kidnapping and find out how the two cases are connected.

Why should you watch “Tatort: A Friend, A Good Friend”?

The first “Tatort” from Münster went on air in October 2002. A mix of comedy and crime drama – that was a unique view at the time. Since then, the unlikely duo Thiel and Boerne have consistently achieved excellent viewing figures and built up a huge fan base. With the case “A Friend, A Good Friend” the investigators celebrate their 20th anniversary. The film offers what you would expect: entertaining stories, moderate tension and the usual Thiel, Boerne and colleague jokes.

What’s missing?

Certain parts of the story (written by Benjamin Hessler) fail to bring anything new: there is a kidnapping, the police are not allowed to interfere and eventually things go wrong. We have seen this plot before in other films. Moreover, some of Boerne’s funny but somewhat outdated remarks to his colleague Silke Haller seem out of place. In one scene he asks her where her cowbell is, because he didn’t hear her enter the room. This may have been funny in 2002, but 20 years later it feels outdated.

The researchers?

In this case, Professor Boerne plays an important role: he has been friends with the Fabians for a long time. Friedhelm is his best buddy and he harbors secret feelings for Veronika. Boerne’s emotional rollercoaster of love, friendship and loyalty leads him to downplay the situation and hinder Thiel’s investigation.

To look or not to look?

Fans will appreciate another “Tatort” from Münster, but for the rest this episode may not be required viewing.

The episode “A Friend, A Good Friend” of “Tatort” first aired on November 13, 2022. ARD will rebroadcast the film on Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 8:15 PM.

In this rebroadcast, ARD will broadcast the episode “Tatort: A Friend, A Good Friend”, which originally aired in 2022, starring Detective Frank Thiel and Professor Karl-Friedrich Boerne from the Münster team.

During a meeting at Fabian’s home, the prominent lawyer is kidnapped. Boerne and Thiel must work on two interconnected cases: solving a murder and tracking down Fabian.