''Balko'' is a German

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

broadcast on the private TV channel RTL. It is a police detective story with comical twists featuring two inspectors of the

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

police, Balko (played by Jochen Horst until episode 48, then by Bruno Eyron) and his colleague Klaus Krapp ( Ludger Pistor). Balko's main characteristics are his coolness and his consistently laid-back appearance, whereas Krapp is a typical mama's boy and very clumsy. The series started in 1995 and has won several television awards.

Characters

Kriminalhauptkommissar Balko Balko, the main character of the series, is an easygoing and friendly police officer not always sticking to working rules. He is a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

and holds no high school diploma. Most of the time he is surrounded by incompetent colleagues he cannot rely on in cases of emergency. Balko originally comes from Wetter, a small village in the Ennepe Ruhr district, near Dortmund. His parents still live there. So far his Christian name has not been mentioned in any episode. Kriminalhauptkommissar Klaus Krapp Krapp, also called "Krappi", is portrayed as a thoroughly honest

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. He is never dressed improperly, is always up to date in his profession and is well-educated. He graduated from a German

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

(

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

) and is a reserve officer of the ''

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

''. Despite his many skills, in the domestic area as well as many others, he has no luck with women. His attempts to score with the opposite sex have mostly been a failure. Krapp seems to cling to his mother, who is mentioned repeatedly and lives in Dortmund-Huckarde, though she never appears in person. Kriminaloberrätin Katharina Jäger After a series of changes in the leadership of the homicide division (during the first years the part of the chief executive was played by Dieter Pfaff as well as for a short time by Horst A. Fechner and Arthur Brauss), Kriminaloberrätin Katharina Jäger (played by Sabine Vitua) became Balko's boss from 1998 to 2000. After her death caused by assassination with a sabotaged car, which was originally directed at Balko, Wittek became the new chief detective. Polizeikommissar/Polizeiobermeister/Erster Kriminalhauptkommissar Hans "Quittek" Wittek Kriminalhauptkommissar Wittek, called "Quittek", was a patrolman until he is promoted to be Erster Polizeihauptkommissar and head of the homicide division of Dortmund by skipping five ranks. The reason for this is his marriage with the daughter of the Polizeipräsident. He is very simple-minded and often messes up inspections but because of his lack of competence he also always gives his investigators plenty of leeway. Polizeiobermeister Marek Polizeiobermeister Marek is the ultimate simple-minded patrolman, assigned to the Dortmund homicide division. His first name has never been mentioned in any episode. Polizeiobermeister Schafranek Polizeiobermeister Schafranek is a clumsy, not particularly clever, but very likable patrolman who was assigned to the homicide division after Wittek's promotion. His first name also remains unknown. Schafranek is Marek's best friend. Kriminalrat Holtmann When Wittek retired, Kriminalrat Holtmann became his successor and was appointed chief of the homicide division for the last seven episodes. He was clearly stricter than his predecessor, kept a tighter rein and appeared to be a very competent detective.

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0111889 1995 German television series debuts 2006 German television series endings German drama television series 1990s German police procedural television series 2000s German police procedural television series Television shows set in Dortmund German crime television series German-language television shows RTL (German TV channel) original programming