The private eye, Josef Matula (left) and the attorney, Dieter Renz (right).
A Case for Two (German: Ein Fall für zwei) is a German (originally West German) detective television series, which premiered in September 1981 on the ZDF channel. Klaus Doldinger (of Das Boot fame) composed the main theme just like he did for fellow popular German crime & punishment series Tatort. The original show lasted until 2013, and it has a new version with new leads since 2014, A Case for Two: Reloaded.
The series, set in Frankfurt am Main (Hesse), features two main characters who solve criminal cases — a private detective and a defense attorney :
- The detective, Josef Matula (played by Claus Theo Gärtner for the entirety of the show's existence), a former police officer who has ventured into the private investigation business, has a very effective and direct method, and he sometimes even resorts to dirty tricks. Gärtner reprised the role for three TV movies.
- By contrast, the attorney character has changed several times. The first was Dr. Dieter Renz (played by Günter Strack). Renz retired in episode #60 and was replaced by Dr. Rainer Franck (played by Rainer Hunold). In episode #149, Dr. Franck took a job as a law school teacher, and was replaced by Dr. Johannes Voss (played by Mathias Herrmann). In episode #182, Dr. Voss was shot dead by an escaping criminal, and was in turn replaced by Dr. Markus Lessing (played by Paul Frielinghaus).
This series provides examples of:
- Action Hero: Matula often gets into fights and chases while investigating.
- Character Aged with the Actor: Inevitably happened for Matula, since Claus Theo Gärtner portrayed him for 32 years straight and then some TV films.
- Cramming the Coffin: An episode has the criminal hides a body by killing a dog and burying it above the corpse (so when the scene is dug up, the cops only find the dog and think it's a waste of time). Only when Matula has a "Eureka!" Moment and thinks to dig deeper does he confess.
- Fat and Skinny: Matula always kept himself in good shape (as an Action Hero he better had to). Renz, meanwhile, was quite heavyset.
- Good Lawyers, Good Clients: Most of the time, the people the attorney defends turn out to be truly innocent.
- Instrumental Theme Tune: The show's theme
by Klaus Doldinger is purely synth and electric guitar. - The Hero Dies: Dr. Johannes Voss ended up shot dead by an escaped criminal.
- Law Procedural: The court sequences with the attorney defending the suspect.
- Local Hangout: Matula loves playing pool, always in the same bar. And he always ends up "converting" his partners to that hobby.
- Private Detective: Josef Matula, a former police officer who ventured into the private investigation business.
- Red Herring: The original suspect usually ends up not being the culprit.
- Red Light District: Matula has had to investigate in quite a few strip clubs and brothels of Frankfurt.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Matula's trusted sidearm is a revolver.
- Rhythm Typewriter: The start of the main theme is played on a typewriter.
- Spiritual Antithesis: Was conceived as this to Tatort. The series doesn't directly involve the police (Matula is a former cop), kept the same leading investigator and it has only one location (Frankfurt am Main), whereas Tatort directly involves the police, has had multiple leading investigators and has expanded in pretty much every major German city.
- Strictly Formula: Most episodes follow the same pattern: Someone get murdered, and the police arrest the most likely suspect. The suspect claims to be innocent and hires the attorney (Renz, Franck, Voss or Lessing) as his lawyer. The attorney does all the paperwork, talks with the police and attends court. Meanwhile, Matula does all the actual research and investigation work, often getting into fights and knocking out one or several bad guys, if not the true culprit. In the end, the original suspect usually (but not always) turns out to be innocent after all, and the real culprit is found.
- Wunza Plot: One's a private detective, one's an attorney. They solve criminal cases.
