Der Bulle von Tölz

A great episode with Benno, who is investigating a murder whose only witness was blind drunk. The course of the investigation is pretty weak and it is mostly salvaged by Benno’s mom – Rösi, who is being paid off by the main witness – the official from Munich, because apart from being wasted, he also knocked down her fence and who knows what else. But all is well in the end and even Benno loosens up for once and lets himself be paid off with quality sex. No Bavarian can reject quality sex, as is mentioned at the end of the episode. (08.11.2015)

Another one of the better episodes. It’s also mainly because Benno and his mother dare to go to Kitz, Austria and enjoy their holiday there. However, the ex-Miss Austria flirts with Benno the first night at a disco, and in the morning, he’s accused of a murder, because the local police find dear Marina face down in one mountain street, and unfortunately, it’s not because she drunk a bit more than Benno at the disco out of longing for her long-lost fame. Which isn’t really possible, because Benno is able to drink a wagon of beer and still leave on his own feet. However, we immediately meet the local investigator, who is as dumb as a post, so Benno helps her with the investigation. That goes on in a rather suspenseful way, and the plus is that Resi befriends Mr. Matuška, who likes booze and also likes to gamble away his money in poker. Resi is lucky in the cards and for a while, she’s winning. But only for a moment, so it’s only a matter of time before both her and the killer lose. (12.10.2017)

The creators of Big Ben just can’t leave the German Catholic Church be. In this case, they dedicate a whole episode to it. In this episode, on the one hand, the church is helping the Turkish refugees, on the other hand, a murder of a priest is being investigated. What the episode lacks in humor, it gets in the amount of investigation. The conclusion is pretty shocking and clerics may not be okay with that. However, Pfeiffer is on the scene again and during his shift he eats supplies of the clerics from the local parsonage, which they otherwise bring to the refugees in the church. There is no need to add that he flushes it down with a bottle of beer. And the fact that he does it while driving is a proof that everyone would want to be a cop in Bad Tölz. (09.10.2017)

In this episode, pretty much everybody is insolent to Benno. The episode deals with the topic of hunters, but I liked how Benno’s former friend – Tony Rambold – speaks of Benno as of Fat Berghammer. Even the murderer is poking fun at Benno, sending him threatening letters in which he keeps calling him a fat pig. But Benno doesn’t give a fuck and he hopes to have a proper meal and drink at home. And all that despite his mother sparing him somewhat. One of the better episodes that includes a whole number of standard characters ranging from Pfeiffer to the Prelate. (01.12.2017)

This episode was somehow cursed for me. I saw the first scene with the tractor and the dead tractor driver several times, but I never finished the whole episode because I always fell asleep. However, that wasn’t because this episode was boring, but rather because I always tried to watch it at the most inconvenient time. After beer, before bedtime, etc. Nevertheless, I laughed a lot. In the scenes where Benno is convincing a doctor that it’s not a murder, just so he doesn’t have to investigate it, or, especially, when constable Pfeiffer asked Benno to make him an investigator too, because they have a lot of work and he would love to help. The fact that he messed up everything he could is different story. (24.10.2017)

The murder of a local Bavarian brass band singer unsettles his fans. Most of all, of course, Resi, who finds the dead body plus the killer bangs her on the head with a lamp. Then an investigation gets underway, in which you find out that not a single person around the singer liked him. So as you can guess, there are more than enough suspects. Probably the trickiest case Benno has ever investigated. (27.10.2017)

Over a whole range of episodes, I’ve found out that they have more amenities in Bad Tölz than in any metropolis. This time I found out that they even have a choir made out of ordinary people and Resi Berghammer – Benno’s mom. As always, she gets tangled up in a murder and the investigation may begin. It’s a typical well-made episode with a nice climax towards the end. After this many episodes, I’m honestly surprised that they keep coming up with new stuff. Sure, there’s the state council guy again with his typical political nonsense or the local group of Italians that they keep pushing in. But the choir? That’s the first time I’m hearing about it. (07.11.2017)

One of the better episodes with the fat guy from Bad Tölz. It is better primarily because almost everyone gives Benno a hard time. He also gets pretty drunk in the local pub. The investigation then goes on pretty well. First, everybody is scared that there is a killer in town, who also rapes. Suddenly everybody, including Benno’s mother, signs up for judo classes. The suspect appears soon, but Benno falls asleep on the stakeout and doesn’t notice him even unconscious. Plus, the whole time the prelate knows who the killer is, but the God won’t allow him to say it, because nobody can know the confession other the one above us. The whole thing has a touch of absurd and there is one catchphrase after another. The best one is probably the one with constable Pfeiffer: - Pfeiffer, are you Christian? - No, I am from Regensburg. (10.01.2016)

The internet came to Tölz and along with it a murder by strangulation. The Prelate also figured out that he could squeeze a pretty penny out of people to use for the church repairs. For what else, after all? Definitely not his own pocket since he’s the Prelate. A standard episode that’s standardly pleasant to watch. (28.11.2016)

Once I learned in the first scene that Benno’s mother is going to the spa, I immediately knew where the murder was going to happen. The problem is usually where his mother is. Anyway, as for this episode, it is a weaker one. The ending is the most surprising of it, as I really did not expect that. Benno is also investigating quite a lot. There is not much fun, but it is compensated for by a very annoying lady, who has read thousands of crime stories and so she assumes she is the next Sherlock Holmes. (19.01.2016)

A major businessman begins a construction of a western city called Sioux City right next to Bad Tölz, and Benno’s mom forces herself in so that she can be important. After hundreds of episodes, she still doesn’t know that she brings death wherever she comes and so somebody dies there. She’s really worse than the Grim Reaper. Benno takes on the case and starts investigating. But it’s a shame that the actors didn’t decide to take more of a comedy route, because these dubious types building the western city were outright asking for it. The result was a mediocre episode that’s neither exciting nor disappointing. (25.01.2016)

This episode is something absolutely tremendous. In the first minute, Benno gets yelled at by his mom for how fat and corn-fed he is (even though he’s looked way worse in some of the episodes). He then gets sent into some sort of a sanatorium that should help him lose weight. He finds out that his college buddy works there, but before he even manages to arrive, his buddy gets offed. And so, Benno begins to try lose weight and investigate a murder all at the same time. His colleague Sabrina goes on a vacation and so Pfeiffer takes over the main role, thus the investigation gets a strange flow. The pinnacle of it all is how he sips the local beer during investigation, that’s what I call morale. The ending brings it to an excellent finish and I haven’t laughed like this in a long time. A really well-made episode. (31.01.2016)

Benno’s partner Sabrina has come back and in turn, the alcoholic Constable Pfeiffer left. Sabrina is obviously well rested after her vacation and so she graces Benno with one wisdom after another. Benno is still as fat as a pig, but it’s not as bad as it used to, so I think Sabrina could have taken all her wisdom and go to hell. And when everything’s going well, a murder pops out and so they take on a fairly productive investigation. What’s the most interesting is a guy who’s been fixing a children’s carousel his entire life and he can’t seem to put it together. It has nothing to do with the case, but he’s obviously dumber than a box of rocks and if you make it until the end, you get to see a pretty solid ending. This episode was one of the better ones. (09.02.2016)

How on Earth does Benno do it that whenever his old lady sets him up with some charismatic woman, she ends up being mixed up in a murder he’s investigating? No wonder Benno’s single all the time and the only thing he cares about is getting his belly full. In this episode, he’s so rude to his mom that she refuses to cook for him, but then he pays for her at the restaurant, which is probably the first time he’s done anything for her. The episode was pretty standard. This is the first time we’re seeing a killer of lovers, so that’s fun. (03.11.2017)

Finally, there’s yet another brilliant episode. Benno is on the brink of becoming the president of the local – and it should be noted – Christian soccer team. But in the midst of all the bargaining, a dead body appears in the middle of the soccer field overnight and so the investigation process begins. But since Sabrina isn’t here this time, Benno gets help from a guy from Munich who’s immediately grown on me. The young dude likes motorbikes and thinks he’s a total hotshot while Benny leans into him with one great line after another. Then there’s a crazy lady who claims that a prelate rules the entire world and runs the worst cult in Germany, which is fun to listen to. Rambold, Benny’s former colleague and a businessman, also makes an appearance as the investigation revolves around him, which he doesn’t like at all. Especially since Benno’s a little more daring with him than he is with others. Once again, I had a god laugh. (16.11.2017)

Benno is a classic and when I saw that his mom Resi is competing in some sort of a TV show in this episode, I decided to finish it; she’d be enough to make it worth it. So if you like this show, you know exactly what you’re getting.  A 400-pound Benno is getting yelled at by his mother all the time, but then she kisses some famous TV host’s ass. In the meantime, there’s some ordinary murder that somehow gets solved. But all the yapping around it is worth seeing. The ending took my breath away. Benno outplays the mayor by having him filmed taking part in some orgies at the castle, but then in return, the mayor shows him a video of his mom stealing questions for the TV competition she is on. Just another day in Bad Tölz... (01.03.2015)

This episode is a pleasant combination of a murder investigation and performances of a circus that steals from the town rather than bringing them any joy. Plus, a farmer along with the local milkmaid discover a cadaver on a cultivated field and they stare at it as if they saw dead bodies at least every other day. Benno also finds out that the circus boy might be his son, therefore we find out that even Benno used to have a love life when he was a few pounds lighter. But the investigation is pretty solid and so the episode becomes another life story of the people in Bad Tölz, which is nice to watch. (08.03.2016)

Except for Resi trying to manage her taxes and Benno making fun of her, there isn’t anything that interesting in this episode. After a few years, we discover that there’s a disco in Bad Tölz. Two young girls party hard in there and as chance would have it, one of them doesn’t come home. And so the investigation begins. I’d say it was a mediocre, even a weaker episode. (16.11.2017)

A classic Benno episode with the panorama of the Salzburg castle. The best moment was probably when Benno was shooed away by some Austrian cleaning lady with an absolutely down-to-earth line: “Oh God, you’re so fat, I’ve never seen that in my life.” That was such an honestly plebeian moment. The investigation was crazy and the ending brutal. But Benno’s mom Resi was really putting on a show once again. After downing a poisonous energy drink, she wants to squeeze some money out of the Austrian authorities and so she pretends she’s sick and attempts an insurance fraud, all the while being an investigator’s mother. So even if the whole investigation sucked, she’d always make up for it. (22.03.2015)

Undoubtedly one of the best episodes of the whole series. Right at the beginning there is a wild party of some amateur aviation club with gallons of Bavarian beer and local prostitutes. During this party a local witch sets a cross on fire in front of the house, the president of the club tells her off for that and on the next day he takes part in a tandem jump during which his parachute fails to open and the trouble begins. Already the jump itself was really absurd and I felt like I was watching the best grotesque movie ever. Afterwards the investigation begins and the best moment is when Benno interrogates a suspicious bold guy and discusses with him why the guy beat up a whole pub because of one particular brand of Bavarian beer. Freier Fall is a really great episode. (20.10.2020)