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Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police

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Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police
File:Alarm fuer Cobra11 new.png
GenreAction, Crime drama
StarringJohannes Brandrup
Rainer Strecker
Almut Eggert
Erdoğan Atalay
Mark Keller
René Steinke
Christian Oliver
Gedeon Burkhard
Tom Beck
Vinzenz Kiefer
Daniel Roesner
Katja Woywood
Katrin Heß
Niels Kurvin
Daniela Wutte
Country of originGermany
Original languageGerman
No. of seasons20
No. of episodes300+ (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeca. 45 minutes-Pilot movies 90 minutes
Original release
NetworkRTL Television
ReleaseMarch 12, 1996 –
present

Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei (German pronunciation: [aˈlaʁm fyːɐ̯ ˈkoːbʁaː ˌʔɛlf diː ˈaʊ̯tobaːnpoliˌtsaɪ̯]; Template:Lang-en) is a long-running, popular German television series about a two-man team of highway police (Autobahnpolizei), originally set in Berlin and since 1999 in the area of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. The series has been broadcast in 120 countries worldwide.

Plot

The tasks of the Cobra 11 team consist primarily in solving crimes and catch the perpetrators. Typical elements of the action genre are mixed, so that there are regular car chases, shootouts, explosions and fistfights. These action scenes are elaborately produced in most cases, and appropriately presented in a spectacular way. The high number of unrealistic scenes is a common criticism of the series; for example, large explosions often happen after small collisions while people emerge unharmed out of cars which have sustained catastrophic damage.

Cast

Character Actor Position Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20
Frank Stolte Johannes Brandrup Detective Main
Ingo Fischer Rainer Strecker Detective Main
Semir Gerkhan Erdoğan Atalay Detective Main
Katharina Lamprecht Almut Eggert Detective chief Main Recurring
André Fux Mark Keller Detective Main Guest
Tom Kranich René Steinke Detective Main Main
Jan Richter Christian Oliver Detective Main
Chris Ritter Gedeon Burkhard Detective Main
Ben Jäger Tom Beck Detective Main
Alexander "Alex" Brandt Vienzenz Kiefer Detective Main
Paul Renner Daniel Roesner Detective Main
Kim Krüger Katja Woywood Detective Chief Recurring Main
Jennifer Dorn Katrin Heß Detective Recurring Main
Hartmut Freud Niels Kurvin CSU Recurring Main
Susanne König Daniela Wutte Secretary Recurring Main

Main

Recurring

  • Gottfried Vollmer as Dieter Bonrath
  • Dietmar Huhn as Horst Herzberger

Episodes

Main article: List of Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei episodes
Seasons Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 9 March 12, 1996 (1996-03-12) May 7, 1996 (1996-05-07)
2 22 March 11, 1997 (1997-03-11) June 18, 1998 (1998-06-18)
3 16 October 1, 1998 (1998-10-01) May 6, 1999 (1999-05-06)
4 16 December 16, 1999 (1999-12-16) February 14, 2000 (2000-02-14)
5 16 April 5, 2001 (2001-04-05) April 11, 2002 (2002-04-11)
6 17 September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) April 10, 2003 (2003-04-10)
7 18 September 1, 2003 (2003-09-01) May 13, 2004 (2004-05-13)
8 10 September 9, 2004 (2004-09-09) November 18, 2004 (2004-11-18)
9 17 February 10, 2005 (2005-02-10) April 20, 2006 (2006-04-20)
10 15 April 27, 2006 (2006-04-27) November 16, 2006 (2006-11-16)
11 15 January 22, 2007 (2007-01-22) November 1, 2007 (2007-11-01)
12 7 March 13, 2008 (2008-03-13) April 24, 2008 (2008-04-24)
13 15 September 4, 2008 (2008-09-04) April 9, 2009 (2009-04-09)
14 15 September 3, 2009 (2009-09-03) April 22, 2010 (2010-04-22)
15 13 September 2, 2010 (2010-09-02) April 14, 2011 (2011-04-14)
16 16 September 15, 2011 (2011-09-15) April 19, 2012 (2012-04-19)
17 15 September 6, 2012 (2012-09-06) April 18, 2013 (2013-04-18)
18 14 October 18, 2013 (2013-10-18) May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)
19 15 October 9, 2014 (2014-10-09) April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30)
20 16 September 10, 2015 (2015-09-10) May 26, 2016 (2016-05-26)
21 20 September 1, 2016 (2016-09-01) May 2017 (2017-05)

Preamble

  • The opening titles of the first 158 episodes (1996-2006) had the following preamble:

Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn (Their precinct is the autobahn)
Ihr Tempo ist mörderisch (They work at break-neck speed)
Ihre Gegner: Autoschieber, Mörder und Erpresser (They're up against car thieves, killers, and extortionists)
Einsatz rund um die Uhr für die Männer von Cobra 11 (They're on call around the clock: the men of Cobra 11)
Unsere Sicherheit ist ihr Job (Our safety is their job).

  • During Episodes 159-243 (2007-2012), the preamble was:

Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn (Their precinct is the autobahn)
Ihr Einsatz heißt: volles Tempo (Their mission: full speed)
Ihre Gegner von heute: extrem schnell und gefährlich (Their enemies today: extremely fast and dangerous)
Verbrechen ohne Limit – Jeder Einsatz volles Risiko (Crimes without limit – every job at full risk)
für die Männer von Cobra 11 (for the men of Cobra 11).

  • Since Episode 244 (2013), the preamble has been:

Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn. (Their precinct is the autobahn)
Ihre Gegner: extrem schnell und gefährlich. (Their enemies: Extremely quick and dangerous)
Verbrechen ohne Limit. (Crimes without limit)
Jeder Einsatz - volles Risiko (Every job: at full risk)
für die Männer von Cobra 11. (for the men of Cobra 11)

  • Since 2014, the preamble has been:

Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn. (Their precinct is the autobahn)
Ihre Gegner: extrem schnell und gefährlich. (Their enemies: Extremely quick and dangerous)
Volles Risiko (Extremely risky)
für die Männer von Cobra 11. (for the men of Cobra 11)

Stunts

The series is known for its extremely well performed stuntwork, which features the destruction of various vehicles in every episode. Almost every episode has a distinct structure, with at least one daring action sequence and the pre-title sequence usually consisting of the main event (i.e. a devastating crash on the Autobahn). The stuntwork is often so spectacular that it would not look out of place in a full-fledged movie, with cars commonly reaching implausible heights as they vault through the air.

Vehicles

Main team vehicles

The list below is put in the order of the detectives by the time they joined the police squad of Cobra 11; the cars are listed in the order they were used, as well as their license plate codes. Most of the cars were used by Semir.

Frank Stolte: Audi 100 C3 (TG-A 257, BRB-E 283, BRB-A 404) BMW 325tds E36 (BRB-E 283)

Ingo Fischer: Ford Sierra (SL-K 689, BRB-A 404)

Semir Gerkhan: BMW 323i/328i E36 (HVL-S 199 [black], B-PV 185 [switched to silver], NE-DR 8231); BMW 523i E39 (B-UL 473, B-PW 185); BMW 330i E46 (NE-/:DR 8231); BMW 330i/320si E90 (NE:DR 8231, D:BM 3308); BMW 320d/328i F30 (D:BM 3308)

Andre Fux: BMW 328i E36 (B-DW 8271); Mercedes-Benz C180/C200 W202 (B-DW 8271); Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 C208 (B-DV 8271, NE-LK 3470)

Dieter Bonrath, Hotte Herzberger, and Jenny Dorn: Porsche 996 Carrera (AP-7639, NRW:4-171); Porsche Cayenne Turbo (NRW:4-180); Land Rover Range Rover Sport (NRW:4-180, NRW:4 455); Porsche Cayenne Turbo S (NRW:4 392, NRW:4 418); Porsche 991 Carrera 4S (NRW:4 335); BMW 120d F20 (D:MJ 4495, K:XT 9125)

Tom Kranich: Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 C208 (NE-LK 3470); Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 C209 (NE:LK 3470)

Jan Richter: Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 W208 (NE-LK 3470); Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 W209 (NE:LK 3470)

Chris Ritter: Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 W209 (NE:LK 3470, D:BD 2408 in 'Infarkt'); Mercedes-Benz C350 W204 (D:BD 2408)

Ben Jäger: Mercedes-Benz C350 W204 (D:BD 2408); Mercedes-Benz E500 C207 (D:BD 2408)

Alex Brandt: Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 C117 (D:CL 3508)

Paul Renner: Mercedes-Benz C300 W205 (D:BD 3508)

Backup work vehicles

Frank Stolte: BMW 835i E31 (P-RT 241); Saab 99 (BRB-E 283)

Ingo Fischer: N/A

Semir Gerkhan: BMW 325i E36 (UB-E 438); BMW X5 E53 (NE-FL 208, NE:TL 3737); BMW X3 E83 (NE:TL 3737); BMW 330i E90 (NE:TL 3737); Mercedes CLK 320 W209 (D:AA 119); Skoda Octavia Type 1Z (D:AM 391); BMW X6 E71 (D:HB 1711); BMW X1 E84 (K:CM 296, K:ES 453); Mercedes-Benz ML 350 W164 (D:AA 119); BMW X3 F25 (K:QK 789, K:MN 774); BMW X5 E70 (D:CE 925); BMW 328i F30 (D:EH 304); BMW 528i F10 (D:BM 3308); BMW X4 F26 (D:GC 7646); BMW 535d F10 (D:BH 153)

Andre Fux: BMW 528i E39 (NE-KH 6321)

Dieter Bonrath, Hotte Herzberger, and Jenny Dorn: Skoda Octavia Type 1U (K:MR 1212, DA:X 9783, K:EA 3245); Lexus RX 300 (K:PR 995); Skoda Octavia Type 1Z (D:AX 9382, DA:X 5879); Mercedes-Benz E350 W211 (NRW:4-180, NRW:4-110); BMW X3 F25 (D:MJ 4495); BMW X1 E84 (NRW:4 372); Kia Cee'd Sportswagon (K:KM 431)

Tom Kranich: Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 R170 (NE:AE 2831)

Jan Richter: Volkswagen Passat B2 (K:PE 4129); Volkswagen Passat Variant B3 (NE:MH 8990)

Chris Ritter: Ford Mondeo Mk I (NE:R 231, K:CC 549); Audi A4 B5 (D:HD 1007)

Ben Jäger: Mercedes-Benz C320 W204 (D:CE 936); BMW 318i E90 (K:ES 476); BMW 320d F30 (D:JE 5127); Mercedes-Benz GL 500 X164 (D:JE 5127); BMW 328i GT F34 (D:CE 928)

Alex Brandt: Mercedes-Benz C180 W205 (K:JM 401)

Paul Renner: Mercedes-Benz GLA 180 X156 (D:BB 343)

Production locations

From 1996 to 1998, the series was produced jointly by Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft GmbH (responsible for all other production aspects such as filming/postproduction/location scouting etc.) and ActionConcept (stunts). Those episodes were shot in Berlin, notably in the site of the former Checkpoint Bravo and in the surrounding state of Brandenburg.[1][2] In 1998, Action Concept took over as the sole production company and shifted all filming/production work to its headquarters in Hürth just south of Cologne. Since then, episodes have been shot in and around Cologne and Düsseldorf as well as on several major Autobahnen (A540/A44 and now mainly on the Filmautobahn Aldenhoven near Düren – [3]) between Cologne and Düsseldorf in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

International broadcasters

Legacy

Game adaptations

The series has also spawned numerous game releases in Germany, primarily for PC, but they have generally met with mixed receptions. The latest title is Crash Time 5: Undercover, the graphics of the game deserves praise. Crash Time was also dubbed into English and sold in many other markets worldwide.

Spin-off

In 2002, a spin-off named Alarm für Cobra 11 – Einsatz für Team 2 (Alarm for Cobra 11 – Mission for Team 2) was started. Because of its limited success, only two seasons were produced.

Parodies

  • Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei was regularly parodied as "Alarm für Kebap 11 – Die Dönerpölizei" by Freitag Nacht News, a German comedy sketch program. The segments feature the team talking in exaggerated Turkish accents and many references to Döner Kebab. Erdoğan Atalay and René Steinke themselves have made cameo appearances in some.
  • The series has also been parodied on Switch TV and Switch reloaded.
  • Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei was also parodied in the Latvian comedy show Savādi gan.

References

  1. ^ http://www.fair-news.de/news/Der+Tagesspiegel%3A+Berliner+Grenzkontrollpunkt+Dreilinden+wird+versteigert/122845.html
  2. ^ This characteristically shaped building served as police station in the Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei.
  3. ^ http://www.ftl-germany.com/ftl/english/downloads/pressemitteilungftl.pdf
  4. ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20110519-911031.html Coverage of announced 2011-2012 programming highlights for United States Spanish language broadcaster V-me, documenting intent to broadcast Alerta Cobra (Spanish title).
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