Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei
Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei is a long-running, popular German television series about a two-man team of highway police, 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 catching the perpetrators. Typical elements of the action genre are mixed, so that there are regular car crashes, 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
Main
- Johannes Brandrup as Detective Chief Inspector Frank Stolte
- Rainer Strecker as Detective Chief Inspector Ingo Fischer
- Erdogan Atalay as Detective Chief Superintendent Semir Gerkhan
- Almut Eggert as Police Chief Katharina Lamprecht
- Mark Keller as Detective Chief Inspector André Fux
- René Steinke as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Kranich
- Christian Oliver as Detective Inspector Jan Richter
- Gedeon Burkhard as Detective Chief Inspector Chris Ritter
- Tom Beck as Detective Chief Inspector Ben Jäger
- Vinzenz Kiefer as Detective Chief Inspector Alex Brandt
- Daniel Roesner as Detective Chief Inspector Paul Renner
- Pia Stutzenstein as Detective Inspector Vicky Reisinger
- Katja Woywood as Police Chief Kim Krüger
- Katrin Heß as Detective Sergeant Jenny Dorn
- Niels Kurvin as CSU Hartmud Freund
- Daniela Wutte as Secretary Susanne König
Recurring
- Dietmar Huhn as Officer III Horst Herzberger. An older police officer and good friend of Semir's, until he was killed in the line of duty.
- Gottfried Vollmer as Officer III Dieter Bonrath. Horst's partner with a teenage son. Also killed in the line of duty.
- Carina Wiese as Andrea Gerkhan. She was the precinct's secretary before becoming Semir's wife and the mother of his two younger daughters.
- Gizem Emre as Dana Gerkhan, a police officer and Semir's illegitimate daughter. Tesha Moon Krieg played her as a child in season 16.
Episodes
Preamble
- The opening titles of the first 158 episodes had the following preamble:
Ihr Tempo ist mörderisch
Ihre Gegner: Autoschieber, Mörder und Erpresser
Einsatz rund um die Uhr für die Männer von Cobra 11
Unsere Sicherheit ist ihr Job.
- During Episodes 159-243, the preamble was:
Ihr Einsatz heißt: volles Tempo
Ihre Gegner von heute: extrem schnell und gefährlich
Verbrechen ohne Limit – Jeder Einsatz volles Risiko
für die Männer von Cobra 11.
- Since Episode 244, the preamble has been:
Ihre Gegner: extrem schnell und gefährlich.
Verbrechen ohne Limit.
Jeder Einsatz - volles Risiko
für die Männer von Cobra 11.
- Since 2014, the preamble has been:
Ihre Gegner: extrem schnell und gefährlich.
Volles Risiko
für die Männer von 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. 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 BMW 325tds E36
Ingo Fischer: Ford Sierra
Semir Gerkhan: BMW 323i/328i E36 ; BMW 523i E39 ; BMW 330i E46 ; BMW 330i/320si E90 ; BMW 320d/328i F30
Andre Fux: BMW 328i E36 ; Mercedes-Benz C180/C200 W202 ; Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 C208
Dieter Bonrath, Hotte Herzberger, and Jenny Dorn: Porsche 996 Carrera ; Porsche Cayenne Turbo ; Land Rover Range Rover Sport ; Porsche Cayenne Turbo S ; Porsche 991 Carrera 4S ; BMW 120d F20
Tom Kranich: Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 C208 ; Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 C209
Jan Richter: Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 W208 ; Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 W209
Chris Ritter: Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 W209 ; Mercedes-Benz C350 W204
Ben Jäger: Mercedes-Benz C350 W204 ; Mercedes-Benz E500 C207
Alex Brandt: Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 C117
Paul Renner: Mercedes-Benz C220d W205
Backup work vehicles
Frank Stolte: BMW 835i E31 ; Saab 99Ingo Fischer: N/A
Semir Gerkhan: BMW 325i E36 ; Volkswagen Passat B2 BMW X5 E53 ; BMW X3 E83 ; BMW 330i E90 ; Mercedes CLK 320 W209 ; Skoda Octavia Type 1Z ; BMW X6 E71 ; BMW X1 E84 ; Mercedes-Benz ML 350 W164 ; BMW X3 F25 ; BMW X5 E70 ; BMW 328i F30 ; BMW 528i F10 ; BMW X4 F26 ; BMW 535d F10 ; BMW 540i G30 ; BMW 530d G30 ; BMW X5 G05
Andre Fux: BMW 528i E39
Dieter Bonrath, Hotte Herzberger, and Jenny Dorn: Skoda Octavia Type 1U ; Lexus RX 300 ; Skoda Octavia Type 1Z ; Mercedes-Benz E350 W211 ; BMW 1 F20 ; BMW X1 E84 ; Kia Cee'd Sportswagon
Tom Kranich: Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 R170
Jan Richter: Volkswagen Passat B2 ; Volkswagen Passat Variant B3
Chris Ritter: Ford Mondeo Mk I ; Audi A4 B5
Ben Jäger: Mercedes-Benz C320 W204 ; BMW 318i E90 ; BMW 320d F30 ; Mercedes-Benz GL 500 X164 ; BMW 328i GT F34
Alex Brandt: Mercedes-Benz C180 W205
Paul Renner: Mercedes-Benz GLA 180 X156 ; Mercedes-Benz C300 C205
Production locations
From 1996 to 1998, the series was produced jointly by and . Those episodes were shot in Berlin, notably in the site of the former Checkpoint Bravo and in the surrounding state of Brandenburg. 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 between Cologne and Düsseldorf in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.International broadcasters
- : 1TV
- : SBS2
- : ORF
- : AB3
- : Diema, Nova
- : Séries+
- : La Red
- : CCTV
- : RTL Televizija
- : TV Nova, Nova Action
- : RedTeleSistema
- : TV6, TV3
- : TF1, Télé Monte Carlo
- : RTL Television, RTL Crime, RTL Nitro
- : RTL Klub, Cool TV, Sorozat Plusz
- : BIG RTL Thrill
- : Tehran TV, IRIB Tamasha
- : Rai 2, AXN
- : AAB, ATV, Fox Classics, KBS, BS11, Sun TV, TeNY, Tokyo MX, TV Asahi
- : TV3, TV6
- : LRT televizija, TV3, TV6, BTV
- : The Film Zone
- : SBN TV
- : RTL 7, RTL 4
- : Телевизија Телма, Сител Телевизија
- : TVN 7, TELE 5, Stopklatka, TV Puls
- : RTP1, AXN
- : Pro Cinema, AXN
- : СТС, Рен ТВ
- : TLC
- : Prva Srpska Televizija
- : Markíza
- : Kanal A
- : KykNET
- : CNTV, SCREEN
- : Cuatro, AXN, Energy
- : Kanal A, Kanal D, TV8, tv2, Olay TV, Beyaz TV, Ege TV, Abant TV, TV41
- : Новий канал, 2+2, Уніан
- : Drama
- : V-me
- : ANTV
- : Bandeirantes
Legacy
Game adaptations
The series has also spawned numerous game releases in Europe, primarily for PC, but they have generally met with mixed receptions. The latest title is . Crash Time was also dubbed into English and sold in many other markets worldwide.Spin-off
In 2002, a spin-off named 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 , 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.