“Tatort” quick check
money or sperm? The inspectors Ott and Grandjean investigate in the pharmaceutical industry
The commissioners Isabelle Grandjean (Anna Pieri Zuercher, left) and Tessa Ott (Carol Schuler) have to clarify the death of a lawyer.
© SRF/Sava Hlavacek / ARD
The murder of a lawyer leads Zurich “Tatort” inspectors Ott and Grandjean to a pharmaceutical company that is just trying to approve an expensive drug. Was money the motive – or personal passion?
- 2 out of 5 points
- A lot of research on a topic does not automatically result in a good “crime scene”
What’s the matter?
“Follow the money or follow the sperm. One of them usually leads to the perpetrator”: When the lawyer Corinne Perrault is found dead in Lake Zurich, Commissioner Clara Ott (Carol Schuler) immediately names the two possible motives. The deceased represented the up-and-coming pharmaceutical company Argon, which is on the verge of getting approval for an outrageously expensive drug. An expert opinion seems to show that the drug has serious side effects. Is that why the lawyer had to die? Or does her colleague and lover Matteo Riva (Benjamin Grüter) have something to do with the murder? Inspectors Ott and Grandjean (Anna Pieri Zuercher) both follow possible leads.
Why is the “risks with side effects” case worthwhile?
Most recently, the corona pandemic brought the question back to the table as to how new drugs and active ingredients would even come onto the market. A discussion in which there is often a lot of populism and the subliminal accusation that the pharmaceutical industry acts unscrupulously and is only interested in money. The two screenwriters Nina Vukovic and Stefanie Veith take some air out of the overheated debate and remind them that new drugs are first and foremost there to save human lives.
What bothers?
As commendable as this topic is: The “crime scene” – and not only this episode – often suffers from the fact that a criminal case has to be constantly linked to a political and social topic, which is then reported on the side almost like in an adult education course. In their dialogues, the investigators then always depict contrary positions – just as if you were with Frank Plasberg or Anne Will. The really exciting question in a detective story – what drives a person to become a murderer – is almost never answered or pushed to the sidelines.
The commissioners?
Isabelle Grandjean (Anna Pieri Zuercher) surprises with a rap interlude, which she also uses to gain the trust of a witness. Tessa Ott is skeptical at first – but in the end they both rap together.
Turn on or off?
This “crime scene” doesn’t exactly lift the spirits. Given the grim news, you can safely turn off the case.
Inspectors Grandjean and Ott also investigated these cases: