TV tip
“Hard Brocken” episode about the GDR past
Koops (Aljoscha Stadelmann) and Kim (Anna Bachmann) search in the tunnel in a scene from “Hard Brocken: The Gold Rush”. photo
© Kai Schulz/ARD Degeto/dpa
When the Western atmosphere prevails in front of the Harz panorama, village sheriff Frank Koops is on duty again: The new episode “Harter Brocken” is about the search for a gold treasure from the GDR days. It’s also worth taking a look at one or two supporting roles.
The fact that the woman suddenly appears in the house is not a good sign. “Come in, bring “Happiness in” was written on the doormat,” she says in a calm voice. But she brings anything but happiness: after her visit, a man lies dejected and seriously injured on the ground. Another is dead, previously tortured with a GDR military telephone. He was the former director of the mining museum in the tranquil Sankt Andreasberg in the Harz Mountains.
Those in the know now know: A new mission for village police officer Frank Koops is imminent. But even those who haven’t followed the “Harter Brocken” series on the first can get in on Saturday evening at 8:15 p.m. The eighth case, “The Gold Rush”, is self-contained. No previous knowledge is necessary.
Actor Aljoscha Stadelmann gives the village sheriff his stoic manner. He calmly investigates, talks tacheles (“I’ll tell you now how we do it, and you won’t say anything anymore.”) and cleverly takes on the criminals. This time his opponent is the former Stasi officer Inka Sassner, who is involved in the disappearance of a transport of 21 tons of gold at the end of 1989 and is now on the trail of former soldiers of the National People’s Army.
Director Markus Sehr wrote the script with Mika Kallwass. According to ARD, the story is inspired by a true event.
Lina Wendel, known as the detective from the crime series “The Vixen”, plays Sassner – hardened and determined. When dealing with Koops, she soon realizes: “What a stubborn idiot you are?” He had long since cleverly checkmated her during a game of Halma.
But things are not that simple. Sassner is also being persecuted. Meanwhile, a family in the village has to come to terms with their history. And the body count is rising. At the finale alone, countless shots are fired.
The Western as a narrative form is the foundation of every “hard piece,” says protagonist Stadelmann, according to the press release. The first has been showing the films since 2015. Originally, no series was planned, but the episodes developed into ratings hits. More than six million viewers saw the seventh part a year ago, a market share of almost a quarter.
But even if the writers change, they retain the characters and style of previous episodes. Koops speaks like a village policeman just speaks: “Well, kiss my ass,” he says when the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution contacts him about Sassner. “I’ve got a really big fish on the line, haven’t I?!” At the same time, he has just committed to intermittent fasting and only eats between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. at night.
However, his friend Heiner keeps giving him challenges because he wants to marry Koop’s colleague Mette in four weeks – but has lost his wedding rings. “Mette makes mincemeat out of me,” says Heiner. “Or Mett. Mettewurst.” Pun humor or something.
Flights over the Harz show its panorama and its forests, but the camera also crawls with the protagonists into one of the thousands of mine tunnels in search of gold. “If this treasure really exists, then it is life-threatening,” Koops states.
The (real) former mayor of Sankt Andreasberg, Hans-Günter Schärf, likes the “different” way of telling a crime story, as he says in the press release. What is he most looking forward to when filming begins again? “There’s a little more life, a little bit of ‘Hollywood’ coming into the place.”
Contact with the crew is good. According to the station, once during filming the mountain town club even came to lunch and served freshly baked waffles with ice cream and raspberries.
For Schärf himself, it all started with a request from the production whether he could help find filming locations. “This led to a job as a driver, and so I was constantly on site.” The former mayor can also be seen in all eight films – as pub landlord Toni. Schärf speaks of a “noble extra role”.
Films from the “Hard Brocken” series