TKKG
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The Junior detective series TKKG is a series of radio plays and novels.
The characters and their creator
In all German-speaking countries they are the most commercially successful series of novels of their type, apart from The Three Investigators, translated into German as "Die drei ???". They call themselves TKKG, after the initials of their names: Tarzan (later renamed in Tim, because "Tarzan" is a trademark), Karl, Doughnuts (in German Klößchen) and Gaby; an unofficial fifth member is Gaby's Cocker Spaniel, called Oskar. Since 1979 they continually solve thefts and robberies.
The books were written by Stefan Wolf, but most of the books were not published under this name. Since the 1960s he used many nom de plumes, including Jerry Cotton. He wrote TKKG stories under the alias of "Stefan Wolf". In June 2004 TKKG changed their publisher from Pelican to CBJ - They published volumes 07, 14, 54, 77 and 84 in January 2005 as a new edition with the CBJ brand name.
Tim
Tim is actually named Peter Carsten, but he also has his second first name for a nickname. Previously, Tim was originally called Tarzan by his friends because of his athletic prowess, but he did not want to be compared with this 'half-finished bodybuilder' after he had seen a very bad movie about him (the change actually came about because the name Tarzan is trademarked).Tim is the leader of the TKKG gang, who are named after the initial letters of their names or nicknames. Tim is 14, but mentally and physically far ahead. A tanned athlete, he particularly enjoys judo (he has a brown belt) and volleyball. For two years (at the beginning of the series) he's been living in a famous boarding school, and is pupil of class 9b. His father, an engineer, had a fatal accident when Tim was only 6 years old. Tim's mother, a book-keeper, works hard to earn enough money for the expensive school money for their son. Tim loves adventure and hates injustice, and has a big crush on Gaby, of who he is very protective.
Karl
The smartest of the quartett, Karl Vierstein is sometimes nicknamed Computer because he has an eiditic memory; whatever he's read he never forgets - perhaps because his father is a professor for Maths at the local university.He goes into the same class as Tim, but he does not live at the boarding school. He is tall and lanky, but not athletic. He is nearsighted and is virtually helpless without his glasses, which he polishes whenever he's nervous.
Doughnut
(German nickname: "Klößchen", which means "dumpling")His actual name is Willy Sauerlich. He lives together with Tim at the boarding school, where they share a room. His parents are rich - his father owns a chocolate ware company - but Willy likes to spend more time with his friends.
His nickname is derived from his passion for chocolate; he never can keep his fingers off anything sweet. Therefore, he grows steadily bigger. Nevertheless, he is a reliable comrade, and having a rich father as an asset has proven useful time and again. Doughnut secretly wishes to be as athletic and sprightly as his friend Tim.
Willy is actually also quite close with his father, mainly because of their common desire to eat well; Mrs. Sauerlich is a very strict vegetarian who makes them eat anything vegetable - and only vegetable. So the two keep a secret stash of the good things in the cellar, where they help themselves whenever they have the chance.
Gaby
Gabriele Glockner is affectionally nicknamed "Pfote" (paw) by her friends because she loves animals and makes every animal - particularly dogs - shake paws with her. She is the daughter of police commissioner Glockner and his wife, who runs a small grocery store. Like Karl, she lives with her parents in town and attends Tim's boarding school only for lessons. She is very good at English and backstroking.With her blonde hair and long eyelashes, she is quite pretty - an attribute which makes Tim go red when he looks too closely. Actually, she is also quite close to Tim, although she rarely shows it as much as he does.
Oskar
The mascot of the group is Gaby's black and white cocker spaniel. He accompanies the group practically anywhere, and while he's blind on one eye, his nose is the more keener; he likes to smell out fried chicken in particular.The town with millions of inhabitants
The homeland of the TKKG gang is a fictitious town with millions of inhabitants somewhere in Germany. There the TKKG gang live and go to school. Tim, however, comes from a city which is a four hour drive away. If you consider that as well as, in the novels, TKKG are always by a large port, in one novel by an airport and also by a federal league stadium (this only mentioned in the first volume "the hunt for the million-thieves"), they can only come from Hamburg, Bremen and Frankfurt am Main, which have a port, airport and a federal league stadium. It can not be either Bremen and Frankfurt, since they are not towns with millions of inhabitants. In one TKKG book the city is described as: "In der Ferne, da sah man die Hochhäuser der fernen Landeshauptstadt, jener Millionenstadt, in der Tim zur Schule ging." ("In the distance you could see the skyscrapers of the far capital, the city of millions where Tim went to school"). Therefore the only city that it could be is Hamburg.
Criticism
TKKG stories are criticized mainly because of the attitude with which they relate to racial minorities. Additionally Tarzan/Tim is considered a violent character, and also women in society are portrayed in an outdated manner. For instance, Tim never allows Gaby to join in dangerous activities, but sends her home instead. Homeless people are treated poorly by the four friends and TKKG constantly stress their disgust for them, calling them "Penner" ("bums") (for this, see the radio play sequence 37 - "the last shot"). It is also for "Mafia", a kidnapped baby was to become sold "to gypsies" if the ransom is not payed (episode 20 - "the mystery of the Chinese vase"), etc. pp.
On the other hand, TKKG frequently act at the border of probability, and Kalmuczak is forced to create genuine role models for the readers in TKKG, and in doing so, by course, makes the storyline absurd; TKKG become caricatures.
Radio plays
The series has appeared since 1981 with the radio play label EuropaActors
- Narrators: Günther Dockerill (Episodess 1 to 56), Eric Vaessen (Episodes 57 to 60), Günter König (year 1998 / Episodes 61 to 110), Wolgang Kaven (ab Episodes 111)
- Tim/Tarzan (Peter Carsten): Sascha Draeger
- Karl Vierstein: Niki Nowotny
- Klößchen (Willi Sauerlich): Manou Lubowski
- Gaby (Gabriele Glockner): Veronika Neugebauer, Scarlet Lubowski (Episodes 44 to 52)
- Inspector Glockner: Wolfgang Draeger (Episodes 1 to 36), Edgar Bessen (Episodes 37 onward)
Episode list
Meanwhile 147 radio plays, in a series have appeared, as well as several special series:
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TKKG in the television and cinema
Between 1985 and 1987 TKKG was developed for ZDF a twelve episode TV cartoon serial. The first six episodes were shown between 7 November 1985 and 12 December 1985 on ZDF. Episodes 7 - 12 were also broadcasted on ZDF two years later between 22 October 1987 and 26 November 1987 for the first time. Afterwards all episodes in irregular order were broadcast on ZDF and on KI.KA. (There. among other things. in the context of the broadcast "TKKG - Der Club der Detektive"). In the main roles, Fabian Harloff started from episode 7 as Tim, Christian Pfaff as Karl, Kai Maahs as Doghnuts and Jessica Gast as Gabi.
- Das leere Grab im Moor
- Angst in der 9 A
- Die Jagd nach den Millionendieben
- Der Schlangenmensch
- Das Geheimnis der chinesischen Vase
- Der blinde Hellseher
- Überfall im Hafen
- Bestien in der Finternis
- Spion auf der Flucht
- Gangster auf der Gartenparty
- Haie an Bord
- Todesfracht im Jaguar
- Das Geheimnis um TKKG
- Die Schatzinsel mit den 7 Rätseln
- Drachenauge Teil 1 & 2 (The film of 1992)
double episodes (appeared for the 10th anniversary of the series of books)
- Die Jagd nach den Millionendieben / Das Paket mit dem Totenkopf
- Das leere Grab im Moor / Auf der Spur der Vogeljäger
- Rätsel um die alte Villa / Das Phantom auf dem Feuerstuhl
- Alarm im Zirkus Sarani / Die Mafia kommt zur Geisterstunde
- Nachts, wenn der Feuerteufel kommt / Angst in der 9a
- Hexenjagd in Lerchenbach / Wer raubte das Millionenpferd?
- Der Schatz in der Drachenhöhle / Das Geschenk des Bösen
- In den Klauen des Tigers / Die Nacht des Überfalls
- Die Entführung in der Mondscheingasse / Vampir der Autobahn
- Duell im Morgengrauen / Wilddiebe im Teufelsmoor
Comics
1987-1989 appeared in Ehapa publishing house of 17 booklets with TKKG Comics (expenditure 1-2/1987, 1-12/1988 and 1-3/1989). The Comics was produced by the studio Comicon, a draughtsman was Josep Marti, who also among other things for YPS drew.
TKKG in other countries
TKKG novels had been translated in almost 100 countries around the world. In Indonesia, TKKG's books were being translated to Bahasa Indonesia and some of the characters' names were changed to make it easier to pronounce and fit the translation storylines.
TKKG was changed to STOP; from the names of the charaters:
- Tim's name was change to Sporty, alias Peter Carsten.
- Karl's name was change to Thomas, alias Computer. His real name was Thomas Vierstein.
- Doughnut's name was change to Oskar, alias Fatso. His real name was Oskar Sauerlich.
- Gaby's name was change to Petra, alias Paw. Her real name was Petra Glockner.
- Oskar's name was change to Bello, Petra's spaniel dog and the mascot of STOP.
Websites (in German)
- [link] - TKKG Fanpage
- [link] - TKKG Fanpage
- [link] - list of errors in the TKKG radio plays
- [link] TKKG forum & Fanpage
- [link] Lists of episodes in TV serial
- [link] the motion picture film of 1992
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