Cobra 11 is undoubtedly one of the most predictable television shows ever produced. Basically every episode begins with an enormous pile-up on the Autobahn and ends with the two heroes chasing the main villain into his or her destruction, which usually comes in the form of a spectacular crash and/or a massive explosion. Coincidences are so unbelievable that they can only occur in one's dreams as far as reality is concerned. If the two heroes are discussing organically produced food, a tanker truck filled with organically produced milk will crash in front of them and they will discover crime related to the company owning it. If they are discussing new technologies, someone will use a revolutionary weapon to sabotage a car driving on the Autobahn. And these are just two of meanwhile a couple of hundred examples.The show follows the trends set by Hollywood movies, technological progress, consumerism and globalization, relying heavily on them. New cars, pastimes and gadgets are often prominently featured and some episodes look like a mash-up of elements from a number of popular Hollywood films like Speed, Bruce Willis' action flicks, Lethal Weapon or The Fast and the Furious series. Stereotypes are innumerable. The villains are often members of Eastern European, Italian or South American organized crime, truck drivers pick up prostitutes and/or engage in illegal activities to get a raise from a murky boss, lawyers and prosecutors are egoistic and arrogant, bored men sift through Playboy magazines, teenagers are drugged-up as they fool around and make chaos. However, there are also some surprising villains and situations, such as the tenants of a retirement home who smuggle drugs or two preteen boys stealing a dump truck and taking it for a joyride on the Autobahn, unsurprisingly causing a pile-up.Continuity mistakes are equally omnipresent. In the show's early days, these mistakes were so common and obvious that they significantly contributed to its comedic value, especially in the absence of any meaningful story. I still laugh out loud every time I see the two heroes' BMW being suddenly replaced by its predecessor model - equipped with plastic stickers in the producers' futile attempt to conceal the obvious switch - right before being totaled in a spectacular crash or while being shot at by the bad guys. Meanwhile, it would be too optimistic to expect any meaningful continuity anyway, with the show going on for twenty years and some actors having played up to four or five different villains.Overall, Cobra 11 is a relatively entertaining show that often features some great stunts and car action. However, one should not expect realistic and unpredictable plots. Additionally, many stories were recycled over the years, but this is nothing to be surprised about in today's movies and television shows. The performances are mostly mediocre and sometimes fairly cheesy.

I live in a small city in Croatia and our RTL television is broadcasting Alarm fur cobra 11 ( Cobra 11- specijalci s autoputa- Croatian title) and I have to say that I am impressed. The story, the effects, the explosions and the crashes, all this is amazing. But, even if this show is awesome it has much clichés. I mean in every episode there is this huge crash on the autobahn, Our heroes Semir and his partner ( there are 25 seasons and in every season there is about 7-8 episodes, and after 20-30 episodes, Semirs partner dies, then Semir is sad, everybody is crying and then in the next Pilot episode ( 90 min ) Semir gets a new partner) are saving lives and then boom, a huge explosion. In the middle of the episode the main suspect is running away and the re is some big shooting going down. Then a car chase and the suspect escapes. And in the end a car chase and again a huge crash and a very, very, very big explosion, and thats it. The pilot episodes are very special. The story is phenomenal, not so repetitive like in the normal episodes, and the action is like in a excellent American movie. Yes, but now in the new 24 and 25th season the story isn't so repetitive, its very interesting. The new episodes are the best if you ask me. Just write in you tube :"Cobra 11 auf eigene faust" and you will see the new pilot episode were Semir becomes a new partner.So, all in all this show is awesome, it has big minuses but it has big pluses too. One of the best action series ever filmed!!! Watch it!!! You will not regret!!!!!

This series is great! Yes, it has plot holes you could hide a city in. (Not a small one.) Yes, it alway, always starts with a huge, huge crash on the autobahn, were miraculously nobody gets hurt. The acting is often bad, and the subplots obvious, to say the least. But it's fun anyway. It has the sort of charisma usually connected with the shows you watched as a kid (Knight Rider, A-Team) which plots were silly but who where great too watch. And all the Hollywood clichés used- that's just great. Just expect nothing in the line of plot and some great stunts and I promise you'll be satisfied. Most of all, this series is lovingly done, something which isn't always (or mostly) the case with German TV series.

One of the first episodes of Cobra 11 I can reminisce, featured a police car hitting an anchor hanging down a bridge over the Autobahn. It's still one of the best stunts I've ever seen."Alarm für Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizei" is a typical German 'krimi' (whodunnit), with a bit more action involved. Truckloads of cars are scrapped in various action scenes. It's not useful to the story at all, and regularly I get the idea that some stunts are just done for the mere fun of it. Apparently, a simple accident involving only two cars is not enough for Cobra 11's stunt crew, so why not crashing the rest of the entire Autobahn into them? And when all these nutters come to a halt just in time, why not fail the brakes of an oncoming truck so the highway will turn into a scrapyard anyway? To hell with realistic action sequences - who cares that cars don't explode in real life?Cobra 11 has started another season when I write this, and it seems that the stunt team has taken over the scriptwriting. The two hero-like highway coppers seem to have only one goal in their lives: catching the bad guys at all costs. Shooting at thugs in crowded areas, pushing innocent cars off the road when in a high speed chase, nicking other people's cars to go after thugs, scrapping that very car stupidly so the thugs can flee unscathed, crashing the unmarked patrol car into market stalls, dustbins, billboards or other cars - it's all in the game, apparently. The plot holes are as big as Jupiter, the continuity goofs are innumerable, and so are the clichés: all the gang lords drive American cars or Jaguars, the Yakuza - when featured - drive old Z31 Fairladies, cars with caravans are always fitted with Dutch license plates and all tanker trucks featured are doomed to explode.(And yet it's still fun to watch, just because of the action.)