What Larence Gordon Clark`s "Ghost Story for Christmas" was to the Brits, "XY" was to US, i.e. the VISIGOTHs of the FRG ( as opposed to the OSTROGOTHs who lived beyond the Iron Curtain)...and unlike the BBC`s brilliant adaptations of M.R. James`s tales of supernatural horror, Eduard Zimmermann`s real-life crime clips were not only broadcasted on every 1st Friday of the month; as far as horror is concerned, they were as real as it gets (doing entirely without blood, gore and any other kind of gross shock effects) . The programme made its debut in 1967, and from its very beginnings, „XY...ungelöst“ had something unmistably German about it that distinguished Zimmermann`s program from similar products in other countries („Crimewatch UK“, „America`s Most Wanted“) for which it had paved the way.
Having single-handedly pioneered an entire new genre, Zimmermann strove to retain the attitude of
a conscientious and dutiful German public official whom the continuous exposure to human vileness and wickedness had turned increasingly melancholy; but who, instead of lapsing into despair and apathy, in return developped the attitude of a „Pitbull of law-enforcement“.

2b continued :)