Klaus, Klaus, it’s good to see you back – how we’ve missed you! You of the brilliant insight, the uncanny ability to put yourself in the mind of the culprit. You of the missing social filter and the creator of some of MHz Choice’s finest awkward moments. You of the childlike heart and the clumsy gesture… it’s been too long!

Tatort: Borowski Season 3 left you pretty beat up – that breakup with your girlfriend/shrink Frieda must have been catastrophic. You guys were so close in that last episode of Season 3 – planning a wedding, shopping for a place to live. So exciting! Then Frieda’s kidnapping left you both shaken, understandably. It showed her something she tried to deny and finally had to face. Your work would invariably bring you both to dark places, in contact with the worst humanity has to offer. When you said goodbye to each other at the end of that episode… such a loaded moment. Was she your last chance for love?

Hope not, but as Season 4 starts, you look a little worse for wear. The drinking, pal, the drinking. And the impulsivity. What’s with asking the much younger waitress at the Chinese restaurant to marry you – and then taking her out for a night of Kiel Week festivities. Seriously? Talk about weird! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Speaking of weird, you and your partner Sarah Brandt seem pretty testy with each other this season. Is all that impatience necessary? Is it because she continues to keep her epilepsy from management? Granted, her denial about it and clinging to the job does jeopardize your safety. But she’s a great partner in a lot of ways. This one’s not easy.

And congrats on being chosen part of the team for the 1,000th Tatort episode – which is the third title in Season 4 – “Taxi to Leipzig.” This episode is outstanding, by the way – perhaps one of the finest in the series. Kudos to writer/director Alexander Adolph. Turns out it’s not a remake of the original Tartort episode, but an homage -and the two episodes share the same title only. This new “Taxi to Leipzig” reminds me of the classic scripts from the golden age of American television – with an emphasis on character development and a compelling story. You and Charlotte Lindholm (Maria Furtwängler) – the inspector from Hanover – make quite the pair in that taxi. Two of the most socially radioactive characters German television has to offer. And two of its most popular. News flash: we’ll be seeing a lot more of Inspector Lindholm in the future.

Welcome back, Klaus. So good to see you again!