True Crime Tales

The ironic thing is, the detective is not a real criminal investigator and none of the "crimes" she gets to the bottom to of ever really happened as she is an actress on one of Germany's leading television detective shows.

Thespian Maria Fürtwangler told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung paper that cases she must "investigate" on the "Tatort" TV show haunt her in her dreams.

"I have dreams of detective stories, even ones in which I am the victim," she said.

"Tatort," however, is not exactly a high-drama, look-out-behind-the-door, blood-and-gore kind of series. It's more like a low-key, suburban schmalz with an occasional twist of dark humor.

But Fürtwangler takes her job seriously, both on the set and in bed. Just as on television, she can also solve every crime in her dreams -- even if the unmasking isn't as dramatic as it is on TV.

"I usually wake up when things get really unpleasant," she said.