This year, we discovered "Van der Valk" in the U.S, and I'm hooked. The stories are very interesting, the characters are great, and the atmosphere has pulled me in. My favorites are the first two series of '72 and '73. I wonder why Kroon left? The '77 series was still good, even though they started playing musical wives. The series set in the '90's did not have the charm of the earlier ones, but I'm glad we have them anyway.
Any other new fans?
The actor playing Kroon was in another series around the same time so he may have been unavailable, although perhaps they wanted to give more screen time to the Vandervalks.
I became a fan when living in the UK in 2007. I'm glad you like the series.
Nice to meet another fan, durham219. Being tied into another series would explain Kroon's disappearance. If so, I'm glad they didn't recast. Samson was a good replacement, taking the series in a new direction with Van der Valk having to wrangle with a higher-up.
shareThe 2 hours version in the 1990s did not quiet work as they had to stretch the storyline to fit the new format. They were hoping to match the success of the Inspector Morse films.
Its that man again!!
I never watched it first time around, so was thinking of giving it a go. Can anyone who knows Amsterdam say if it is realistic though.......does it show tourists and locals being harassed by 'ganja' dealers who have travelled to Amsterdam, Europe to take advantage of the drug laws?
shareI doubt a cop show set in Amsterdam is going to show scenes of tourists wandering into coffee shops when there is a murder to investigate.
Then again having been a tourist to Amsterdam, its more than just drugs in coffee shop to the city.
Its that man again!!
I watched the first 3 episodes set in about 1972. One of the policemen made a joke about the hippies. In one scene a woman runs through a crowded square and there are dozens of people just sitting or wandering around aimlessly. They don't appear to be tourists but rather hippies.
I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else
Strictly speaking Van der Valk was three seperate productions, that just happened to feature the same lead actor - the third series was made by Euston films four years after the original version ended and was pretty much just a gap-year replacement for The Sweeney which had a longer than usual break between it's third and fourth seasons. As others have said, the 90's version was really just riding on the success of Inspector Morse (which Foster had made a guest appearance in a few years earlier).
Always been interested to see the three German tv films made around the same time as the original series, starring Frank Finlay.
The third series was "my" Van der Valk as I was old enough, at 14, to enjoy it. I could never understand why another series wasn't commissioned in 1978.
shareI recently discovered this series. Watched the whole thing on YouTube and loved it. My parents were big fans during it's original run and had recommended it to me. It's become a new favourite.
Barry Foster is excellent and that theme tune is fab.
Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly .
In a sense, I am rediscovering it. It was an obligatory-to-be-viewed popular tv culture hit in 1972. I watched some of the first series with my parents and while I was a little too young pre-adolescent to fully appreciate it, I recognized (as did much of the nation - which must have contributed greatly to the theme tune reaching no.1 in the pop charts) in the underrated Barry Foster's characterisation a certain resilient, at times sardonic yet benign, decent, and above all, thoughful individual with a ready avuncular twinkle in his eye, who you'd be glad was tasked with keeping the streets safe for you. He also seemed somehow utterly authentically Dutch.