Van der Valk
- Thread starter Chris S
- Start date
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Levo-Lon
Guru
Don't forget Willow the Wisp..awesome
Dec66
A gentlemanly pootler, these days
- Location
- West Wickham
Au contraire, the clothes in Van Der Valk are boss.All old series are always best the first time round. 20 30 40 years later they are all truly dreadful and embarrassing to watch as they are so outdated and the acting is so bad. Not to mention the clothes they wear and their attitudes to various things they had would not be tolerated today.
Van Der Valk is no different. Things are in the past for a reason.
Especially the first series.
FrankCrank
Old layabout
Yeah, The Sweeney series 1 & 2 definitely worth a view, if just to see who turns up in them. Really was a who's who of that time, they must have been queuing up to appear in it. When I was at school, if you couldn't name all the cars in the latest episode, you were seen as some sort of sissy. Not dissing my school in any way, we got a first klass educashun.
welsh dragon
Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
It is interesting watching Dr Who over the years just to see how the writing, acting and stage design of the show has changed over the years, although there is also an overlay of budget and quality.
The first few doctors are set and acted very theatrically, almost like it was designed to go on stage in front of an audience, but got redirected to TV instead. As the series progresses, the settings become more TV than theatre, but well acted and written. Beyond Peter Davidson (and arguably, during his reign too) the writing becomes somewhat cheesy, and the acting starts to go downhill too. Recent episodes are much more pacey, and sometimes lack proper plot and character development in the desparate urge to get the cast running on to the next action. The best ones of the modern era have a tremendous crescendo of tension, but all being built from the start, rather than seeming like a succession of 5 minute plot lines by different writers, all aiming to build on but surpass those ones before.
I've been watching the current VdV, but don't think I ever watched the old ones. There is a strong use of props to aid character development / consolidation, like VdV's barge home, but can't really compare until I have watched the old ones.
The first few doctors are set and acted very theatrically, almost like it was designed to go on stage in front of an audience, but got redirected to TV instead. As the series progresses, the settings become more TV than theatre, but well acted and written. Beyond Peter Davidson (and arguably, during his reign too) the writing becomes somewhat cheesy, and the acting starts to go downhill too. Recent episodes are much more pacey, and sometimes lack proper plot and character development in the desparate urge to get the cast running on to the next action. The best ones of the modern era have a tremendous crescendo of tension, but all being built from the start, rather than seeming like a succession of 5 minute plot lines by different writers, all aiming to build on but surpass those ones before.
I've been watching the current VdV, but don't think I ever watched the old ones. There is a strong use of props to aid character development / consolidation, like VdV's barge home, but can't really compare until I have watched the old ones.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Oh, it's a repeat? I thought I'd gone back in time.
captain nemo1701
Space cadet. Deck 42 Main Engineering.
- Location
- Bristol
I do recall that the theme tune got in the charts back in the day.
captain nemo1701
Space cadet. Deck 42 Main Engineering.
- Location
- Bristol
Despite their best efforts, Dr Who couldn't compete with other TV back in the 80's which had US TV spending squillions on their shows, especially in the special effects dept. It's cheapness plus increasingly cheesy scripts made it almost unwatchable. In fact, the story in which Sylvester McCoy fought someone in a giant Bertie Basset costume was when I stopped watching it.
The 2005 revival is fun although some of Jodie Whitaker's recent stories plunder 'classic Who' for plot ideas eg Arachnids in the UK is more or less, a quick rehash of The Green Death.
Chromatic
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Dec66
A gentlemanly pootler, these days
- Location
- West Wickham
There aren't that many flares in the first series. Neither Van Der Valk nor Johnny Kroon wore them. Or Mertens, or Strebos, though they were obviously in uniform.Yes. The flares. What a turn on. NOT
Arlette may have worn them, but she was a chic "French" lady and could get away with it.
welsh dragon
Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
There aren't that many flares in the first series. Neither Van Der Valk nor Johnny Kroon wore them. Or Mertens, or Strebos, though they were obviously in uniform.
Arlette may have worn them, but she was a chic "French" lady and could get away with it.
I am losing the will to live now.
Dec66
A gentlemanly pootler, these days
- Location
- West Wickham
A number 1 hit in fact, as played by The Simon Park Orchestra. Written by "Jack Trombey" (actually a psuedonym for the Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart). Based on a traditional Dutch nursery rhyme called "Jan Hinnerk".
The sad thing is that I didn't Google any of that...
Dec66
A gentlemanly pootler, these days
- Location
- West Wickham
Embrace it, they'll probably be back in fashion in five years.I am losing the will to live now.
I always knew you had no style. 🤣No. They are not. They are dire.
