1985

The series depicts events surrounding "De Bende Van Nijvel" (Gang Of Nivelles) that happened in the early eighties.

The main characters Mark and Frank (as well as Frank's sister Vicky) are fictional but many of the other characters featured are based (and very accurately too) on the real people thar were involved in the actual events that the series centers around.

The so called "Gang of Nivelles" has always been tied to or was at least suspected to have ties to special forces divisions of the Belgium state police (comparable to SWAT in it's early days - it takes place around 1985 after all). Politics and corruption however have always thwarted a conclusive investigation into the heists and robberies comitted by the members of the gang.

There were a few minor convictions for things like the "handling of stolen arms" because additional evidence and even complete indictments just seemed to disappear.

In later years however some of the people convicted or otherwise linked to the gang have authored books in which more details of their crimes are told.

Much of this series is based on that.

This mini-series tells the story of 3 main fictional characters from 1983 until 1987. Their dramatized lives are intertwined with real events and real characters while the main historical events are resumed at the end of each episode.

Overall, the actors were quite good. The story is also engaging and very well paced to create zero moments of being bored. Eight episodes seemed quite the right amount for this particular story: not over stretching it but still creating time to engage fully with the characters. I also enjoyed the mix of Dutch and French.

The production is also great. I highly recommend watching this.

Please watch this TV series as a document, nothing else. It is awesome if you remain in the learning of what happened in Belgium in the eighties, with the Brabant killers case. Many brutal and bloody killings occured in those days, without any explanations, killings perpetrated by commandos who first stole automatic weapons from the Gendarmerie arsenals.... This case was never solved, because those killings seemed to be covered and unofficially approved by the power, the governments. All those who tried to understand what really happened were threatened, lost their jobs and also maybe were killed. This plot is interesting only if you like this kind of scheme. But the dialogues, story telling and making is lame, flat. However the acting is not so bad. Another movie from Belgium evoked this story; TUEURS, from 2017. Excellent ending, though, for this TV show.

Great actors good script. But who the duck wrote the dialogues???? In every scene I was asking myself who says something like that... Nobody. Such a shame for the actors who all did a tremendous job. The pace of the show and the editing require are fabulous . Well done guys. Make up and requisitions the same. You nailed it. The soundtrack is also extremely well done. A great show.... I live in Belgium and remember those times very well. Is it truth or fiction? I think most of it is very true...Luckily those times are past. For people who are interested in that period I recommend "Niet Schieten" or "Don't Shoot" by Stijn Coninx.

2 young Belgian men join the Rijkswacht (crossover of the army and the police) at the beginning of the 80's and are accidentally involved with every famous event from their first day on.

As you can see, the writing is unrealistic and stupid. It feels very rushed also. 1981 looks like it almost happened in one day.

Also there were subtle unnecessary changes in the described events. Like when Bouhouche and Beijer were eavesdropping another BOB-agent and his informant, was changed to them just installing that equipment at the main office where the big boss caught them directly.

But the directing and casting is great though. Especially Tibo Vandenborre as Leon Francois is very convincing. The two young lead actors (Aimé Claeys & Tijmen Goovaerts) also play very well.

If you look beyond the bad writing, it is quite enjoyable.