F.C. De Kampioenen

F.C. De Kampioenen is your typical popular Flemish sitcom, and has been a consistent ratings topper in Belgium for the past ten years. The point of departure was originally the humorous struggles of an incompetent amateur football team, but throughout the years the storylines have more and more strayed from that idea, and now it's a rather silly and bland show, but still popular as ever.

And when I say popular, I mean really popular. Characters like "Carmen", "DDT", "Boma", "Pascale", have become institutions in Flemish television. The catchphrases launched in the show were soon uttered all over the country. The actors have appeared in countless radio commercials and promotional actions in the guise of their character. There is a popular comic strip based on the series, specifically aimed at young children (and in all honesty, the characters are slightly more credible in this format...). Two years ago a separate series of eight TV specials ran to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the show. Even the re-runs of old episodes nowadays are often the best-watched TV programme of the week!

The show had its peak seven to eight years ago, and nowadays it seems to be dragging on only because of its popularity. The current storylines are either outrageous or plain predictable (most are based on misunderstandings), and the characters are firmly encapsulated in their (often worn-out) stereotypes. We have the bossy and nosy matron, her servile husband, the persistent womanizer, the clumsy goalkeeper, the goody-two-shoes secretary, the bad guy who goes out of his way to annoy the main characters,... All are fortunately played by skilled actors, but the novelty value of the characters has long gone.

At the end of the day, an F.C. De Kampioenen episode remains amusing in its charming pretentionless simplicity, but compare it to a foreign comedy series with well-conceited storylines and actual character development, and it sinks like a brick.

FC de kampioenen is a Belgian sitcom about a couple of amateur soccer players who lose a lot because they suck.

FC de Kampioenen is truly a typical Belgian sitcom which really can't be compared with any American sitcoms. American sitcoms are mostly about speedy one-liners and well, humorous content, whereas the usually slow-paced Belgian sitcoms are mostly trying to give you that "you're always welcome"-feeling, using stereotype characters (dominant wives,the smart man, the drunk, the clumsy guy who breaks vases etc.) It does have one thing in common with most American sitcoms: it doesn't age very well, not only because of the poor jokes and story lines, but also because of the pathetic attempts to make the show "younger" by making the 50 year-old characters drink Red Bull and use cell phones and by bringing in a "rebellious" son (he grew to the age of 16 in 12 years), whose dialogues consist entirely of things along the lines of: "I don't want to visit grandma. I'm going to listen to rock music and share a beer with my equally rebellious girlfriend". Stereotypes indeed. I would still buy it if they showed more soccer, but they don't even do that anymore. Probably because the actors played like they had their shoes on backwards even when they were supposed to win.

But despite wretched, repetitive, and predictable, FC de Kampioenen is still a very popular sitcom that is being watched by 1,5 million people every week (even the countless reruns are still a success) and it will probably go on till the writers say it's enough. Like that will ever happen. FC de Kampioenen is a nice childhood memory that is being worn out way too long, but I can't blame them with the success they still have.

F. C. De Kampioenen started out as an almost perfect series, especially in the first eight seasons. Back then, the stories were strong, the characters recognizable and the humor both comic and tragicomic. The average person recognized themselves in the situations that were depicted.

--- Stereotypes and lame children's humor --- Over time, however, the quality began to decline sharply. The characters increasingly became caricatures of themselves (a clear case of Ned Flanderization), and the series became entangled in childish humor and repetition.

What was once mature and relatable turned into a weak family sitcom, aimed at young children. Adult viewers dropped out, but their voices were ignored.

--- Oscar Crucke's departure --- The departure of Carry Goossens (Oscar) after season 4 left a big hole. Oscar was the father figure of the series: café owner, coach and moral anchor of the team.

His absence meant the loss of a central force. The charm of the original setting was never fully recovered.

--- The arrival of Marc Vertongen --- With the introduction of Marc Vertongen as a main character, the character of the series changed dramatically. Where the humor initially started from recognizable human situations, exaggerated caricature was increasingly chosen.

Marc was portrayed as an adult man with a pronounced childish naivety - initially charming, but gradually so over-elaborated that it began to feel unnatural and artificial, almost a form of false stupidity.

This exaggeration put the series in an uncomfortable position: the line between comic innocence and the unintentional characterization of a mental disability sometimes became wafer-thin.

Because Marc is not a child, but an adult who behaves in this way, it smells of a form of simplification that is jarring.

For viewers who were attached to the original tragicomic undertone, it became increasingly difficult to continue laughing uninhibitedly.

The credible character humor from the early years made way for forced slapstick, with Marc in particular becoming the symbol for the change of course. A change of course that, for those who experienced the early years, inevitably meant the end of the original magic.

--- Dimitri De Tremmerie's legacy --- Jacques Vermeire's DDT was the figurehead of the original humor: cunning, stingy, but still endearing. After his departure after season 8, the series declined further.

His successors could never match his charisma, and without DDT, much of the original spirit disappeared.

--- In summary --- F. C. De Kampioenen earned its cult status thanks to its early years, but continued for far too long.

The later seasons degraded to a bland children's comedy, while the original concept that made the program great - were ignored. The tragedy is not only in the loss of quality, but also in the fact that the makers themselves did not realize when it was really over.

In short: this was once a beautiful piece of Flemish television... until the soul was squeezed out of it.

the very best TV-program in years!!! always a blink to the smile of the people who watch these series - may be added to "all times favorites" - a sort of 'evergreen 'to me - always enjoy when we watch them playing - my favorites in this series are, of course mark vertongen, Xavier waterslaeghers , and not to forget!!!! Carmen !! sometimes so wright in real live to, many people don't admitted it but she reflex sometimes many wife's who plays the boss - we are fans from the first time and have taped them all on cassette, we feel this program is a real friendly family-show, our children are very amused by the funny stories and so called mistakes,never seen another almost 'perfect' sitcom , keep up the very good work

Could be quite weird hearing this but actually I'm an italian that moved to Belgium for personal reasons and so it's only a little time that I'm in fact exposed to flemish television. In the absolutely mostly family friendly tv programmation that is rather aimed to show countless hours of boring, repetitive sports or in fact sitcoms from the age when cellphones where still big as phone booths or yet to be invented in fact, "F.C. De Kampionen" is the perfect show to see for its simple mindlesness that cheers up the watcher with that tongue-in-cheek humour that once permeated also the kitchens with cheap wooden furniture, filled with the greasy air given by the fryer always on ,that were so familiar in the late 70s, early 80s. It seems that a lot of shows that are aired (or re-aired) in Belgium tend to be very harmless, pretty childish in order to avoid to hurt anyone's feelings, except of course the poorly made ethnic sterotypes that are oh sooo (not) funny and pretty outdated, especially when portrayed by actors of not the above said ethnicity. At least, some research wouldn't be a bad thing. Going back to "F.C. De Kampionen", when first aired seemed that was a huge hit scorer (early 90s), praised by tv critics and the target audiences. Nowadays the sitcom is the ultimate off season filler, with constant re-runs and spinoff movies every summer, with sporadic appareances even during winter. Actually the spinoff movies are being made as this review is written, in fact. It's cheap and quick fun,even if a bit stale. It's like the exact moment after a lunch at your grandma's, when you're feeling bloated and because you're momentarily impaired for anything intelligible, fart jokes seems the most comedic thing on Earth. The show doesn't contain any of the above as I said before, as is hand-confectioned for all ages and very prone to be the ultimate companion for senior viewers in retirement castles. The network that airs "F.C. De Kampionen" has been milking the brand with any sort of possible merchandising, from stickers, comic books to sausages and wurstels, avalaible in the unmissable "frituren" that can be spotted in the whole country, where your liver and pancreas will fight against your personal satisfaction for eating the ultimate, so savory kind of fast food. In the end, this show, even for its crescent curve of rotting away or sellout politics, it's perfect for entertaining the whole family with its bland script and harmless jokes. It's a neverending recurring portrait of the Belgium that once was, so it's interesting also in anthropological manner, for knowing and understanding better the society around.