Flikken Maastricht

A great Dutch police TV series. Personal I think it is one of the best Dutch police series I have seen so far. They record the episodes at great locations in Limburg, The Netherlands.

The actors Victor Reinier en Angela Schijf are great, they act very natural and playing a police character of the police in Maastricht (capital city of Limburg).

I think the series is also suitable for other countries. This requires there used subtitles . The Dutch language is spoken. In addition, the series is ideal for families. The action is also suitable for children. Highly recommended!

The level of acting in the series is below average and things never get realistic. Characters are shallow and badly cast. I watch Scandinavian, French, Israelian and even Polish series, but this just has no nothing..

Small introduction: 'Flikken' is Dutch slang for 'police officers', while 'Maastricht' is a beautiful town in the very South of the Netherlands.

So these series are about a police unit in a provincial town. Set in the current crime, atmosphere, morality & mentality of the Netherlands. Extra flavor is added by Maastricht's internationalism: the town lies close to Belgium and Germany, and has its Dutch character lovely mixed with these foreign influences.

Another key-point: 'Flikken Maastricht' has its plots strongly interwoven with the personal lives of its police officers. Too much to be true, I should say, but these recognizable day-to-day problems have contributed to the series' popularity.

'Flikken Maastricht' was and is a TV-hit, (so far) spread over four seasons. Its evolution follows a usual pattern: developing itself in seasons 1 and 2, peaking in 3, and getting a little overdone in series 4.

Its bad people, I mean, lets be honest here.

Mediocre actors, bad storyline.

The main characters are played by fairly decent actors, but the other actors are awful.

You can't really blame them, they're all rather one-dimensional-stereotypes. They always react in the exact way you would expect them to react. No surprises. Marion and Romeo aren't funny, while the situations they're in are obviously SUPPOSED to be funny.

I've never had the idea that I was actually looking at the real thing. I was looking at a bunch of actors in police uniforms. They seem to be out of place.

The actors that actually speak in the correct dialect (from Limburg) are always playing the part of "low-IQ-having-over-emotional-dimwit".

I'm convinced this series is aimed at kids in the early teens. However they did win a prize this year. But these kids are allowed to vote as well. Just don't be fooled!

I really enjoy NOT watching this show every Friday night. Watching 'Flikken Maastricht' is about as much fun as trying to figure out how to lick your elbow

After 4 episodes I can safely conclude that ''Flikken: Maastricht'' is a worthy police show on Dutch television. It has more depth and character development than in ''Baantjer'' and less over-the-top violence than in ''Van Speijk''. It's a bit written by the book, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

If I do have to complain about the show, I'd say that ex-soap star Angela Schijf just isn't a very strong performer. She's a charismatic person, but one needs more to make a character come to life. Now she seems like a whining kid who never grew out of puberty instead of the grumpy female detective she has to play. Victor Reinier is very good in his role as ''older'' policeman on the edge. It's funny to see him in this role, considering that he played the greenish assistant for '' De Cock '' in countless episodes of Baantjer.

I also adore the fact that this show has Maastricht as a setting. This city has a nice Burgundian air to it, strengthened by having an old-fashioned tavern as one of the recurring locations in the show.