De 12 van Oldenheim

There's so much to like here -- arresting characters, evocative atmosphere, excellent acting, and an absolutely terrific start to the story. But.... given that the mystery, when solved, isn't all that interesting, there's no justification for the many hours of red herrings and silly conversations you have to get through in order to reach the end. Only recommended if you are patient, have a lot of time to spare and you really like hearing the Dutch language.

I thought this was brilliantly done - a weird, suspenseful journey filled with twists and turns that had me baffled right through to the very end. I'm frankly shocked by the negative reviews posted here. Of course, even Beethoven had his critics: after a performance of his Symphony No. 7, he was described as being "ripe for the madhouse" and that he "must have been drunk when he wrote it." What were those critics thinking? And what were these reviewers thinking? Forget the naysayers - this is an excellent, brain-stimulating series. Bravo!

First exciting few episodes ran a bit long. Last three seemed filmed in slow motion so I had to speed through to finish. Only wish I never started to watch this interesting cast. The chaotic direction ultimately grew too boring for me and no longer could tolerate scenes that prolonged the conclusion.

Cast with chaotic direction.

Murder lurks under the surface of a small Dutch town. The plot is like a classic suspense movie's and brings to my mind Ten Little Indians, The Mousetrap and Murder on The Orient Express. If you pay close attention you might suspect someone--and things are a little too neatly explained in the final episode, but there are lots of quirky personalities and possible murderers in this village with idyllic scenery where everyone knows everyone else's business. Main players do a good job of acting. Very enjoyable!

The production values are very good: cinematography, editing, audio - acting and writing are decent most of the time, aside from one character whose temper is repeatedly violent - it's hard to believe he wouldn't face consequences for that early on. I loved seeing the Dutch scenery and buildings. It's fairly involving, up to a point. I had high hopes for it.

The ending, however, is incredibly unsatisfying. Implausible and forced, it made the whole series become a waste of time. Even the ending itself is a waste of time, laboriously going back through every disappearance even though once the explanation is supplied it is totally unnecessary to do that. I certainly hope more Dutch series will make it to video streaming services available in the US, but please don't waste viewers' time again with such an abortion of a conclusion!