De 12 van Oldenheim

If you are not judging by some impossible standard, you will enjoy this village mystery, currently available on Acorn in the U.S. It's good to see a Dutch production of a story like this in which the characters mostly talk and act like actual Dutch people and not to some generic standard for the international market.

Yes, not many of the characters are "likable", but who the heck determined that characters in a crime or mystery story should be likable? And some of the plot twists are far-fetched, but again that's an artifact of the genre. The ending may be a bit too much like another famous story, but I'll admit I didn't see it coming.

The follow-on "Schouwendam 12" is just as good, or maybe better.

This is not a well thought out series in that the plot is full of holes, with events occurring to fit the story rather than to be logical. Watching all 12 hours will waste 12 hours of your life that you will never get back. The story drags on and on to the point of being tiresome. The acting is not great, the characters all unlikable, and there are so many subplots within the series that one almost needs a spreadsheet to keep track of who's who.

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!

In addition to what has already been said, the entire series was overacted and histrionic. I found myself laughing in the most inappropriate scenes. Once committed, however, I had to follow through. The lead actress was so annoying, and a lead detective who would allow her the liberties she took would not be seen in a US production. I gave it 2 stars for the cinematography.