Van der Valk (TV Series) Dead on Arrival (1977) User Reviews

Dead on Arrival

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 5 October 2019]

Well this could had been an episode of The Sweeney or Special Branch. Van Der Valk comes to London as Arlette wants a shopping weekend break in the city. Unfortunately on the plane bound for London, a man dies and it is homicide.

As the death took place in Dutch airspace in a Dutch plane. The police are happy to give Van der Valk the job to investigate.

It is a case of who killed a famous clairvoyant on the plane. It could be one of three people including a nun.

However Arlette finds someone impersonating the victim in the airport hotel and they are soon found dead, knifed to the heart.

Arlette is not happy and Van der Valk has a busman's holiday.

Bob Hoskins features as an ex con who the clairvoyant was visiting to see to help him out in his wrongful conviction. Their is a bent copper in the background. The police chief investigating at the British end tells Van der Valk that he would always take the word of an ex copper over the word of an ex con. You can guess that would turn out well for him!

A Welsh policeman is seconded with Van der Valk. You know he is Welsh as he listens to Welsh nationalistic songs in his car. There is also a bit of cockney rhyming slang to confuse Van der Valk.

Apart from future Hollywood royalty. Writing royalty is involved here. Acclaimed novelist Patrick O'Brian, author of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World wrote this episode.

Well that was certainly different.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 4 February 2024]

Van Der Valk and Arlette are on a flight to London, along with a crime solving clairvoyant. Van Der Valk's holiday is short lived, as he's soon investigating The Dutchman's death, together with the help of a Welsh Detective.

I really did enjoy this episode, it's amazing how odd and unfamiliar it felt being set in London, such is the impact of its Dutch setting. Loved the shots of Van Der Valk and Arlette by the side of The Thames.

The story is a good one, far from run of the mill, and there are some cracking characters.

It had a real Whodunnit feel to it, anything could have happened on that plane, plenty of red herrings.

Arlette clearly lives up the good life whilst her husband is on the case, I hate to think what her Harrods bill was.

Richard Davies is a riot as scruffy Welsh Detective Taff Lloyd, he's gruff, funny, very rough around the edges, and not one for ceremony, buts he really does stand out.

Bob Hoskins does a food job, although he's a little underused, Pam Salem is pretty good also, she wears some wonderful clothes.

8/10.

8/10.

Van Der Valk Comes To London

[jimdoyle111 · 5/10 · 26 July 2020]

On the face of it this should be a classic Van Der Valk episode with the Commasaris and his long suffering wife taking a weekend break in London but finding that Pete sits next to a clairvoyant on the plane journey who is murdered during the flight and as it is on a Dutch aircraft and took place over the Hook Of Holland, Pete finds himself in charge of the investigation while based in London. Unfortunately the British police are portrayed as bumbling idiots constantly mispronouncing his name (which I think was supposed to be funny) with one detective claiming he has a season ticket for Chelsea and then he asks someone what time the Saturday kickoff is. (It was always 3 in the afternoon in those days and any football fan would know that.) Bob Hoskins appears using his 'put money in all yer pockets' accent, but he seems to disappear midway without explanation and the murder is never really resolved as the investigation turns into something else, and how they track down the villain using a clue that the house is near Holland Park is unbelievable. I like the chemistry between Joanna Dunham and Barry Foster though - always worth watching.