Kinderen geen bezwaar

This series started of brilliantly. Especially Alfred van den Heuvel was a treat to watch. The producers got over confident and thought that adding famous people was enough to carry episodes. And the last seasons were very poor indeed. Biggest problem is what we see in too many shows about couples. How did this couple ever begin to have a relationship? In over 90% of the episodes Maud is a real bitch to Gerard who is always the loser. That felt very uncomforting in watching this show. Show should have done more outdoor work as this delivers their best episodes. For instance the time When Daan takes driving lessons from his dad. And my all time favorite: the double episode when the couple goes camping in Renesse. And where Gerard finally has some good times.

I don't mean to be so negative-- I keep watching it, after all. But I have wat klagen over this show.

I'll start with the positives: Alfred van de Heuvel plays a very likable character; Grote Oma is awesome; it's subtitled, which is rare, so you can learn more Dutch as you watch/listen; I think the interactions and language is very natural and colloquial, not too stagey/cutesy.

The negatives: Maud's witch-like cackle and general nastiness; Julia's earsplitting "singing"; fawning over guest stars/BN'ers; breaking down the 4th wall to address the audience or making self-references to the show; overdone stammering of several characters when showing uncertainty; dramatic scenes comprised of bellowing.

Overall, I think it's watchable, although it feels like a show that is just about prolonging itself via vignettes.

Whenever I hear of a new Dutch sit com, I really, honestly, genuinely want it to be good. We have good actors, we must have good writers and it's not like Dutch series in general are of bad quality. So the potential is there. But somehow whenever we try to make a sit com, safe for a few rare exceptions (some episodes of "Oppassen" or "Het zonnetje in huis" maybe), it doesn't work. There is always a certain forcedness about it, maybe because the urge to defy the pre-conceptions that exist amongst the audience is so powerful. But most of all, it just isn't funny.

Kinderen geen bezwaar, unfortunately, is no exception to this rule. I tried to give it a chance, but it is just painful to watch. The dialogue is artificial and often badly delivered. The jokes make me cringe more often than smile. I don't remember laughing out loud once, or in fact any response beyond a slight curl of the lips. And this is supposed to be comedy. Perhaps the only thing humorous about Kinderen geen bezwaar is the irony that it is in fact less funny than most regular drama series.

This truly is a great replacement for "Opassen". The jokes are all funny and just like "Opassen" the writing and the story lines are all wacky and likable. The actors all do a great job, although I find that Celine Purcell is a bit over-acting. Normally, I don't like dutch comedies, because most of the time their just not funny. But I actually laughed on this show, it really is funny! Especcially Anne-Mieke Ruyten is very funny, and also very likable. Most of the dutch comedies are crap and I find that Netherland now has a comedy-show to be proud off.

I give this show an 8 out of 10.

Great job, VARA, keep this going!