Van der Valk

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Van der Valk, Season 1 DVD box cover

Van der Valk was a UK television series made by Thames Television starring Barry Foster in the title role as Dutch detective Commissaris Piet van der Valk. Based on the characters and atmosphere (but not the plots) of the novels of Nicolas Freeling, the first series was shown in 1972.

The stories are mostly based in and around Amsterdam, where Commissaris van der Valk is a cynical yet intuitive detective. Drugs, sex and murder are the gritty themes of the casework. However, the beautifully shot Amsterdam locations give a peculiar contrast to this. Van der Valk also contrasts with his naïf assistant, Inspecteur Johnny Kroon, and his superior, Hoofd-commissaris Samson, who deals with the political fallout of the cases.

The first series, of six episodes, ran in the United Kingdom in September and October 1972, and the second, of seven episodes, ran likewise in 1973. Both were filmed on 2" video tape at Thames' studios, with location scenes shot on more expensive film stock.

After a break of four years, a longer, twelve-episode, third series aired in September-November 1977. This series was generally made on location, and recorded entirely on film by Thames' subsidiary, Euston Films (perhaps best known for producing the long-running series Minder), giving the programmes a consistently gritty feel. Like the earlier series, this series was recorded on 2" Ampex quadruplex videotape, with location shooting done on film.

The format was revived once again towards the end of Thames' life as a part of the ITV network, with four two-hour episodes of the fourth series in January and February 1991, and the fifth series three two-hour episodes in February 1992. By this time, recording technology had moved on and the first series was recorded on 1" Panasonic videotape, with location shooting done on film. The final series was similar, but with the studio recording on Digital Videotape (although Digital broadcasting hadn't yet arrived in Britain) with location shooting done on film.

The signature tune, Eye Level played by the Simon Park Orchestra reached number one in the UK singles charts in 1973.

A less known British film featuring the character entitled Amsterdam Affair was made in 1968, featuring German actor Wolfgang Kieling in the main role. Because of the Cats (1973) is a Dutch/Belgian co-production starring British actor Bryan Marshall as Van der Valk. There was also a Franco-German series of made-for-TV movies starring Frank Finlay: Van der Valk und das Mädchen (1972) Van der Valk und die Reichen (1973) and Pas de frontières pour l'inspecteur: Le bouc émissaire (1975)