Samson en Gert

Samson en Gert was a Flemish-Belgian children's television series produced by Gert Verhulst, Danny Verbiest and Hans Bourlon, the driving forces behind Studio 100. This successful production company is responsible for Bumba, Big en Betsy (Gert en Samson's counterparts), Kabouter Plop, Piet Piraat, K3 and several family-musicals. Samson en Gert began life on 15 July 1989 starring Danny Verbiest and Gert Verhulst in the respective roles. Samson en Gert is currently broadcast daily on Ketnet and weekly on the Dutch Tros.
The Samson en Gert series ran from 1990 to 2005 while full-length CDs were released on an annual basis. Nowadays only the Christmas shows (running since 1991) and the twice-a-year music videos remain, but it's not unlikely that Gert a new series will be taped on location. Re-runs of the existing 750 episodes are still broadcast in Belgium and the Netherlands.
History
Series
Gert Verhulst began his career announcing children's programmes on the BRTN 2 channel (now Ketnet) in 1989; he contacted Danny Verbiest who worked with Dutch clown-/acrobat duo Bassie & Adriaan. Their latter television series introduced a sheep-dog called Lara as the next non-human sidekick. This inspired Verbiest to create Samson, a talking bobtail. Bassie & Adriaan paid a visit to Samson en Gert late 1990 during work on their Europe-themed series and referred to Lara (R.I.P. 1992).
After their successful debut episode on Christmas 1989 Samson en Gerts series began in earnest in 1990 with a Wednesday afternoon slot and a Sunday morning rerun. The one hour episodes were recorded in a set representing Samson and Gert's living room and were interrupted by cartoons and fanmail. The pair was regularly visited by local hairdresser Albert, the Mayor of the town, and neighbour Joop Mengelmoes to whom Samson refers as Mr. Chocomoes (Mr. Choccy Mousse); the latter played by Dutch transplant Stef Bos.
Stef Bos left in 1992 to concentrate on his singing career. The Mengelmoes character was replaced by the boastful Octaaf and his daughter Miranda (who left after one year). In the same year the stage set was augmented by a cellar and a kitchen, and from 1993 onwards viewers could also take a look at the Mayor's office. Other additions were Albert's hairdressing saloon, and a grocery store run by Octaaf's Mum Jeannine de Bolle. During 1995/1996 the Mayor's niece Sofie (to whom Samson refers as Koffie) made a few appearances.
In 1996 the city hall stage was rebuilt to fit in a corridor, a staircase and an elevator. In 1998 the regularly mentioned mayoral secretary Eugene Van Leemhuyzen finally made his appearance.
A year later Hans Royaards was added to the cast in the role of the Minister's Delegate, who comes to check up on the Mayor's activities on a regular basis. 1999 also saw the departure of Jeannine; her absence was since covered up by Octaaf's "Ons moeke zegt altijd..." ("Mummydear always says") during his last two years.
In 2000 a square set was built for scenes at the chip-stall run by new arrival Frieda Kroket whose offscreen-uncle Fred Kroket had retired to Spain. The Frieda character stayed for three years. In 2005 the MD became a fulltime character while Verbiest (Samson's voice actor) retreated. Peter Thyssen, the voice actor of the talking pig of Big en Betsy, took his place in a move that longtime fans regret. The character Albert departed in 2006.
Dutch viewers got their first exposure to Samson en Gert in 1992 thanks to public broadcaster Veronica. Three years later TROS took over when Veronica became a commercial station. Samson en Gert then moved to the Sunday morning slot on children's channel Zapp till December 2008.
Today, it is still not known whether there will be new episodes.
Running gags
The series is characterized by a stream of running gags; every time someone enters Samson and Gert's living room the visitor always says "Ik moest kloppen want de bel doet het niet" ("Sorry, I had to knock because the doorbell doesn't work"). Hairdresser Albert Vermeersch insists on being addressed by his opera stage name "Alberto" and whenever Gert fails to do so Albert furiously responds with (for example) "Ten eerste is het Albertooo; en ten tweede, de koekjes zijn op" ("Firstly; it's Albertooo. Secondly; you're out of cookies"). Octaaf de Bolle always says (for example) "Opscheppen, dat is toevallig een van mijn specaliteiten. Mijn Miranda zegt dat ook altijd; pa, zegt ze, zoals jij kan opscheppen zo... schep ik op" ("Showing off happens to be one of my specialties. My Miranda always agrees; Dad, she says, the way you show off... well, I show off"). Samson struggles to pronounce difficult words and names; for example, he refers to Eugene van Leemhuyzen as Mr. Van Veel Luizen (Mr.Many Lice) while Jeannine de Bolle becomes Mrs. Praline. Recurring subjects in the series are "cheaters never win" and "honesty is the best policy".
Merchandising and theme-parks
Apart from releasing CDs and DVDs, Samson en Gert were also the subject of a series of comic books plus other merchandising varying from school-equipment to bed sheets and lunchboxes. Belgian fans were even exposed to Samson-bread, unmilled wholewheat powdered with flour.
2000 saw the launch of Plopsaland, a theme-park devoted to Studio 100-productions. In 2005 the doors of the new indoor theme park in Hasselt, Plopsaland Indoor, opened. Finally, in 2006, the third theme park in the Plopsa-family opened, after the theme park Télécoo near the village of Coo, Belgium went bankrupt. It was bought by Studio 100, and subsequently renamed Plopsa Coo.
Studio 100 also aims to open two theme parks in the Netherlands, the first of which will be located in Coevorden. The opening of the first park is scheduled for December 2008.
Samson en Gert; the movie
Their first feature-length movie Hotel op Stelten (Madhouse Hotel) was released in March 2008. Many contemporary celebs like The Dalton Sisters and Dirk van Voren (Steven Stil from Piet Piraat) are given a cameo-appearance. Even old muckers Albert (back to his fat self), a greying Octaaf and the Mayor are present to spice things up. Flashback-scenes serve to portray the main characters' younger selves; even at that age Gert fancied Marlene. His wealthy nemesis Jean Louis Michel (whose name should never be mentioned at No. 101) is nowhere to be seen. A second movie has yet to be confirmed.
Main characters
Samson (Danny Verbiest (1990-2005), Peter Thyssen (2005-????) A cute little dog of the Bobtail race, who is capable of speaking. He is a little bit naïve and doesn't understand modern life very well. This leads to his many mispronunciations (for example he calls Mengelmoes (Joops last name) Chocomousse) and the word "problem" is typically turned into "plobrem". He likes to eat spaghetti and fries.
Gert (Gert Verhulst) Samson's owner, although Samson is actually not a pet to him, but more a true best friend. He lives at a tiny house on Dorpstraat 101. The doorbell is broken (due to Joop Mengelmoes's attempt to fix it) so everyone has to knock on the door. Gert is in love with Marlène (who he addresses as "Marlèneke), but she is in love with a singer named Jean-Louis-Michel, at who Gert is very jealous about. Gert drives a red Citroën Deux chevaux.
Joop Mengelmoes (Stef Bos) Was Samson and Gert's neighbour. He was an ingenious inventor but was always clumsy. In the first episode he tried to fix their doorbell, but instead broke it beyond repair, and as a result everyone had to knock on the door ever since. He loved animals very much, he had a pet turtle named Marlène (not to be confused with Gerts girlfriend). Samson mistakes his name for Mr. Chocomousse
Albert Vermeersch (Koen Crucke) A barber who runs the town's barber shop, although he's not very good at his work. He doesn't have many customers (mostly just one customer in a week) and lost customers after he humorously ruined their hair. In his free time he sings opera at a local drama club. His idol is Pavarotti. Albert's dream is to become a famous opera singer, so like all famous opera singers he took a stage name: Alberto Vermicelli. Everybody calls him Alberto, but Gert still addresses him as Albert, which results that he angrily shouts his famous catchphrase "Ten eerste is't Albertooo! En ten tweede..." (First, it's Albertooo! And second...). Albert is obese and is also greedy and gluttonous, when he sees food (mostly pies and/or cookies) he instantly eats it. In many episodes he performs a dirty trick or scam to get a pie. Samson mispronounces his name as Mr. Spaghetti.
Burgemeester (Mayor) (Walter De Donder) As his name says, he is the mayor of the village. His real name is Modest, but everyone (even Samson) addresses him as (meneer de) burgemeester (mister mayor). He is likes to build model airplanes (often while he should actually be working) and tries to keep this a secret to everyone, although his friends already know. He has a twin brother Basiel, who is a sailor and who is mostly at sea. He has also a niece Sofie and maid Marie, who makes his favourite meal: sugar flavoured porridge .
Octaaf De Bolle (Walter van de Velde) The owner of the town's grocery store which he runs together with his mother Jeannine and daughter Miranda. Octaaf is honorary vice-president of the local sporting club named "De Spieren Los" (Loose Muscles). He thinks he's very ingenious and he has invented many things, but they all failed. He also likes to brag about himself, claiming that whatever he's currently doing happens to be one of his specialties. Therefore he uses his catchphrase "Dat is toevallig één van mijn specialiteiten. Mijn Miranda zegt dat ook altijd, pa zegt ze, zoals jij dit doet... nou, zo doe ik dit" (this happens to be one of my specialties. My Miranda always says that too, she says dad, the way you do this... well, that's the way I do this). Samson mispronounces his name as Mr. De Raaf (mister The Raven).
Miranda De Bolle (Liesbeth Verstraeten) Octaaf De Bolle's teenage daughter. According to Octaaf, she's very shy. Miranda only appeared from 1992 until 1993. Samson called her Veranda.
Jeannine De Bolle (Ann Peterssen) Octaaf De Bolle's mother. Like her son, she likes to brag about herself. She claims every good characteristic of Octaaf to be inherited from her, and every bad thing to be a trait he got from his father. She runs a local hobby club. According to her, she's the most creative woman of the village. Everyone always calls her Mevr. Jeannine (Mrs. Jeannine), Octaaf calls her "moeke" (mommy), Samson calls her Mrs. Praline. She was played by Ann Petersen, who was a famous Belgian actress.
Sofie (Evi Hanssen) The Mayor's niece. She often helps him in his work as mayor of the town (mostly helping him with making model airplanes). While she is very nice, she can also nag. The actress who portrays her was never mentioned in the episodes title screens for some reason. Her role lasted from 1994 till 1996. Samson called her "Koffie" (Coffee).
Eugène Van Leemhuyzen (Walter Baele) The mayor's secretary. Before 1998 his character was only mentioned. In the 1998 episode "De filmvoorstelling" (the film presentation) he is seen for the first time and he became a main character after that. He is known for having a very big imagination, and sometimes he acts very hyperactive. Van Leemhuyzen often picks his nose, which disgusts many people (including the viewers). Everybody always addresses him by his last name, and Samson refers to him as Mr. Van Veel Luizen (Mister Many Lice)
Afgevaardigde van de Minister (The Minister's Delegate) (Various actors (????-1999), Hans Royaards (1999-????) An inspector who works for the government. His job is to check if everything in the village goes well and if the Mayor and Van Leemhuyzen do their job right. Before 1999 he had only a recurring role, played by various actors. In 1999, in the episode "De Schuimvloed" (The Foamy Flood) a new, permanent Delegate is introduced, played by Hans Royaards. In the same episode he introduces himself as Roger De Zeper but that name would not be used any more for the rest of the series as he is always addressed as "de afgevaardigde van de minister". The new Delegate had a main role now instead of a recurring role, as he appeared many more times. He is often antagonistic towards Samson, Gert and the others (mostly towards the Mayor and Van Leemhuyzen). The delegate is short-tempered, and often uses the Mayor and Van Leemhuyzen to do his dirty work for him (mostly following ridiculous rules made by the minister). However in a few episodes he is very friendly towards the others. Samson wrongly addresses him as "de gevaarlijke van de sinister/verkwister" (the sinister's/squanderer's dangerous one)
Frieda Kroket (Barbara De Jonghe) Was introduced in 2000 together with the new Town Square set. She was a vendor selling fries from a trailer-like snack bar on the town square. She was madly in love with Alberto, a feeling that wasn't mutual. Many fans didn't like her, mostly because of her foolish behaviour and her greasy hair. In 2003 she was removed from the series. Samson called her Mevr. Frietje (Mrs. Chip)
Twentieth anniversary
In 2010, each Saturday and Sunday an old episode made between 1990-1995 was shewn on Ketnet.
Trivia
*Apart from Samson himself, his mispronunciations too are a page out of Bassie and Adriaan's book. In their debut series (De Plaaggeest) the pair were forced to take other jobs after their own circus abandoned them. Bassie told a school-headmaster, struck by sick personnel, to employ Adriaan as a PE teacher. "He's very good at gumelastics".
*Early 2007 Gert lived up to his 1992 on-song promise to hand out gallons of lemonade and 100 kilograms of chocolate if he'd ever had €10,000,000 (At the time of the song, however, Belgium still had the franc as its currency, though the video appears to show Gert throwing US dollars in the air (10,000,000 = about 310,000)). Gert organised this event at Plopsaland Indoor.
*Apparently putting some distance between himself and his TV-character, Gert now sports a goatee-beard.

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