Van der Valk: Love in Amsterdam (PBS)

This new version of Nicholas Freeling’s Van Der Valk takes more of a crime team approach than the novels did. Marc Warren plays his Commisaris Piet Van Der Falk as as an aloof, clever, and chilly detective in charge of a group of useful minions. His chief assistant is lesbian Lucienne Hassell (Maimie McCoy) who manages to stand up to her boss while contributing a human touch to the investigations. Always hungry officer Brad de Vries (Luke Allen-Gale) does a lot of the investigative scut work while a new member of the team–a brilliant, bemused and black–Job Cloovers (Elliot Barnes-Worrell) is the resident genius. Their go-to pathologist, Hendrik Davie (Darrell D’Silva), handles forensics like he handles his liquor and his chess games.

“Love in Amsterdam” has almost nothing to do with Freeling’s first novel other than it’s set in Amsterdam. A botched kidnapping leads to two murders with political implications. Van Der Valk and his team follows the evidence and untangles a web of menace. My favorite scene in “Love in Amsterdam” is Van Der Valk’s blind date where the woman asks him what he does for a living. Van Der Valk lies and claims he’s a “quantum physicist.” Of course, the woman turns out to be a devotee of String Theory.

The second episode, “Only in Amsterdam,” involves religious erotica and identical twins. Not as humorous as “Love in Amsterdam, the story revolves around a dysfunctional family and a sexual predator. GRADE: B (for both)

17 thoughts on “Van der Valk: Love in Amsterdam (PBS)

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    I really liked the books (though, unknowingly, I read the last book first!) but really dislike Warren in this and turned it off halfway through the episode. There are too many other shows watching something where my first instinct is to smack the smirk off his face. I love Amsterdam, but I’d rather see someone Dutch do this.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, as far as I can tell after watching two episodes of VAN DER VALK, the plots of the TV series are completely unrelated to the Freeling books. The script calls for a smirking lone wolf detective so Warren fits the bill.

      Reply
  2. Patti Abbott

    I am willing to watch mainly to revisit Amsterdam. (Still looking for our apartment there in scenes) However, it is pretty generic. There are just too many of these sorts of series on now. Jeff, many Dutch men had just that look on their face. I think it is genetic.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Meyerson

      OK, but I still don’t want to watch it. They probably could have used Van Der Valk in Oldenheim when those 12 people disappeared,

      (inside joke)

      Reply
  3. maggie mason

    Cox screwed up (for the millionth time) and didn’t record the first one, but I guess each episode is a different case, so I’ll watch #2.

    I never read the books, so it’ll be new to me, and like others, Amsterdam will be a big draw.

    I watched a fabulous series on BBCA about birds called earthflight. Narrated by my favorite “doctor” David Tennant, it was just amazing. I seem to remember a scene of birds nesting in houses (cranes?) and being considered good luck. It may have been Holland

    Reply
  4. Kent Morgan

    I have never read Freeling, but do have a couple of his books somewhere. Watched the first two episodes and will watch the third next wek on our PBS channel. Based on the comments, should I try one of the books?

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Kent, the Freeling books are more cerebral. No police team really unlike the TV episodes. LOVE IN AMSTERDAM is a good place to start reading the series.

      Reply
  5. wolf

    Of course I haven’t read the books nor seen the tv series – but I’ve been to Amsterdam several time and it really is a lovely city, very friendly, liberal, open for guests from all over the world.
    Worth a visit, especially the museums and the Grachten (channels)!

    Reply
  6. Patti Abbott

    I lived across the street from the D’El Hotel Europe and down the block from the flower market. We got our mail at the hotel and they gently chided Phil he could not come in wearing jeans to pick it up.

    Reply
  7. Jeff Smith

    PBS publicity spells it out:

    “Street-smart and unapologetic detective Piet Van der Valk is an everyman of sorts, investigating high-profile cases and gritty murders that immerse his team in contemporary Amsterdam’s fast-paced worlds of art, politics, addiction, mysticism, and fashion. Marc Warren stars as Van der Valk, and Maimie McCoy is Inspector Lucienne Hassell. This reboot of the original series — which ran from 1972-1992 and was based on the novels by Nicolas Freeling — departs almost entirely from the novels, thrillingly showcasing today’s modern Amsterdam.”

    Reply

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