F.C. De Kampioenen is your typical popular Flemish sitcom, and has been a consistent ratings topper in Belgium for the past ten years. The point of departure was originally the humorous struggles of an incompetent amateur football team, but throughout the years the storylines have more and more strayed from that idea, and now it's a rather silly and bland show, but still popular as ever.
And when I say popular, I mean really popular. Characters like "Carmen", "DDT", "Boma", "Pascale", have become institutions in Flemish television. The catchphrases launched in the show were soon uttered all over the country. The actors have appeared in countless radio commercials and promotional actions in the guise of their character. There is a popular comic strip based on the series, specifically aimed at young children (and in all honesty, the characters are slightly more credible in this format...). Two years ago a separate series of eight TV specials ran to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the show. Even the re-runs of old episodes nowadays are often the best-watched TV programme of the week!
The show had its peak seven to eight years ago, and nowadays it seems to be dragging on only because of its popularity. The current storylines are either outrageous or plain predictable (most are based on misunderstandings), and the characters are firmly encapsulated in their (often worn-out) stereotypes. We have the bossy and nosy matron, her servile husband, the persistent womanizer, the clumsy goalkeeper, the goody-two-shoes secretary, the bad guy who goes out of his way to annoy the main characters,... All are fortunately played by skilled actors, but the novelty value of the characters has long gone.
At the end of the day, an F.C. De Kampioenen episode remains amusing in its charming pretentionless simplicity, but compare it to a foreign comedy series with well-conceited storylines and actual character development, and it sinks like a brick.
