wms-92741

I see some negative reviews here based on a program from decades ago which was apparently superior. I see such reviews often; basically, they say "This sucks because something which is completely different is better." Which, to me, is nonsense.

If you're going to judge something, whatever it is, you need to judge it on its own merits. I never saw the other show. I never read any book about this character. Before tonight, I had never even heard of Van der Valk. So I came in without preconception, without expectation, in the mood for a mystery and preferring the standard British format of several episodes per season, each episode about 90 minutes. Most American cop shows run about 45 minutes per story, which isn't long enough to introduce enough characters to lend any doubt as to the guilty party even ten minutes into the show. Or they run one story over an entire season, usually between six and ten episodes of 45 to 50 minutes. And they follow a predictable pattern as well, with little happening between the first episode and the last two.

The British format is superior. There used to be an American series in this format called Columbo, which was an intelligent mystery. After it ran its course, that was pretty much the end of that.

The first episode of Van der Valk is fine. Some of the cast is pretty forgettable, but the leads are good and the setting is pretty. Be fair; give this a chance based on itself without comparing it to something else. You might like it.