One of the best remembered and oft repeated television dramas in the history of the KRO (Katholieke Radio Omroep) is Willy van Hemert's Dagboek van een Herdershond. Based on Jacques Schreurs three part novel 'Kroniek Eener Parochie' (published between 1941 and 1948)
The series follows the clumsy young clergyman Erik Odekerke as he enters his first parish in the Geleen, Limburg, the Netherlands in 1914. At the start of the first episode he promptly falls off his bicycle, scrapes his knee, curses and is reprimanded for it by his guardian angel (a soothing voice-over by Kees Brusse). Odekerke answers to pastor Bonhomme and as such refers to himself as a sheepdog when writing in his diary (hence the title). Each episode of the first series starts with the same scene and the same close-up of his scraped knee. As played by Vlemish actor Jo de Meyere, Odekerke is your typical wide-eyed and innocent protagonist through who's eyes the viewer learns about all the other characters and their customs.
Two of the most interesting characters he meets right off the bat are the richest landowner in town, Bonte (nicknamed De Mens) played by Dutch master thespian Ko van Dijk and the funny and outgoing chaplain Lumens (Rudi Falkenhagen) who is the complete opposite of the bungling and incompetent Odekerke. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly to our poor little clergyman is Miete van der Schoor (Bruni Heinke) the prettiest girl in town who has most of the unmarried young males swarming around her like flies. She even manages to put a spell on Odekerke and eventually confesses to preferring him over most of the other young men. Of course a lot of the village goings on are rather quaint and old fashioned by today's viewings standards. However things begin to change when Johannus Den Hertog (Manfred de Graaf) arrives in town to start up a mining business. By the time we get to episode 5, there is actually some suspense and intrigue when we learn not all of the villagers are as pure of heart as they would seem.
The series was such a success that it was sold to Belgian, German, Finish and even South American TV stations to be broadcast there. So naturally the KRO ordered a second series to go into production. Unfortunately Ko van Dijk passed on before filming began, meaning Van Hemert had to adjust his script accordingly. In this series Lumens had been promoted to pastor, meaning the relationship between him and Odekerke changed drastically. Miete had married Johannus Den Hertog at the end of the first series and was now expecting a child. A new interesting female introduced herself in the form of Renée Soutendijk as Klaartje Weenink, a tomboy of a girl with a tendency to get herself into trouble, with increasingly tragic results.
At one point Odekerke complaints that he is no longer the leading character in his own story, which is very telling as several characters who only made fleeting appearances in the first season are fleshed out and allowed to play out their personal story arcs during the course of the second. Eventually Odekerke decides to accept a position in another town and leaves Geleen the same way he entered it: on his own (even leaving his dog behind), riding his bicycle. Like most of these Dutch drama series from three decades ago, one has to recount the mindset of returning to a time when there were only two channels available to watch each night (not to mention no means of recording it for later viewing) before settling down to watch this Television Diary. It may be slow going, but the characters are worth it in the end.
8 out of 10
The series follows the clumsy young clergyman Erik Odekerke as he enters his first parish in the Geleen, Limburg, the Netherlands in 1914. At the start of the first episode he promptly falls off his bicycle, scrapes his knee, curses and is reprimanded for it by his guardian angel (a soothing voice-over by Kees Brusse). Odekerke answers to pastor Bonhomme and as such refers to himself as a sheepdog when writing in his diary (hence the title). Each episode of the first series starts with the same scene and the same close-up of his scraped knee. As played by Vlemish actor Jo de Meyere, Odekerke is your typical wide-eyed and innocent protagonist through who's eyes the viewer learns about all the other characters and their customs.
Two of the most interesting characters he meets right off the bat are the richest landowner in town, Bonte (nicknamed De Mens) played by Dutch master thespian Ko van Dijk and the funny and outgoing chaplain Lumens (Rudi Falkenhagen) who is the complete opposite of the bungling and incompetent Odekerke. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly to our poor little clergyman is Miete van der Schoor (Bruni Heinke) the prettiest girl in town who has most of the unmarried young males swarming around her like flies. She even manages to put a spell on Odekerke and eventually confesses to preferring him over most of the other young men. Of course a lot of the village goings on are rather quaint and old fashioned by today's viewings standards. However things begin to change when Johannus Den Hertog (Manfred de Graaf) arrives in town to start up a mining business. By the time we get to episode 5, there is actually some suspense and intrigue when we learn not all of the villagers are as pure of heart as they would seem.
The series was such a success that it was sold to Belgian, German, Finish and even South American TV stations to be broadcast there. So naturally the KRO ordered a second series to go into production. Unfortunately Ko van Dijk passed on before filming began, meaning Van Hemert had to adjust his script accordingly. In this series Lumens had been promoted to pastor, meaning the relationship between him and Odekerke changed drastically. Miete had married Johannus Den Hertog at the end of the first series and was now expecting a child. A new interesting female introduced herself in the form of Renée Soutendijk as Klaartje Weenink, a tomboy of a girl with a tendency to get herself into trouble, with increasingly tragic results.
At one point Odekerke complaints that he is no longer the leading character in his own story, which is very telling as several characters who only made fleeting appearances in the first season are fleshed out and allowed to play out their personal story arcs during the course of the second. Eventually Odekerke decides to accept a position in another town and leaves Geleen the same way he entered it: on his own (even leaving his dog behind), riding his bicycle. Like most of these Dutch drama series from three decades ago, one has to recount the mindset of returning to a time when there were only two channels available to watch each night (not to mention no means of recording it for later viewing) before settling down to watch this Television Diary. It may be slow going, but the characters are worth it in the end.
8 out of 10
