Baantjer

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De Cock: "Mijn naam is De Cock, met cee-oo-cee-kaa"^[1]

Baantjer is a Dutch Detective Drama series which was broadcast from 1995 to 2006 by Dutch commercial broadcaster RTL, based on novels written by writer and former detective Appie Baantjer. Set in Amsterdam, the series features veteran detective Jurriaan "Jurre" De Cock as he solves often bizarre murder cases. He is assisted by his young and overconfident assistant Dick Vledder, no-nonsense policewoman Vera Prins, computer expert Albert Keizer and coroner Ennaeus den Koninghe. Most murders involve a strange modus operandi or involve people from a wide variety of subcultures.

The series is arguably the most successful Dutch detective series ever and has been exported to France and Belgium. The series is also known for its spectacular number of reruns.

In 1999 a movie involving the television cast was made: Baantjer, de film: De Cock en de wraak zonder einde

Tropes used in Baantjer include:

• Always Murder: Averted. One case involves an accident. A young girl playfully jumps onto her father from a height whilst he is writing, causing his ballpoint to get lodged into his nose and puncturing his brain.
• Asshole Victim: Some of the murder victims had it coming. One notable case is Coen Simons from de vleesgeworden moord, who used to be a high school bully and swindled one of his former victims out of his money too. This understandably causes his former victim to go over the edge and inject him with poison
• Da Chief: Superintendant Buitendam, even though his does not concern himself with day-to-day affairs, except to meddle whenever he's nervous.
• Les Collaborateurs: To his great embarrassment, the uncle of Ennaeus den Koninghe was a collaborator during WWII. He himself is accused of being one by a Jewish Holocaust survivor, on account of the close physical resemblance to his uncle.
• The Coroner: Ennaeus den Koninghe
• Dead Little Sister: Keizer. She is apprehended as a suspect in De Cock en de moordfilm. Since she is psychologically unstable she is in need of medication. She dies after a police sergeant accidentally administers an overdose.
• Deadpan Snarker: Den Koninghe and Vledder. Den Koninghe towards Vledder and Vledder towards Den Koninghe and towards suspects during interrogations.
• False Confession: Several suspects make one. De Cock never falls for these, even though Supt. Buitendam often does ^[2]
• Flashback: Every episode features a flashback to the murder itself so that the audience can see it for themselves.
• Fiery Redhead: Vera Prins. A bit of a subversion, because she isn't as fiery, though she is a redhead.
• Freestate Amsterdam: Subverted. The series does take place in Amsterdam of course and although drug use, prostitution and liberal attitudes are there, it is not nearly as clearly emphasised as the stereotype would have it.
• Eureka Moment: De Cock almost always gets one at Lowietje's pub. An offhand remark by pub owner Lowietje leads him to crack the case. Vledder never understands this, but De Cock always leaves the pub, forcing Vledder to follow him out. As a consequence Vledder never gets to finish the drink Lowietje serves him.
• Happily Married: De Cock and Keizer.
• Heroes Want Redheads: Dick Vledder has a crush on Vera Prins.
• I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: Often uttered. Most of those who do get manslaughter convictions. One or two suspects did mean to kill, but killed the wrong person.
• Inspector Javert: Inspecteur Tuinstra in De Cock in de zaak Vledder. He is determined to see Vledder convicted even though he is innocent. This is because he seeks revenge against De Cock, who had Tuinstra demoted after dereliction of duty years before.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Not seen on screen, but both De Cock and Buitendam are known to have extracted a confession using force in the past.
• Leitmotif: The series uses music and sound to emphasise the mood, especially when the murder is featured but also to underline humour.
• Ladykiller in Love: Vledder thinks of himself as quite the ladies' man ^[3], but he is only moderately successful. He has had his string of girlfriends, but some women are simply not impressed by his antics. Unfortunately one of them happens to be his colleague Vera Prins, for whom Vledder has feelings.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Subverted, in the person of Superintendant Buitendam. He tries to run a tight ship and has a meddlesome personality. At least once an episode he puts pressure onto De Cock to solve the case faster. But he is also known to turn a blind eye to aid De Cock. Sometimes his superiors force him to be obstructive, making Buitendam more of a Beleaguered Bureaucrat at times.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: De Cock is the old cop, his partner Vledder the young cop.
• Serial Killer: De Cock has to deal with one in season three. The serial killer is after red-haired women. De Cock employs Vera Prins as decoy, enabling him to arrest the serial killer.
• Theme Naming: Most last names of the detective team are related to titles of aristocracy or professions:
  • De Cock: means the cook.
  • Den Koninghe: the King
  • Prins: Prince
  • Keizer: Emperor
  • De Graaff: the Count
• Unfortunate Name: In English De Cock's last name has an unfortunate meaning.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Averted. The soundtrack fits the scenes very well, reinforcing the mood.
• Volleying Insults: Always happens between Den Koninghe and Vledder after the (first) body is discovered, albeit in a snarking and mild manner. Den Koninghe cannot stand Vledder, whom he regards as an upstart with a questionable sense of humour. Vledder thinks of Den Koninghe as a corpse-obsessed, humourless and bad tempered man. Both think of each other as arrogant.
• Wrongly Accused: Vledder. In De Cock en de zaak Vledder he is wrongly accused of murder after having been set up by the real murderer

1. ↑ My name is De Cock, spelled C-O-C-K
2. ↑ out of wishful thinking.
3. ↑ he likes to look at the hookers opposite Lowietje's pub