Fort Alpha is a Dutch series from the nineties set in a high school. The series is about the students of class 4B, which is considered a particularly unruly class. There is often a focus on one specific student in an episode. Other storylines still progress, but might happen in the background.
When two schools have to merge, both students and teachers struggle with having to adapt. 'Het Rijks' was a posh school, whilst 'het Spiegel' had a more free style of education and the students are generally of lower social standing. Though this creates conflict, especially in the beginning, the students also get used to each other and often work together.
Quite a few of the students and teachers that came from 'the Spiegel' are unhappy with the new principal, whose lover has political influence. In the first season, this creates a lot of tension that often explodes.
The series was popular, but was cancelled after two seasons. This partly because the broadcaster didn't think the series fitted their more family-orientated image.
Provides examples of:
- Alcoholic Parent: Steffi's mother.
- Alpha Bitch: Julia. She's worse in season 2.
- Arch-Enemy: Professor Ploos often seems to be this for class 4B.
- Beta Bitch: Averted, mostly. Though Julia is a definite Alpha Bitch and great pals with Isolde, Isolde is more empathic towards others. She is the only student who sides with Monique when the gym teacher harasses her and openly disagrees with Julia on this. When Suzanne gets bullied, Isolde takes away her diary from the bullies.
- Bilingual Bonus: Ayse and her family speak Turkish. Toprak and Ayse speak Turkish at times as well.
- Book Dumb: A lot of the students seem to do everything but studying and are often seen to get bad grades. This while they are by no means unintelligent, but they seem to focus their smarts more on finding ways to have fun. The only clear exception to this is Toprak.
- Brainy Brunette: Toprak.
- Character Development: Toprak becomes more relaxed about her grades and the often crazy behaviour of her classmates.
- Bas also becomes more relaxed during season 2, especially around his father.
- The Dog Bites Back: The screwdriver maniac turns out to be... It's this trope in a nutshell.
- Establishing Character Moment: The two janitors meeting each other, when Frenk insists on being called Mr. Peroti and hangs up a photo of the Dutch Queen. This while Piet doesn't mind being called by his first name and objects to the photo hanging there as he has seen enough of the Queen.
- Flanderization: Up until the beginning of season 2, Julia is often selfish, has a big mouth and loves to get a rise out of people. She also clearly likes Bas and is a genuine friend to Isolde. She also still shows emotions like sadness and loss. In the last few episodes of season 2, she doesn't do anything that's not hostile or evil. When she's not bullying someone, she's kicking Bas's door demanding a walkman. She even betrays her longest running positive relationship with Isolde by claiming one of their classmates raped Isolde.
- Friendship Moment: Quite a lot. In fact, some of the students only show affection to each other and not to any adults includig parents, with the notable exception of janitor Piet.
- Girl Posse: Averted. Julia and Isolde are closest to this, but there are just two of them. Class 4B has more one on one friendships or has the whole class act together, instead of in cliques.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Julia and Isolde. Bas and Kelvin.
- Hidden Depths: A lot of them actually.
- High-School Dance: The first episode. Unlike in American high schools, the students all show up without dates. Some of them use it as an opportunity to get drunk or stoned.
- Hot for Teacher: Isolde for Marc.
- Interclass Friendship: Since two schools with with people from different background merged, this happens a lot.
- Also, despite having the same job, the two janitors. Frenk behaves more like a middle class person, while Piet is more working class.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Isolde. She could be a jerk sometimes, especially when teamed up with Julia, but she also believed Monique immediately when she gets harassed by the gym teacher. This despite of all the rest of the class being horrid to Monique about it. She also sticks up for the bullied Suzanne.
- Kids Are Cruel: Suzanne gets bullied by part of the class in season 2. It's also averted with some, as about half the class sticks up for her by shouting at the bullies as they read from her diary or comforting her. Steffi is somewhere in the middle, as she starts shouting at Suzanne, wanting her to stick up for herself. She probably meant well, but only added to her trauma by doing it so furiously.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Ot. His parents are seldom at home, so his house often gets used as a party place or for Steffi to crash at.
- Love Triangle: Julia has no problems making out with Ot at times, which Bas is never pleased about.
- Messy Hair: Common, especially amongst students that came from the Spiegel.
- Must Make Amends: A lot of the class after Toprak's suicide attempt, especially Jonas.
- New Transfer Student: Ot, which nobody realizes as the schools are fusing and everybody thinks he comes from the other school.
- The '90s
- No Dress Code: There are no uniforms or clear dress rules, as in most Dutch schools.
- Parental Abandonment: There were several versions. Ot's rich parents are always away for business. Ayse's father temporarily tells her not to come back after she stops wearing a hijab. Steffi's mother is often drunk, so she stays with Ot a lot. Bas doesn't live at home for a bit part of the series because of the conflict with his father.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Professor Ploos often goes too far in tormenting his students, including his son. Julia, Ot and Isolde pay him back in such a way that even his son, who kept talking about wanting revenge, wasn't happy.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Most of the teachers are quite reasonable, even the principal that nobody wanted at first.
- Slut-Shaming: Professor Ploos does this with Julia in class. It's one of the reasons for her revenge.
- Taking the Heat: Though Julia was the instigator of the plot against Professor Ploos, she does come clean to him without betraying her comrades.
- Teens Are Monsters: It's a miracle anyone wants to teach Class 4B.
- The Bully: Ot and Ayse get bullied by racists. Poignant enough, Ayse participates in the bullying of Suzanne herself in a later episode.
- Those Two Guys: Martin and Jonas
- Wacky Homeroom
- Wild Teen Party: As many as they can get away with.
