Line #11 YMMV/SamsonEnGert


1	* AudienceAlienatingEra: As the series has been a [[LongRunners long runner]] which has lasted for more than 30 years, the franchise has undergone many phases throughout its existance which aren't as well-regarded as others.
2	** Some consider the last seasons of the television show from the early 2000's as a kind of dork age after the series had its golden years in the 90's. Many factors are attributed to have contributed to this sentiment, among others: the departure of Ann Petersen as Jeannine and Walter Van de Velde as Octaaf in respectively 1999 and 2002, the introduction of the [[TheScrappy not well-loved]] Frieda Kroket in 2000 and the strong {{Flanderization}} of many of the existing characters, such as Alberto, the mayor and Van Leemhuyzen. To compensate for the departing cast members, the writers [[AscendedExtra greatly expanded]] the part of the Afgevaardigde van de Minister, with the consequence that most of the episodes from the final 2004-2005 seasons revolved [[SpotlightStealingSquad more about the antics of de Afgevaardigde, Van Leemhuyzen and the Mayor at the town hall than about Samson and Gert themselves]].
3	** The departure of Danny Verbiest as Samson and [[TheOtherDarrin his replacement]] by Peter Thyssen in 2005 is also as the start of a dork age by many fans who consider Verbiest as the [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight only and definitive voice of Samson]] (which is also helped by the fact that the frequent {{Rerun}}s of older episodes only contain the original performance and not Thyssen's, as the production of the television show was halted after Verbiest's departure).
4	*** The replacement of Thyssen in 2013 by Dirk Bosschaert however, has been met with more praise from long-term fans as his performance is considered to be closer to Verbiest's original take on the character. The fact that new television episodes went into production with Bosschaert as Samson and that the franchise as a whole saw a boost in attendance from nostalgic people who had grown up with the franchise in the 90's, marks the end of the past dork age.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The franchise has released no less than 13 albums with original music, not counting numerous compilation albums and separate singles. Some of the songs are very well made:
6	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFdweX4ncCg ''Alles is op'']] is by far the most popular song during live performances, and it is also said to be [[CreatorsFavorite Gert Verhulst's favourite song]].
7	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC_WahPGzgw ''Er zit meer in een liedje'']] is one of the earliest songs. Although still aimed at children, its theme would work quite well in an adult song too, as it tries to remind the audience not only to give attention to the singers of a song, but also to the musicians behind them.
8	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rObd2Xxd3IU ''Piraten-potpourri'']], a PirateSong containing different strophes about all sorts of tropes related to pirates. Besides the catchy parts about the joyous aspects of pirate life, it also has a strong emotional part in which Gert is really able to show [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct how well he can pull of emotions while singing]].
9	* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: In the fall of 2021, Gert Verhulst and Danny Verbiest, both retired from the franchise at that point, appeared on stage together during[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3BLNOQ_rEc Studio 100's 25th Anniversary Concert]]. Gert performed a few songs and Danny Verbiest performed his original voice of Samson for the present audience.
10	* FakeGuestStar: Both the actors wo played Frieda Kroket and De Afgevaardigde van de Minister have always been credited as guest stars, though they were part of the regular cast of the show for some period and both characters have appeared in live performances.
11	* HilariousInHindsight: Episodes in which Gert complains that he lacks money to buy something become pretty ironic when you know that in real life, Gert Verhulst has become one of the richest people in the Belgian entertainment industry.
12	* LifeImitatesArt: Walter De Donder, the actor who plays the mayor, is since 2011 also in real life the mayor of the Belgian municipality of Affligem.
13	* NightmareFuel: The episode 'De Krokodil' ('The Crocodile') features a live crocodile crawling around the house of Samson en Gert while they're hiding in the basement and talking about how the crocodile will eat them alive if they come too close. The creepy look of the crocodile accompanied by the frightening, suspenseful music will sure keep some kids up at night.
14	* TearJerker:
15	** The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM9TkGrs068 "Bobientje Gaat Verhuizen"]] has Samson and Gert singing about Bobientje (Samson's love interest) moving to North America. Throughout the song, Samson is heard crying while talking about how much he loves and misses her.
16	** The episode [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YA5IMPe7e8 "Burgemeester Samson"]] shows Van Leemhuyzen crying over the mayor leaving the town for good to move to Hawaii. Later in the episode, he also laments about how much he misses the mayor. This doubles as a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming moment]],since it shows how, despite their frequent quarrels, Van Leemhuyzen still deeply cares about the mayor.
17	** [[MilestoneCelebration The 30th Anniversary song]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaFuo5_c-r4 "Het allerlaatste liedje"]] is this mixed with [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Heartwarming]] since it serves as [[EndOfSeriesAwareness an official farewell song from Gert]]. [[note]] While the series itself isn't over, Gert has officially left the show. A month later, Samson got a new companion named "Marie". [[/note]] The song uses medleys from various music from the show's 30 years. The live performance of this song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDBh1f3TR8 between December 2019 and January 2020 is even sadder.]]
18	*** In a moment of [[RealitySubtext reality subtext]] during aforementioned song, the music video also puts some emphasis on the absence of Jeanine De Bolle, whose actress Ann Petersen died in 2003, thus leaving an empty space between the other characters which are all present together for (probably) the last time.
19	* TheScrappy: Even it's supposed to be children's show and the cast are Adult Childs, many characters will annoy some fans when the writers exgerrate or flanderize them too much:
20	** Alberto Vermicelli became sadly the worst. In the very first seasons (1990-1993), Alberto was simply a [[SmallNameBigEgo Ted Baxter]]-looking barber-opera singer who only liked to [[BigEater eat very much]], yet he never hurt anyone with it. In fact, he even helped the others many times. But then came the Flanderization in 1994, which ran all the way until the series' end in 2005. He became a very dumb (if not retarded) Eric Cartman-like [[JerkAss manchild]] with almost no respect for his friends, or other civilians from the same fictional town. His SmallNameBigEgo became over the top and now he thinks he is God, being better than everyone and demanding everything he wants, and then rants like a child if the others refuse to do it. His Big Eating also became exaggerating, he constantly talks about food, even during a discussion to help one of the characters who have problems ([[OnceAnEpisode a typical plot in the show]]). Many episodes show him plotting jerkish schemes to snatch food from others. Some episodes even portrays him as a complete Jerkass who delights in causing mischief and madness and bullying people; and on top of that [[KarmaHoudini he gets away with most of it]], mostly because the others just stupidly let him go. It's very hard to think of why the titular characters and the other friends are still friends of him while he's abusing them, or the creators/writers didn't put him on a bus yet, or at least have the main cast break up with him and demote him to a recurring villain, so he still would be in the show.
21	** De Afgevaardigde van de minister: He was originally just an occasionally recurring guest character, but after too many actors left the show, the writers (rather than creating new characters or [[TheOtherDarrin hiring other Darrins]]) made him into a main character during the 2004-2005 seasons of the television show. He also became a CreatorsPet, since he was the main focus of many of the episodes in these years. The problem was, however, that the character didn't really fit within the rest of the cast. He is essentially just [[TheComicallySerious a humorless bureaucrat]] who mainly appears to snarl at the Mayor and Van Leemhuyzen for not doing their jobs properly, and the latter two are also the only characters he really had interaction or some sort of relationship with.
22	** Unlike the two above example (who got to stick around), Frieda Kroket, a character so despised, the writers had to write her out after only three seasons.
23	** Eugène Van Leemhuyzen: He is a nice guy, but he has been flanderized too much. Now his cloudcuckooness is over the top, and most of his jokes are forced upon by the writers.
24	** The mayor also became this after too much of flanderization. Originally, the mayor appeared as a slightly bumbling, but good-hearted and well-meaning man. Mostly after the introduction of his secretary Eugène Van Leemhuyzen, the mayor TookALevelInJerkass and began to act as a selfish BadBoss to his assistent.
25	* TookALevelInKindness: In the earliest seasons, Samson could be quite scurrilous and mischievous, but after a few years he became an always nice, honest and morally incorruptible character.

Context YMMV / SamsonEnGert