Herman en de zes

The TV series "Die seltsamen Abenteuer des Herman van Veen" is still one of my favourite childhood memories. I still have the book and the record (the two usual media tie-ins before the advent of Video tape). It's follow up, "Herman en de Zes", on the other hand, I hardly remember at all. Didn't even bother to ask my mum for the record when it came out.

Recently, digital channel Best24 devoted a month of it's nostalgic programming to Herman the great. Naturally this reviewer was hoping that both 'Die Seltsamen Abenteuer' and 'De Zes' would be scheduled to be broadcast, but unfortunately the first series was a German production and therefore is not listed in the extensive archives at the Instituut image and sound (Beeld & Geluid). Of the second series, three out of six episodes did make the schedule, but two of those turned out to be the same episode.

While the German series featured Herman and his friends having crazy and unpredictable adventures, the smaller scaled Dutch version had the same cast playing different characters in even more fanciful stories. This despite the fact that the opening number introduces them all as basically the same characters they played before. One addition to the cast is a giant Saint Bernard named 'Vlinder' (= Butterfly).

In the first episode 'Robot' (part one of two), Herman van Veen shows a talent for mime as he plays a recently completed robot made by Professor Dr. Albert von Klabaski (Michiel Kerbosh, who was known as 'Klabas' in the first series). Van Veen's musical collaborator Erik van der Wurff (Erik in de Kast) appeared as the somewhat sinister Mr. Van Beton who placed the order for the mechanical Herman. No idea how this story was resolved since Best24 didn't broadcast the second part. Still, it does explain to me why I gave up watching the show after one or two episodes when I was little.

The sixth and final episode of the series is a simple, mostly wordless tale that explains how the 'Six' of the title came together. Why the origin story was saved for last is another compete mystery. It goes like this: Herman is having a picnic on his own when Vlinder the Saint Bernard comes along and begins to steal his sandwiches. Together they meet Marlous the pretty school teacher. She and Herman fall in love and have a bite to eat at Hans & Hans' Poffertjeskraam. Next they find Erik playing a piano on a train and Harry, who is hitchhiking. Finally they find Herman's younger brother Klabas working to fix a motor on a ferry. The end.

A few years later, Herman had a big hit when his children's story 'Alfred J. Kwak' was turned into a animated series in Japan. The character of the mole who adopted little Alfred was based on Erik van der Wurff, but no sign of Klabas that time around.

6 out of 10