What you've got here is a Belgian series full of whacky and surreal humor. (Belgians, both of the northern and the southern variety, tend to be good at this type of thing, which fact won't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the history, functioning and organisation of the country.) It's an interesting series but in my humble opinion it would have benefitted from intensive pruning and editing. One gets the impression that the various makers of the series were so impressed with their own genius they could not bear the idea of cutting even one minute.
Still, when the series works it works well, achieving stratospheric heights of absurd poetry or nonsensical logic. Some of the running gags have achieved cult status. One example is "The men from the hardware store", in which everyday problems such as "I'm looking for a restaurant where I can eat well" receive insane answers involving saws, nails, hammers, hooks. (In this specific case, the desire to find a nice restaurant gives birth to an elaborate plan where the client is supposed to flee by swinging on the chandeliers, in the very best "Zorro" tradition, while the police will clap and whistle with admiration.) There is also a strong satirical vein. For instance, the romantic ballad called "Put a rose in your *ss" is a pastiche of the many incompetent and insipid love songs unleashed on an innocent public.
It is said that many of the sketches were unrehearsed and pretty much improvised on the spot.
Over the years "Het peulengaleis" has acquired a rabid fan base. Beware the imprudent remark - or you may well find yourself being chopped into tiny pieces and added to Flemish beef and beer stew...
Still, when the series works it works well, achieving stratospheric heights of absurd poetry or nonsensical logic. Some of the running gags have achieved cult status. One example is "The men from the hardware store", in which everyday problems such as "I'm looking for a restaurant where I can eat well" receive insane answers involving saws, nails, hammers, hooks. (In this specific case, the desire to find a nice restaurant gives birth to an elaborate plan where the client is supposed to flee by swinging on the chandeliers, in the very best "Zorro" tradition, while the police will clap and whistle with admiration.) There is also a strong satirical vein. For instance, the romantic ballad called "Put a rose in your *ss" is a pastiche of the many incompetent and insipid love songs unleashed on an innocent public.
It is said that many of the sketches were unrehearsed and pretty much improvised on the spot.
Over the years "Het peulengaleis" has acquired a rabid fan base. Beware the imprudent remark - or you may well find yourself being chopped into tiny pieces and added to Flemish beef and beer stew...
