First and foremost, you should know that yours truly is extremely patriotic and never hesitates to promote Belgian films or TV-series that genuinely deserve to be discovered by a wider and international public. In the last 5-10 years, we were quite spoiled here, with new series that balance between good and truly great, and I've always been one of the first reviewers to spread the word beyond our national borders. Series like "Matroesjkas", "Crimi Clowns", "Salamander", "Beau Séjour", "Met Man en Macht", "Gent West" "Tabula Rasa", "Eigen Kweek" or "De Dag" are downright terrific and can easily compete with some of the most qualitative shows from the USA or elsewhere. The aforementioned titles, and certainly others that I forgot to mention or haven't seen yet, all have something in common, though. Even though they have the potential to appeal to global audiences, they are still unmistakably Flemish. Even the ones that are clearly modeled after international successes, like "Tabula Rasa" for example, still maintain that typically Belgian style or narrative that makes them authentic. The biggest (of many) mistake that "Over Water" makes is that it attempts to be something it's not. This isn't one of those prestigious Danish or Swedish crime series, it's not a profoundly psychological drama/thriller series and it most certainly isn't Sunday evening family entertainment!
Usually in user-comments, we briefly describe what the series is about. Well, "Over Water" is about absolutely nothing! Seen over a span of 10 long, slow-paced and dreadfully boring episodes, a lot of stuff took place, but none of it is worth summarizing. A former TV host lost his stardom due to alcoholism and, after rehab, and must accept a job in his father-in-law's company in the Port of Antwerp. He, John Beckers, "accidentally" kills his father-in-law, but gets rid of the body and pretends nothing ever happened. He claims ownership of the company, becomes involved in many corrupt affairs, screws around with his hot secretary and starts drinking again. Meanwhile, his wife falls for his biggest competitor/enemy, his teenage son struggles with homosexuality and his daughter discovers the wild world of sex, drugs and fashion parties. Everything about "Over Water" is predictable and incredibly cliched, but the dullness and hours of pointless padding footage are truly unforgivable.
All the criminal activities going on in a large harbor, like the one in Antwerp, guarantee a lot of potential for realistic thriller series and films, but "Over Water" fails from every angle. The main characters are implausible and downright stupid. Especially John Becker's wife, played by Natali Broods, is beyond pathetic. No woman would ever swallow this many lies and so much deceit; and yet she's supposed to be an intelligent and independent business woman. Perfectly good Flemish actors, like Tom Van Dyck and Frank Vercruyssen, are wasted in inferior roles. And, talking about waste, what about Jeroen Perceval? He's one of Belgium's most talented actors, yet he's lying in a coma and staring at the ceiling throughout the entire show! "Over Water" was written by Tom Lenaerts, but I'm still having difficulties to believe that. Lenaerts invented brilliant TV-concepts, like "Schalkse Ruiters" and even the original idea of the globally copied "The Mole" and penned down the excellent series "Met Man en Macht". How could he possible think this was any good? The direction is in the hands of a duo (Inti Calfat and Dirk Verheye) who undoubtedly consider themselves stylish, visionary and talented. They are not. They are pretentious and uninspired copycats. It already starts with the name they chose for themselves. Norman Bates?!? They seriously couldn't conceive anything new?
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