Although the series still has to be broadcasted it can be viewed through the NPO streamingservice before it actually premiers on Dutch television.
The series is very well made, great storytelling, great acting and a feast for the eyes.
We binged it within 24 hours and loved every minute of it. A big compliment for everyone involved. The only complaint is that it contained 8 episodes only -:).
16 Reviews
Surprisingly well done!
m-oosterwijk430 October 2020
As a Dutchman and a movie fanatic I had some serious doubts about this project. Most of the times these productions are (very) low budget. This, however, seems to be an exeption! Well written, well acted and a very good storyline. Even the special effects (not a lot of CGI, but where done it is done properly) are worth to watch☺
I would say: if you want to watch a pretty accurate story about the beginning of aviation (remember that KLM was the first commercial airliner in the world) this might be something for you.
I would say: if you want to watch a pretty accurate story about the beginning of aviation (remember that KLM was the first commercial airliner in the world) this might be something for you.
Great series
rdb5924 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Thorough film making, great scenes, acting and camerahandling. If you watch 'the making of' as well, the admiration rises. The similarity between the young and older Fokker and Plesman is stunning.
Historically not quite correct, as Plesman's son gets KIA in WW II and not in the thirties.
Impressive art direction and production value for a Dutch series
jeroen-10625 October 2020
They clearly spent a lot of time on the art direction, which is quite impressive considering the extremely low budgets of Dutch shows. This one deserves to be sold well internationally - although I don't necessarily care for the subject matter, the love put into this should be recognized.
Fantastic !!
ples-4652525 October 2020
Entertaining drama series
metalgear80014 November 2020
This series follows Albert Plesman and Anthony Fokker starting at the pionieer days of aviation up until the start of WWII. It has a fairly decent storyline, decent cast (although I don't care for Daan Schuurmans who comes off as a bit annoying to me). I think it's a very interesting way to depict aviation history in a drama series like this even though it's not alway historically acurate and I kind of wish that it was more acurate. I don't get why they strayed from certain historical facts like the events involving Jan Plesman. The old 'real life' footage that is included in between some scenes is a nice touch though. The soundtrack sounds nice but doesn't really seem to fit the setting. It's probably not going to happen but I would like to see a second season starting at the beginning of WWII. The events during WWII and how the KLM immediately started to rebuild its network after the war up until Plesman's death should be more than enough content.
Finally - a Dutch production with guts
jeroen-1068 November 2020
The product value of this show is remarkable for a Dutch show. The use of practical CGI, the set dressing, coloring, et cetera is really leveled up. I was tired of seeing the same old cheesy Dutch TV shows and I was reluctant to watch this. My bias was unfounded.
I haven't seen enough to find out if the story keeps me engaged but this show should be applauded no matter what - this is showing a way forward for the somewhat sad state of the Dutch film industry. This proves it can be done.
Great great great!
xniehe25 October 2020
Great visuals, great actors, great storyline. Historic portret of two important figures in the airline industry. Learned so much from this series. Really well done! Undutch good tv series! A pleasure to watch and learn from.
Jan Plesman
aj-van-der-klugt-ebes2 December 2020
Probably the best historical series the Dutch ever made
brandtair7 December 2020
Every aviation enthousiast should watch this biography of Fokker and Plesman. Dutch culture shines through and looks historically accurate. Only the acting sometimes could have been done better but not many faults made.
Historicaly untrue
thekimberley29 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
In the episode of the three crashes Plesmans son dies. There were three crashes but this one is not true. It was not the Stern that crashed in the Alps but de Gaai. Plesmans son Jan Leendert was not on board and was in reality shot down in 1944 flying a spitfire. He is a so called engelandvaarder (people who fled nazi occupation with risk of execution when cought, to join the allied forces in England). I can,t believe that they totally twisted this fact (a hero in my book) to fit into there story for dramatic effect. He gave his life for the fight against the Nazi,s but gets this stupid alternative story???? He deserves better. The nickname of Jan was flying Dutchman by the way. I loved this show but this totally ruined it for me. Not interested anymore.
Poor camera work and cliche characters
meritcoba20 October 2020
Whatever story this show wants to convey is harmed by its camera work, editing and under par characters. Especially its jittery camera handling and fast edits make this one an unpleasant sit.
Years ago, this sort of movie-making became a hype and while the rest of the world has moved on, some Dutch filmmakers seem stuck in it.
Good movie making is like any profession the skill of selecting the right tools for the right job: one picks the right shots and uses the right editing for the scene. It is bad when you toss the camera all over the place and cut scenes down to one second shots as if you are showing a roller-coaster from a first person view while all you are showing is two characters casually talking. Stop trying to be cool. Stop trying to be the next Michael Bay.
What is also most in evidence is that the two main characters are caricatures. Fokker is the Gung-ho guy who likes to live the life: fast cars and women. Plesman is his opposite: the conscientious serious guy who tries to make his dream come through. With Plesman not only having to deal with all the challenges involved in starting up a new business but also reigning in Fokker.
The last straw that made me decide to stop watching was the obligatory sex scene. I got the feeling that about every sex scene in Dutch movies and series are more akin to rape than anything else. As if they are incapable to make such a scene anything else but unfeeling sex. And bang there it was, right in the middle of the first episode.
This series is tripe and it probably does no justice to the real people. The makers would have been better if they didn't use historical persons, but just based their stories on them. In this way they could make up the story as they see fit instead of distorting the historical ones.
Maybe a tell-tale sign for the quality of the series is that they went out of their way to advertise the CGI airplanes, buildings, cars and streets. Granted, it looks impressive, but probably hides the shortcomings in other areas.
Years ago, this sort of movie-making became a hype and while the rest of the world has moved on, some Dutch filmmakers seem stuck in it.
Good movie making is like any profession the skill of selecting the right tools for the right job: one picks the right shots and uses the right editing for the scene. It is bad when you toss the camera all over the place and cut scenes down to one second shots as if you are showing a roller-coaster from a first person view while all you are showing is two characters casually talking. Stop trying to be cool. Stop trying to be the next Michael Bay.
What is also most in evidence is that the two main characters are caricatures. Fokker is the Gung-ho guy who likes to live the life: fast cars and women. Plesman is his opposite: the conscientious serious guy who tries to make his dream come through. With Plesman not only having to deal with all the challenges involved in starting up a new business but also reigning in Fokker.
The last straw that made me decide to stop watching was the obligatory sex scene. I got the feeling that about every sex scene in Dutch movies and series are more akin to rape than anything else. As if they are incapable to make such a scene anything else but unfeeling sex. And bang there it was, right in the middle of the first episode.
This series is tripe and it probably does no justice to the real people. The makers would have been better if they didn't use historical persons, but just based their stories on them. In this way they could make up the story as they see fit instead of distorting the historical ones.
Maybe a tell-tale sign for the quality of the series is that they went out of their way to advertise the CGI airplanes, buildings, cars and streets. Granted, it looks impressive, but probably hides the shortcomings in other areas.
More fiction than fact
repflug3 December 2020
Nice camara work and old planes are beautifuly brought back to live. But this series has little to do with the actual history of Plesman, KLM or Fokker. Historic events are twisted and taken out of context to tell a story. If you actualy know a little bit about Dutch aviation history, this series is annoying to watch!
As long as you don't care about accuracy
chrisjones-3270023 July 2021
It kept my interest, but it strays off from factual so it should be looked at as mostly fictional.
Other than that the series was well done, acting was good, dialog and photography were adequate.
All in all, I've seen worse.
Other than that the series was well done, acting was good, dialog and photography were adequate.
All in all, I've seen worse.
Interesting story but told very badly
qui_j8 May 2023
This is an interesting chronicle of the history of the airline, KLM. However, it is so badly told, based on a script that appeared to have been written by a child, that it ends up being quite laughable. The timeline moves along at breakneck speed, to the point that the story begins to lose its coherence and becomes incomprehensible at times. The mixture of old documentary footage with current scenes suddenly superimposed on them, are just not believable, and just come across as a low budget ploy. The acting is very variable, ranging from amateur to passable. Other comments have called into question, the historical accuracy of the story line.
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