“Van der Valk”: English actors, Dutch settings, strong stories
Piet Van der Valk is sort of your standard TV (or movie) detective.
He’s handsome and brooding; he’s single and lives on a boat. Handsome detectives often brood; they also live in odd places – boats or bars or backrooms or such.
What’s unusual about him, though, is that he’s:
1) On PBS, in a smart and deeply layered show. “Masterpiece: Van der Volk” (shown here) is 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, 20 and 27). You could call it the first scripted show of the broadcast TV season; it’s a good one … and a huge jump over this summer’s disappointing “Endeavour.” Read more…