Barend is weer bezig

Barend is weer bezig
Actors of Barend Is Weer Bezig!, 1973
Country of origin	Netherlands
Original language(s)	Dutch
Release
Original network	VPRO

Barend is weer bezig is a Dutch television show written and directed by Wim T. Schippers with Wim van der Linden, Gied Jaspars, and Ruud van Hemert and broadcast by the VPRO in 1972-1973. The show was produced by Ellen Jens. Four regular episodes and a Christmas special were made, and caused considerable controversy, particularly because of a scene in which Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was mocked.

The show was built around the character of Barend Servet, played by IJf Blokker, who had first appeared in the 1971 TV show De Fred Haché Show. Other characters who returned from the Hachéshow were Sjef van Oekel (played by Dolf Brouwers) and Fred Haché (played by Harry Touw). In typical Schippers fashion the show, like its predecessor, derived its comedy from low-brow humor involving silly costumes, dog turds, nudity, and chaos; it combined the trivial and banal with controversial content. There were four episodes plus a Christmas special, Waar heb dat nou voor nodig. The Christmas special was notable also for two songs written by Schippers and van Mechelen for Dolf Brouwers, "Vette jus" and "Juliana onze vorstin".

The show provoked national controversy with a skit in which Barend Servet interviewed Juliana of the Netherlands (played by "Ria", one "RiMiCo ladies"); the queen drank sherry, and cleaned Brussels sprouts in order to pretend to feel close to the Dutch people, before throwing them in the trash or donating them to a children's home. Questions were asked in parliament about the depiction of her majesty, and the VPRO was censured by the minister of culture, narrowly escaping having its broadcasting hours cut.

While there were plenty of negative reviews, one notable supporter of De Fred Haché Show and Barend is weer bezig was Frans Haks, an art historian and critic who in 1978 became the director of the Groninger Museum (where he became known and controversial for his appreciation of avant-garde art). In the Museumjournaal, a well-established magazine for art and art history, he praised the show and said that its apparent clumsiness and triviality in "een geprofileerd and consistent kunstbegrip", "a well-shaped and consistent conception of art". His article also provoked strong reactions: the issue sold out quickly, at the same time that some readers canceled their subscriptions.

...
Wikipedia