Jan Laureys reluctantly becomes a gendarme. He applies to the CDI, a new unit that hunts drug-related crime. Grandpa was a big shot in the Gendarmerie. Dad is now a major in the Gendarmerie. The son is a good-for-nothing who hangs out with an Eastern beauty and apparently doesn't shy away from a bit of drugs. It's not entirely clear, but the beauty's father is somewhat deceived and finds out, causing the young man to go on the run. Unfortunately, he gets arrested and thrown in jail. Dad comes to the rescue, along with his grandmother. When the case comes to court, it is she who pleads for her grandchild and assures the judge that once back in Belgium, the young man will join the Gendarmerie. This whole situation seems somewhat orchestrated by dad the major, but we don't get any real certainty on that.
The result is that our young man, Jan Laureys, is forced to undergo training to become a gendarme. Once he actually becomes a gendarme, he gets the chance to join a new anti-drug project being launched at the Gendarmerie. Jan joins the CDI, which receives assistance from an American DEA agent. Bob, the American advisor, teaches the gendarmes the American techniques. But are these techniques all permissible here in Belgium? By the end of the first episode, we already notice that Bob has some unconventional ideas and that Jan doesn't immediately have issues with them.
The Big Fuck-up takes place in the 1980s, an era when the Gendarmerie was still in charge and where favors were often done for friendly associates. In the decades after the Gendarmerie was disbanded, many odd situations came to light. We could already see some of this in 1985, where the main thread was the Brabant Killers. In this series, the main thread is the CDI and its fight against the increasing drug violence in the country.
A first episode of a series is always a calling card that puts the viewer in the position of deciding whether or not to continue watching the series in question. In most cases, a series stands or falls with that first episode. With the opener of The Big Fuck-up, that notion doesn't hold true. The information you get in this first episode leaves you with the hope that it could be a hit. On the other hand, there are passages where you, as a viewer, think for a moment, how does this fit into the story?
How all of this will unfold, we will only see in the next episodes. There's definitely tension in the air. The fact that this takes place in the 1980s also provides good music for someone who grew up during that time. The setting is pure nostalgia and shoots the viewer back to the eighties. We must certainly give The Big Fuck-up a chance and hope that what seems promising will actually deliver.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
