When her father has an accident in Elixer, Isabelle is called back to the Netherlands and asked to run the family business. In the new Dutch-language series Elixer, set in the world of pharmaceuticals, it is immediately noticeable that the actors and actresses who portray the Rombauts family are both Flemish and Dutch. In itself, that is not really a problem, but it does create a strange atmosphere when the Flemish pater familias sounds flat Flemish and some of his children speak very Dutch. Perhaps we will learn more about the family and their company Rombauts Farma later in the series.
The first and last images of the first episode of Elixer are set in Belgium and concern a school shooting somewhere in the country. Viewers who have already read or looked up information about this series here and there can already form an idea of where the next seven episodes will lead. For the pure layman, the beginning and end are still pure guesswork because compared to the other events, there are hardly any references to that shooting and a possible involvement of Rombauts Farma during that first episode.
The rest of the first episode is spent in America, where daughter Isabelle is a spokeswoman for a large company. Brother Julien is in China, where he has to start up a new factory. Father Ludo looks after the interests of his company in the Netherlands. However, during a hunting party he is the victim of a shooting accident and ends up in a coma. Both Isabelle and Julien are called back to the Netherlands. When Ludo wakes up from his coma, he asks Isabelle to become the new CEO of the company. Julien is not really happy with that, but Isabelle keeps the boat at bay until she is cornered during a TV interview and assigns herself the position of CEO.
This first episode is therefore largely filled with an introduction of the characters. In the meantime, the first seeds of the disaster that hangs over the Rombauts family are already being planted. Julien apparently has a daughter walking around in China, Isabelle has a pubescent son with Art that she also has to take care of and Rombauts Firma appears to have made some not so kosher decisions with certain medications.
There is not much more to tell about Elixer for the time being. It is still too early to examine the acting performances, even though there are already a few that stand out immediately. The introduction is solid and the characters need to be further developed in the coming episodes and then Elixer could end up on the end of the year lists
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.
That strange combination of Flemish and Dutch accents was also a big distraction in Arcadia. It just didn't make sense and didn't sound like anything.
It's nice that they want to work together, but they should do something about this. The Flemish could speak a bit better "Dutch" and the Dutch could do their best to sound more Flemish. Then it might become a more coherent whole and it won't distract from the series itself.
In itself I have no problem with the mix of Dutch and Flemish actors. But in series like Swanenburg, Arcadia and Elixer where both Flemish and Dutch actors are cast to put them in the same family, it sometimes comes across as annoying. This also partly depends on the actors in question. Even if dad is Flemish and mom is Dutch, it remains strange that the son has a Dutch accent and the daughter almost speaks in flat Flemish.
Too bad I can't watch episode 5. I can watch the rest, but I'm looking for a way to watch this one first. I think it's very good up to and including episode.
It's nice that they want to work together, but they should do something about this. The Flemish could speak a bit better "Dutch" and the Dutch could do their best to sound more Flemish. Then it might become a more coherent whole and it won't distract from the series itself.