Het Zonnetje in Huis

Het Zonnetje in Huis is a Dutch sitcom, that aired on RTL 4 from 1993 to 2003. The series was basically a remake of the British sitcom Tom Dick And Harriet, created by Mortimer and Cooke, but as the series processed, a lot of new situations that where not in the originals sitcom where added.

After the dead of his wife, widower Piet Bovenkerk decides to move in with his son Erik and his daughter-in-law Catharina, who live in an apartment in the center of Amsterdam. Catharina however is not pleased to have her father-in-law living with them, and frequently tries to make him move out. This leads to a lot of tension between the two, with Eric usually caught in the middle. During the day, Piet likes to hang out at cafe Vijfbier (five beer), along with his friend Fred van Zoomeren. Other notable characters are Kees (the owner of the café during the first four seasons), Conny (Kees’ ex-wife, who takes over the café from season 4 till season 8), Bert (another friend from Piet during seasons 1 – 4), Hella (Conny’s mother), and Mrs. De Vries (the neighbor of Erik and Catherina).


 * The Drifter: Bert
 * The Character Died with Him: Bert was written out of the series at the end of season 4 because his actor, Sacco van der Made, died.
 * Grumpy Old Man: Piet Bovenkerk.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: Arnootje, the younh son of Erik and Catharina. Only one exception is made in the final episode of season 7.
 * Obnoxious In-Laws: Piet and Catherina are this to each other.
 * Put on a Bus: Happened to several characters, most notably Kees and Hella. Kees went to Australia at the end of season 3 to help his son start a new life there. He was supposed to come back after one month, but never returned. Hella suddenly disappeared after season 6, according to Conny because she fell in love with the owner of a coffee plantation during her holiday.
 * Real Life Relative: father Piet Bovenkerk and son Eric Bovenkerk are played by real-life father and son John Kraaykamp and John Kraaykamp jr.
 * Foreign Remake: the series is a remake of the British series Tom Dick And Harriet
 * The Unpronounceable: Piet always has trouble pronouncing Hella’s name. However, this is more a result of the fact that he doesn’t like her, than the fact that her name really is difficult to pronounce.