Sun, Aug 31, 2003
It is now 1962. Pierre has left Marleen to start over in the US, with Lili. Mother Lisa is suffering from asthma, and lives in a home. Rikki is now 16, and not doing well at school. Nieke has a new boyfriend and lives in Ostend, occasionally visiting her son and father. Marleen now runs the café, Stavros runs his barber shop, and Rik - is Rik. Jef wants to watch Bonanza on TV, but Rik decides that, since mother Liza never paid him back for the TV, the set belongs to him, and he wants to watch a documentary on the blue crane. When Ida sees an advert for a dance competition, a twist marathon, she enters Jef. First prize is a TV. On Rikki's birthday they have a great party in Riks warehouse. Rik gives his grandson a motorbike, but Rikki is not in the mood. His mother, once again, has promised to be there, but isn't. When she surfaces the next day, with her new boyfriend in tow, it is the last straw for Rikki. He tells her never to show her face again. Jef actually wins the competition, but the prize is not what they expected.
Sun, Sep 7, 2003
The Cuban missile crisis is at hand, and Rik wants Stavros and Jef to clear out the bomb shelter he stocked back in 1958. When the two want to start, they find that oil has seeped into the cellar. Lou, just released from prison and desperate for money, convinces the two that they have struck oil. They pump out several hundred liters before Rik is back, and have the well registered to their name.
Sun, Sep 14, 2003
Jef has found a pigeon and christens it Kareltje. Rik doesn't want the animal in the house, but when he finds out the original owner has offered a reward of 5000 francs, he devises a plan to part Jef from his new pet. Ida finds out and together with Jef they counter Riks plans. Rikki has left school and Rik arranges for him to apprentice to a car mechanic, Dirty Louie. To convince Louie, he invites him for dinner. Louis is particularly fond of pigeon, and somehow the pigeon for Louie gets mixed up with Kareltje.
Sun, Sep 21, 2003
Everyone agrees that it is about time Stavros "got some action". Stavros is already being pursued by a woman he met, but he's terrified of her. Somehow something gets known about it, especially Stavros' embarrassment, and when Ida sees him in the arms of a young girl, she thinks she knows why he's so secretive about it. The girl turns out to be not Stavros' but Rikki's girlfriend Vicky, and Stavros tells them about his unfortunate encounter. When Vicky's mother storms in, incensed about her daughter having a boyfriend, Ida mistakes her for Stavros stalker, and chews up Mrs. Muys one side and down the other. As a result, Vicky is forbidden to ever see Rikki again.
Sun, Sep 28, 2003
Georgette Muys, Vicky's mother, plans her revenge on Stavros and Rik. As head of the building department of the city, she exorbitantly fines Rik for having built a dependence without plan or consent : Stavros' barber shop. He can either tear it down, or submit a request to have it regularized. The request, however, will land with Mrs Muys, and she makes it abundantly clear to Rik she will refuse the request and fine him tens of thousands of Francs. Mrs Muys has also discovered that, despite her forbidding Vicky to see Rikki, the two have still been meeting and exchanging love notes. She takes steps to prevent it from happening again and Rikki is at his wits' end. Ida takes a hand and enters Jef in the gymnastics club where Vicky also trains. He is to be the "Postillon d'amour". Mrs Muys finds, out, but gets locked in with Jef. When her husband and Ida arrive looking for the two, they find them in a rather compromising situation, giving Rik the opportunity to put some pressure on his affair. Mr Muys also takes a hand, and the two love birds can see each other again.
Sun, Oct 5, 2003
A dissatisfied customer of Rik, Pros, rats him out to the social security services. Two inspectors descend on Rik as the wrath of heaven. They also go after Jef and Ida. One of them, Mon, even gropes Ida. When Rik reads an article about John Profumo and Christine Keeler, he hatches a plan to get rid of Mon. The other inspector, a young guy named Mark, is more interested in Marleen.
Sun, Oct 12, 2003
Rik hosts the annual Santa Claus party for the orphanage, and this time Jef is going to play Santa Claus. As thanks, sister Rosa gives Rik, Jef and Stavros each a large gingerbread. Ida takes Jef's away, claiming it for Florke. Jef is very keen on gingerbread and tries to get his hands on Rik's, without success. Stavros gives him his. STill not satisfied, Jef bites off a part of Rik's gingerbread, and Rik, in a fury, forces him to eat the entire bread. WIth two large gingerbread men inside, the effect on Jef's intestines is brutal. Rik will have to jump in as Santa Claus, but the children of today are a lot less compliant than those of Rik's youth - Stavros finds out Pierre and Lili now have a son.
Sun, Oct 19, 2003
Rikki is hooked on the Beatles. Rik and Stavros suffer, though not exactly in silence. They don't understand the whole hullabaloo about those four guys from Liverpool. Rikki reproaches Rik for getting "old", and Rik is in a tizz about it. When Georgette Muys barges in, complaining about Rikki's hairdo, Rik (who has been reading up on The Beatles) rips her up one side and down the other, proving he's not an "old gramps". Jef has been duped into selling ointment, but - of course - has been conned. He needs 7000 francs to cover the costs, and loans them from Rik. Rikki organizes a Beatles-party with a local copy of the group. When the drummer is ill, Jef will jump in as Ringo Star. In exchange Rikki will pay Jef's debt to Rik.
Sun, Nov 2, 2003
Nieke visits and finds her son in the arms of his girlfriend. Quite a shock, as she still sees him as a child. That he's apprenticed to the - by far - dirtiest mechanic in town also does not sit well. Jef finds some "medication" for "bloodloss". He's convinced it will help his nosebleeds. Little does he know that what he has stumbled upon is "the pill" - a contraceptive.
Sun, Nov 9, 2003
Rikki and Vicky are in trouble : Vicky is pregnant and her mother is furious. Rikki's mum is furious too. They decide to run away to Scotland to get married, but Rik steps in. Still on Rikki's side he will pay for a wedding, and he will convince Mrs. Muys. Jef wants to hawk snails, using Rik's transport bike, but Rik only sees another opportunity to make some quick money from renting out the bike.
Sun, Nov 16, 2003
Organizing the wedding proves to be very enervating to Rik and Stavros. Mrs Muys seizes on the tradition that the reception and the wedding party are paid by the groom, and insists on the most expensive venue, caterer and dress. Rik vehemently opposes but is forced with his back to the wall. They keep arguing back and forth, until Vicky breaks down. Her father asserts himself and decides to split the costs 50/50. Nieke is not present at the wedding : she's in Spain with Sylvain. Jef and Ida are, at first, not invited to the wedding, as Mrs. Muys does not want them there. Rikki asserts himself, and they write a song about the couple being pregnant. Stavros has booked the caterer, but has given the wrong date.
Sun, Nov 23, 2003
Nieke arrives days after the wedding, pretending everything is alright. Rikki throws her out. Again. Stavros blabs to Sylvain about Rikki's real father. For Sylvain this is the last drop, and he leaves Nieke where she stands. She decides to move in with her "husband" again, much to the chagrin of Rik. Rik has finally found a way to get rid of Jef and Ida, by raising their rent, but if they leave, Nieke will have a room for herself, and will stay indefinitely. Wanting to get rid of his daughter even more than of Jef and Ida, he capitulates. They can stay, the rent stays the same and they even get a new bed. With three beds and four people, someone is sleeping on the floor that night, and it looks as if it's going to be Stavros again. But a folding bed has a mind of its own, and finally Stavros is the only one who ends up in his own bed.