Everybody Liked It: Collective Memories of Early Flemish Television Fiction

This article investigates the early history of Flemish television, based on oral history interviews with older viewers. After a discussion of the method used and other literature in the field, I focus on the most successful domestic series of the period, Schipper naast Mathilde (Skipper near Mathilde, 1955-1963). This series evokes strong and fond memories, which are partly explained by the interviewees themselves. However, it is also necessary to look beyond those reflections and to include information on the broader media and social context. In this way, we get an enlightening sight on the process of collective memory formation.