Samson en Gert Online

Series cast summary:
	Gert Verhulst	-	Gert 827 episodes, 1990-2018
	Danny Verbiest	-	Samson 780 episodes, 1990-2005
	Walter De Donder	-	Burgemeester / - 591 episodes, 1990-2018
	Koen Crucke	-	Albert 'Alberto Vermicelli' Vermeersch / - 525 episodes, 1991-2018

Walter Baele revealed that he and Walter van de Velde did not get very well along on set. Van de Velde, who is also an experienced director, often criticized Baele's hyperactive way of acting.

The character of Frieda Kroket, portrayed by Barbara De Jonghe, was removed from the series after complaints of television network Ketnet. It judged the character did not have any educational value to the children watching the show.

Walter De Donder, who plays the Mayor ("Burgemeester" in Dutch), was supposed to only be a recurring guest. The popularity of his character combined with the definitive departure of cast member Stef Bos, made him evolve into a series regular.

Koen Crucke was added to the cast because Stef Bos wanted to lower his commitment. Crucke's character Alberto Vermicelli got largely based on the actor himself: they both are opera singers as well as trained hairdressers.

The series often got criticized for the large presence of product placement. The racks of the De Bolle grocery store are always filled with real life brands, which are often clearly visible. In addition, the characters are many times seen eating 'Samson cookies' and drinking 'Samson lemonade', which are both sold in real life by the series' production company Studio 100.

In 1999, a large group of the pre-1999 episodes were remastered. This was done not only to adapt the episodes to new digital standards, but also because they had build-in cartoon breaks. Within this process, the original credits of the episodes were replaced by the most recent version. Consequently, Walter Baele receives false on-screen credits for a lot of the season 4-7 reruns, while he was only present from late season 8 onwards.

The actors say they have experienced a lot of hilarious bloopers while filming the series. To their regret, almost none of those images still exist. Director Bart van Leemputten is said to hugely dislike such failed performances, as he instantly orders to clear them from the record tapes.

After the 16th season, Samson's portrayer Danny Verbiest chose to end his commitment to the franchise. He was soon replaced by Peter Thyssen, however the production of new episodes was postponed in order to give him the chance to practice the necessary puppeteer and voice skills. In the end, it was decided not to produce another season, although other 'Samson en Gert' activities such as the yearly theatre shows still go on. The series was also followed by a film and several TV-specials.

At the end of each season 1-2 episode, the present characters sing a short summary of the specific plot. From season 3 onwards, the episodes all end with ordinary closing credits and a steady theme song.

Walter De Donder had his breakthrough as a professional actor by playing the village's mayor. In 2011, De Donder became the mayor of Affligem in real life.

The first two seasons of the series included constant interactions with the viewers, as the show primarily consisted of announcing cartoons, reading and showing fanmail and letters. Samson and Gert were supposed to be famous and reachable television personalities. From the third season onwards, the series more became a regular sitcom for a young audience, losing most of the interaction and reduced the amount of breaking the fourth wall. Because of this difference, there are no reruns of series 1-3. However, for the occasion of the show's 20th birthday in 2010, three of the season 1 episodes were semi-syndicated (edited to a 20-25 minute timeslot, skipping all cartoons) and added to the rerun chain.

Walter De Donder is also well-known for playing the titular character on Kabouter Plop (1997), a fellow successful franchise of the Studio 100 production company.