 This Flemish sitcom, one of the greatest TV hits ever in Belgium, is about a small group of colleagues in a non-specified (in fact, the only indications are contradictory) ministerial department in pre-federal Belgium. It s all about there mainly petty rivalries, gossip, interests etc. The original head of their division is director Paul Thienpondt, somewhat pompous but very pragmatic and well-connected, risen trough the ranks. The only other cadres, who rival to replace him, first temporarily and later for good, are Bonaventuur Verastenhoven, highly cultivated and classy but unpopular as a snob and too perfectionist to be productive, and Philemon Persez, an idealistic do-gooder whose marriage above his birth rank goes sour as he s drawn to Thienpondt s secretary Mireille Puis. The middle level, where most of the daily work is done, has two pranksters: Jean De Pesser, womanizing father of a handicapped boy with a simpleton wife Josée, a boasting trade union representative, and Gilbert Van Hie, an anarchist. The unschooled ranks include the typist, fasted rotated but always the nodal point of gossip; file clerk Jomme Dockx, as fat and dumb as a bull but proud as a peacock of his son Adelbert; Hilaire Baconfoy, the fanatically francophone (but perfectly bilingual) messenger; coffee lady Arabelle. Over time, a number of characters are added and/or replaced, a few return too. Each episode is a nearly independent story, often involving one are more non-permanent characters.