De kotmadam

- Season 3

(1994)

Jeanne was preparing a welcome back-dinner for her students now the new college year starts, but the first to arrive is the small but enterprising dental student Jo, who has been send as replacement by Billy, who has accepted a scholarship in the United States. As always Jeanne is shattered to loose a student, while Jef worries she won't immediately consent to rent his room, especially once he finds out Jo is an amateur painter who uses live models. Jef and Odilon get caught pretending to be working on Betty's room. Charles-Victor, who spent his summer on more ...

Odilon has great trouble deciding which lollipop to buy for giant knife-murderer Johny Machete, one of his jailbirds. Naiver then ever, Sam presents a detailed plan for ecological measures; Charles-Victor is grossly amused, the others pro in principle, but expect the dufus to do all the work and refuse to make any effort or sacrifice. Jef is in awe for Jo's painter's privilege, the boy gets two women posing that day, first a gracious model who wants to surprise her husband with a nude portrait. Then Odilon learns, being asked to mind the shop, the second is- Jeanne ...

Jo helps Jef prepare for his art school exam, in secret as Jeanne thinks his only subjects are plants, while in fact it's female nudes, which is about to become very public when Jeanne offers some -unseen- for a charity auction, even calling them 'naturist' as she ignores the real meaning of the term. Charles-Victor hoped to trick newcomer Jo into changing rooms, as he got the luxurious attic, but Jo outsmarts him. When Odilon tells disputes between prisoners are settled by vote among their peers, Jeanne decides to hold one for all residents, and C-V puts his trust in...

Plucking a daisy makes Betty believe Jo is smitten on her, just doesn't know it himself; Sam is a bit more skeptical, obviously the man-eater is the one on the prowl, and without boundaries or effect. Jeanne's mother forgets her hypochondria instantly because of a lover who takes her on a first love night to Paris; even Jeanne wasn't prepared to listen to her endless ranting and leaves the phone off the hook, till Charles-Victor points out she keeps mentioning jewels and disinheriting, enough to make the heiress listen and rush to collect the jewels for safekeeping ...

Betty if furious to have seen her blond, blue-eyed boyfriend Stijn kiss another, behind her back- even though she has another, Theo, since longer herself. Jo is preparing an exhibition of student objects. Koen's mother has a row with her husband, and takes scorned Betty's 'man-rearing' advice to wait till he makes the first move, so she stays at Jeanne's, eager to do her bit as experienced housemother, but soon gets at everybody's nerves...

Jef is furious to hear Jeanne believes nothing gets done in the house without Odilon, so he is dead-set to prove himself just as handy by repairing a drawer in the counter, even making his own wood-glue, but thereby gradually turns the shop into a disaster area. Sam thinks she's pregnant; Betty says she's too tame for that, except that one time the students all had a long night drinking together; to shut him up, she makes Charles-Victor, who also got drunk then, believe he would be the father; later a misunderstanding convinces everybody of a pregnancy, in Jeanne's ...

Charles-Victor tricks Koen into lending manual assistance to his campaign for president of the student body, promising intellectual enlightenment instead of mindless drinking and fun- a perfect recipe for defeat. A stench in the house makes Jeanne and Jef get Odilon to dig up the plumbing, and find a 'blindganger', i.e. an unexploded German World War I grenade, which they try to keep secret for the students by pretending it's rats while they wait for the Rijkswacht (gendarmerie, Belgian paramilitary police then) which alerted a military bob squad, but nobody told ...

The students weren't too eager to help Odilon with such tasks as filing his taxes, writing a letter to the queen and shopping, till he tells he won a trip for two to Rimini; their zeal ceases when Jeanne proclaims herself travel companion and starts bragging to her former cash register colleague Chantalle, but Jef learns from Odilon the trip's winner hasn't even been drawn; next morning he actually wins, so he's back in favor with candidate-companions, and this time willingly plays them against each-other... Koen has the hots for biker chick Manu(ella), so he dresses ...

In an icy winter month, the central heating breaks down, so everyone is shivering. The repair man comes, but seems to prefer chatting to working, and finally finds there's just a screw loose- alas a new one is impossible to get till the next day. Betty has found a cute white male puppy-dog and would love to keep it, but as Sam points out Jeanne may prove less pet-friendly then she pretends, judging by her tirade against Odilon when he accidentally brings in some dog marks on his shoes, so 'Jommeke' (named after a Flemish white-haired cartoon boy hero) is hidden from ...

When Odilon surprises Jeanne with 'pas de guimauve' from a posh sweetshop and goes on how much fancier and more expensive everything is there, she despairs with a husband without ambition like Jef she'll never get on in life.

When Jo finds CV is studying the market for Trappist beers, he offers his expertise to test quality, orally. A crush on hunky idealist student Erwin made Betty join his campaign to collect clothes for poor kids in Albania, which Sam joins sincerely and soon interest him more. While Jef sleeps downstairs with a foot in plaster, everybody is bothered by the boxes full of donations Jeanne allowed storing before realizing it's so much and not a few hours. Rascal client Bertje hates spending a night with his bossy aunt, so gets permission to sleep in Jeanne's bed, but the ...

Jo is making a video about life in a real 'kot', but asking everybody to act naturally is not enough. Jeanne is furious to read her competitor 'De Lekkerbek' placed a newspaper ad, offering 20% off for a month while stating her sweets are the best in and around Leuven, and shocked to find even Odilon believes it. While the others concentrate on Jeanne's rage at the old babe who only told the truth, economics student Charles-Victor suggests a solution for her real problem: a professional publicity campaign. So Betty brings in the supposedly reputed Jacques Peul, but he...

Koen's mother feels he should have more social contact, conversing with the likes of Jef doesn't count, and become more independent- by listening to Jeanne advice. Charles-Victor proudly announces to be invited to the service club Blauwe Schild (blue shield), at his professor's recommendation, and wisely refuses to take simpleton Koen along. When Jo returns happily from his folk dance group's latest three days Finland trip, Jeanne asks him to sell that hobby to Koen- easy, girls are in the majority, ripe for the picking, the only downside are the dances! Jef and ...

Odilon makes a trip to Amsterdam, and leaves his beloved saxophone in Jef's care. His warning nobody should touch it gets broken, even by everyone- well, Charles-Victor only because he is tricked into it so he should chip in too when Jef drops it himself, as it must be repaired before Odilon's return... Meanwhile Jeanne has lots of work cleaning up behind the street-workers, who keep popping in to use her toilet. Betty assumes, when the youngest one whistles after her, he's just another flirting admirer, but in fact...

Jeanne has a nightmare about dying in a car, burned by diabolic fireman Jef. Odilon has cut himself shaving by hand. Both panic realizing it's Friday the 13th, even worse when a rascal customer brings in a stray black kitten. Jef eagerly takes a day off to baby-sit the superstitious pair which puts its hope on 'remedies' such as throwing rice and burning candles for a St. Christopher statuette; Jo, who spent all night drinking with a mate anyway, decides to stay in bed. At the university's request, Jef and Odilon prepare the home's first-ever fire drill. After Koen's ...

As soon as he hears Jeanne asks about Jef's promotion opportunity to foreman, Odilon makes a run for it, but is trapped into betraying Jef won't do it, claiming the job only gives ulcers. Someone has placed an ad to sell the house, so the students think the couple is broke, and decide to scare off 'potential buyers'. After Odilon said a public servant can get a promotion easiest after his wife entertained the director, Jeanne asks Jef's, Van Der Veken, although the men despise each-other. After Charles-Victor had a row with the girls over the use of the bathroom, he ...

The girls eagerly expect Polish exchange student Olga Kornatowski, the boys can't spare a moment for the presumed 'backward wart hog', so Odilon is assigned volunteer to pick her up- till she arrives on her own, and proves an economics major looking as good as Betty: now Jo and Charles-Victor rival for her company, even spending money on her, only to be disappointed in the end. Jeanne looks forward to arousing envy on the annual party of her supermarket cash register ex-colleagues, but that requires an expensive new dress, for which Jef believes he's entitled to take ...