Lili & Marleen

- Season 6

(1999)

The summer vacation is nearly over and Rikki is about to go back to school. His mother wants him with a crew cut and in short trousers, but Rikki hates both with a passion. Fortunately he can count on Rik to come to his aid. Nieke won't budge on the hair, but reluctantly gives in on the trousers. The Rikki gets into a fight with Red and Jeanneman. Prime victim : his trousers.

Jeanneman, one of Rikki's friends, is addicted to a slot machine in pub "Het Papegaaike". He's making good money of the machine. After a fight between Rik and Stavros about Stavros borrowing Riks cuff links, Rikki promises his dad to buy him his own cuff links. However, he can't afford to buy them, so he steals some household money from his mother. Jeanneman is going to play the slot machine and get him the money he needs. But Jeanneman looses all their money. Rikki tries to get money from Jef, but Jef is broke. He steals some more money from his dad, in an attempt to...

Rik has bought a lot of plastic straws : 30.000 of them. His client wants them nicely packed in bags of 50, which should be a nice and easy job for Jef and Stavros. Counting straws is about the last straw for the two, and they decide that Jef is having a nervous breakdown. Everyone is deeply concerned about Jef's mental health, but Pierre smells a con. When his suspicions prove true, Pierre, Rik, Ida and the doctor use a page out of the cons book to get even. Nieke has set her sights on a modern bathroom and toilet. She wants to install it in Rikki's room, which is ...

Rik has bought a safe. A huge safe. Thanks to Ida's blabbermouth, the whole neighborhood knows inside an hour. Therefor it comes as no surprise that the place gets burgled. Rik is just in time to surprise the burglar, who runs off without cracking the safe. Rik is in all states, and buys a shotgun. He orders Jef and Stavros to guard duty at night, and even offers them a bonus if they can catch the burglar. The two, supervised by Ida, start training Jiu Jitsu. Uncle Frans bets Edgard he can crack the safe in ten minutes. At night Jef, Ida and Stavros surprise a burglar...

Jef and Ida have found a dead rabbit and sell it to Rik for a stew. Whilst Stavros is eating the stew, Jef hears half of a newspaper article about an outbreak of myxomatosis, and immediately thinks they have poisoned Rik and Stavros. Rik, however, hasn't eaten any rabbit stew. Afraid they will be held accountable for Stavros' imminent death - Jef and Ida for supplying the rabbit, Rik for cooking it - they come up with a plan to convince the others that Stavros has cancer, and only a week to live. Everyone goes out of their way to be nice to Stavros, and he's no clue ...

Frans has finally set up Nieke with her own business. She's the proud owner of a sauna. She never goes there, which is as well, because Frans, who runs the sauna, has hired a Chinese masseuse. He charters Jef and Stavros to help him, but Ida isn't that happy about the presence of Sue-Ling. Understandably, Frans wants to keep Sue-Ling as far away from Nieke as possible. Marleen finds out about the masseuse, and when Nieke flaunts her less than kosher relationship with Frans in front of the nun in charge of the adoption attempts of Marleen and Pierre, she uncovers the ...

Rik has read in the newspaper that the tension between the US and the USSR is high. He's convinced Chrustshov is about to throw an atom bomb on Antwerp, so he prepares a nuclear shelter. Mother Lisa is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her café, and Jef and Ida are preparing a show. Rik has other plans : he's hired a "famous" singer to sing at the party, just to spite Ida. But Stavros is on Ida's side, and locks Rik in his nuclear shelter during the party.

Nieke has arranged a meeting between uncle Frans and his Dutch wife Stella. Stella arrives with a shady character named Henk. Henk sees Jef and Ida at work, and convinces them to cut a record. Enthusiastically they agree. With some radio gigs and the record cut, Henk presents the bill. Of course, Jef and Ida can't pay. So Henk offers to "manage" them, but the contract will hardly get them anything. Rik, who has taken an instant dislike to the Dutchman, bails them out. Not only because of his dislike, but he thinks he can make a handsome profit of the sales. But no one...

Nieke has set her sights on marrying uncle Frans, but Frans is more slippery than an eel.

Frans has ended his relationship with Nieke (again), and she pesters her father and Stavros for money. Stavros has found a way to augment their income : they are going to breed Chinchilla's for the fur industry. Rik is enthusiastic : the little animals don't eat much, and breed ferociously. When Jef and Ida find out what the fate of the cute animals will be, they mount a rescue.

Nieke has found a new boyfriend : Armand. The man is very charming, a real gentleman, and hasn't laid a hand on Nieke since they met. He's a traveling salesman in toupees, and gives one to Jef in return for publicity from him and Stavros. When Armand takes Nieke, Stavros and Jef to a sales fair in Brussels, Ida finds out from mother Lisa that Armand is gay. Jef, who is mortified by gays, is sharing the room with Armand when Ida calls him to tell him the news. He flees to Stavros, who is sharing the room with Nieke. They decide that - as Armand is Nieke's "boyfriend" -...

The adoption plans of Marleen and Pierre have succeeded, and they want Jef as the baby's godfather. Jef is over the moon, and so is Ida. The priest, however, won't accept Jef, as Jef and Ida are "living in sin". They have been together for 30 years, but they have never had the money to get married. Now Ida sees her chance to finally get married. Jef's stud night "slightly" derails, and he ends up in jail.

Nieke is - once again - single. This really gets on the nerves of Rik and Stavros. Ida suggests burning candles for Saint Rita, patroness of hopeless cases. They build their own shrine and light tens of candles for a new boyfriend for Nieke. Virtually immediately Hans, the father of Rikki, reappears. He is still madly in love with Nieke and wants her to come with him to his hotel in the Black Forest. Being the mistress of a great hotel in Germany of course appeals to Nieke, and she wants to take Rikki with her. Rik is devastated. He insists that they finally tell ...