Copyright © 2026 Illustration by Wilhelm Laufs
I was very happy when I heard Maryna Mcdonald du Plessis would finally be released on parol. Man… she had a difficult time! She didn’t deserve all the bad things that happend to her.
Have you ever been wrongfully convicted or judged? Have you ever been released on parole? Maybe you know someone who has? Please comment down below.
Maryna was the lead character in Sonkring, an early nineties TV series by Jan Scholtz. This show was on TV while I was growing up. Back then there were no Netflix and binge watching shows. The episodes were released weekly and it caused real excitement and anticipation. They were really well produced with intriguing and compelling stories lines and characters.
If I had to name my ultimate trifecta of writers, directors and producers it would be Jan Scholtz, Werner Herzog and Quentin Tarantino. Who would you name in your ultimate trifecta? Please comment down below.
Jan Scholtz also brought us the hottest, steamiest dance scene ever when Barry Mcgregor and Bibi Brinkman danced the tango in Triptiek. I believe, without question, Barry Mcgregor would be able to easily take down James Bond any day of the week. What do you think? Please comment down below.
Unfortunately, Jan Scholtz passed away in 2015. I would have loved to meet him. I would have asked him about his process and how he developed his characters and storylines. What a legend!
I wonder about Maryna and think her character was partly based on the lives of Ingrid Jonker and Job. Ingrid Jonker struggled greatly with her relationship with her father, and was also a poet. Job is a person from the Bible and also experienced a lot of unjust suffering.
In conclusion… unjust suffering? Why do so many bad things sometimes happen to good people who don’t deserve it? I don’t know. It’s difficult to understand. It seems the answer is: We aren’t really in control of our own lives? To a certain extent maybe, but ultimately not? What do you think?
I like how both Maryna and Job both received their happy endings though: Maryna finished her law degree and went on to marry her editor Adam Gerber when she was released from prison. He made her his one-and-only “Poppie”. God gave Job twice as much as he had before: fourteen thousand livestock, six thousand camels, two thousand cattle, a thousand donkeys and seven sons and three daughters. Nowhere were there any ladies as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Job lived for another 140 years.
Big thanks to Jan Scholtz. He was a true master at what he did. Thanks also to Helena Hettema for writing such a cool theme song. Listen to it here. I have done my own punk version of Sonkring. You can watch it here.
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Thanks for reading.
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