There's not much 'there' there, my good chap.

Tried out Victorian Romance Emma via Netflix (discs, not streaming, sadly). I really wanted to like this show, but after two discs, I cannot seem to rustle up one-half of a damn what happens to these people. There's Freddy from My Fair Lady, fine, I guess, while the maid character has this vague, sad open space where her personality is supposed to be.

I want to care! I'm all for that restrained, Remains of the Day, emotionally stunted jazz. But this one's just not intriguing me. All I can think of is "oh, all right then, Yamato Nadeshiko in England...and...the end."

It's not pandering except to historical nerds, and it's not bad by any measure I can see. I'd recommend it if it seems to line up with your interests. But it's not getting me, and apart from the blankness of the main character, I can't quite define why.


I have this quixotic impulse to watch the first and last episodes of streaming series that I know nothing about. I keep wanting this genre to surprise me. I did try Angel Beats!'s first episode, and was duly confused. That's as far as it got.