"A Very Royal Scandal" (2024, UK)

Lunes, 9 de febrero de 2026: 

 This night, I watched the following drama in my Washitu room.

 It was recorded on a USB-HDD (registration number 3) connected to a DIGA (made in 2017). It was broadcast on NHK General TV from 23:00 on January 18, 2026.

 "A Very Royal Scandal" (2024, UK, Blueprint Television. Original story by Emily Maitlis (role of the lead actress). English. Japanese dubbing) Episode 2.

 This issue is not over yet, and is still being frequently reported on by the BBC. The truth is unknown, but it makes for an interesting drama.

Jueves, 12 de febrero de 2026: 

 This night, I watched the following drama in my Japanese-style room.

 It was recorded on a USB-HDD (registration number 3) connected to a DIGA (manufactured in 2017). It was broadcast on NHK General TV from 23:00 on January 25, 2026.

 "A Very Royal Scandal" (2024, UK, dubbed in Japanese), episode 3 (final episode).

 It was interesting.

 The current King Charles III ignored his brother's wishes, who had decided to fight the case in court, and unilaterally decided to settle the matter in a lawsuit in the United States. This made him seem like a tyrant.

 The alleged victim filed a criminal complaint against the "former prince" in the United States for rape, but considering various indirect circumstances, I find it hard to believe that the former prince actually committed the act of "rape."

 There's a Chinese proverb that goes, "Don't adjust your hat under a plum tree."

 The truth is likely that the prince was probably playing around with the girl as a prank (unaware that she was being trafficked), but because it happened behind closed doors, it is impossible to prove whether he did or didn't do it. It is impossible to prove that he didn't rape her behind closed doors 20 years ago.

 As a result, public sympathy tends to shift toward the young woman who cries (artificially) in front of the TV cameras as she reports her victimization.

 In Japanese courts, there are many lawsuits in which victims later sue the men involved for rape, indecent assault, sexual harassment, or power harassment (against women). However, in almost all of these cases, the victim's father or a thug boyfriend is behind the scenes. In many cases, these dirty men seduce women for money and use the courts and the police.

 This is why I cannot trust women who cry and scream in front of the TV cameras 20 years later and claim to have been raped.

 I was unable to watch the first episode because I missed the recording schedule.

"Father Brown" (BBC in 2013), Season 1, #1

Jueves, 8 de enero de 2026: 

 I watched the following drama in the Japanese-style room at night.

 It was recorded on the built-in HDD of my DIGA (made in 2017). It will be broadcast on BS12 from 8:00 PM on January 5, 2026.

 This is the first episode of Season 1 of the drama "Father Brown" (produced by the BBC in 2013. Original language: English with Japanese subtitles. 10 episodes in total).

 The story is set in a beautiful English countryside village that everyone would love to live in at least once. It's a rural village in the early 1950s.

 There are hardly any electric wires and towers, no vending machines, and no advertising billboard or advertising posters. It's a beautiful rural landscape.

 A steam locomotive from that time runs, with passengers on board. The station platform has also been recreated to look just like it did back then. It's wonderful that a "period drama" can be filmed on location in such a place.

 The sight of a classic British car driving briskly is also cool. If I could buy one at a low price, I'd like to drive a car like that too. However, watching the Discovery Channel's "Classic Car Restoration," it's clear that it would be extremely expensive to improve the locomotive so that it could be legally and safely driven on Japan's roads today. There are probably very few people in Japan today who are capable of carrying out the work.

 I don't know whether red fire alarms and extinguishers were installed at rural British stations at the time. Since the filming took place at the stations while the steam locomotive was actually running, the authorities may not have given permission to cover up or remove the fire alarms and extinguishers currently installed on the station platforms with posters or other objects.

 It seems likely that the stations chosen did not have yellow lines for the visually impaired on their platforms.

 Even in the countryside, Japanese stations are full of posters, notices, and vending machines. Even unmanned stations have vending machines.

 The steam locomotives currently running in Japan (preserved working vehicles) are vehicles that were in operation from the 1960s to the early 1970s and have the latest smoke collection devices attached to the top, giving them a different feel from the steam locomotives that ran before World War II. 

 Japan's current population is 120 million. It is impossible to see the impressive sight of steam locomotives speeding along bravely, spewing out clouds of smoke, as was the case in the past. The steam locomotives that pull tourist trains in Japan today are little more than toys.

 The original author, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, was born in 1874 and passed away in 1936.

 Casual viewing of the drama makes us think it is set in the English countryside about 100 years ago (after World War I).

"BLACKOUT" (2020, Belgium) AFLEVERING 1 ＆ "The Expendables 3" (August 2014, USA)

Jueves, 1 de enero de 2026: 

 That evening, I watched the following recorded programs in my Japanese-style room.

 Recorded onto a USB HDD connected to a DIGA (2017 model). Broadcast on BS12 on October 22, 2021, starting at 9:00 PM.

 Friday's Killer Street "BLACKOUT" (2020, Belgium. 10 episodes. Originally in Dutch with Japanese subtitles), Episode 1 (AFLEVERING 1).

 Interesting. It's not flashy, but the technical quality is excellent. The opening and ending music is also good (English songs).

 I'm not good with mystery stories, and I can't maintain my concentration unless the tempo is good, but mystery stories that link political power and crime are interesting.

Next.

 Recorded onto the built-in HDD of a DIGA (2017 model). Broadcast on BS12 on December 28, 2025, starting at 6:00 PM. The film "The Expendables 3" (August 2014, USA, original language: English, subtitles: Japanese).

 This is my second or third time watching it. It was incredibly entertaining.

 It's so powerful it's hard to believe it was made 12 years ago. The fact that international superstars appear one after another in supporting roles is a testament to the personalities of the main cast.

 The director of this film was born in 1978, making him 35-36 years old at the time of production. And he's Australian.

 This is the strength of America.

 Under the current circumstances, it's unimaginable for us Japanese to imagine a Japanese person in their 30s making a film in America, using English and featuring many world-famous stars and film industry heavyweights from the US, UK, and Hong Kong.

 As we Japanese live in an isolated, closed-off, autistic, self-sufficient, xenophobic, and island culture, we have a very poor grasp of foreign languages, and our starting line is completely different from that of English-speaking people.

"Agatha Christie, MARPLE" Season 3 (2007. Co-produced and broadcast by UK and US)

 Jeudi 4 décembre 2025: 

 This night, I watched the following drama in my Japanese-style room.

 It was recorded on an external hard drive connected to a DIGA (made in 2017). It will be broadcast on BS11 from 6:00 PM on January 18, 2024. "Agatha Christie, MARPLE" Season 3 (2007. Co-produced and broadcast by ITV in the UK and WGBH-TV in the US. Originally in English with Japanese subtitles. 8 episodes in total). Episode 3.

 There's a scene where the victim's son and daughter are playing gateball in the garden. I thought gateball was a game for old people that originated in Japan, a modified version of mallet golf. I was surprised that gateball equipment existed 100 years ago. I was also surprised that young people were playing gateball. It's something that would be unthinkable in Japan.

 In modern Japan, gateball is considered a game played by unemployed, low-intellectual, lonely, and elderly people from lower social classes, who gather together in groups in a spirit of "kindness pity." It is generally viewed with contempt and pity (it is assumed that decent people play golf outside and Igo or Shōgi indoors).

Frankie DRAKE MYSTERIES season 1, #8

 Lunes, 10 de noviembre de 2025: 

 I watched the following drama in the evening in a Japanese-style room (tatami room).

 It was recorded on an external hard drive connected to a DIGA (made in 2017). It aired on BS12 on November 21, 2023, from 2:00 AM.

 "Frankie Drake Mysteries" Season 1 (Produced by CBS, 11 episodes in total, original English with Japanese subtitles), Episode 8.

 Filming a drama set in the "good old days of America" ​​100 years ago must be difficult. A Western would have involved using a studio set or filming on location in the desert. 

 However, post-World War I America was enjoying prosperity and had already entered the era of mass consumerism. Also, America at that time was already in the age of motorization.

 As a result, there was an abundance of "Goods" both indoors and outdoors. Outside, classic cars were passing by, large buildings were lined up, and people of all ages and genders were wearing a variety of colorful clothing. There's a lot of furniture indoors, too.

 On the other hand, the appearance of the city is completely different from today, and even indoors, most of the furniture from this era is made of wood. The materials used for the houses are also different, with the interiors being made of brick. There are probably scenes where the cityscape is synthesized using CGI, but the casual viewer wouldn't notice.

 It must be difficult to drive classic cars that's been preserved in working order.

 In episode 8, "classic plane" made an appearance. I was amazed that such an airplane still exists. It was actually moving, which amazed me.

 I don't think there are any working planes from this era left in Japan.

 The scenes of century-old planes flying through the sky were probably CGI, but even an amateur watching on a television set could see the naturalness of it, and I was amazed and wondered, "Are they really piloting them (at the risk of their lives)?"

Frankie DRAKE MYSTERIES #6 / Pile pail / AN ILLUSION IN RED & WHITE

Viernes, 7 de noviembre de 2025: 

 Tonight, I watched the following drama and movie in my Japanese-style room.

 Recorded onto a USB-HDD connected to a DIGA (2017 model). Broadcast on BS12 from 2:00 AM on November 7, 2023.

 "Frankie Drake Mysteries" Season 1 (11 episodes, original English, Japanese subtitles) Episode 6.

 A battle against the Italian Mafia, who control the illegal whiskey manufacturing and wholesale routes and have restaurants under their control. A young Al Capone appears. Was he really such a kind person?

 Next. Recorded onto an external HDD. Broadcast on BS12 from 8:55 PM on September 27, 2025. 

 SATURDAY SHORT THEATER, "Pile pail" (France, 2018, 21 minutes, original French, Japanese subtitles).

 A family problem both old and new, since the dawn of mankind. A typical French film.

 Next. Recorded on the same HDD. Broadcast on BS12 from 9:20 PM on September 27, 2025. 

 SHORT FILM THEATER, "AN ILLUSION IN RED & WHITE" (USA, 2014. 24 minutes long. Original language: English. Japanese subtitles). 

 It seemed like a difficult film to understand.