Still watching: Going My Home

... Although I feel like one of an increasingly rare breed. The ratings for this drama have gone from 13% down to a dismal 5.9% in the space of six episodes, which has left me scratching my head over why.

It's a very slow moving story, that much is true. But this needn't mean a series is unsuccessful. Yasashii Jikan was slow but it had an important, emotional story at its heart: of a father and his estranged son. Dr Koto's Clinic was also quite soporific, but each episode had the good doctor struggling over big issues of life and death. In Going My Home, the main story appears to be that the main characters don't really know their own father. This is a pretty slender storyline to base an entire series on.

It's a shame the ratings are bad, because the series is full of excellent performances and clever dialogue so if you're like me and you're not bothered that the story hasn't really started yet, then this is quality television. If, however, you suspect that all of these scenes are just padding, then you'll find this a very frustrating show.

But each episode has a scene or two that's definitely worth watching, and if anyone can find something more adorable than Miyazaki Aoi describing the little people who live in the forest to a room of children, then I'll eat my hat.

Going My Home is a bit arty and a bit too clever and in no hurry to tell its story. I love the fact that it takes time to show otherwise unimportant details. This wouldn't be out of place on WOWOW, but it doesn't appear to be doing well on Fuji TV, up against other big dramas and variety shows. Going My Home feels like a late-night drama given a prime-time slot. Trouble is, it's getting late-night drama viewing figures.