History Series / Emma

* OverprotectiveDad: Michael Gambon plays an extremely gentle version of this character. While Mr. Woodhouse is something of this trope in the novel and all adaptations, Gambon's Mr. Woodhouse explicitly speaks of his special concern for his daughters as a result of losing his wife when they were very young.

* AuthorAppeal: Screenwriter Sandy Welch follows a similar pattern to her previous literary adaptations in many ways. She keeps the four-episode structure from ''Literature/OurMutualFriend'', ''Literature/NorthAndSouth'', and ''Film/JaneEyre''. Additionally, like ''Film/JaneEyre'', she approaches Emma's story through her childhood.

* AdultFear:
** Emma gets her first taste of this after her governess' wedding and realizes that she might one day end up like Miss Bates, tied to caring for her elderly parent and otherwise quite alone.
** Mr. Woodhouse is constantly afraid that something terrible will happen to his daughters and bluntly explains his unhappiness with Mrs. Weston's marriage with "mothers ''die'', Emma."
** The first ten minutes of the series is a host of adult fears, starting with widowhood, impoverishment, and being forced to give up your child for their own good.

* NotSoDifferent: The series draws a line between Miss Bates being her mother's caregiver to Emma and her father after they visit Hartfield. Emma is clearly a little disturbed at the parallel when she sees it.

* ThemeTuneCameo: The theme from the opening titles is played as the song for the dance Emma and Knightley share in the third episode.

* GenkiGirl: Garai's Emma is prone to do ''everything'' '''very energetically'''.

-->'''Emma:''' (discussing the Box Hill party) "It shall be an intimate gathering and we shall only invite people we like!"

-->'''[[{{Jerkass}} Mrs. Elton:]]''' "Box Hill! What marvelous idea!"

* HeadbuttOfLove: Emma and Knightley, after all the mutual misunderstandings are cleared up and she accepts his proposal.

----

The BBC returned to ''Emma'' after nearly four decades, scripted by Sandy Welch (though they had planned a follow-up to ''Pride And Prejudice'' in 1996, cancelled when the other two versions were announced - a project which was also supposed to be scripted by Sandy Welch). Starred Creator/RomolaGarai as Emma, Creator/JonnyLeeMiller as Mr. Knightley, and Creator/MichaelGambon as Mr. Woodhouse.

The BBC returned to ''Emma'' after nearly four decades, scripted by Sandy Welch (though they had planned a follow-up to ''Pride And Prejudice'' in 1996, cancelled when the other two versions were announced - a project which was also supposed to be scripted by Sandy Welch). Starred Romola Garai as Emma, Creator/JonnyLeeMiller as Mr. Knightley, and Creator/MichaelGambon as Mr. Woodhouse.

!!One day, you will bitterly regret your tropewriting

** Mr Elton carries his new bride from their carriage through the threshold.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first episode is packed with hints of what's to come. There's Miss Bates' fretting over Emma possibly running into gypsies while walking, Emma joking that Harriet might make a good match for Knightley, and Knightley saying that Emma will bitterly regret her meddling. All are paid off, though not always in the way you'd expect.
* ElectiveMute: Mrs. Bates hasn't spoken since she lost her home and had to give up her grandniece Jane to the care of Colonel Campbell. [[spoiler:She finally pipes up in the fourth episode.]]
* FeeFiFauxPas: Early on, Emma jokes about Frank Churchill never managing to reach Hartfield, which upsets Mrs. Weston and provokes Mr. Weston to complain that he wishes people would stop accusing his son of carelessness. Emma manages to quickly smooth it over by saying she's only joking because she's eager to meet Frank.

* ImagineSpot: Emma's rather overwrought picture of the scene when Miss Bates explains how Mr. Dixon saved Jane from falling off a cliff. She does the same thing later after Frank rescues Harriet.

* LapPillow: During the Boxhill picnic, Frank puts his head on Emma's lap. It's a great sign of intimacy (and actually very inaccurate to the period; people wouldn't have behaved like that, not even as a joke, especially lady and gentleman who are not engaged, nor married -- Frank wouldn't have done that and Emma certainly wouldn't have let him). Probably done to emphasise how embarrassing Emma and Frank were and how improper their flirting was.

* NotSoDifferent: The series draws a line between Miss Bates being her mother's caregiver to Emma and her father after they visit Hartfield--Emma is clearly a little disturbed at the parallel when she sees it.

* PimpedOutDress: Mrs. Elton is always in brighter, more trimmed-out dresses than the ladies around her, and she's quite keen for everyone to see how expensive it is.
* SeriousBusiness: A snowshower starting while everyone is at Randalls is treated as a major crisis--at least by John Knightley, who is already pretty cranky, and Mr. Woodhouse, who is riddled with anxiety.

* UmbrellaOfTogetherness: Mr Weston shares his umbrella with Miss Taylor (future Mrs Weston) when it starts raining after the Sunday service. In the novel, he met Emma and Miss Taylor when they were walking and he gallantly borrowed two umbrellas for them from Farmer Mitchell's because it was drizzling.

* YoungerAndHipper: Partly due to Emma's being cast at a more mature age, but Jonny Lee Miller was 34 at the time he played Mr. Knightley, and is young-looking.