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Orson and Olivia is a French/Italian/British animated comedy-drama television series. It features the trials of two orphans living in Victorian London. It is based on the French comics series Basil et Victoria by Edith and Yann.
Orson and Olivia are two eleven-year-old orphans who live on a boat in the St Katharine Docks. They have to find food in order to survive and catch rats to earn money. Together, they have many adventures. They encounter famous people, both real and fictional.
Tropes:
- Canine Companion: Faltstaff is Orson and Olivia's big faithful dog. They call him the best rat-catcher in all of London.
- Charlie Brown Baldness: Orson's a small orphan (he's eleven), and he's bald, except for a few strands of hair.
- The "I Love You" Stigma: In "Heart of Stone", it's mentioned several times that women in high society can't tell men that they love them first, and people insist that courtship and relationships must be based on never revealing your feelings and gas-lighting.
- Lighter and Softer: The show has a lighter tone than the Basil et Victoria comics it is based on.
- Man Bites Man: In the first episode "Henrietta", Olivia is caught and dragged into the Orphanage. She tries to fight and run away, and during her struggle, she bites the evil constable.
- Fiery Redhead: Olivia has bright ginger hair. She's very stubborn, hot-headed, but has a good heart. She dreams she will become a famous artist, known by everyone in London.
- Nightmare Sequence: Olivia is prone to having one in every episode as premonitions.
- Spurned into Suicide: Rosamond Heart of Stone who is admired for her beauty, courted and loved by nearly everybody, decides to end it all because Simon Baltimore doesn't love her or notice her. Orson, Olivia and other urchins save her when she tries to drown herself.
- Straw Feminist: In "Twentieth Century Woman", two of these overhear Olivia arguing with Orson over her refusing to sew his pants and decide to recruit her for their group, which turns Olivia into one as well.
- Street Urchin: Olivia and Orson are two homeless orphans who sleep on makeshift beds on a boat in the River Thames in London. They earn money by catching rats and doing other odd jobs. Occasionally they'll encounter people who help them or feed them a bit.
- Suicide Watch: In "Heart of Stone", Olivia decides to keep an eye on a famous courtesan Rosamond Heart of Stone because she has tried to kill herself twice over her unrequited love.
- Victorian London: The show is set in London under Queen Victoria's reign. The British Empire is at its peak and it has major influence on the world with their scientific breakthroughs and great achievements in culture... but many people live in horrible poverty, including two eleven-year old orphans and street urchins, Orson and Olivia. They are best friends who survive by catching and selling rats and other hustling.
- Westminster Chimes: The theme tune starts with the famous chimes, complete with the establishing shot of the Westminster tower. Used as Regional Riff because the story is set in Victorian London.
- Would Hit a Girl: There are two instances of this in "Romeo and Olivia". First, Greg, a member of the main characters' rival gang slaps his little sister for telling Olivia the address of her newfound love interest (who is also Greg's cousin), later, as said cousin (the "Romeo" in the title), insults Olivia by calling her "louse-ridden" and she then punches him in the face, he actually returns the punch.
