Julian Fellowes Presents Dr. Thorne, Amazon

I almost expected to hear Julian Fellowes say, “Gooodeeevening.’’

On vacation, I caught up with a few shows, including this four-part Amazon miniseries released in May. It’s based on a novel by the great Anthony Trollope, which goes simply by the title “Dr. Thorne,’’ since it was written long before Julian Fellowes was able to present anything.

“Julian Fellowes Presents Dr. Thorne’’ is certainly pretty, like Fellowes’s “Downton Abbey,’’ and it makes for easy watching. But it’s remarkably forgettable. The romantic leads are bland, although Stefanie Martini looks remarkably like Ruth Wilson, and the story line is a paint-by-numbers conflict between love and money, with none of Trollope’s subtleties or political notions. I’m a sucker for Victorian period dramas, but this one failed to leave an impression.

Here’s why I’m mentioning it. Each episode begins and ends with commentary by Fellowes, as he sits in a red-velvet arm chair beside a lit fireplace. And Fellowes is a likable sort, as he enthusiastically recaps the story; you can feel his passion for both Trollope and “Dr. Thorne.’’

But still, they are odd little bumpers that come off as unintentional self-parody. The atmosphere is so British-cozy it’s almost out of a “Saturday Night Live’’ sketch, and the camera angles are peculiar, particularly those shot virtually up Fellowes’s nose.

I kept thinking of Alfred Hitchcock’s introductions on his series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,’’ particularly since Fellowes is also bald and might look like Hitchcock in a side silhouette. But Hitchcock, who greeted us with “Gooodeeevening,’’ was being droll, while Fellowes is quite sincere.

Hosting a scripted show is a hard job to do well, even while it’s a fairly simple task. Rod Serling is the standard bearer for his bits on “The Twilight Zone,’’ and Alistair Cooke did nicely on “Masterpiece Theatre.’’ But Gillian Anderson and Laura Linney — two actresses I generally like — were painful to watch in the years after Cooke.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.