Tenko

[JellySlice]

Anyone remember Tenko? I was in my teens when it was first on. Mum and I were riveted by it. I would like to watch it again - would I see it differently now, with a few more decades of life experience?

Sometimes poor production values can be an asset. Without the set pieces, the dramatic music, the sweeping aerial shots, the stunning sets, the characters, the writing and the acting take centre stage.

The writer was a woman, too, IIRC.

Do you think it was a feminist series? Was it feminist by default, or on purpose? Women coping when imprisoned by men and having to rely entirely on women to survive.

I loved it. The characters are still so vivid in my mind's eye even now.

I loved it, watched it all.

I watched A Town Like Alice last night, also fantastic, both book and film, and there was a mini series too with Bryan Brown which I'd love to find.

I've got the box set, its still watchable imo. I do think it was a feminist series, they covered topics the women had to face that were shocking for that time.

Another fan here, really enjoyed it.

I loved this series and must have watched it in my teens. Much of the storyline has stayed with me. Such great writing and nuanced storytelling. I watched empire of the sun recently (caught it late at night and ended up watching the whole film till the early hours and was sobbing at the end). Think a rewatch of Tenko is needed.

I loved it, in my teens
Would be great to see it again.

Stephanie Cole has stuck with me. She's heavy hitting as a serious actor but has done some brilliant comedy, too.

Yes - I watched it in the 80s and I've got the box set on DVD now. I watch it all through every two years or so. I love the series - there's so much in it.

I recommend the companion book 'Remembering Tenko' by Andy Priestner - lots of fascinating backstage facts. E.g. a number of scenes in series one had to be reshot when the original actress playing Debbie was replaced because she didn't have an Equity card. Also drafts of the original concept, characters created by Lavinia Warner who didn't make it to the show. Endlessly fascinating.

@RiverSkater

I loved it, watched it all.

I watched A Town Like Alice last night, also fantastic, both book and film, and there was a mini series too with Bryan Brown which I'd love to find.

I was fascinated when I watched A Town Like Alice years after seeing Tenko - Jean Anderson played almost exactly the same character in both.

Wasn't there a reunion episode a couple of years later? Or have I imagined that?

The book of a town like alice is brilliant. What those women suffered... all based on a true story.

Tenko was fabulous. The rich variety of characters was great.

Home Fires was an excellent recent female led drama on ITV which reminded me of Tenko. It was infuriating that ITV cancelled it and left us with a huge cliffhanger, however the writer continued the story in book form.,

Yes, I remember the reunion episode, I think it involved a communist rebellion?

Paradise Lost is a film also set in Japanese female camp which is the story of the choir created by the women. Glenn Close is in it

@Pieceofpurplesky

Wasn't there a reunion episode a couple of years later? Or have I imagined that?

Yes, indeed there was - it was set a few years after the third series and the characters, organised by Marion, went back to Singapore.

@MrsSlocombesPussy

Yes, I remember the reunion episode, I think it involved a communist rebellion?

It did, and SPOILER ALERT former camp inmate Christina (Scottish father, Malaysian mother) was arrested at the end for her involvement. She showed no remorse, which was quite a daring move by the scriptwriters.

Watched it as a teen and then on DVD in the last couple of years. Made a huge impression on me both times. Re-watching it as an adult, I could see that they would struggle to make it as authentically now. I just don't think they would be able to use the language about 'Japs' etc in a modern drama, even if it was reflecting the language of the time accurately. Well worth re-visiting, especially if you were a child/ teen at the time, as there will have been so much that you missed. Definitely a feminist series. I can't think when I have last watched something with such a strong female cast.

Watched it about 10 years ago and as for so many other posters, so much of it has stuck. Extraordinary series – and extraordinary performances.

I agree, a remake just wouldn't cut it. And who would want to miss Stephanie Cole, and so many others?

Yes, great programme.

If you every visit the Imperial War Museum in London, they have a quilt on display which was made by such women.

One of the Changi quilts? I would love to see it! I've read about them - women used innocuous, domestic skills in rebellion against their imprisonners.

I just don't think they would be able to use the language about 'Japs' etc in a modern drama

I was thinking about exactly the same point after posting on the thread last night. I have no doubt the language used was authentic - they had advisors who'd been in women's internment camps and when the series was made in the early 80s, it wouldn't have stood out particularly from other TV content.

Personally I think (if making such a series now) it would be wrong not to include authentic language, even when this was racist - we shouldn't try to gloss over the past. Whether anyone would dare to do this is another question.

My mother watched this, I remember being allowed to watch sometimes. It was fascinating and powerful in a way I didn't quite understand.

I saw the DVD boxset in Sainsburys yesterday. Didn't look closely but I think it was £14.

£14 is a bargain for the hours of absorbing drama it will provide.

Ooooh… good call.

I watched some episodes back then, and can picture it in my head, but don’t recall the stories.

I’d love a rewatch, or possibly it would be a first watch.

I reAd a town like Alice not long ago, and was stunned by it. Wonderful writing, and a story I’d known nothing about.

Later I read the long road to the deep north and was struck by how different the writing was, and the things included. But of course different writers, and writing at different times too, so that’s not just the men/women thing