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Taiga List

2009-01-05T11:36:00.003+02:00

Taiga drama (大河ドラマ, Taiga dorama, literally Big River Drama) is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music director, and actors for the series. The 45-minute show airs on the NHK General network every Sunday at 8:00 p.m., with rebroadcasts on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Satellite, HDTV digital satellite, and NHK World Premium broadcasts are also available.

List of series

# Romanised Name Kanji (or Kana) Name Start End Cast Additional Notes

1 Hana no Shōgai 花の生涯 7 April 1963 29 December 1963 Shoroku Onoe (尾上松緑)
Chikage Awashima Black and white

2 Akō Rōshi 赤穂浪士 1 January 1964 27 December 1964 Kazuo Hasegawa (長谷川一夫)
Osamu Takizawa Black and white. Also the most viewed taiga drama in its history.

3 Taikōki 太閤記 3 January 1965 26 December 1965 Ken Ogata
Kōji Takahashi(高橋幸治) Black and white

4 Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 2 January 1966 25 December 1966 Kikunosuke Onoe (尾上菊之助)
Junko Fuji (藤純子) Black and white

5 San Shimai 三姉妹 1 January 1967 24 December 1967 Mariko Okada (岡田茉莉子)
Shiho Fujimura Black and white

6 Ryōma ga Yuku 竜馬がゆく 7 January 1968 29 December 1968 Kin'ya Kitaōji
Ruriko Asaoka Black and white

7 Ten to Chi to 天と地と 5 January 1969 28 December 1969 Koji Ishizaka (石坂浩二)
Kōji Takahashi(高橋幸治) Colour. Future broadcasts are in colour.

8 Mominoki wa Nokotta 樅の木は残った 4 January 1970 27 December 1970 Mikijiro Hira (平幹二朗)
Sayuri Yoshinaga

9 Haru no Sakamichi 春の坂道 3 January 1971 26 December 1971 Kinnosuke Yorozuya

10 Shin Heike Monogatari 新・平家物語 2 January 1972 24 December 1972 Tatsuya Nakadai

11 Kunitori Monogatari 国盗り物語 7 January 1973 30 December 1973 Keiko Matsuzaka
Yoshiko Mita

12 Katsu Kaishū 勝海舟 6 January 1974 29 December 1974 Tetsuya Watari (渡哲也)
Hiroki Matsukata

13 Genroku Taiheiki 元禄太平記 6 January 1975 29 December 1975

14 Kaze to Kumo to Niji to 風と雲と虹と 4 January 1976 26 December 1976 Ken Ogata
Go Kato (加藤剛)

15 Kashin 花神 2 January 1977 25 December 1977 Umenosuke Nakamura (中村梅之助)
Masatoshi Nakamura (中村雅俊)

16 Ōgon no Hibi 黄金の日日 8 January 1978 24 December 1978 Somegoro Ichikawa (市川染五郎)

17 Kusa Moeru 草燃える 7 January 1979 23 December 1979 Koji Ishizaka (石坂浩二)
Shima Iwashita

18 Shishi no Jidai 獅子の時代 6 January 1980 21 December 1980 Go Kato (加藤剛)

19 Onna Taikōki おんな太閤記 11 January 1981 20 December 1981 Toshiyuki Nishida
Masatoshi Nakamura (中村雅俊)

20 Tōge no Gunzō 峠の群像 10 January 1982 19 December 1982 Ken Ogata
Ken Matsudaira

21 Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 9 January 1983 18 December 1983 Sakae Takita (滝田栄)
Tetsuya Takeda (武田鉄矢)

22 Sanga Moyu 山河燃ゆ 8 January 1984 23 December 1984 Koshiro Matsumoto
Kenji Sawada First (and so far) only Taiga drama set in the Shōwa period of World War II

23 Haruno Hatō 春の波涛 6 January 1985 15 December 1985 Morio Kazama (風間杜夫)
Keiko Matsuzaka

24 Inochi いのち 5 January 1986 14 December 1986 Yoshiko Mita
Koji Yakusho

25 Dokuganryū Masamune 独眼竜政宗 4 January 1987 13 December 1987 Ken Watanabe
Kumiko Goto (後藤久美子)

26 Takeda Shingen 武田信玄 10 January 1988 18 December 1988 Kiichi Nakai
Misako Konno

27 Kasuga no Tsubone 春日局 1 January 1989 17 December 1989 Shinji Yamashita (山下真司)
Aiko Nagayama (長山藍子) Earlist premiere for a Taiga drama.

28 Tobu ga Gotoku 翔ぶが如く 7 January 1990 9 December 1990 Takeshi Kaga
Hideki Takahashi

29 Taiheiki 太平記 6 January 1991 25 December 1991 Hiroyuki Sanada
Yasuko Sawaguchi

30 Nobunaga 信長 5 January 1992 13 December 1992 Naoto Ogata (緒形直人)
Momoko Kikuchi (菊池桃子)

31 Ryūkyū no Kaze 琉球の風 10 January 1993 13 June 1993 Higashiyama Noriyuki (東山紀之)
Watabe Atsuro (渡部篤郎) AKA: Winds of the Ryûkyû Islands (Part 1 of 3). The 32nd Taiga Drama (also from 1993) is part two of the series and Hana no Ran from 1994 is the third and final part of the series.

32 Homura Tatsu 炎立つ 4 July 1993 13 March 1994 Watanabe Ken
Hiroaki Murakami Part 2 of the three part series (Ryūkyū no Kaze being the first). This was the latest premiere for a Taiga drama.

33 Hana no Ran 花の乱 3 April 1994 25 December 1994 Yoshiko Mita
Ichikawa Danjūrō XII This was the concluding part of the series which started with Ryūkyū no Kaze. So far Hana no Ran remains the least viewed Taiga Drama in NHK history.

34 Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune 八代将軍吉宗 8 January 1995 10 December 1995 Toshiyuki Nishida
Nenji Kobayashi (小林稔侍) About the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune.

35 Hideyoshi 秀吉 7 January 1996 22 December 1996 Naoto Takenaka
Yasuko Sawaguchi 49 episodes about the life of Hideyoshi.

36 Mōri Motonari 毛利元就 5 January 1997 14 December 1997 Hashinosuke Nakamura (中村橋之助)
Yasuko Tomita (富田靖子) The series focused on Mōri Motonari, a minor daimyo who was a contemporary to Oda Nobunaga. Some additional info at wiki.d-addicts.com/Mori_Motonari.

37 Tokugawa Yoshinobu 徳川慶喜 4 January 1998 13 December 1998 Motoki Masahiro(本木雅弘)
Ishida Hikari About the life of the last Tokugawa Shogun: Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Some additional info at wiki.d-addicts.com/Tokugawa_Yoshinobu.

38 Genroku Ryōran 元禄繚乱 1 January 1999 12 December 1999 Nakamura Kanzaburo
Ken Matsudaira

39 Aoi ~Tokugawa Sandai~ 葵徳川三代 9 January 2000 17 December 2000 Masahiko Tsugawa
Toshiyuki Nishida

40 Hōjō Tokimune 北条時宗 January 7, 2001 December 9, 2001 Izumi Motoya(和泉元彌)
Watabe Atsuro (渡部篤郎)

41 Toshiie to Matsu 利家とまつ～加賀百万石物語～ 6 January 2002 15 December 2002 Toshiaki Karasawa
Nanako Matsushima First series to be broadcast in High Definition. Future series are also broadcast in HD.

42 Musashi 武蔵 MUSASHI 5 January 2003 7 December 2003 Shinnosuke Ichikawa (市川新之助)
Ryoko Yonekura

43 Shinsengumi! 新撰組! 11 January 2004 12 December 2004 Shingo Katori
Koji Yamamoto

44 Yoshitsune 義経 9 January 2005 11 December 2005 Hideaki Takizawa
Kiichi Nakai

45 Kōmyō ga Tsuji 功名が辻 8 January 2006 10 December 2006 Yukie Nakama
Takaya Kamikawa (上川隆也)

46 Fūrin Kazan 風林火山 7 January 2007 9 December 2007 Masaaki Uchino (内野聖陽)
Gackt

47 Atsuhime 篤姫 6 January 2008 Being Broadcast Aoi Miyazaki

48 Tenchijin 天地人 January 2009 Not Yet Broadcast Satoshi Tsumabuki

49 Saka no Ue no Kumo 坂の上の雲 Fall 2009 Estimated Fall 2011 Upcoming series. Originally set for a 2006 broadcast, but the scriptwriter of the series committed suicide, causing a delay in production. This will be the first Taiga Drama to stagger its airing throughout three years.

Toshiie and Matsu

2008-12-31T21:16:00.001+02:00

The 41st NHK Taiga Drama is Toshiie to Matsu ( 利家とまつ ). During the turbulent Warring States Era, one man's life and career intertwined with the three great generals of Japanese history-Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. With political savvy and the support of his fiercely loyal wife, Maeda Toshiie rose to second in power in the shogunate and built up a fiefdom that encompassed Echizen, Noto and Kaga.

Details

* Name: 利家とまつ
* Name (romaji): Toshiie to Matsu
* Also known as: Toshiie and Matsu / Love Shines Through
* Genre: Taiga drama, historical
* Episodes: 49
* Viewership ratings: 26.1 (1st ep), 27.6 (higest ep), 22.1 (average)
* Broadcast network: NHK
* Broadcast period: 2002-Jan-06 to 2002-Dec-15
* Theme Song:
* Screenwriter: Takeyama You (竹山洋)
* Directors: Suzuki Kei (鈴木圭), Inoue Go (井上剛), Sato Mineyo (佐藤峰世), Iseda Masaya (伊勢田雅也), Kobayashi Takeshi (小林武), Motoki Kazuhiro (本木一博), Tamura Fumitaka (田村文孝), Kajihara Tojo (梶原登城), Tsuchiya Katsuhiro (土屋勝裕)
* Music: Watanabe Toshiyuki

Musashi

2008-12-25T16:44:00.003+02:00

The 42nd NHK Taiga Drama is MUSASHI ( 武蔵 ). Many Japanese history buffs are familiar with The Book of Five Rings written by Miyamoto Musashi in the 17th century. Musashi's treatise on strategy and the way to lead instantly became the business executive's bible when the translated version hit the bookstores more than three hundred years later.

In 2003, the story of this legendary swordsman-philosopher-painter comes to life in the NHK Taiga Drama MUSASHI. Based on the famous biography written by Yoshikawa Eiji, this taiga drama boasts a list of stars that reads like a Who's Who of screen and television.
Orphaned before he was ten years old, Musashi (his real name is Takezo, so you'll hear his childhood friends call him by that name) grows up skilled in the martial arts. During the Battle of Sekigahara, he fights on the side of the losing Toyotomi forces, but eludes the enemy as they hunt down the vanquished soldiers. He then spends years wandering the countryside mastering the sword, becoming a stronger samurai. As his fame spreads throughout the nation, men seek him out to test their skills against him--most notably Sasaki Kojiro who faces Musashi in the ultimate Duel at Ganryujima.

About Miyamoto Musashi
Musashi

My Name Is Earl

2008-12-13T22:28:00.001+02:00

My Name Is Earl is an American sitcom created by Greg Garcia. It is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. In the United States it is broadcast on the NBC television network Thursdays at 8:00 PM Eastern time.

The Writers' Guild strike caused production to end after only 13 of the 25 episodes originally planned for the third season were filmed. When the strike ended, production resumed. A further nine episodes were filmed for Season 3, and new episodes began airing April 3, 2008. Season 4 premiered on September 25, 2008.

The series stars Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Eddie Steeples and Nadine Velazquez. Lee stars in the title role as "Earl J. Hickey", a petty crook with occasional run-ins with the law, whose newly won $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine, he develops a belief in the concept of karma when he hears about it during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. He decides he wants to turn his life around and makes a list of all the bad things he's ever done. After doing his first good deed, he finds his $100,000 lottery ticket. He sees this as a sign and, with his new lucky money, he proceeds to cross items off the list, one-by-one, by doing good deeds to atone for them.

About My Name Is Earl

Grey's Anatomy

2008-12-13T22:22:00.002+02:00

Grey’s Anatomy is an American primetime television medical drama. It debuted on ABC as a mid-season replacement for Boston Legal on March 27, 2005, immediately following Desperate Housewives.

The title of the show is inspired by the classic medical textbook Gray's Anatomy. The series revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, who began the show as a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington.

On February 11, 2008, ABC renewed Grey’s Anatomy for the 2008-09 television season.

Season One: 2005

Season one began airing Sunday, March 27, 2005 and ended on May 22, 2005. The first season was shortened by the network to nine episodes instead of 14. (The original season finale was "Bring the Pain.").

Meredith Grey, the daughter of the once-renowned surgeon Ellis Grey, becomes an intern at the Seattle Grace Hospital. She meets fellow interns Cristina Yang, Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, and George O'Malley who would be her closest friends during the intern program. Other characters include Dr. Miranda Bailey, nicknamed "Nazi" due to her "tough love" capability; Alex Karev, an intern who is not very popular with the others (especially Izzie); and renowned surgeons Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Preston Burke. The chief of surgery is Richard Webber, who was once more than close friends with Meredith's mother.

The season chronicles the first few months of the internship program and the day-to-day life of a surgical intern. Recurring plots include Meredith's battle to keep her mother's Alzheimer's disease a secret and her relationship with Dr. Shepherd. Others include George's infatuation with Meredith, Izzie dealing with the criticism of being a former model, Cristina's relationship with Burke and her miscarriage, and a power struggle between Dr. Burke and Dr. Shepherd in the hospital. The season's end introduces Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, Derek's estranged wife. Although for other areas where the season was aired, the season end is Meredith waiting (Season 2, Episode 5).

Season Two: 2005-2006

The second season aired Sunday, September 25, 2005, and ended on May 14 and May 15, 2006 with a three-hour finale spanning both nights. The first season had originally contained 14 episodes, representing ABC's original midseason order for the show. However, it was decided to end the season early because ABC executives wished for the show's first season to end with ABC's Desperate Housewives (which had the time slot before Grey’s Anatomy for the first two seasons).

Rather than condensing or throwing out plot lines, Grey’s Anatomy producers chose to end the first season with the ninth episode and save the following episodes for the second season. Episodes 10-14 were then held and broadcast as the first five episodes of Season 2. ABC ordered 22 episodes in addition to the five being carried over, bringing the total number of episodes for the second season to 27. Bring the Pain, which aired as the series' 14th episode, has been cited in series creator Shonda Rhimes' blog as having been originally intended as the first season finale.

The second season focuses on Meredith and Derek's relationship, which came to an abrupt halt when it was revealed that Derek is married to surgeon Addison Montgomery. Izzie and Alex embark on a relationship of their own (although cut short when Izzie falls for heart patient Denny Duquette), as do Cristina Yang and Preston Burke. Doctor Bailey becomes pregnant, and more is revealed about her personal life. On some of the weeks airing after its highly-watched February 5, 2006 post-Super Bowl episode, the program attracted more viewers than its lead-in, Desperate Housewives.

Once the second season ended on May 15, 2006, the show had two previously recurring actors, Sarah Ramirez (Callie Torres) and Eric Dane (Mark Sloan), join the regular cast. The series' opening credit sequence was also dropped by the last half of the second season, replaced by a title card displayed at the end of the first act and credits displayed over the opening of the second act of each episode.

Season Three: 2006-2007

On May 16, 2006, the morning following the close of the second season, ABC announced plans for a third season of Grey’s Anatomy to anchor the network's Thursday evening programming, set to air at 9 p.m. ET. ABC first tested the series' potential for Thursday audiences on February 9, 2006, as it aired an encore of the Super Bowl XL-leadout episode titled "It's the End of the World." The following Thursday, February 16, 2006, the network repeated the second part of the story arc, "(As We Know It)." Both airings began at 9:30 p.m. ET, and thus positioned Grey’s Anatomy against CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace, Fox Network's The OC, and NBC's long-running medical drama ER. Solid performance on these nights, with the repeat airings maintaining a strong second-place finish, may have been influential in the fall scheduling decision.

The move to Thursdays was viewed as a vote of confidence in the series from ABC, as well as a bid to attract more advertising dollars, since movie studios heavily advertise movies on Thursday evenings for that weekend's box office. The move was cited as one factor for competing network NBC's decision to move its own Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, originally intended to air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. ABC announced on July 18, 2006, that the third season would premiere on September 21, 2006.

The series assumed its new Thursday slot on July 6, 2006, as part of a two-hour event featuring a repeat of the pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night." Throughout July and August, the series aired twice weekly — once in the new Thursday time period, and once in its previous Sunday time period. Grey’s Anatomy performed strongly in the show's new timeslot in its season premiere. It was able to snatch away the No. 1 position from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation during the 9 p.m. hour, bringing in an impressive 25.14 million viewers throughout the hour and a strong 10.9 rating in the vital 18-49 demographic. In comparison, CSI's season premiere earned a competitive 22.04 million total viewership and a 7.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

The third season ended on May 17, 2007. As the season came to a close, Burke called off his wedding to Cristina at the church, Chief Webber stayed on as the Chief of Surgery, Callie was appointed Chief Resident, and George learned he failed the final intern exam. The relationship between Derek and Meredith, as well as the triangle between Callie, George, and Izzie were left unresolved. Addison decides to start a new life in Los Angeles in the spin-off Private Practice.

Season Four: 2007-2008

The season 4 cast of Grey’s Anatomy

The show was renewed for a fourth season, with the first episode airing on September 27, 2007.

In the official blog, creator Shonda Rhimes gave a few clues as to plot lines for season four, indicating that Mark Sloan will be given a bigger role and in the aftermath of the finale, events for Derek Shepherd and Cristina Yang will be "interesting to watch." Due to her producing responsibilities on both Grey’s and the spin-off, Rhimes assigned the day-to-day showrunning duties to writer and executive producer Krista Vernoff.

For the first time in the show's history, many of the series regulars were not returning. Kate Walsh's character was transferred to the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice. On June 7, 2007, it was announced that Isaiah Washington's contract had not been renewed. Former Reunion star, Chyler Leigh, guest starred in the final two episodes of season three as Lexie Grey, a new intern and Meredith Grey’s younger half-sister. On June 11, 2007, it was announced that Leigh would become a series regular, instead of a 13 episode story arc as previously planned.

The character Dr. Erica Hahn (The Silence of the Lambs fame actress Brooke Smith) joined the main cast, reprising her antagonizing role in the season's fifth episode. She replaces Preston Burke as head of Cardiothoracics. Upon her return, she makes Sandra Oh's character, Cristina Yang work harder for her success in Cardiothoracics.

It was reported that a new male character would be introduced. This character would somehow be in "competition" with Dr. Derek Shepherd. Fourth season guest stars included former Gilmore Girls actor Edward Herrmann who appeared in three episodes. Seth Green of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame guest starred in a two-part episode. Lauren Stamile plays a scrub nurse named Rose, who became a potential love interest for Derek. Dawson's Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson was scheduled to make his return to television in a multi-episode arc as a doctor with his first appearance in the season's eleventh episode. Jackson's appearance was cancelled due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Kate Walsh returned as Dr. Addison Montgomery on May 1.

On February 20, 2008, it was confirmed that Grey’s Anatomy would return on April 24, 2008 for five new episodes. Where the Wild Things Are was the first episode shown after the incubation resulted from WGA strike. The double episode finale (Freedom) aired May 22, 2008. It was centered around Meredith having a huge breakthrough with her personal life including Derek and her mother. Derek also realized he continually failed Meredith. Meredith and Derek performed clinical trials on patients with brain tumors. They lost all of their patients except for one whose boyfriend died just before her life saving surgery. After finally succeeding, Meredith finally took a risk and reunited with Derek. Almost all the cast had a kiss, including Meredith and Derek, George and Lexie, Richard and Adele, Alex and Izzie, and, Erica and Callie. To prepare for the lesbian story line, which will continue in season five, Grey’s consulted with GLAAD. We also learned about Alex's needy mother and part of his past. After Meredith and Derek's resumption of their relationship, Derek left to break up with Rose, his girlfriend who had come between the two previously.

Season Five: 2008-2009

The fifth season premiered with a two-hour episode on September 25, 2008, directly after the third season premiere of Ugly Betty. Regular one-hour episodes of the series began airing in the U.S. on October 9, 2008, following a the October 2 coverage of the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate. OK! magazine reported that Katherine Heigl was remaining with Grey's Anatomy, and that Kevin McKidd and Melissa George were being added to the cast. On November 3, 2008 it was announced that Brooke Smith (Erica Hahn) had been written out of the show. Before the announcement of Smith's departure, Mary McDonnell appeared as Virginia Dixon a cardiothoracic surgeon with Asperger's Syndrome. It was announced she would be joining the cast as the department's new head.

On November 6, 2008, TV Guide reported that Grey’s Anatomy will feature a multi-episode crossover arc with spin-off Private Practice in time for February sweeps.

Unlike previous seasons, this season has not prominently featured the romance of Meredith and Derek. Instead the season has focused on Derek's discovery of Meredith's mother's journals from when she was a resident; Lexie and her fellow interns performing procedures on each other (from injections to surgeries) in an attempt to learn things they believe they are not learning from their residents; and the reappearance of Denny Duquette, who is appearing to Izzie Stevens as a hallucination of some sort; Rhimes has announced that contrary to popular speculation, the appearance of 'Dead Denny' is not due to a brain tumor.

About Grey's Anatomy

Dexter

2008-12-13T22:19:00.001+02:00

Dexter is an American television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.

The main creative forces behind the series (showrunners) are executive producers Daniel Cerone and Clyde Phillips; Cerone left the show after its second season. The series premiered on the premium cable network Showtime on October 1, 2006. Dexter has received considerable critical acclaim and has won two Emmys in technical categories, and has also generated public controversies concerning its content and promotion. An edited version of the series began airing on CBS on February 17, 2008 to make up for the shortage of new content caused by the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike. Canada's CTV simulcasts episodes along with CBS, and is also airing the edited version in order to follow Canadian cable simultaneous substitution rules.

Season 1

Orphaned at the age of three and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter (Michael C. Hall, Six Feet Under) was adopted by a Miami police officer named Harry Morgan (James Remar), who recognized Dexter's sociopathic tendencies and taught him to channel his gruesome passion for killing by giving it a constructive direction: killing people who deserve it. Most have slipped through the justice system, due to loopholes and technicalities in the law or were never apprehended.

To satisfy his interest in blood and to erase his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Although his drive to kill is unflinching (otherwise overcome by a feeling of "emptiness") Dexter is, through extensive instruction from Harry, able to fake normal emotions and keep up his appearance as a socially-responsible human being. Flashbacks throughout the series show how Harry instructs Dexter on the art of appearing normal, and he follows Harry's instructions as a sacred "Code of Harry." In accordance with this code, all of Dexter's victims must be killers themselves who have killed multiple times with no remorse, and Dexter must have proof that they are definitely guilty before he takes action.

Dexter has a girlfriend, Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), whom he dates in order to appear normal. Rita is psychologically damaged from an abusive ex-husband, a violent felon, and is too distraught to want sex. Dexter is unable to fake emotional closeness, something that his girlfriends discover post sex and is inevitably the reason the relationship ends. Dexter hopes to keep up the facade of normalcy by never engaging in sex with Rita. Dexter does have genuine affection for and feels comfortable with Rita and her two children, Astor and Cody.

The first season focuses mostly on "The Ice Truck Killer" - a serial killer eluding the Miami PD who is communicating with Dexter through his crime scenes. Dexter's adoptive sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) begins dating Rudy, who is revealed to the audience to be the Ice Truck Killer. At the end of the season, Rudy attempts to kill Debra, but is stopped by Dexter. Rudy reveals that he is really Dexter's brother, Brian Moser. Dexter has no choice but to kill him in order to save Debra; he makes Brian's death look like a suicide.

Dexter uses his calculated charm to become well-liked by all of his colleagues, with the exception of Sgt. James Doakes (Erik King), who repeatedly calls him a freak and openly accuses him of being up to something, although he is never sure what it is exactly. The tension between the two is an ongoing plot motif.

Doakes senses a connection between Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer, but is not sure what it is. He starts tailing Dexter because of his personal suspicions. Rita's ex-husband, set up by Dexter for a felony parole violation, is back in prison proclaiming his innocence, and points Rita to a clue to the truth about Dexter. The season ends with Dexter and his sister entering a crime scene, with Dexter imagining a tickertape parade for himself, complete with confetti and airplane fly-over, and the crowd praising him for his fine work "taking out the garbage" (i.e. killing those who prey on the weak and vulnerable).

The complete first season of Dexter was released in a four-disc DVD package on August 21, 2007 in the U.S.

Season 2

New cast members for this season include Jaime Murray as Lila, an artist that is a former meth addict and arsonist who becomes Dexter’s sponsor (and later his lover), Keith Carradine as FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy and JoBeth Williams as Rita's mother Gail. The role of Rita's son Cody was re-cast, and in Season 2 was played by child actor Preston Bailey.

Dexter begins the season unable to satisfy his urges for over a month, due to the constant surveillance by Sgt. Doakes. When the opportunity to kill arises, he has problems executing his victims after killing his brother at the end of season 1.

To further complicate matters, treasure hunters discover Dexter's underwater dumping ground for his victims. As the police extract body part after body part from the ocean, the media dubs the killer the "Bay Harbor Butcher", and FBI Special Agent Lundy (played by Keith Carradine) is brought in to catch the "Butcher."

A cult following begins to form behind the "Butcher" when it is discovered that his victims were themselves responsible for deaths. Dexter even finds that a comic-book character, "The Dark Defender", was created in his honor where he comically states as he looks at the poster, "Nah, it's too hot to wear all that leather in Miami".

Rita's relationship with Dexter becomes more tense as she and her children are dealing with the death of her ex-husband Paul, who was killed in a prison fight. Paul's repeated suggestion that Dexter was to blame for his imprisonment eats at Rita's conscience and eventually Rita accuses Dexter of setting up her ex-husband. Dexter admits to setting up Paul, but Rita refuses to believe that Dexter premeditated the crime and assumes that Dexter is a heroin addict. He acquiesces to "having an addiction", though he characteristically allows her misinterpretation to go without clarification; in return, she vows to stay with him while he goes through the Narcotics Anonymous program. In this way, Dexter avoids responsibility for Paul's death (though he set the process in motion) and consequently maintains the rationalization that he only (directly) kills people who are murderers. Doakes continues to pursue Dexter until he encounters Dexter leaving a NA meeting. Doakes seems satisfied that Dexter's odd behavior and apparent drug use can be explained by traumatic experiences as a career police officer.

Debra continues to struggle with the trauma of her experience with the Ice Truck Killer combined with all the people recognizing her as the "Ice Truck Killer's" girl. For a sense of safety and comfort, she stays with her brother, another new source of stress in Dexter's life.

Throughout Season 2, Dexter is pursued by Special Agent Lundy, while both Debra's affection for Lundy and her confidence in her own detective skills grow. Doakes' suspicions about Dexter are revived, and he ultimately discovers Dexter's collection of glass slides containing blood sample souvenirs from all of his victims. The possibility of matching the slides hidden in Dexter's air conditioner with the bodies of the Butcher's victims sets up a climactic episode in which Doakes confronts Dexter at a drug dealer's remote cabin. Despite receiving a gunshot wound in the leg, Dexter overpowers Doakes and keeps him locked in the cage inside the cabin while he begins to frame Doakes as the Butcher. Lieutenant LaGuerta, Doakes' former partner, is the only one who believes in Doakes' innocence. She finds evidence of Doakes' innocence and takes it to Lundy, but he tells her that the evidence is tainted by her previous failure to report Doakes' telephone conversation to the investigation team. Lundy rejects LaGuerta's case files, though he believes she may be correct about Doakes' innocence.

Near the end of the season, Doakes escapes from the cage temporarily and is recaptured by Dexter after being threatened by two drug dealers. Dexter struggles with his life as a serial killer, thanks to revelations throughout the season regarding Harry Morgan, his foster father. Dexter learns that Harry was sleeping with Dexter's biological mother before she died and that Harry took his own life after walking in on Dexter in the middle of a murder, unable to deal with the reality of the monster he had created. With his confidence in the Code of Harry and himself destroyed and exhausted from having to maintain his "mask" for so long, Dexter plays out the possible resulting scenarios in his head of turning himself in. Dexter's events on his last day of freedom include having Deb review his will, having a final dinner with her, and taking Rita and the kids out on the boat. During the "last meal" with Deb, he realizes how much she depended on him to resolve her feelings about the murder attempt by the Ice Truck Killer and decides to continue with his original plan of framing Doakes as the "Bay Harbor Butcher."

In the season finale, Lila finds the cabin where Doakes was imprisoned and causes a propane tank explosion, blowing up both Doakes and the corpse of one of Dexter's victims and preventing Dexter from being named as a serial killer. Lila then meets with Dexter, expecting him to accept her love now that she knows his dark secret. She catches him preparing to kill her and seeks revenge by trying to kill Rita's children and Dexter. Dexter manages to save the children and escape and then exacts his own revenge on her after she has fled to Paris. In the closing scenes, Doakes' memorial service goes largely unattended, with the exception of LaGuerta, Dexter, and Doakes' immediate family. Expressing the logic of Dexter's mental world, the final words in the series are a voice-over of his thoughts on the recent events. We hear that he now considers himself the master of the techniques his father taught him. Dexter believes this combined with the fact that Harry knew himself to be wrong about the code gives Dexter the right to rewrite that code and to live his life the way he wishes. He also states that he now needs those relationships that he originally cultivated as disguises in order to fit into society, even though they make him vulnerable. He considers himself, "An idea transcended into life."

Season 2 premiered on September 30, 2007. On July 17, the first two episodes of the season were leaked on the internet, and on December 4, the last two episodes were also leaked. On November 4th, 2007, the Writer’s Guild of America started a strike, but writer Daniel Cerone stated in the L.A. Times that Season 2 had already been completed in anticipation of the WGA’s action.

The complete second season of Dexter was released in the USA and Canada on August 19, 2008. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on August 21, 2008.

Season 3

Miguel Prado (played by Jimmy Smits) is a prominent assistant district attorney who works with Dexter to solve the case of the murder of Oscar Prado, Miguel's youngest brother. Dexter killed Oscar in self-defense while attempting to stalk a murderous drug dealer named "Freebo"; and soon Miguel confides in Dexter and grows to trust him. Miguel, upon following up on a lead as to Freebo's whereabouts, witnesses Dexter with the weapon he used to kill Freebo (also the same weapon that killed Oscar Prado), but instead of reprimanding him, he hugs and thanks him, thinking that his brother is finally avenged.

Meanwhile, Rita (Dexter's girlfriend) finds out she is pregnant and Dexter finds it hard to choose when she asks whether she should keep the baby or not. After some consideration, Rita informs Dexter that she will keep the baby and raise him either with or without his help. It also takes some time for Dexter himself to cope with the idea of actually having a child (an acceptance helped by the fact that he now sees Astor and Cody as his children and therefore to be protected), and he ends up proposing marriage to Rita, which she happily accepts.

Throughout Season 3, Debra starts working more seriously in order to earn her detective shield, but due to an untimely commentary on her part she is cut off from the Freebo case and starts working with a new partner named Joey Quinn to investigate a serial killer with the habit of skinning his victims while alive (labeled "The Skinner"). She also starts a relationship with Anton, one of Quinn's confidential informants who starts working with her. However, Yuki Amado, a female Internal Affairs officer, starts pressuring Debra to give her information on Quinn, promising to help her become a detective in return, but Debra refuses to cooperate, despite Yuki's claims that Quinn cannot be trusted.

A notable change from previous seasons is the increased use of fantasy scenes with Harry, Dexter's foster father. Harry offers guidance, ideas, and guilt. This differs from the earlier seasons' use of flashbacks to illustrate Dex's past.

As Dexter and Miguel cooperate to conceal Freebo's true demise from everyone else, the duo end up becoming close friends, as do Rita and Miguel's wife Sylvia. While the Prados assist Rita during a medical emergency, Miguel searches for Dexter, who was on a cruise ship killing a victim suggested by Miguel, who realizes that Dexter committed the murder. Miguel praises Dexter for killing another murderer and offers his aid in the future. Trying to discourage Miguel, Dexter proposes a risky operation to free an infamous Neo-Nazi leader, who continues to commit crimes while inside prison, in order to kill him. Miguel agrees with the idea and the plan succeeds (despite the alarm sounding during the escape), and Dexter starts to recognize Miguel as his first and only true friend, to the point of inviting him to be his best man at his wedding.

Camilla Figg, an old friend of Dexter and his family, is dying of terminal lung cancer and asks him to end her suffering, which he (who had never purposely killed an innocent before) reluctantly agrees to do. On the occasion, Camilla reveals to Dexter that she knew that his brother was the Ice Truck Killer and congratulates him when he confesses to her that he was the one who killed Brian.

Miguel and Dexter's partnership takes a new step when Miguel himself offers to dispose of their next target, a former football player turned gambler who in order to pay his bookie commits murders on the bookie's behalf. With some reluctance, Dexter accepts, and after preparing the trap and teaching him the basics of his "code", he witnesses Miguel killing the victim without hesitation. However, on the next day, Dexter finds that Ellen Wolf, a defense attorney and old courtroom adversary of Miguel's, was also killed by him. After some investigation, Dexter also discovers that Miguel has been manipulating him since the beginning and never trusted him at all.

While the relationship between Dexter and Miguel begins to unravel, so does Miguel's marriage when Sylvia begins to suspect that Miguel is having an affair and confides her fears to Rita, who in turn confides in Dexter.

Dexter and Miguel then begin to dance around in a game of who has leverage over whom as the police investigate the death of Ellen Wolf. This game of leverage ends with Dexter realizing that Miguel cannot be allowed to run loose any longer (at which point Dexter decides to kill him) and with Sylvia, convinced that Miguel is having an affair with Lt. LaGuerta and seeing them leaving LaGuerta's house together, ordering him out of the house. Miguel helps the Skinner escape and evade police custody in return for the Skinner's agreeing to kill Dexter.

Reviewing the tapes for an interrogation of a suspect in the Ellen Wolf case, Lt. LaGuerta realizes that Miguel's SUV matches the description of a vehicle seen in Wolf's neighborhood the night of her murder given by the suspect. LaGuerta secretly takes a hair sample from the back of his SUV and, once analyzed by Dexter, she discovers that it matches Ellen Wolf's hair, all but confirming that Miguel killed her. Miguel finds out that she suspects him, effectively making her next on his list, but when he goes to her home he is met by Dexter's needle and knocked out. Miguel awakens in a specialty kill room created by Dexter and Dexter reveals to Miguel that he killed Miguel's brother (at Freebo's house), which enrages Miguel right up until Dexter wraps a wire garotte around his throat, strangling him to death, while Miguel screams that it's not over.

About Dexter

Prison Break

2008-12-13T22:13:00.004+02:00

Prison Break is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring, which premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on August 29, 2005. The series revolves around two brothers; one who has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other, a genius, who devises an elaborate plan to help him escape prison. The series is produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions, in association with Original Television and 20th Century Fox Television. The current executive producers are head writer Scheuring, co-head writer Matt Olmstead, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Olmstead, Neal H. Moritz, and Brett Ratner. The series' theme music is composed by Ramin Djawadi, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006.

The series was turned down by Fox in 2003, which was concerned about the long-term possibilities of such a series. Following the popularity of serialized prime time television series Lost and 24, Fox decided to back production in 2004. The first season received generally positive reviews, and performed well in the ratings. The first season was originally planned for a 13-episode run, but was extended to include an extra nine episodes due to its popularity. Prison Break has been nominated for numerous industry awards, and won the 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. The first three seasons have been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and the series has been aired internationally, including several non-English speaking countries.

The success of the series has also inspired short videos for mobile phones, several official tie-ins in print and on the internet, and a video game in development. A spin-off series, Prison Break: Proof of Innocence has been produced exclusively for mobile phones. The series has spawned an official magazine and a book written in an in-universe perspective. In October 2007, it was reported that a spin off Prison Break was under development, however the project has been put on hold. The Hollywood Reporter revealed in November 2008 that Fox has ordered two extra episodes of the fourth season, which may serve as a two-hour series finale in 2009.

Conception

The original concept of Prison Break—a man deliberately getting himself sent to prison in order to help someone else (his brother, in this case) escape—was suggested to Paul Scheuring by producer Dawn Parouse, who wanted to produce an action-oriented series. Although Scheuring thought it was a good idea, he was initially stumped as to why someone would embark on such a mission or how he could develop it into a viable television show. He came up with the story of the wrongfully accused brother, and began working on the plot outline and devising the characters. In 2003, he pitched the idea to the Fox Broadcasting Company but was turned down as Fox felt nervous about the long-term possibilities of such a series. He subsequently showed the concept to other channels but was also turned down as it was thought to be more suited for a film project than a television series. Prison Break was later considered as a possible 14-part miniseries, which drew the interest of Steven Spielberg before his departure due to his involvement with War of the Worlds. Thus, the miniseries never materialized. Following the huge popularity of serialized prime time television series such as Lost and 24, the Fox Network had a change of heart and backed the production in 2004. The pilot episode was filmed a year after Scheuring wrote the script.

Season 1

The first season follows the rescue of Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), who is accused of murdering Terrence Steadman (Jeff Perry), the brother of the Vice President of the United States. Lincoln is sentenced to death and is incarcerated in Fox River State Penitentiary where he awaits his execution. Lincoln's brother, brilliant structural engineer Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), is convinced of Lincoln's innocence and formulates an escape plan. In order to gain access to Fox River, Michael commits armed robbery. Michael befriends the prison doctor Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) when he pretends to suffer from Type 1 diabetes, in order to gain daily access to the prison's infirmary. The brothers' fight to ward off the execution is aided by their lifelong friend Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney), who begins to investigate the conspiracy that put Lincoln in jail. However, they are hindered by covert agents, members of an organization known as The Company. The Company was responsible for framing Lincoln, and they did so because of Lincoln's father, Aldo Burrows, and his former connections to the company. The brothers, along with six other inmates, Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (Robert Knepper), Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar), David "Tweener" Apolskis (Lane Garrison), John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare), and Charles "Haywire" Patoshik (Silas Weir Mitchell), who come to be known as the Fox River Eight, escape in the season finale.

Season 2

The second season begins eight hours after the escape, focusing mainly on the escapees. Series creator Paul Scheuring describes the second season as "The Fugitive times eight" and likens it to the "second half of The Great Escape". The fugitives split up and journey to locations across the country with the authorities close behind them as they each pursue their individual goals. Brad Bellick (Wade Williams) gets fired from the prison where he worked as a guard and chases after the inmates himself for the reward money. Several of the escapees reunite in search of a large cache of money buried long ago by another prisoner. Federal agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner) is assigned to track down and capture the eight fugitives, but is revealed to be working for The Company, which wants all eight men dead. When Sara discovers her dead father, Governor Frank Tancredi, she meets with Michael, remaining with him as the brothers try to bring down the current President, a Company member. To ensure the brothers' safety, Sara allows herself to be arrested and faces trial. During the trial, the testimony of former Secret Service agent Paul Kellerman, who used to work for the Company-controlled President, exonerates Lincoln and Sara. Several of the escapees are killed or recaptured, but the brothers make it to Panama. Michael, T-Bag and Mahone are arrested by the Panamanian authorities and are imprisoned at the Penitenciaría Federal de Sona where they find Bellick who had also been arrested.

Season 3

The third season follows both Michael inside Sona and Lincoln on the outside in Panama. Sona is a prison that has been run by the inmates and guarded only from the outside since a riot the year before. Burrows is quickly contacted by The Company who have kidnapped his son LJ (Marshall Allman) and Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), the woman Michael loves. He is told that they want Scofield to break James Whistler (Chris Vance) out of Sona. The season follows Michael and Whistler's trials in formulating an escape plan, as Michael has to deal with extreme tension and as Lincoln deals with the Company's operative Gretchen Morgan (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Sucre gets a job at the prison to aid Michael in his escape plan. When Lincoln attempts to rescue Sara and LJ following a clue provided by Sara, Morgan "beheads Sara" and sends Lincoln a head in a box as a warning. As the season ends, the pair manage to escape along with Mahone leaving behind several accomplices including T-Bag and Bellick. Sucre's identity is discovered by a prison guard and is thrown into Sona just after the escape. LJ is traded for Whistler, and Michael is out for revenge against Gretchen for Sara's "death".

Season 4

The fourth season starts with Michael avenging Sara's "death", before learning that Gretchen did not kill her as he thought. Michael also learns the truth about Whistler, that he has secretly been working alongside Mahone to take down the Company. A Company operative takes Whistler's life shortly after this. Sona has burned down and Sucre, Bellick, and T-Bag have escaped during the chaos. After returning to Chicago to look for Sara, Michael is arrested and recruited by Don Self (Michael Rapaport), a Department of Homeland Security agent, to help bring down the Company in exchange for his freedom. Lincoln, who was arrested in Panama is transferred to Chicago, and along with Mahone, Sucre, and Bellick with whom a deal is made. Also joining the group are Sara, who escaped from Gretchen which resulted in Gretchen's own captivity by the Company, having failed to secure a valuable item, and Roland (James Hiroyuki Liao), a hacker who was assigned to help them after getting arrested for identity theft. Together, they devise a plan to retrieve Scylla, thought of as the Company's 'little black book', from the Company that will help to destroy them. In the meantime, Wyatt (Cress Williams), an agent from the Company, attempts to track Michael and Lincoln down and T-Bag heads North to the US with the "Birds" book in his possession. Michael also begins to experience some troubling health problems. On their way to Scylla, Brad Bellick sacrifices his life so that the other members of the team can reach Scylla. The general discovers that Gretchen is not on his side anymore, but does not kill her for the sake of their daughter Emily. Michael must undergo surgery or he may die soon, and T-Bag is getting impatient for the money that he is supposed to get in exchange for Scylla. Sucre is shot once and is saved by Sara, who performs surgery on him immediately.

About Prison Break

Atsuhime

2008-12-13T21:55:00.005+02:00

Atsuhime (篤姫, Atsu Hime), literally Princess Atsu, is the 47th NHK Taiga drama. It began on January 6, 2008 and will air throughout 2008 with an estimated total of 50 episodes. The story chronicles the life of Tenshōin, based on Tomiko Miyao's 1984 novel Tenshō-in Atsuhime (天璋院篤姫, Tenshō-in Atsuhime).

Description:

The 47th NHK Taiga Drama is a life story of Atsuhime who was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, then called Satsuma, and became the wife of Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. She accedes to the highest rank in Ooku, the inner palace of the Edo castle where women related to the reigning shogun resided. Iesada dies soon after their marriage and Atsuhime assumes the name Tenshoin at the age of 23. She exerts herself for the Tokugawa clan and for the nation during the upheaval in the Meiji Restoration, headed by those from Satsuma. In 1835, Shimazu Tadatake, head of the Imaizumi-Shimazu family of Satsuma clan, and Oyuki are blessed with a long-awaited daughter, Okatsu, who later becomes Atsuhime. She grows up as a tomboy, full of wonders, yet warm-hearted. Meanwhile, as Satsuma clan is under going financial reform, headed by chief retainer Zusho, Tadatake is punished for being lenient with farmers. Okatsu, unable to absorb why her father is punished, charges over to Zusho.

Atsu Hime

Tenchijin

2008-12-13T21:54:00.005+02:00

Tenchijin (天地人, Tenchijin?) is the 48th NHK Taiga drama. It is scheduled to premiere on NHK on January 4, 2009, and will consequently air every Sunday at 20:00 to 20:44 till December 13, 2009. The story centers on the life of the 16th century samurai Naoe Kanetsugu.

The drama series is intended to depict the love and righteousness of Japan, which have been slowly disappearing in current Japanese society. The production of the series began on April 27, 2007. The story is based on the novel Tenchijin by Masashi Hisaka and is being adapted for screen by scriptwriter Eriko Komatsu.[1] The series' music composer will be Michiru Ōshima.

The protagonist of the drama, Naoe Kanetsugu, was taught by Uesugi Kenshin in his youth that to conquest the world is a trifle matter, but what matters is to live one's life with righteousness. After Uesugi's death, Naoe supports Uesugi Kagekatsu, who came to hold the destiny of Echigo province and lives righteous life.

About Tenchijin

Fūrin Kazan

2008-12-13T21:54:00.004+02:00

Fūrin Kazan (風林火山, Fūrin Kazan) was the 46th NHK Taiga drama beginning on January 7, 2007. It was aired throughout 2007.

The four characters from left to right are wind, forest, fire, and mountain. The title is a reference to the war banner used by Takeda Shingen, which in turn was taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It means "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain."

Description:

The 46th Historical Drama is a life story of Yamamoto Kansuke, a lonely genius of strategy at the Age of the Civil War in the 16th century. Kansuke works under Takeda Shingen and pursues his dream of unifying the whole country through aiding the warlord of Kai. At the same time, Kansuke supports Shingen’s concubine Yu from his selfless affection for the woman who hates but eventually loves the warlord who killed her father and family. With the aid of Kansuke’s strategies, Shingen expands his power northward, where he is destined to fight with Kenshin Uesugi, the warlord of Echigo. The drama portrays how those who fight for their dreams face their destinies in the turbulent age.

About Fuurin Kazan
About Yamamoto Kansuke

Saka no Ue no Kumo

2008-12-13T21:52:00.006+02:00

Saka no Ue no Kumo (坂の上の雲, Saka no Ue no Kumo?) is the upcoming NHK 21 Century Special scheduled to be aired for three years starting in fall 2009. 13 episodes, 90 minutes each, have been planned. The TV series is based on the novel “Saka no Ue no Kumo” by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa.

The story takes place during Japan's tumultuous 19th century Meiji Period and is told through the military officers and brothers, Akiyama Yoshifuru and Akiyama Saneyuki and the poet Masaoka Shiki who used their ingenuity to fight an uphill battle during the Russo-Japanese War.

About Saka no Ue no Kumo

Shinsengumi

2008-12-13T21:52:00.005+02:00

After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic. The country was divided along various lines of political opinion; one of these schools of thought (which had existed prior to Perry's arrival) was sonnō jōi: "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians." Radical followers of this ideology began to commit acts of murder and violence in Kyoto, the imperial capital. In 1863, hoping to respond to this trend, the Tokugawa Shogunate formed the Roshigumi (浪士組), a group of 234 masterless samurai (rōnin), under the nominal command of the hatamoto Matsudaira Tadatoshi and the actual leadership of Kiyokawa Hachirō (a dynamic ronin from Shonai Domain). The group's formal mission was to act as the protectors of Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th shogun, who was preparing to embark on a trip to Kyoto.

Description:

The 43rd NHK Taiga Drama is Shinsengumi!. The arrival of Commodore Perry’s "Black Ships" rudely awakened Japan from 300 years of peaceful isolation from the world. Men set their eyes beyond Japan and began to demand change in society. Old clashed with the new, and thus began an age of turmoil. Amidst this confusion, one group remained true to the old ways and risked their lives to preserve the traditional shogunate system. Led by their charismatic captain, Kondo Isami, the Shinsengumi upheld the code of honor of the samurai. Tales abound of the feats of men like Kondo, Hijikata Toshizo, Saito Hajime, and Okita Soji. This NHK taiga drama brings to life the passion and glory of these men who lived during the most turbulent time in Japanese history. Full of pathos, action-packed, this is a series not to be missed by chambara fans.

About Shinsengumi

Hornblower

2008-12-11T19:20:00.000+02:00

Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

The series stars Ioan Gruffudd in the title role and is produced by the British broadcaster Meridian Television, and shown on ITV (and as of March 2008 is being shown on ITV3) in the UK and A&E Television Networks in the US. Episodes were shown on Greek television in 2007 (and still are, in 2008).

Monk

2008-12-11T19:19:00.001+02:00

Monk is an American dramedy series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the title character. The show debuted on July 12, 2002, on the USA Network; its seventh season started July 18, 2008, and it has been renewed for an eighth and final season. The last 16 episodes are expected to begin airing Summer 2009.

Adrian Monk was a brilliant detective who worked for the San Francisco Police Department until his wife, Trudy, was killed by a car bomb, which Monk believed was intended for him (the killer eventually confesses to him that was not the case). Trudy's death led Monk to suffer a nervous breakdown. He was discharged from the force and became a recluse, refusing to leave his house for over three years. With the help of Registered Nurse Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), he was finally able to leave the house. The breakthrough allowed him to work as a private detective and a consultant for the homicide unit despite remaining limitations rooted in his obsessive-compulsive disorder, which had grown significantly worse after the tragedy.

Monk's compulsive habits are numerous, and a number of phobias compound his situation. The OCD and plethora of phobias inevitably lead to very awkward situations and cause problems for Monk, and anyone around him, as he goes about investigating the cases. However, these same personal struggles, particularly the OCD, are what aid him in solving cases, resulting in his catchphrase, “It’s a gift...and a curse.”

Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Randall "Randy" Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) call on Monk when they have trouble with an investigation. Stottlemeyer is often irritated by Monk's disorder, but respects his friend and former colleague's amazing observational abilities, as does Disher. Ever since childhood, Monk's obsessive attention to detail allowed him to spot tiny discrepancies, find patterns, and make connections that others often fail to make. Monk continues to search for information about his wife's death, the one case he has been unable to solve.

When Sharona decides to re-marry her ex-husband and moves back to New Jersey, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), a widow and mother of an eleven-year-old daughter, is hired as Monk's new assistant. Monk has a brother, Ambrose, and a half-brother, Jack Jr.

Lost

2008-12-11T19:02:00.005+02:00

Lost is an American serial drama television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. Each episode typically features a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from another point in a character's life. The series was created by Damon Lindelof, J. J. Abrams and Jeffrey Lieber, and is filmed primarily on location in Oahu, Hawaii. The pilot episode was first broadcast on September 22, 2004. Since then, four seasons have aired. The series is produced by ABC Studios, Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions and airs on the ABC Network in the United States. Its soundtrack is composed by Michael Giacchino. The current executive producers are Abrams, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender and Carlton Cuse. Due to its large ensemble cast and the cost of filming in Hawaii, the series is one of the most expensive on television.

Critically acclaimed and a popular success, Lost garnered an average of 16 million viewers per episode on ABC during its first year. It has won numerous industry awards including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005, Best American Import at the British Academy Television Awards in 2005, the Golden Globe for Best Drama in 2006 and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series. Reflecting its devoted fan base, the series has become a part of American popular culture with references to the story and its elements appearing in other television series, commercials, comic books, webcomics, humor magazines, a video game and song lyrics. The show's fictional universe has also been explored through tie-in novels, board and video games, and alternative reality games, The Lost Experience and Find 815.

In May 2007, it was announced that Lost would continue for its fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons, concluding with the 117th produced episode in May 2010. These three final seasons were planned to consist of 16 episodes each, running weekly in the spring uninterrupted by repeats. However, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the fourth season was shortened to 14 episodes. To compensate, seasons five and six will each consist of seventeen episodes. Episodes from the first four seasons of the series have begun airing in off-network syndication in the U.S., distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, on G4 and Sci Fi.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

2008-12-11T16:34:00.002+02:00

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is an American science fiction television series produced by Warner Bros. Television and C2 Pictures, spinning off from the Terminator series of films. It revolves around the lives of the fictional characters Sarah and John Connor, following the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The series premiered on Sunday, January 13, 2008 on the U.S. television network Fox. Executive production for the series is provided by Terminator 2 and Terminator 3 producers and C2 Pictures co-presidents, Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, C2 Senior Vice President James Middleton, David Nutter, and Josh Friedman, who is also writing.

The show opened mid-season with a shortened run of nine episodes, January through March, 2008. It was the highest-rated new scripted series of the 2007-08 television season and was renewed for a second season, which began on September 8, 2008.

Fox has given the show a full second season of 22 episodes. On February 13, 2009, Fox will be moving the show to Friday nights at 8pm, where it will be paired with Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

Back story

At the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah Connor, her son John and the Terminator successfully destroy the T-1000, as well as the arm and computer chip from the first film's Terminator. The Terminator, at its own request, is then destroyed in order to eliminate any future technology that could be used to create Skynet. Only at the beginning of the television series do Sarah and John discover Judgment Day was not averted, but delayed until 2011. Now wanted fugitives, they must also face the reality that other enemies from the future could be after them.

Summary

The pilot episode is set in 1999 and introduces Sarah, her son John, and Cameron, a Terminator that has been re-programmed to protect John. They are being pursued by a Terminator (Cromartie) sent back through time to assassinate John and also by FBI Special Agent James Ellison, who believes Sarah is a deranged criminal (based on the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day). Sarah is romantically involved with a paramedic named Charley Dixon, but ends her relationship with him to stay on the run. During the pilot, Sarah, John, and Cameron make a temporal leap to the year 2007. Cromartie suffers extensive damage while trying to kill them, begins to effect repairs to his endoskeleton and artificial flesh, and continues his search for John in 2007. Seeing how John is frustrated with their life of running, Sarah resolves to go on the offensive against Skynet. But the world in 2007 proves complex: they find Skynet has sent additional Terminators back in time to support its own creation, and the resistance movement has sent back its own fighters to interfere. As they seek out an intuitive chess computer called The Turk, which may be a precursor to Skynet, they forge an alliance with Derek Reese, resistance fighter and John's uncle.

Chuck

2008-12-11T16:33:00.003+02:00

The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz, and director McG (We Are Marshall), bring us Chuck, a new drama pilot at ABC, laced with humor about young twenty-something spies.

Chuck is an action-comedy television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world's greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain. Although a comedy series, there are a number of dramatic moments throughout. (Similar to Schwartz's previous productions)

Produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision and Warner Bros. Television, the series premiered on September 24, 2007, on NBC, airing on Monday nights at 8PM/7c leading into Heroes. On November 26, NBC announced that Chuck received a full season pickup. On February 13, 2008, it was announced by NBC that Chuck has been picked up for a second season in 2008/2009. The second season started on September 29, 2008, with a full 22-episode season order. NBC released the first episode of season two a week before its air date via multiple online distribution methods, and cable on demand.

Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) is a socially awkward twenty-something-year-old who works as a computer expert at the Nerd Herd at his local Buy More (a parody of Best Buy's Geek Squad), a local electronics retailer (a CompUSA store was used), with his best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez). Chuck's sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) is a doctor who is constantly looking out for his best interests and wants to help him find a girlfriend. On the night of his birthday party, Chuck receives an e-mail from his former Stanford University roommate, Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer), who is now a "rogue" CIA agent. When he opens it, an entire server of sensitive data — once only available to the United States government — called the Intersect, is subliminally embedded into his brain by way of a long series of images. Both the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency want the intelligence returned to them and dispatch agents of their own — Major John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) — to retrieve that data.

Since the disk with the government information was stolen by Bryce and destroyed in his attempted escape, and since Chuck experiences flashes of information from the database activated by certain subliminal triggers, he must use the knowledge he now possesses to help the government thwart assassins and international terrorists — upending his previously uneventful life. Chuck's decision to keep his new-found occupation a secret from his family and friends and to live his life as normally as possible forces Casey and Walker to establish an uneasy alliance and secret identities (Walker poses as Chuck's girlfriend and takes a cover job at the local restaurant next to the Buy More (formerly Wienerlicious, currently Orange Orange) while Casey gets a job at the Buy More), with the shared goal of protecting Chuck at all costs.

As the series progresses, it is revealed that Bryce is still alive and that a rival agency called "Fulcrum" is in search of the Intersect, which they believe to be inside of Bryce, not Chuck. At the same time the government is in the process of rebuilding the Intersect. The heads of the agencies have ordered Casey to kill Chuck as soon as the Intersect is completed. However, in the Season 2 premiere, Fulcrum destroys the government's new Intersect with a Trojan horse, allowing Chuck to remain alive for the time being.

House M.D.

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House, also known as House, M.D., is an American medical drama that debuted on the FOX network on November 16, 2004. The show was created by David Shore and executive produced by Shore and film director Bryan Singer. During the 2007–08 United States television season, the series was the most-watched scripted program on TV and the third-most-watched program overall, behind American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

House stars English actor Hugh Laurie as the American title character Dr. Gregory House, a cynical medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The original diagnostic team consists of Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer), Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), and Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps). In the fourth season, this team is disbanded and House gradually winnows a field of forty applicants to a new team consisting of Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (Olivia Wilde), Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), and Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn). Other main characters are Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, and Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology and House's best friend.

House has received various awards and nominations. Laurie received the 2006 and 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama and the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. House received a 2005 Peabody Award for what the Peabody board called an "unorthodox lead character – a misanthropic diagnostician" and for "cases fit for a medical Sherlock Holmes," both of which helped make House "the most distinctive new doctor drama in a decade." The show also gained three consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series in 2006, 2007, and 2008. House is currently in its fifth season of broadcasting.

Gregory House, M.D., is an antisocial medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Most episodes start with a cold open, or in medias res, somewhere outside the hospital, showing the events leading to the onset of symptoms for that episode's main patient. The episode follows the team in their attempts to diagnose and treat the patient's illness but most of the time they do not succeed until the patient is critical.

House's world-renowned department typically only sees patients who have failed to receive a correct diagnosis, making the patient cases complex. Furthermore, House resists cases that he does not find interesting. The medical cases featured are often rare but realistic, and described by Andrew Holtz, the author of The Medical Science of House, M.D., as "a conglomeration of all the worst things that can happen to people from all over the world, crammed into one little community."

The team arrives at diagnoses using differential diagnosis, with House guiding the deliberations. House often discounts and challenges the opinions of his team, pointing out that their contributions have missed various relevant factors. The patient is usually misdiagnosed over the course of the episode and treated with medications appropriate to the misdiagnosis. This usually causes further complications in the patient, but in turn helps lead House and his team to the correct diagnosis by using the new symptoms.

Often the ailment cannot be easily deduced because the patient has lied about symptoms and circumstances. House frequently mutters, "Everybody lies", or proclaims during the team's deliberations: "The patient is lying", or "The symptoms never lie." Even when not stated explicitly, this assumption guides House's decisions and diagnoses.

Because House's theories about a patient's illness tend to be based on subtle or controversial insights, he often has trouble obtaining permission from his boss, hospital administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy, to perform medical procedures he thinks are necessary, especially when the procedures themselves involve a high degree of risk or are ethically dubious.

Cuddy also requires House to spend time treating patients in the hospital's walk-in clinic so that the interactions will improve his bedside manner. House's grudging fulfillment of this duty or creative methods of avoiding it is a recurring subplot on the show. During clinic duty, House confounds patients with unwelcome insights into their personal lives, eccentric prescriptions and unorthodox treatments, but impresses them with rapid and accurate diagnoses after seemingly not paying attention. Realizations made during some of the simple problems House faces in the clinic often help him solve the main case.

Episodes frequently feature the practice of entering a patient's house with or without the owner's permission in order to search for clues that might suggest a certain pathology. The creator, David Shore, originally intended for the show to be a CSI-type show where the "germs were the suspects," but has since shifted much of the focus to the characters rather than concentrating solely on the environment.

Another large portion of the plot centers on House's abuse of Vicodin to manage pain stemming from an infarction in his quadriceps muscle some years earlier, an injury that forces him to walk with a cane. House admits he is addicted to Vicodin, but says he does not have a problem because, "[The pills] let me do my job, and they take away my pain." His addiction has led two of his colleagues, doctors James Wilson and Lisa Cuddy, to encourage him to go to drug rehabilitation several times, but no attempts have successfully gotten House off the drug. Sometimes when House does not have access to Vicodin, or when he perceives the Vicodin alone is not enough to relieve his pain, he self-medicates with other narcotic pain relievers such as oxycodone and morphine.

House is in many respects a medical Sherlock Holmes. (Holmes himself was inspired by real-life physician Dr. Joseph Bell, according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes's creator, who was a doctor as well.) This resemblance is evident in various elements of the series' plot, such as House's reliance on psychology to solve a case, his reluctance to accept cases he does not find interesting, his home address (apartment 221B, the same number as Holmes' home), playing of an instrument, addiction to opiates, relationship with Dr. James Wilson (who parallels Dr. John Watson), and his encounter with a crazed gunman credited as "Moriarty", which is the same name as Holmes' nemesis. Also, series creator David Shore has said that Dr. House's name is meant as "a subtle homage" to Sherlock Holmes (i.e., homes). In the season four episode "It's a Wonderful Lie", House received a "second edition Conan Doyle" as a Christmas gift.

Heroes

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Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006. The plot tells the stories of disparate and ordinary individuals from around the world who inexplicably develop superhuman abilities, and their roles in preventing catastrophes and saving humanity. These disasters are usually foreseen in painted images from precognition painters. The series emulates the aesthetic style and storytelling of American comic books, using short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Tailwind Productions, and it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California. The executive producers for the show are Allan Arkush, Dennis Hammer, Greg Beeman and Tim Kring.

The critically acclaimed first season's run of 23 episodes garnered an average of 14.3 million viewers in the United States, receiving the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years. The second season of Heroes attracted an average of 13.1 million viewers in the United States. The second season was NBC's top series in adults 18-49, the top Monday series on any network in adults 18–49, and the top scripted series on any network in adults 18-34. In addition, the second season marked NBC's sole series among the top 20 ranked programs in total viewership for the 2007-2008 season, according to Nielsen Media Research. A total of 24 episodes were ordered for the second season, but only eleven episodes were broadcast, due to the 100-day strike by the Writers Guild of America. The dispute led to the initial postponement and eventual cancellation of a six episode spin-off titled Heroes: Origins. Heroes returned with its third season on September 22, 2008.

A digital-internet extension of the series, Heroes 360 Experience, was created to explore the Heroes universe and provides insight into the show's mythology. It was rebranded as Heroes Evolutions at the beginning of the second season. Heroes Evolutions also includes graphic novels, which have been released every Tuesday since September 25, 2006, and were published by WildStorm Comics on November 7, 2007. Other official Heroes media include magazines, action figures, tie-in and interactive websites, a mobile game, a novel, clothing and other merchandise. NBC Universal announced on April 2, 2008, that NBC Digital Entertainment would release a series of online content for the summer and fall of 2008, including more original web content, wireless iTV interactivity, graphic novels available for mobile viewing and webisodes.

Heroes has garnered a number of awards and nominations. On July 19, 2007 Heroes was nominated in eight categories at the 2007 Primetime Emmy awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and was also nominated for Best Television Series-Drama at the 2007 Golden Globes. The series won a People's Choice Award in 2007 in the category of Best New Drama, and was named Program of the Year in 2007 by the Television Critics Association and Best International Program at the 2008 Bafta Awards. The series has also been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, a WGA Award, and a Satellite Award.