TENKO COMPLETE SERIES 1-3 AND TENKO THE RETURN

Tenko follows the harrowing ordeal endured by a group of British, Australian and Dutch women who were captured after the Japanese invasion of Singapore in 1941 and interned in a prisoner-of-war camp.

Created by Lavinia Warner, it is considered one of the best dramas the BBC has ever produced, not afraid to deal with the most hard-hitting issues facing those brave women and featuring outstanding performances from its cast.

Fall of Singapore
The backdrop of Tenko is the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in 1941. When the British Empire ruled the waves importing spices from the east, we used this haven as a strategic trading outpost along the spice route. A century later, it had become one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire.

Seeing the potential of capturing this jewel in the British crown, the Japanese successfully invade, causing many British nationals to flee the city. One ship however, which is bound for Australia with a smattering of refugees on board, is torpedoed and sinks in the Java Sea. The survivors make it to the nearest beach, but are soon captured and imprisoned.

Harsh times
With no clean water and little more than rice and water for the inmates to eat and drink, conditions in the prison camp are harsh. It is not long before disease and illness such as Malaria starts to become rife. Overseeing these appalling conditions is camp Commandant Yamauchi, whose traditional Japanese views cause him to regarded the inmates as "fourth class women".

Things are made worse by his sadistic deputy, Lieutenant Sato, dubbed "Satan" by the inmates. However, even amongst the inmates there is internal tension, with particular antagonism between the Dutch and the English, mainly because the Dutch were allowed to bring in many more possessions than the English.

Role Call
"Tenko" is the Japanese word for Roll Call, where prisoners were counted and part of the procedure included the obligatory "bow" to the Japanese masters. However it's also rather appropriate as the series is a role call of an exceptionally talented ensemble cast.

This includes all three series of the highly acclaimed TV drama and the special return episode.

Recorded on DVD-R. Will be mailed in a bubble mailer. Shipping is $3.00 to the U. S. only. Additional DVD's add $1.50 per DVD. Payment by Paypal, Google Checkout, check or money order. All sales are final. Defective DVD's will be replaced.