History Series / Tenko

''Tenko'' is a television drama, co-produced by the Creator/{{BBC}} and Creator/TheABC. A total of thirty episodes were produced over three series between 1981 and 1984, followed by a one-off special (which was twice the length of the other episodes), ''Tenko Reunion'', in 1985.

''Tenko'' is a television drama, co-produced by the Creator/{{BBC}} and the Creator/{{ABC}}. A total of thirty episodes were produced over three series between 1981 and 1984, followed by a one-off special (which was twice the length of the other episodes), ''Tenko Reunion'', in 1985.

* AdultFear: The womens' children are sent to the camp with them and have to endure the same awful conditions. This trope eventually drives [[spoiler: Lillian]] half mad with fear for her son to the extent she [[spoiler: becomes a collaborator]] just to get him extra food.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Not that Yamauchi is portrayed as evil per se (at worst he's a PunchClockVillian), but he often mentions his family, especially his grandchildren. They are killed in the atomic bombings.

* FanDisservice: Louise Jameson gets her kit off. It's not even remotely sexy, given that she's filthy, starving, and in agony.

* RealityEnsues: Happens all the time. Think someone will survive just because they're a main character or a child? Malnutrition, disease and PublicExecution would beg to differ.

* InfantImmortality: Strongly averted. Children die as often as adults do.

** All the women when they find out [[spoiler: about Verna and Miss. Hassan's withholding vitally needed food and medical surprise.]]

* ScrewTheWarWereartying: The show starts off with this happening in Singapore, where the socialising and partying goes on as normal even as the Japanese approach and the British Army prepares to evacuate, retreat, or surrender.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Verna.

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Christina, of all people, in the reunion special.]]

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Brutally averted. The guards are very competent and clashes between them and the prisoners nearly always end badly for the latter.

The series dealt with the experiences of British, Australian and Dutch women who were captured after the [[WorldWarII Fall of Singapore in February 1942, after the Japanese invasion, and held in a fictional Japanese internment camp on a Japanese-occupied island between Singapore and Australia.]] Having been separated from their husbands, herded into makeshift holding camps and largely forgotten by the British War Office, the women have to learn to cope with appalling living conditions, malnutrition, disease, violence and death.

* WorldWarII: The setting for the series.

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Played with: most of the time the women don't mention having to deal with their periods, but once or twice one of the younger prisoners will worry their periods have stopped due to malnutrition.

* SpecialEffectFailure: The make-up artists did their best to make the women look starved and overworked, but they all still look remarkably healthy under the paint.

* KillOffForReal: Many characters including [[spoiler: Blanche, Nellie, Rose, Verna, Miss. Hasan and Debbie.]]

The series dealt with the experiences of British, Australian and Dutch women who were captured after the Fall of Singapore in February 1942, after the Japanese invasion, and held in a fictional Japanese internment camp on a Japanese-occupied island between Singapore and Australia. Having been separated from their husbands, herded into makeshift holding camps and largely forgotten by the British War Office, the women have to learn to cope with appalling living conditions, malnutrition, disease, violence and death.

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