[[quoteright:344:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tenko.jpg]]

''Tenko'' is a television drama, co-produced by the Creator/{{BBC}} and the [[Creator/AustralianBroadcastingCorporation 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.

The series dealt with the experiences of British, Australian and Dutch women who were captured after the [[UsefulNotes/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.

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!!Tenko provides examples of the following tropes:

* AllWomenArePrudes: Averted. The women miss sex and intimacy keenly and [[spoiler: Maggie is ecstatic to jump into bed with a male prisoner when she and Dorothy encounter him on the road after the camps are freed.]]
* AnyoneCanDie: And how! The series doesn't sugar coat the appalling conditions of the camp at all and characters drop like flies throughout all three seasons.
* BadBoss: Sato is almost as much of an asshole to his underlings as he is to his prisoners.
* BeleagueredAssistant: Verna to Miss. Hassan. All of the lower ranked guards to Sato.
* BerserkButton:
** All the women when they find out [[spoiler: about Verna and Miss. Hassan's withholding vitally needed food and medical supplies.]]
** When it's revealed that [[spoiler: Lillian ratted out Rose]], the other prisoners [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat the shit out of her]] and she receives a TraumaticHaircut courtesy of Blanche.
** Beatrice is beyond furious when [[spoiler: Domenica lies to a newspaper after they are freed to make it seem like she was a brave a selfless rebel.]]
* BigBad: The Axis with focus on the Japanese.
%%* BitchInSheepsClothing: Verna.
* BlindWithoutThem: Beatrice's eyesight gradually fails over the course of the series, and by the time of the reunion she is genuinely going blind. However her experience in coping with (and hiding) her failing eyesight at the camps pays off when she is able to identify the leader of the communist guerilla force just by their tone of voice.
* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler: Poor Nellie.]]
* TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler: Sister Ulrica, Blanche and Christina both return after multi-episode absences.]]
* BusCrash: [[spoiler: Nellie and Blanche both die this way.]]
* ChildrenAreInnocent: The reason the Japanese give for allowing the children to stay with their mothers and generally trying to treat them as well as they can. Yamauchi even tells Marion that "all Japanese love children."
* ClosetKey: Sally for Nellie. [[IncompatibleOrientation It doesn't end well.]]
* CoolOldLady: Joss is one of the oldest of the main cast and every kind of awesome. At one point she's the only one still actively resisting the Japanese even after being beaten continually.
* DeathOfAChild: Children die as often as adults do.
* DefiantCaptive: Almost all the women have their moments.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Pretty much everyone is very racist by today's standards and male characters often comment that women should StayInTheKitchen.
* EasilyForgiven: Very much subverted for collaborators. Being spat on and ostracised is the best they can hope for.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Not that Yamauchi is portrayed as evil per se (at worst he's a PunchClockVillain), but he often mentions his family, especially his grandchildren. They are killed in the atomic bombings.
* EveryManHasHisPrice: The guards are not above providing cigarettes, alcohol, and other contraband in exchange for sex. Even [[NunTooHoly Sister Ulrica]] exploits this, trading the endpages from her Bible (to be used as cigarette rolling papers) for yeast tablets (to prevent beriberi).
* EvilCripple: Lt. Sato is [[spoiler: crippled in the bombing and has to walk with a crutch for the rest of his appearances.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Christina, of all people, in the reunion special. Appalled by the racism and double standards of the British, and being of mixed race herself, decides to ally herself with the Malaysian guerillas and fight against her former allies.]]
* FanDisservice: Creator/LouiseJameson gets her kit off. It's not even remotely sexy, given that she's filthy, starving, and in agony.
* ForegoneConclusion: The Axis will lose the war and the camps will be liberated.
* TheGhost: All of the cast members' relatives back in their home countries are often talked about but never seen for obvious reasons.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Mostly subverted. When [[spoiler: Dorothy gets pregnant from her trysts with the guards, most of the women agree an abortion is necessary. Only Sister Ulrica really objects but after it's done she treats Dorothy exactly the same as she did before.]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: Marion tells [[spoiler: Verna quite clearly that if she doesn't start talking, she (Marion) will let the other women tear Verna to pieces for her betrayal.]]
* GreatOffscreenWar: WWII is happening throughout [[spoiler: series one and two and the beginning of season three. But with the exception of the beginning and the bombing of the camps, we never see any of it.]]
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Averted. The guards are very competent and clashes between them and the prisoners nearly always end badly for the latter.
* HateSink: Lt. Sato and Miss. Hasan were both utterly loathsome characters. Sato for his constant sadistic KickTheDog moments against the prisoners and Hasan for [[spoiler: her cold blooded hoarding and extortion of food and medical supplies to line her own pockets.]]
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Sister Ulrica is old enough to be Dorothy's mother but they still become very close friends.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Domenica's main flaw.
* KilledOffForReal: Many characters including [[spoiler: Blanche, Nellie, Rose, Verna, Miss. Hasan and Debbie.]]
* [[AFatherToHisMen A Mother to Her Women]]: Marion and [[spoiler: before she's PutOnABus]] Sister Ulrica to the other women.
* LargeHam: Miss. Hasan and Yamauchi are both hammy.
* TheLoad: Domenica with her constant stretcher hogging.
* MamaBear: All the women towards their children but especially Lillian, eventually going dark and leading to her SanitySlippage.
* TheMedic: Dr. Beatrice, Nurse Kate and Dr. Trier are the camp medics.
* MoodWhiplash: Happens InUniverse when [[spoiler: the women are sure Yamauchi has visited the camp to have them all executed...only to find out the war is over and they will soon be free.]]
* NiceGuy: Shinya is a very kind young guard who strikes up a heart warming friendship with Dorothy.
* 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.
* OhCrap: Plenty. Sato has a particularly good one [[spoiler: when the news breaks that the Japanese have surrendered. And again when several of the women corner him in his office ready for some revenge.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: Sister Ulrica towards Dorothy.
* PassFail: [[spoiler: Judith and Debbie are Jews passing as gentiles, but only Blanche knows. And the rest of the women only find out when Debbie dies.]]
* PercussivePickpocket: How Blanche gets hold of quinine to treat Judith's first bout of malaria.
* PetTheDog: Yamauchi has many moments such as giving one of the women biscuits on her birthday and allowing Christina to take paper from his office for Marion's diary.
* PublicExecution: Happens a lot offscreen.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: A lot of the Japanese speak this way, Yamauchi in particular.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler: Nellie, Sister Ulrica, Blanche and Christina all leave the show at different points.]]
* ARealManIsAKiller: The Japanese guards find it shameful to be given guard duty instead of being on the front lines killing enemy soldier.
* RealityIsUnrealistic: As brutal and graphic as the show is, it's still toned down from the actual experiences of the accounts that inspired it.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Beatrice gives an epic one to Domenica after the latter [[spoiler: lies to a reporter about their time in the camp.]]
* RedShirt: Various background women and guards die off throughout the series.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Maggie, [[spoiler: Blanche's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.]]
* SanitySlippage: The camp takes its toll on all the prisoners but Lillian gets this trope especially badly.
* ScrewTheWarWerePartying: 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.
* TheSmartGuy: Beatrice is probably the most intelligent and logical member of the camp.
* SecretKeeper: Only Blanche knows that [[spoiler: Judith and Debbie are Jewish.]]
* SmugSnake: Miss. Hasan as part of her HateSink status.
* StayInTheKitchen: The attitude of the day which many male characters (and a few female) subscribe too. Characters like Joss and Blanche are quick to scorn it.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: 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.
* TimeSkip: Between seasons two and three.
* WorthyOpponent: How Marion and Yamauchi come to view each other.
* WhamEpisode: The [[spoiler: last episode of season two when the Allies bomb the camp.]]
* WouldntHitAGirl: Averted. When the women rebel, a blow from one of the guards is usually their first warning.
* YouNoTakeCandle: The Japanese characters have varying grasps of the English language so some of them fall into this trope.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Axis see the native resistance as terrorists while the Allies see them as freedom fighters.

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