The State of Japanese Drama

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS / Remade drama beats replayed life
Wm. Penn, Yomiuri Shimbun

Hotelier (Thursdays, 9 p.m., TV Asahi network), the Japanese version of the 2001 South Korean hit, looks like the best place to rest your TV dial this quarter. Yes, it has come to this. The Japanese drama scene has deteriorated to such a point that remaking South Korean dramas with local actors has become a very viable alternative.

Personally, I prefer my Korean dramas in Korean with subtitles, but one cannot be picky this quarter. Hotelier is just about the only thing worth tuning in to twice in a lineup top-heavy with silly series aimed at the under-25 demographic.

I don't know what's more chilling--the inanity of the dramas or the producers' belief that people really want to watch this stuff. What a disservice they do the nation's youth feeding them this continual diet of drivel.

At least the imported Hotelier storyline holds together.

Aya Ueto stars as Kyoko Odagiri, an assistant manager at the posh but financially troubled Tokyo Ocean Hotel. She seems far too young for the job but maybe she does deserve the post. They've got her spouting dialogue in English, Korean and Japanese.

Since Hotelier is based on a South Korean drama, there will naturally be a romantic triangle. But neither of the men in Kyoko's life can compare with Bae Yong Joon, who makes a guest appearance as the manager of a major South Korean hotel. Kyoko still has some feelings for her mentor Ogata (Seiichi Tanabe), the former hotel manager who left in disgrace and has been floating around Seoul ever since. On his deathbed, the hotel owner sends her to Seoul to find him. He is needed to save the Ocean Hotel from bad guy Morimoto (Naoto Takenaka)--who hires mergers and acquisitions whiz Mizusawa (Mitsuhiro Oikawa) to help him take control. Mizusawa agrees only after meeting and being attracted to Kyoko in Seoul.

Saeko plays Akane, Morimoto's daughter, who despises her dastardly dad. Trilingual but not quite three stars.

Now for the rest of a very sad week: April 16: Puropozu Daisakusen (Operation Love), this quarter's recipient of the Fuji network's coveted Monday, 9 p.m. time slot, will need some immediate surgery if it is to survive two more months.

Ken (Tomohisa Yamashita) has loved Rei (Masami Nagasawa) since third grade but was never able to tell her. Now she is marrying someone else. Having just given a speech at her wedding reception, Ken is quaffing beers and watching the slide show of her life when a Chaplainesque character in a crumpled black suit wanders in. He orders Ken to say the words "Hallelujah Chance," an incantation that sends him slipping back in time to 2002.

"That was just yesterday!" I railed, forgetting that in these youth dramas five years is an eternity. To confirm he is indeed in the past, Ken asks if anyone has heard of an "Ina Bauer."

They have not. This was the best scene in the whole sorry soap opera.

Viewers are doomed to watch Ken relive his high school life over and over again until he gets it right and wins Rei's heart. It is basically a wedding of high school baseball and the movie Groundhog Day. Ken's first attempt to correct his past fails. He is returned to the present and the next slide. But wait: "Hallelujah chance!" He is off again and previews of Episode 2 show that the plot will revolve around a coffee-flavored milk drink. I would need a little stronger enticement than that to watch this one again.

Still, it is light years above Tokkyu Tanaka San-go (Limited Express Tanaka No. 3, Fridays, 10 p.m., TBS network) starring Kat-Tun's Koki Tanaka as a brainless college student who loves trains and a coed far smarter than himself. If I offered stars for terribleness, this one would be a five-star winner. But it is not all the fault of the Johnny's Jimusho lads who are starring in everything. There just aren't many good male roles around this quarter.

Due to all the horrible crime news last week, I stopped only briefly at Sekushii Boisu ando Robo (Sexy Voice and Robo, Tuesdays, 10 p.m., NTV network) but it was long enough. The title comes from the code names of the stars--a hapless robot "otaku" guy, called Robo, and Sexy Voice, the moniker of a middle school girl who wants to be a spy. It was beyond silly, a stellar flop.

Marumaru Chibi Maruko-chan (Thursdays, 7 p.m., Fuji network) with humans is worth a glance just to see what a wonderful job the casting department has done. The actors do closely resemble the animated models. Doraemon (Fridays, 7 p.m. TV Asahi) will update the theme song and the kiddies' clothing from May 11. Shizuka-chan now wears a camisole. What next!

[JonDoe]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/PG-Jun/a_img/imgOP/Op05/MitsuhiroOikawa02.JPG')$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://aprilsnow.blogsome.com/images/20050907.jpg')
I understand this
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://server6.uploadit.org/files/tightpimp-ao_Ueto069.jpg')

is

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.songyunah.com/images/photos/SYA018.JPG')$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://lan.ms11.net/ac/songhyekyo.jpg')
Which one?

[Lady Zhuge]

Ueto Aya is playing Song Yoon Ah's role.


Apparently Bae Yong Jun made a guest appearance in the first episode of Japan's "Hotelier" adaptation, 'cause otherwise I was going to say there's no way Oikawa Mitsuhiro looks this much like BYJ.

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://wiki.d-addicts.com/static/images/thumb/5/56/800px-Hotelier.jpg')
Image from DramaWiki

[spyefox]

Is that Bae Yong Jun? He looked really pretty and like a gal

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS / Oligopoly the name of the TV game

by Wm. Penn
Daily Yomiuri

Making money, lots of it, has always been the name of the game for Japan's powerful entertainment production companies--the entities that manage and feed off the stars.

Traditionally, their work has focused on keeping their stars fully employed and running interference for stars with jam-packed schedules. An important part of their job is making sure a star's media image is nurtured and maintained so that adverse publicity does not begin to affect the lucrative bottom line. (The May 3 and 10 combined edition of Shukan Shincho gives us an idea of just how lucrative top talents can be. The weekly claims leading actresses Yukie Nakama, Ryoko Shinohara and Misaki Ito all recently reported taxable incomes of well over 100 million yen.)

But where does production company "nurturing" end and excessive control begin? Over the years, the popular media have whispered about stars who were urged to keep steady girlfriends or boyfriends out of the media spotlight and were discouraged from marrying while they are still romantic heartthrobs for the masses. Rumors also have surfaced that those who defy the companies and declare themselves capable of managing their own careers can face numerous unpleasant hurdles and barriers to actually doing so.

On the positive side, a powerful production company can be an invaluable asset when a star needs protection, damage control or a safety net. It's a delicate balance of give and take and those outside the industry can never really know what goes on behind all those closed production company doors. But at least we can make ourselves familiar with the neighborhood.

The May issue of ENT! magazine devotes 18-pages to a look at production companies and their growing diversification into other profitable fields like manga, films and the merchandising of an endless array of "goods." The article profiles the leading companies and their top talents and provides a few interesting pie charts. According to ENT!'s research, more than 50 percent of the actors and supporting actors in TV's continuing drama sector from January 2005 to January 2007 have come from just 14 production companies, and over one-quarter come from just three: Johnny's Jimusho, 11.1 percent; Ken-on, 9.9 percent; and Hori Pro, 6 percent.

No real surprises there, except that Johnny's Jimusho's share seems so modest. Beware of pie charts. Maybe a birthday cake analogy is better here. Johnny's may only get an 11.1 percent slice of the cake, but it sure feels like it gets to pick all the creamy roses off the top before the cake is cut and served. Of 12 prime-time series this quarter, Johnny's stars have the leads in four. Their stars also predominate in some of the more prestigious prime-time slots such as Saturdays at 9 p.m. on NTV, Mondays at 9 p.m. on Fuji, and Friday nights on TBS.

Another ENT! pie chart shows Johnny's represents 9.8 percent of the regular variety show slots. Yoshimoto Kogyo leads in this category with 18.5 percent and Beat Takeshi's Office Kitano has 4.9 percent--three companies representing a full third of the genre. And with Yoshimoto Kogyo's New Star Creation comedy schools turning out hundreds of wannabes, there will be no problem in keeping all those variety slots staffed. Yoshimoto will even open a new theater/facility in Tokyo's Jimbocho district in July for its young comics.

Of course, the big question, and one that was not really addressed in the magazine article, is what happens when TV is ruled by a small oligarchy of conglomerates? In the United States, the phenomenon has taken news to new lows. In the Japanese TV industry, too, we are already living with some of the results of this growing trend--sluggish ratings, homogenized programming and drama-loving housewives fleeing to South Korea.

But no matter how bad things seem for the couch potato class, there is always that ray of hope shining through. The most interesting data in ENT!'s drama pie chart was how one clever and multitalented man from Hokkaido has defied all the mammoth production companies to carve out a respectable ninth-place niche on the top 14 list for his own production company, Toraisamu, which also represents his wife, Ran Ito of the Candies, and a few others. The unassuming, bespectacled, low-key powerhouse who has been flying beneath the radar is Yutaka Mizutani, of the winning TV Asahi police series Aibou as well as the star of several popular two-hour detective dramas that air periodically.

Hope lives on. Sometimes a little guy can come out on top.

[jade_frosts]

Dramas thrive on nocturnal competition
Shoji Ichihara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

When Fuji TV set up a late-night slot for dramas this spring, it joined TV Asahi, TV Tokyo and Fuji TV in a fierce competition to win a war of dramas in the hours after 11 p.m.

In June, Gakken Publishing Co. inaugurated a magazine, TV Life Deep, the nation's first magazine specializing in information about late-night TV shows.

Explaining the reason for the magazine's launch, editor in chief Masamichi Ono said: "Many people's lifestyles have become nocturnal, and prime time [7 p.m.-11 p.m.] isn't the best time for them to watch TV shows anymore. Now I believe the hours after 11 p.m. are the real 'prime time.'"

The TV listings section in R25, Recruit Co.'s free information magazine, covers only the hours from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., with the editorial decision hinting at the tendency of R25 readers, mainly company employees, to watch TV late at night.

Ono thinks late-night drama producers can produce more freewheeling fare that does not cling to conventional ideas.

"I want broadcasters to try to produce such creative programs as TV Asahi's Tisshu [a suspense series currently airing in the Saturdays Midnight Drama slot (Sundays, 1:25 a.m.)]," Ono says.

TV Tokyo started its late-night drama slot, Drama 24, in October 2005. It has aired some entertaining shows featuring provocative subjects. One of them, Jouo, depicted fierce competition among women working at fictional "kyabakura" hostess bars in Roppongi, Tokyo. Another, Uramiya Hompo, featured a woman working as a professional avenger for clients suffering in the darker corners of human society.

Tatsuya Yamaga, producer in charge of the slot, said: "Prime-time shows have fallen into a rut when it comes to casting and story settings. However [in 'Drama 24'], it's easier to produce shows that feature edgier ideas."

Proving his words, the slot's eighth and latest series, Boys Esute, features the unique casting of fashion model Yumi Sugimoto as an aesthetician who gets rejected by a man because of her flabby belly. It also stars Kazuhiro Ozawa from comedy duo Speed Wagon as the assistant manager of the aesthetic salon she works for. Enka singer Aki Yashiro is also in the cast.

Fuji TV joined the late-night fray in April with its new slot for dramas, Doyo Dorama (Saturdays, 11:10 p.m.), aiming to cultivate young actors and producers to lead the next generation and generate a new wave in TV drama world.

The first drama, Liar Game, which starred Erika Toda, captured an average viewing rate of 11.4 percent, which was unusually high for the time slot.

Late-night drama producers have advantages as they can target more specific groups of viewers, such as anime fans and male adults.

We can expect to see more and more late-night dramas attracting much more attention and interest than prime-time ones.

[jade_frosts]

Most Satisfying Spring TV Dramas 2007, Oricon

1. Kaettekita Jikou Keisatsu (83.4 points)
2. Liar Game (78.5 points)
3. Watashitachi no Kyoukasho (76.4 points)
4. Puropozu Daisakusen (72.6 points)
5. Bambino (71.8 points)
6. Kuitan 2 (70.6 points)
7. Seito Shokun! (69.1 points)
8. Sexy Voice & Robot (67.7 points)
9. Hanayome to Papa (67.2 points)
10. Tokkyu Tanaka 3-go (66.3 points)

[jade_frosts]

Most Satisfying Summer Drama 2007, Oricon
1. Life (77.7 points)
2. Papa to Musume no Nanokakan (76.3 points)
3. Hanazakari Kimitachi e ~ Ikemen Paradise (75.8 points)
4. Hotaru no Hikari (75.5 points)
5. Yamada Taro Monogatari (72.7 points)
6. Sushi Oji (70.0 points)
7. Yama Onna Kabe Onna (69.2 points)
8. Tantei Gakuen Q (69.1 points)
9. Jotei (68.0 points)
10. Ushi ni Negai o ~ Love & Farm (67.8 points)

Most Satisfying Autumn Drama 2007, Oricon
1. Iryu 2 (84.6 points)
2. SP (82.6 points)
3. Galileo (81.5 points)
4. Mop Girl (76.5 points)
5. Hataraki Man (74.2 points)
6. Abarenbou Mama (73.8 points)
7. Utahime (70.6 points)
8. Furin Kazan (69.5 points)
9. Swan no Baka (69.0 points)
10. Dream Again (66.6 points)

[Lady Zhuge]

Thanks for the information, jade. I'm kind of surprised that Mop Girl is so high up and yet Joshi Deka isn't even on the list.

[jade_frosts]

Thanks for the information, jade. I'm kind of surprised that Mop Girl is so high up and yet Joshi Deka isn't even on the list.

It was on the lower rankings of the list during telecast but dropped out. I'm not sure how Dream Again managed to snare tenth position but I suppose this is a better gauge of dramas in a season than the viewership ratings.


Annual Ranking of Most Satisfying TV Dramas, 2007 - Oricon
1. Hana Yori Dango 2 - 75.2 pts
2. Kaette Kita Jikou Keisatsu - 74.9 pts
3. Galileo - 73.6 pts
4. Iryu 2 - 73.2 pts
5. Karei Naru Ichizoku - 71.3 pts
6. SP - 70.9 pts
7. Haken no Hinkaku - 70.0 pts
8. Papa to Musume no Nanokakan - 69.7 pts
9. Liar Game - 69.2 pts
10. Hanazakari Kimitachi e ~ Ikemen Paradise - 69.0 pts
11. Life - 68.0 pts
12. Puropozu Daisakusen - 67.7 pts
12. Hotaru no Hikari - 67.7 pts
12. Haikei Chichiue-sama - 67.7 pts
12. Tokumei Kakarichou Tadano Hitoshi - 67.7 pts
16. Tokyo Tower - 66.9 pts
17. Yamada Taro no Monogatari - 66.8 pts
18. Watashitachi no Kyokaasho - 66.7 pts
19. Bambino - 66.2 pts
20. Hataraki Man - 66.1 pts

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS / TV networks springing off the mark with seasonal shows
Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

Spring is in the air...well, it is at the TV networks anyway. They are already announcing their April lineups, schedule changes and personnel reshuffling plans.

Following the fortunes and follies of the TV industry is sort of like listening to economists who keep promising things will get better in the next quarter. The public waits and hopes and then just deals with whatever new reality is thrust upon them.

Actually, the winter quarter did represent a slight turnaround with three watchable new series Saito-san (Wednesdays, 10 p.m., NTV), Daisuki, (Thursdays, 10 p.m., TBS) and Edison no Haha (Fridays, 10 p.m., TBS), but only Saito-san has surfaced near the top of the drama ratings. According to Video Research Co. figures, Saito-san and the perennial detective series favorite Aibo (Wednesdays, 9 p.m., TV Asahi) are earning 15 percent plus ratings while the only private network series above them is Bara no Nai Hanaya (Mondays, 9 p.m., Fuji) at 17.2 percent. That is not an impressive performance considering it enjoys Fuji's once prestigious Monday night time slot and stars SMAP's Shingo Katori. So here we go again optimistically looking to the next quarter and hoping there are not as many subprime offerings.

A close inspection of the networks' new lineups seem to suggest they do have a four-part plan to combat the challenges of the new quarter:

-- First and foremost, stick with past successes. Early last year, there were rumblings that scriptwriter Sugako Hashida's 17-year survivor Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari might just bow out in 2007, but that is not the case. Filming has already begun, and the series returns to the TBS network's Thursday night lineup in April with a few new cast members in tow. The indefatigable Hashida will celebrate her 83rd birthday this spring.

The NTV dramanga Gokusen with Yukie Nakama and TV Asahi's crime-detection series Kasoken no Onna with Yasuko Sawaguchi also return in April. Fuji's SP series has barely ended, but a two-hour comeback special is already scheduled for April 5 from 9-11:10 p.m.

Meanwhile, NHK is heading back to Tokyo's shitamachi district, almost always a successful setting, for its new morning serial Hitomi, starting March 31 and focusing on Japan's foster parent system.

-- Get real, keep current. Two series examining current social issues are planned. Although TBS hasn't decided on a title yet, the talented Yuki Amami will play a psychiatrist in a new Friday, 10 p.m. drama that focuses on single women approaching 40 as they ponder their past choices and future life, love and career options. A series of interviews done with women in this age group should help the script reflect the current reality.

Masami Nagasawa and Juri Ueno star in Fuji's tentatively titled Last Friends (Thursdays, 10 p.m.), which will look at domestic violence and sexless issues among the young.

-- Take a hint from South Korea. SMAP's Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Rena Tanaka star in Ryokiteki na Kanojo (Sundays, 9 p.m., TBS) this April. This story of a quiet guy and his very powerful girlfriend is based on the hit 2001 South Korean movie My Sassy Girl.

-- Minimize the number of series turned over to young, male idol-singer types. Except for two baseball series--Rookies, (Saturday, 8 p.m., TBS) based on Masanori Morita's long-running manga, and NHK's Battery--I can find no series focusing on teen guys, a definitely surprising and promising turnaround for the next quarter.

[jade_frosts]

Most Satisfying Winter Drama 2008, Oricon
1. Aibou Season 6 (82.7)
2. Daisuki (76.6)
3. Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi (75.4)
4. Bara no Nai Hanaya (74.9)
5. Saito-san (73.3)
6. Mirai Koshi Meguru (72.6)
7. Ashita no Kita Yoshio ~Sekaiichi Fuun na Otoko no, Kiseki no 11-nichikan~ (72.5)
8. Koshonin ~ The Negotiator (70.8)
9. Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tatakai (69.2)
10. Edison no Haha (68.9)

[Lady Zhuge]

Most Satisfying Winter Drama 2008, Oricon
1. Aibou Season 6 (82.7)
2. Daisuki (76.6)
3. Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi (75.4)
4. Bara no Nai Hanaya (74.9)
5. Saito-san (73.3)
6. Mirai Koshi Meguru (72.6)
7. Ashita no Kita Yoshio ~Sekaiichi Fuun na Otoko no, Kiseki no 11-nichikan~ (72.5)
8. Koshonin ~ The Negotiator (70.8)
9. Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tatakai (69.2)
10. Edison no Haha (68.9)

Thanks, jade. These lists always surprise me somewhat. Sasaki Fusai and Koshonin should be higher up IMO! But then again I haven't seen numbers 1-6 yet. I didn't find Ashita no Kita Yoshio to be my type of drama despite the rave reviews I read, but I did manage to sit through the entire series.

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS / 2008: The year of surprisingly good actresses
Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

Welcome to the Tellies 2008! The Tellies (Televiews Awards for TV Excellence) are my purely personal picks of the year's best TV. It's the awards show with a decades-long history that spurns red carpet celebrity fashion chatter, strangely-named statuettes and silly acceptance speeches. It's not even interrupted by commercials, except for the awarding of the Tellie for Best CM. This goes again to TV's favorite cell phone-wielding fictional family the Whites--Dante Carver, Aya Ueto, Kanako Higuchi and Dad Dog.

As a devotee of the power of positive thinking, Televiews doesn't give any prizes in "the worst" categories. Thus, it is always possible to squeeze the entire awards ceremony into one 800-word column. And so with no further ado, to the envelopes we go.

The Best Drama award goes to Daisuki (winter, TBS) the positive, heart-warming story of Yuzu (Karina), a developmentally disabled single mother, who raises a lovely daughter with determination, family and community support. Scandal (Sundays, 9 p.m., TBS) is second. Third place goes to Change (spring, Fuji), a hopeful political fairy tale about a honest young school teacher turned prime minister (Takuya Kimura), whose agenda restores the nation's faith in the political process.

Kimura earns this year's Best Actor Tellie while Hiroshi Abe and Akira Terao share the Supporting Actor Tellie for their portrayals of his political secretary and arch rival.

The Tellie for Best Dramanga goes to Zettai Kareshi (spring, Fuji) the story of a devoted boyfriend robot, a role played so convincingly by Mokomichi Hayami that he definitely deserves a Tellie for Best Actor in a Non-Human Role.

In a year of shocking food-related scandals that further exacerbated the nation's craving for healthy gourmet treats, the Japanese sweets shop saga An Donatsu, (summer, TBS) takes the Tellie for Best Food-related Series. Best Mystery/Detective Series: Aibo (Wednesdays, 9 p.m., TV Asahi).

Due to the sparse competition, choosing most Tellie winners was easy this year with one big exception: The number of contenders for the Best Actress Tellie was huge.

So, in a Televiews awards ceremony first, this honor will be shared by no less than six deserving actresses, with the hope that the networks will come up with even better vehicles for their considerable talents next year. The honorees are: Karina for her superb performance as Yuzu in Daisuki; Eri Fukatsu for Change; Aoi Miyazaki, who managed to keep Atsuhime at the top of the ratings all year; Hiromi Nagasaku, the cool and independent realist of Yottsu no Uso; and Kaori Momoi and Kyoka Suzuki, who keep up the fast-paced banter in Scandal.

Best Supporting Actress honors go to Kayoko Kishimoto, the mother in Daisuki. Yumiko Inoue takes the Best Scriptwriting Award for Scandal.

In the Best Variety Show category, there is no winner this year. The 2008 variety scene was distinguished only by the amazingly endless parade of irritating talents hogging precious prime time. This year's Tellie for Minimum Talent Used to Maximum Advantage, honoring the most ambitious, audacious and versatile attempts to monopolize the medium (won last year by Yoshio Kojima), goes to Harumi Edo. Besides immortalizing the katakana syllable "gu," she did comedy, drama, starred in an autobiographical saga and ran 113 kilometers in the NTV celebrity charity marathon. First runner-up is Daigo, grandson of the late Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, who also succeeded in turning a monosyllabic grunt and a hand motion into a TV career. Yes, it was a landmark year for "obaka-kyara" (some pretty clever characters making a lucrative career out of acting stupid.) And in this economy, that is a definite talent!

The year's other significant variety phenomenon was the proliferation of quiz shows. Early prime time was jam-packed with quizzes, national exams, intelligence tests, cram study marathons, kanji proficiency tests, Nihonjin exams to measure one's Japanese-ness, common sense competitions and pressure study.

But if everyone is so studious, why are they wasting their time watching TV? Why not sign up for night school or correspondence classes to add to their resume and help stimulate the education sector of the economy? The Tellie in the quiz show category goes to the best of the irritating lot Q-sama (Mondays, 8 p.m., TV Asahi).

Ichiro Furutachi of Hodo Station, who really does seem to care about the news he reads each night, wins the Best Network News Anchor award again while Shinichiro Azumi of TBS takes the Best All-Around Announcer Tellie. Best TV Newcomer: Jero, who will be fulfilling his dream of singing on NHK on Dec. 31.

The Tellie for Best Animal Act goes to Dice K of Pochi-Tama (Fridays, 7 p.m. TV Tokyo), currently touring the United States. Perhaps, Japan's first dog can arrange a historic summit with the new canine occupant of the White House before returning home.

There is no winner in the Overseas Drama category this year, but we'll soon have a chance to glimpse an early contender for the 2009 title. On Jan. 2-4, 2009, NHK broadcasts the British series Primeval starring Douglas Henshall, James Murray and a mammoth cast of thrilling prehistoric creatures.

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS / A trio of indifferent dramas...and what's this? No live lobster on the menu?

Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

This week Televiews ponders the future of terrestrial TV and three mediocre series.

First, that trio of dramas. The best of an average bunch was Honjitsu mo Hare, Ijo Nashi (Sundays, 9 p.m., TBS), another in the long string of "let's move to Okinawa and find ourselves" dramas.

In recent years, these predictable processions south have included a foster child, lawyer, doctor and now a police officer (Kenji Sakaguchi) formerly assigned to the Shinjuku, Tokyo, yakuza watch. Something unpleasant happened during that tour of duty, and now he's on this scenic southern island filled with quaint characters to heal his heart and soul again. As the title implies, the weather is great and nothing much happens. Might as well go fishing.

Love Shuffle (Fridays, 10 p.m, TBS) is another partner-swapping tale. A psychiatrist, playboy photographer, businesswoman (Karina) and guy jilted by his fiance (Hiroshi Tamaki) are all stuck in their condo elevator. The conversation turns to romance and the psychiatrist proposes a game.

The couples could all mix and match for a few weeks to see if they are indeed best-suited to their original partners. He complicates the game by introducing a suicidal patient as his "girlfriend." None of these eight characters are likeable and I won't return until the last episode--and only to see if my hunch that Karina and Tamaki will be permanently paired is correct. Pretty dismal stuff.

The third series, Uta no Oniisan (Fridays, 11:15 p.m., TV Asahi), stars Satoshi Ono of pop idol group Arashi as Kenta Yano, an assistant on a children's TV program called Minna de Utao--PaPiPuPePon. Kenta had planned for a secure, full-time office job, but this is 2009. The company suddenly reneged on its offer and since he can't get a job worthy of a college education, his gruff father wants the 7.7 million yen he invested in his college tuition back.

Now Kenta must decide whether stuffing oneself into cutesy animal mascot costumes really could be the stuff that dreams are made of, while singing, dancing, enunciating properly and taking orders from the show's preening, egotistical star, who has banished kids from the set of this kiddie show. Obviously, Kenta's mission will be to revitalize the show for the aptly named TV Yuhi (TV Sunset). It's not worth staying up late and losing any valuable beauty sleep to watch this series. Even those searching for a cure for insomnia won't find it here.

The glare from his bright yellow, red and turquoise costume is the equivalent of two cups of coffee and jolts the eyes right open.

Kenta may bring a new day to TV Sunset, but is terrestrial TV in Japan entering its twilight years? When the nation is forced to go digital in 2011, how many viewers will just skip terrestrial TV and switch to their computer screens for entertainment? For some time, the dual problems of declining quality and dipping ratings have been obvious. Now add a third--declining advertising revenues. As Televiews reported recently, highly paid, big name MCs are being let go in favor of more economical in-house announcers, and we may see lots more cost-cutting measures by April as the TV industry attempts to deal with this triple threat.

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS / After 56 years, what does the future hold for terrestrial TV?

Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

TV Asahi and Fuji TV are in the midst of numerous festivities to celebrate their 50th anniversaries this winter, but is the party almost over for terrestrial TV networks?

NHK aired the first Japanese TV broadcast Feb. 1, 1953. NTV entered the game in August, 1953 and TBS arrived in 1955. In 1959, the year Crown Prince Akihito--now the Emperor--married Michiko Shoda, Fuji, TV Asahi, NHK-Educational and a host of regional broadcasting companies all went on air. But how many private broadcasters will survive until age 60?

Further indication of the rising anxiety in the TV industry came in the Jan. 31 edition of the Weekly Toyo Keizai magazine, which devoted more than 30 pages to an analysis of the problems broadcast and print media face. It even included a prediction that if advertising continues to decline, only two or three of the five major private networks might survive.

With quality, ratings, advertising and company profits all in decline, that prediction could very well come true someday. Still, I can't feel much sympathy for the TV industry considering the way they have treated the viewing public over the last decade. They have tossed a rubbish barrel of programming at us and presided over a gross lowering of standards that has caused a whole new generation of viewers to be raised on a diet of the most vapid junk TV. Like junk food, it numbs the tastebuds and after a while, one can no longer appreciate delicate flavors and more hearty, healthy fare.

A perfect example is Fuji's 50th anniversary offering Arifureta Kiseki (Thursdays, 10 p.m.). Starring Japan's top actress Yukie Nakama, with a strong cast and sensitive story by renowned scriptwriter Taichi Yamada, it should have been assured of top-10 ratings, but it has already fallen off the charts. So long fed the junk food, viewers no longer seem to have the patience for serious, thoughtful, somewhat slow-moving dramas with careful characterization. Such dramas are fighting an uphill battle nowadays in the new three-"M" world where only mysteries, manga-remakes and medical tales can earn passing ratings.

Another reason I don't feel sorry for the networks is that while they compete wildly with each other, they have let two powerful entertainment industry mega-companies--Johnny's Jimusho and Yoshimoto Kogyo--rule the TV world. Just how powerful this stranglehold is was evident in the Jan. 31-Feb. 6 edition of TV Guide. The magazine debuted back in August 1962 and celebrated its 2,500th issue by presenting a tally of the 20 entertainers who have graced its cover most often. SMAP and Kinki Kids tied for first place with 38 covers each. Individually, SMAP member Takuya Kimura appeared on 34, Shingo Katori on 33, Masahiro Nakai on 27 and Tsuyoshi Kusanagi on 24. (Don't know what happened to poor Goro Inagaki. He was not even in the top 20.) Tsuyoshi and Koichi Domoto of Kinki Kids had 23 and 16 covers, respectively, while Tokio's Tomoya Nagase appeared on 24. Arashi and Kat-tun both had 18 and Hideaki Takizawa 17. Thus, Johnny's talents have accounted for almost 40 percent of the approximately 800 covers since 1995, when SMAP first appeared. And that is just a tally of those who made the top 20. Add in other Johnny's groups and celebrities and the figure probably comes closer to 50 percent.

It may be easier for the networks to deal with several big companies, but it makes for pretty homogenized entertainment choices for the public. In slow but steadily growing numbers, viewers have responded by taking flight and soaring into satellite TV territory. By the end of December, 2008, Sky Perfect JSAT Corp. had reached 4,290,123 subscribers. That's about 800,000 more than five years ago. The trend is likely to continue or even spurt ahead now that the broadcaster have announced that it air all 64 FIFA World Cup South Africa soccer matches in 2010.

Once viewers are lost to satellite TV, it's hard to bring them back down to earth too. Once hooked on hanryu (South Korean wave) romances and historical dramas on satellite TV, what would induce them to return to predictable local dramas? The wide variety of TV magazines specializing in South Korean dramas attests to the fact hanryu has become a niche industry in the Japanese TV market that's not going away any time soon.

It's hard to find statistics to calculate just how many viewers terrestrial TV is losing to satellite broadcasts, but the change is probably most measurable in baseball ratings. Terrestrial TV baseball ratings have declined dramatically in the last few years and are often well below 10 percent. But why would true baseball fans watch late-starting, early-ending, CM-ridden games featuring a few of the most popular teams when they can follow their own favorite team on satellite nightly with minimal interruptions?

In a battle for survival, every team needs a strategy. To win back their viewers and their advertisers, the networks need a new game plan and quick.

[jade_frosts]

From Yomiuri Daily:

TELEVIEWS / Ratings show seasoned stars are preferred over fluffy fare
Wm. Penn

Well, the Video Research Ltd. rating results are now in. So how did I do?

No. 1 on my list was Boss (Thursdays, 10 p.m., Fuji). It earned 18.1 percent in Week 1 (4/13-19). Only Tenchijin, at 21.1 percent, did better. But by Week 2 (4/20-26), Boss, with its cast of eccentric but not entirely believable crime-solvers, fell to fourth place (15.1 percent).

Much more interesting is the gritty and realistic crime tale Rinjo (Wednesdays, 9 p.m., TV Asahi). The title comes from police slang for preliminary on-site investigations. I completely overlooked this one in my big-six list, but it's earned a firm place in the ratings Top 10.

My No. 3 and 6 choices were Kyoto Chiken no Onna (Thursdays, 8 p.m., TV Asahi), starring Yuko Natori as a prosecutor, and the romantic comedy Konkatsu (Mondays, 9 p.m. Fuji) with Masahiro Nakai and Aya Ueto. These did make the Top 10. Konkatsu debuted in Week 2 at 16.3 percent, but has been somewhat bleak and boring, so its ratings are likely to plummet.

My long-shot alternate pick, NTV's Aimini coopereru (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.) is a big winner. It moved from 10th to seventh place in Week 2 by realistically and skillfully portraying what can happen to families caught up in juvenile crimes.

Neither my No. 2 pick, Smile (Fridays, 10 p.m., TBS starring Jun Matsumoto of Arashi), nor No. 4 pick, Boku no Imoto (Sundays, 9 p.m., TBS, with Jo Odagiri and Masami Nagasawa), was a ratings success. My toss-up choice for No. 6, Godhand Teru (Saturdays, 7:56 p.m., TBS), bombed and is already set to bow out on May 16. My No. 5 selection, Atashinchi no Danshi (Tuesdays, 9 p.m., Fuji, starring Maki Horikita), debuted in sixth place, but viewers quickly deserted. By Week 2, it was off the weekly Top 10 list and onto my list of Top 10 worst dramas ever. Horrible is too kind an adjective to describe it.

So Televiews managed four out of six. Ah, that I should do as well with Loto6.

The rating results reflect some interesting trends. Serious, realistic storylines (preferably crime tales) are in. Unrealistic tales with slim or silly plots are out, while younger actors are losing out big-time to talented forty-something stars. Overall, drama ratings are still so low, though, that many series stars are spending lots of time promoting their dramas on the daytime talk shows in hopes of increasing evening viewership.

[jade_frosts]

From Yomiuri Daily:

TELEVIEWS / 'Jin' leads best programs of dramatic year
Wm. Penn

Welcome to the Tellies, the annual Televiews Awards for TV Excellence, my purely personal picks of the year's best TV.

In the TV world, 2009 will be remembered as a year when few of the dramas were worth tuning in to but nobody cared. Viewers were too busy watching gripping, real-life sagas of celebrity substance abuse and pursuing their new-found interest--politics. Suddenly, Cabinet ministers and Diet members of every political persuasion were nudging the usual "talents" out of the limelight on the top talk and variety shows. But now, with no further ado, the envelopes, please.

The year's big hit (and the one bright spot in a dreary TBS lineup) was Jin (Sundays, 9 p.m., TBS). This unusual historical science fiction drama takes home almost all the 2009 Tellies. It wins for: best drama, best dramanga (adaptation of a manga), best script, best sets, best costumes, best supporting actress--Haruka Ayase--and best supporting actor--Masaaki Uchino--for his refreshingly original portrayal of Sakamoto Ryoma. He's so good, Masaharu Fukuyama will have to work very hard to come up with a more endearing Sakamoto in NHK's 2010 Sunday night historical drama Ryoma-den starting Jan. 3.

Hiroshi Abe edged out Jin star Takao Osawa for the best actor Tellie with his outstanding performance as a bitter ex-con who transforms himself into a selfless father in this spring's Shiroi Haru.

Nozomi Ohashi, who played his daughter, takes the Tellie for best child actor.

In 2008, all the best roles were written for women, but this year there were very few great females roles around.

Best actress Tellie: Izumi Inamori, who played the mother of a child who murders another child in Aishiteru--Kaiyo. Runner-up: Yuki Amami for Boss.

Best docudrama: Fuji's Jitsuroku Matsumoto Sarin Jiken Tsuma yo Haha yo.

Best mystery/detective series: Aibo (TV Asahi, 9 p.m., Wednesdays), although Rinjo was a close second.

Best comeback drama: Mito Komon (Mondays, 8 p.m., TBS) much more watchable since Matsuo Basho was added to the roster of characters.

[jade_frosts]

From W.M Penn at Yomiuri Daily

TELEVIEWS: The end of TV dramas not quite clear

The start of yet another new TV drama season next week raises some perplexing questions. For instance, starting July 6, does one spend Tuesdays at 10 p.m. with the Fuji network's fugitive lawyer Tobo Bengoshi or at NHK-G with Arisa Mizuki in Tenshi no Wakemae?

Dramas are bringing in such sparse ratings lately that the networks are finally starting to avoid these face-to-face confrontations between the few promising contenders. But in this competition, Tenshi no Wakemae should definitely be the favorite of food drama fans. Mizuki plays Kurumi Sakashita, a woman who has lost everything, but finds happiness again by making yummy box lunches for others. NHK has even hired famed food stylist Nami Iijima to prepare the scrumptious menus that will costar with Mizuki.

Another question: Is it worth staying up past midnight for a Japanese lesson? Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo (11:58 a.m.-12:38 a.m., starting July 15 on NTV) just might be worth the late-night effort. Haruko (Riisa Naka) is unsuccessful in her search for a Japanese teaching position at a high school, but her professor promises to help her if she first takes on a three-month assignment at a Japanese language school. The place is populated by a ninja-loving Swede, an anime-loving Italian and a cast of expat characters full of language questions Haruko can't answer. It's based on a million-selling manga--but what continuing series isn't based on a manga anymore? At least eight of the new summer series are dramanga. Who needs creators of original screenplays when there are a gazillion manga to be exploited?

"Does this story have an ending?" is another question discerning continuing drama viewers need to consider. Gathering information on the scenario, stars and scriptwriter of a series is not enough anymore. Prospective viewers must also assess whether a drama will offer a plausible conclusion or whether its just leading them along to an eventual sequel.

If people invest nine to 11 weeks watching something, there should be some return on that investment, but the inconclusive ending has become the latest annoyance to drive people away from their TV sets. It also explains why two-hour dramas which don't string you along are now preferred and consistently well represented in the weekly ratings Top 10.

Japanese drama viewers have never been assured of happy endings nor guaranteed kiss scenes at the end of romantic dramas. Recently, however, viewers are finding they are not assured of any clear ending. Jin was a case in point, and now this quarter's Dosokai joins the club. The series succeeded in keeping a very respectable 15 percent viewership by borrowing a few little tricks from the South Korean romantic drama lexicon. Unfortunately, a clever conclusion was not one of them.

Dosokai did provide resolution for five of the protagonists, but not for the main characters, Hitomi Kuroki and Katsunori Takahashi. Whether they would leave their families for each other was the main storyline.

Now, I know a columnist should never reveal an ending, but what if there is no real ending? I'm assuming it's OK to note that five minutes before the drama closed the loving couple are standing on a bridge. They decide they need time to think and reevaluate their lives and will meet again on the same bridge one year later.

Zoom ahead one year. The big day arrives. He is seen leaving his office for an undisclosed destination. She is waiting on the specified bridge. The camera zooms in for a close-up of her turning and smiling. The End. Fini. That's all, folks.

But what was she smiling at? A red sports car, a baby in a stroller, a cute little French poodle with a rhinestone collar or the producer off to the side planning the sequel? Even if one assumes she's looking at Takahashi, viewers still haven't a clue about their future or what transpired during the year of waiting. Everyone knows real life is complicated. Long-suffering Japanese TV drama fans might even have accepted this inconclusive ending if they had at least shown us Takahashi's face.

[Lady Zhuge]

^The writers of Dosokai definitely took the easy way out. They probably didn't want to piss off either faction (conservatives vs. liberals), but didn't consider the overlapping faction that wanted a definitive ending. At least there will be a sequel to Jin, so hopefully all the loose ends will be tied up.