TV series

Tenko

1981–1984 · 3 seasons

A harrowing yet humane immersion into endurance, where camaraderie and quiet resilience shine through unrelenting hardship.

Overview: Based on real-life experiences, Tenko remains one of the most fondly remembered and acclaimed BBC dramas of the early 1980s. It follows a group of women, formerly comfortably well-off ex-pats living in Singapore, as they are captured by the Japanese during World War II.
How it feels: Bleak, tense, melancholic and warm. Slow-burning and needs your attention.
About: Survival, friendship, isolation, war
Content: Strong violence. Mild gore, sexual content and language.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
warmstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: survival
friendship
isolation
war
trauma
Places: prison
wilderness
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: ensemble
serialised
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild