During the 90s I used to watch these every weekend on a UHF channel, with subtitles, and I never tired of them! I cannot wait for this show to be available on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, or just DVD with English subtitles.
It really says something to have never tired of this show because for 13 seasons, after the first (better) season, every show seemed to have the same premise:
The shogun travels through his shogunate in disguise (even though he looks the same in every episode), and comes upon some damsel in distress or illegal activities (reminiscent of The Fugitive, another show I love), and won't leave town until he's helped the good guys and punished the bad guys!
The classic Japanese costumes are magnificent and the hilarious hoodlums in every town are played by the same actors, who abide in a hideout that looks almost exactly like the hideout in the last episode's town. You learn interesting tidbits about Japanese culture too, and at the end of every show in true Samurai storytelling fashion, there is an epic battle where he pulls himself up to full height, everyone gasps (He's really the Shogun!), clicks his sword into place, the music starts, and he battles a huge crowd of bad guys, one by one. Yay, Shogun! (Also, Ken Matsudaira is hunky, like David Janssen was as The Fugitive!)
It really says something to have never tired of this show because for 13 seasons, after the first (better) season, every show seemed to have the same premise:
The shogun travels through his shogunate in disguise (even though he looks the same in every episode), and comes upon some damsel in distress or illegal activities (reminiscent of The Fugitive, another show I love), and won't leave town until he's helped the good guys and punished the bad guys!
The classic Japanese costumes are magnificent and the hilarious hoodlums in every town are played by the same actors, who abide in a hideout that looks almost exactly like the hideout in the last episode's town. You learn interesting tidbits about Japanese culture too, and at the end of every show in true Samurai storytelling fashion, there is an epic battle where he pulls himself up to full height, everyone gasps (He's really the Shogun!), clicks his sword into place, the music starts, and he battles a huge crowd of bad guys, one by one. Yay, Shogun! (Also, Ken Matsudaira is hunky, like David Janssen was as The Fugitive!)
