New Shogun Miniseries

[K Frame]

So... When Shogun came out in 1980, I was absolutely entranced by it. It was absolutely incredible.

A couple of years later I got around to reading the book, and it was even more incredible than the minseries.

So imagine my delight when I saw that FX is releasing a new Shogun miniseries, and it's coming out on 27 February.

Resident Alien has a partner in crime on my DVR now.

[AZRedhawk44]

I'm hoping the new Shogun miniseries is as good as it looks, too.  Love the 80's one, and also read both Shogun and Taipan after seeing it.

John Rhees Davies was larger than life in his portrayal of Ramirez though, and I'll have a hard time seeing ANYONE other than Damien Thomas as Alvito.

I hope they properly villainize Yabu in this new production.  He was far more sinister in the books than the original show.

[Brad Johnson]

Any of Michener's books would be great fodder for the extended series treatment, especially if someone can drill down to the real spirit of the books. Netflix, Prime, whatever - do it as a full season thing if you need to a la Mandalorian. Unfortunately, I don't think that's possible these days. It would inevitably be wokeified to the point of unwatchability.

Brad

[HankB]

Shogun was a great miniseries. (So was Masada, for that matter . . . but I digress.) Considering how good the original was, I wonder if Shogun REALLY needs to be remade, since as Brad mentioned I worry that:

. . . It would inevitably be wokeified to the point of unwatchability.

I wonder if the Japanese characters will be sufficiently diverse . . .

[WLJ]

Shogun was a great miniseries. (So was Masada, for that matter . . . but I digress.) Considering how good the original was, I wonder if Shogun REALLY needs to be remade, since as Brad mentioned I worry that:

I wonder if the Japanese characters will be sufficiently diverse . . .

Not if the Japanese have any say in it's production.
But going by what is on Wikipedia most of the episode writers appear to be women.
But the RT ratings are some what reassuring since RT critics have a tendency lately of giving anything woke 100% ratings

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 13 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 7.8/10, earning it a "Fresh" score.[23] On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on six critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dgun_(2024_TV_series)

[K Frame]

I've not thought about Masada in years.

You're right, it was a great miniseries.

[HankB]

Just read that a couple of years ago they started over from scratch with new writer and executive producer Justin Marks - I was wondering who the heck he was but a little research revealed he was one of the writers for Top Gun: Maverick . . . which wasn't exactly a wokefest. So I'm optimistic. Guardedly optimistic. At least to the point where I'll actually tune in and see what the remake is actually like.

They'll still have to do one helluva job to improve on the original.

[K Frame]

Shogun premiered on FX at 10 p.m. last night.

Imagine my delight when I got home from work and found that FX/Hulu had dropped the first two episodes for streaming!

Binged them both last night and, I have to say, I'm quite happy so far.

The one BIG difference between the 1980 show and this one is that this one is a LOT darker (picture wise, I'm guessing that was done to help set a very somber mood) and also a lot grimmer so far in its portrayal of feudal Japan.

It's been a little hard reconciling the actors who play these characters vs the actors who played in the 1980 miniseries. I mean, holy hell, Toshiro Mifune was an overwhelming screen presence no matter what role he played, and as Toranaga he dominated, but the guy playing Toranaga in the current iteration is doing a very nuanced job of it.

[WLJ]

I mean, holy hell, Toshiro Mifune was an overwhelming screen presence no matter what role he played, and as Toranaga he dominated,

Hard to argue with that.

According to wiki his daughter said he turned down playing the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.

[WLJ]

Apparently there are some upset there are no black Samurai in the series claiming there were black samurai and even a Shogun. Yeah..... 
Some of the comments are gold

Where Are The Black People in 'Shogun'?
https://www.levelman.com/where-black-people-fx-shogun

Googled and he's not alone trying to make this claim.
They must be using Google AI to write this stuff.

Yellowflash video

 Shogun series MUST change Japanese history! Woke media DEMANDS black Samurai added to show!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmJf3aOamDA

[K Frame]

Japanese history didn't start until black samurai showed up!

What. A. Festering. Crock. Of. *expletive deleted*it.

[WLJ]

The Drinker is impressed

The Drinker Recommends... Shogun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il9mREwxKaU

[WLJ]

Metatron examines the attention to detail which he describes as insane in Ep 1 and he does some interesting comparisons of the book and both the 1980 and 2024 series.
I'm assuming he will do this for other episodes as well.
When he did a look at the trailer a few months ago he had not read the book nor seen the 1980 mini-series but he has since

This SHOCKED Me! SHOGUN EP. 1 In Depth Historical Review and Analysis 
https://armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?action=post;topic=69383.0;last_msg=1430933