Tenko (1981)

Drama · History · War

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.

IMDb rating: 8.5 (994 votes)
Episode average: 8.5 matches the IMDb rating
Seasons: 3
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Consistent trajectory: great across every season, no weak one. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every Consistent show in the explorer →

Browse all Consistent shows in the explorer → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 3 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1981)

8.52 avg 10 episodes 8.2 → 8.6

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Shattered Dreams	8.2	57
2	All Aboard	8.6	51
3	Internment	8.7	45
4	What Would You Do For...	8.5	44
5	Malaria	8.4	39
6	Rape	8.5	38
7	Unnatural Friendship	8.1	36
8	Escape	8.7	38
9	Five Hundred Hats	8.9	40
10	Christmas	8.6	42

Season 2 (1982)

8.71 avg 10 episodes 8.6 → 9.1

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Part One	8.6	40
2	Part Two	8.5	39
3	Part Three	8.6	38
4	Part Four	8.4	38
5	Part Five	8.6	38
6	Part Six	8.4	37
7	Part Seven	8.7	37
8	Part Eight	9.1	36
9	Part Nine	9.1	37
10	Part Ten	9.1	39

Season 3 (1984)

8.28 avg 10 episodes 8.7 → 8.6 51 min avg

U-shaped

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Episode #3.1	8.7	38
2	Episode #3.2	8.5	38
3	Episode #3.3	8.1	39
4	Episode #3.4	8.2	38
5	Episode #3.5	8.2	38
6	Episode #3.6	8.2	38
7	Episode #3.7	8.1	37
8	Episode #3.8	8.3	38
9	Episode #3.9	7.9	40
10	Episode #3.10	8.6	37

Tenko (1981)

Cast

Seasons

Shows like this