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Does The SAMURAI GIRL Mini Bring Honor To ABC Family??
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
A 6-hour action-suspense miniseries from “Alias” writer-producer Luke McMullen based on the young-adult novels by Carrie Asai, “Samurai Girl” is about a sheltered Japanese teen named Heaven who finds herself learning swordplay in San Francisco to avenge her brother’s Yakuza-engineered murder. (Thanks to an American tutor, Heaven speaks only perfect American English.) The title character is assayed by gorgeous Bay Area native Jamie Chung, who, bikini-clad, cavorted memorably on “The Real World: San Diego.”
The show exists in a bizarre ABC Family parallel universe in which nary a single drag queen can be spotted on the streets of San Francisco Halloween night.
Entertainment Weekly gives it an “B-plus” and says:
… the winning Samurai has lots of action, and is generously peppered with comedic asides — especially from Kyle Labine's pining nerd, Otto — which all makes for a butt-kicking good time. …
The New York Times says:
… The 25-year-old Ms. Chung easily bridges the age gap with her 19-year-old character, but she’s not quite as credible as a naturally gifted swordswoman or, particularly, as a young Japanese who is new to American culture. She’s playing basically the same character — the quiet, hot, hard-working, somewhat blank Asian-American teenager — that she played in her best-known role to date: as herself in “The Real World: San Diego.” That probably won’t bother the young viewers who are the target audience for this show, though they may notice that two hours’ worth of story has been stretched to fill six hours. They also may notice a lack of humor, which the show strains for.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… By the end of the pilot, the expositional clunkiness seemed to have smoothed itself out. Like Heaven and her friends, "Samurai Girl" seems to know what it's doing and where it's going -- imagine a family-hour version of "The Sopranos," only with ninjas and Meadow on a righteous quest for truth. It's not perfect, but it certainly is different, so why not just enjoy the ride?
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… the first two hours are decent … Chung may not be the next Meryl Streep, but she's a competent actress and an appealing TV presence. …
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram says:
… There are some well-staged action sequences, but they’re not quite kinetic enough for true action junkies and are too pummeling for the younger viewers at whom the gruel-thin drama seems to be aimed. …
Variety says:
… It's the sort of production rife with plenty of action but nothing that's remotely stirring … the fighting sequences would need to be staged more imaginatively to compensate for the various deficiencies, and frankly -- even with a few skewerings and a torture scene -- those shiny swords can do only so much damage on ABC Family. … if there's anything else on that's worth watching, Heaven can wait.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… Loaded with adventure, drama and more than enough histrionics to please (or offend) the average viewer, ABC Family's new six-hour miniseries "Samurai Girl" doesn't stop for a minute in an all-out effort to entertain the senses. The intellect is another story altogether. …
8 p.m. Friday, Saturday & Sunday. ABC Family.
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I like Middleman, and I've heard good things about other shows on the network, so this could be good.
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okay. whatever.
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but cool anyway.
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JUST READ MY REVIEW ON iTUNES under the name JATO SUN SMITH.
ASIANS ARE NOT INTERCHANGABLE.
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Sep 05, 2008 3:07:51 AM CDT
a Kill Bill tie-in? and Buffy in Japan? clever cross-marketing!
by newc0253
swords by Hattori Hanzō, makeup by Revlon.
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Sep 05, 2008 5:36:51 AM CDT
So she doesn't play the same character as on the Real World?
by uncle stan
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No new one next week.
When is the season finale?
Or was it cancelled? -
Isn't this just Raven without the six million dollar man?
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Thanks for suggesting the iTunes reviews, I needed a good laugh this morning and some of those "reviews" are hilarious ("It has that hot guy from rosewell, what more can you ask for"). I'm only watching this because iTunes has it for free.
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Ummm...AMC or ABC Family? Something tells me the latter.
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This past one WAS the season finale. There was going to be a 13th episode, but they didn't have enough money to do it right so they slightly changed the ending of 12 to go out on a positive note (just in case it doesn't come back) and put the extra money from 13 into 12.
It doesn't look GREAT for the series right now, but the sets are in storage and not destroyed so they can get them at any time and ABC Fam claims they want to see how it does on DVD before deciding on s2.
ABC Fam brought back Kyle when it wasn't doing so hot, and now it's one of its biggest shows so... we'll see. -
I'm in...
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Mmmmm....nah. Pass.
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Sounds dreadful.
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Now that looks like a flick I'll check out on opening weekend. Ive only seen ads for it on this site though. Anyone know more about it?
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They couldn't find a Japanese or Japanese/American woman to play the part?
A movie called Samurai Girl, starring a woman of Korean descent.... I don't get it. -
was very enjoyable, though I am assuming it is dead at this point.
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Al Pacino/Tony Montana: Not Cuban. Mel Gibson/Willaim Wallace: Not Irish. You get my drift.
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Everyone drinks whenever you see something stupid, corny, cheap or just plain wrong.
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That's the one I'd most like to have been a part of. BOOM Bazooka Joe.
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She's asian, and that good enough. You're not supposed to be able to tell what specific asian country she's from just by looking at her face. Example: the chick who plays Sarah Connor on the tv show is british. Is that hard to understand?
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Except in this case... you can tell. Thus, does not compute.
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The series was filmed in Vancouver, BC. There's a limo / motocycle chase sequence that was shot on the street I live on ...
There are no drag queens in the area, but if you look closely enough, you might see a Vancouver meth addict or two in the background.
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Which really sucks since a nice round ass makes the cushion better for pushin.
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That's like saying that you can tell the difference between a german, a french, and a white american. You can't, unless you expect each country to have its own "pure race" and have 100% of its population belong to it. Sometimes people walk across the border and fuck each other and have babies.
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Okay, I should have written, "I can tell." Obviously, you can't. No biggie. No bull.
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No mention of Stacy Keibler??!! She plays the char Karen on the show. Give her some credit, she does carry a Screen Actors Guild card. Plus her legs are longer than the Kessel Run!
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But could she bring her mouth to my cock?
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Good gravy! Do we really need yet another feminist empowerment fantasy? Seriously, isn't the whole "girl power!" subgenre getting a little tired? How about some more shows where men get to kick ass and be macho?
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Sep 05, 2008 5:32:06 PM CDT
Yeah, Cause There Are No Shows Or Movies About Macho Dudes
by laserpants
Oh, no, wait, there's only about 6 billion of them. Duh.
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No word yet if it's been renewed, but it's good enough that it should be. It's not earth shattering good, but it's quite entertaining. And whenever DubDub waltzed around in her skivvies, booooooooinnngggg!!!! Hot! A slgith bit of a butter face, but HOT!
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Save your Politically Correct crusading bullshit.
Yes, you can tell. I am white american, but have lived in Asia (Korea, Japan, visits to China) for the last 10 years. YES, You CAN tell. It has to do with shapes of the cranium. (eyes sockets, forehead, nose, etc...) I've never really thought about it before, but your uninformed post made me realize, I do know who's Korean or Japanese before I even speak to them.
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What really pisses me off, is that half the people are look to be vietnamese, thai or some Pacific Islands Asian mix, and the producers are trying to pass them off as being japanese. Which, may I add, would be HIGHLY laughable to actual japanese people.
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Middleman is a bit of both, like many shows; monster of the week with a bit of serialization pulling it all together.
The enjoyable thing about it is that the lead character is cute, and the writing is relatively clever and definitely out-there.
As for people who cannot tell the difference between a Korean/Chinese/Vietnames or Japanese woman... try actually traveling to those countries and learning for yourself. Seriously.
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Man, maybe those Olympic gymnasts really were 16.
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Also, it seems foreigners have a hard time being able to tell the age of asians. Especially women. Which makes it creepy when you see U.S. military trying to hit on 14 year old girls. It's one reason America didn't cause a fuss over the Chinese gymnastics bullshit. The mainstream media and most of america can't tell how old young asian girls are. (Woody Allen should be called into judge).
Punto, you say bullshit because you'd need 100% pure race to make a distinction? I take it you've never visited Japan. 96% homogenous society.
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I don't remember if it was last weeks or the week before but there was a nice little shoutout to Escape from New York with the alternate Middleman looking like Snake
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It's like this: I can learn their language, work for their companies, marry their women, own a home, and even gain Japanese citizenship and they will still say I am not japanese because "you don't have Japanese blood".
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for a couple weeks due to script rewrites of the latter half of season 7. http://tinyurl.com/6jg885. Wouldn't want to be in The Ender Smites Foes' vicinity when he sees this. :o
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For heaven's sake(no pun intended)....ha!!...look at her!!! She is one of the most beautiful women ever. The camera LOVES her!!! Korean is prolly the prettiest of the Asian women no? It had enough action to be good enough and i'm sure the next 2 parts will have more. I bet those other reality show skanks are jealous beyond belief. Chung is ten times hotter then all of them and she's in a big deal movie.
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you fuckers are the reason I'll never approach asian girls. For my part, I'm into the reality of asian-american women, and you perpetuate to them the notion that I'm looking for an obedient virginwhore
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"Sometimes people walk across the border and fuck each other and have babies." - I don't know why but that's already my favorite quote of the day. But put me down on the side of the guys who, having been "educated" by lots and lots of Asian movies, can now not only tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese, but find it ignorant and offensive how many Western people can NOT tell or just don't give a shit. The Japanese and Chinese are very different peoples, who by the way don't much care for each other. Imagine if they always cast Germans or Russians as Americans because they couldn't tell us apart. Would it bother you then? Why didn't they get a Japanese girl for this film? One with that wonderfully round apple-cheeked quality that is uniquely Japanese. No, evidently the skinny Chinese face of a reality show "actress" was more aesthetically appealing for these idiots. I'm sorry, watch some Asian films and you'll soon find out just how stupid we Americans are in our stereotypes and lazy thinking. Watch BLACK RAIN with Michael Douglas and you may want to commit Harikiri from the shame of it.
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I've enjoyed the Middleman series. It hasn't been earth shattering but its been good entertainment and the geek references are in abundance.
The mirror universe story (which referenced Star Trek) used character names from Escape from New York and as somebody has mentioned, the alternate universe Middleman was a Snake Plisken clone which was a stark contrast to our own Dudley Do Right version. Like the way that the mirror universe Middleman got the girl that our version has singularly failed to do.
Hope it comes back for more. -
If you read my post you'd see, I have not been educated by Asian cinema but by living in Asia for 10 years. That is how I learned to tell the difference, and the differences are vast, not just in appearance. BTW, Great point you mention about how Europeans vs. Americans. I think part of the reason I take such offense is that often times, these shows purport to be about "culture" and "heritage" as a theme or sub-plot, yet they completely show disrespect to the actual country concerned.
Imagine if there was a show about the Founding Fathers but they dressed in lumberjack T-shirts and the Alamo was in Pennsylvania and John Adams was played by Cheech Marin. -
I wish I had even been able to VISIT Asia - especially Japan, which I have fallen in love with via the movies - let alone live there. Good for you. I'm sure there is tons I don't know. Were you treated well? You seemed to imply earlier that you felt the "Gaijin" freeze-out, like you never were anything but an outsider. Having lived in Hawaii and being a Haolie, I can relate in a small way. Here's the interesting thing... Before I started watching Asian films, I not only could not tell who was who, but I didn't think I would ever be attracted to Asian women. Nothing racist, they just weren't my taste. I THOUGHT. What it was really was that Western blindness, I couldn't yet "see" them. Once my eyes got wiser, I found myself extremely attracted to them again and again. And not just for their physical beauty, but their grace, style, humor, and femininity. It's amazing how (even just cinematic) exposure to another culture can open you up and broaden your understanding. Anyway, I understand what you're saying about how movies and TV tend to pluck things culturally but completely get the details wrong. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is an example, and THE LAST SAMURAI might have been great if only you could remove Tom Cruise from the picture. Slowly, very slowly, Hollywood's getting a little smarter. And hopefully Americans are getting a little more curious about and respectful of Asia.
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Sep 06, 2008 1:03:31 PM CDT
Show about the Founding Fathers dressed in lumberjack T-shirts
by dreamwriter
...I wanna see that!
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"I'd walk over and talk to you, if it weren't for those notion-perpetuating perverts on the AICN talkback! Damn! The internets: 1, my reality: 0."
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Sep 06, 2008 3:20:45 PM CDT
Ahh. An american can teach a japanese how to be a samurai. like
by walkingtoaster
It was boring and really bad.
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I know - let's have Nazis playing Jews!
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Your about 48 hours late with that news
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Sep 06, 2008 8:39:51 PM CDT
Just want to clear some things up... and random rant a bit
by vincent gecko
No one can tell 100% of the time what country one is from just by looking at them, whether it be Japan/China or England/France.
The girl does not look typically Japanese. She looks more Chinese or Korean possibly to me, but I'd be a hypocrite to say she looks definitely either.
She doesn't act at all foreign. Everything from her speech patterns to mannerisms are definitely modern American.
White people that claim to know a lot about Asian culture are annoying to most Asians regardless of what might be said to your face. If you're into it just be into it, speak in the language, talk about the culture, whatever, just don't be the guy (yes, I'm generalizing, for whatever reason, dudes rather than gals are by far the most guilty of this) that says something like "I'm into Asian culture" You look like a douche every time.
The show's average. C The mixed reviews lean to the positive when in an ultra PC minded landscape a liberal reviewer might not want to give one the the few shows out there with a non Euromerican lead a bad review, and leans negative when a reviewer might be particularly sympathetic to laughable reinforcement of Asian stereotypes the show portrays by the frame. (ex. all Asian females either hot, young, thin, innocent babydolls and/or over-sexualized dragon ladies... or a mom and all Asian males are either bad guy mobsters, wise grandfather figures (I like to call the Morgan Freemans), or SPOILERS dead in the first 20 min.... or Ninjas)
The show was originally a book and the dude from Roswell's character is originally Asian.
Here's a fun game to play - match up each SG character with her Buffy the Vampire Slayer archetype. -
I really enjoyed your response. I am Asian, Korean to be specific. It really doesn't bother me that American movies will cast Chinese as Koreans and such. What does bother me is when they just lump all our cultures and customs together that's what irritating. That being said these aspects were not what offended me about this show. What offended me was the complete rejection of Asian culture it represented while trying to be about culturally heritage. The main character is in an arranged marriage (which is rare for asian society except in INDIA). All the ASian men, except the brother, are assholes. She wants to be completely Americanized and falls for a white guy. This plus the fact that the white guy is Asian in the book is what REALLY PISSES ME OFF! Are Asian Men not worthy of being the romantic lead? Did the producers feel there were too many Asians in it as it is so they needed a white guy in the romantic lead. That is utter BULLSHIT! It seems the only thing Asian this movie is saying is good is martial arts. This movie is supposed to be supportive of Asian traditions and such yet it deems Asian Men as domineering and unworthy of the love of the heroine. There is a big problem in Asian society, especially ASian American society, that feels necessary to bash Asian men. Yes i do understand our society is very male dominated but things are changing rapidly in Asia. I don't think showing the white guy as the savior is the right way to go. Anyway that's my two cents. I know I may be criticized for being overly PC but I don't think that is the case here. If you actually pay attention to the storyline and the themes of the show this is exactly what is going on.
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You've turned into "that guy" that sounds like a pissy twat.
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What the fuck? Talk about suspension of disbelief. It's an instant pass.(as in passing gas.)ABC Fam was only good for airing reruns of those Xmen & Spiderman cartoons.
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for the role is simply because most japaneses suck in English. Teaching English in japan must be a very stressful job
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you're a fucking idiot. The Japanese have been in this country for a long fucking time. There are plenty of Japanese actors that speak perfect English. George Takai and Masi Oka are two fine examples. That being said I still don't mind Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese playing one another so I hope your post was suppose to be a Joke.
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Walk down any street in a large city, that's what you'll see. Not saying anything is wrong with it, but I get why they decided to go the route with all the whiteys in this flick as opposed to the major asian male stars in the book.
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offending anyone if any criticism struck an all too familiar chord. I have friends who are white folk that are into Asian culture so I can say stuff like that. I 99% of the time for my tone to be in jest, for future reference.
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I 99% of the time MEAN for my tone...
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noticing all the incredibly bad and painfully stupid things in this show. Like one of those picture puzzles where you circle all the parts that are screwed up. Truly a masterpiece in this regard. Special kudos to the writer. And it goes without saying but this show has about as much Japanese culture in it as the American flag. It's a good thing the Japanese aren't the type to make a big stink about something like this.
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I thought it was really entertaining. Jamie Chung did an awesome job,and was looking good too. I was impressed by the sword fights, and was pleasantly surprised by all the humor it had!
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Swap vampires for Yakuza and then lets spot which characters are "Giles", "Willow", "Xander" and "Angel".
Throw in a good helping of meaningful Smallville like pouting and teenage angst and you have a copycat show that tells a story in 45 minutes that a half way decent write like Whedon could tell in half the time.
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