The Private Detective Mike

The Private Detective Mike (私立探偵 濱マイク, Shiritsu tantei Hama Maiku) is a Japanese television series starring Masatoshi Nagase as the private detective Mike Hama. Each episode of the series was a self-contained story, involving different sets of directors and screenwriters, including Isao Yukisada, Gakuryū Ishii, and Alex Cox. Nagase originally starred as Mike Hama in a trilogy of films directed by Kaizo Hayashi, beginning with The Most Terrible Time in My Life.

The Private Detective Mike
GenreMystery
Based onMike Hama trilogy
by Kaizo Hayashi
StarringMasatoshi Nagase
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes12
Production
Running time54 minutes
Production companyYomiuri Telecasting Corporation
Release
Original networkNippon Television
Original releaseJuly 1 (2002-07-01) –
September 16, 2002 (2002-09-16)

Synopsis

Mike Hama runs a detective agency from an office on the roof of Nichigeki movie theater. Perpetually short on cash, he takes on all sorts of jobs — missing family members, unfaithful spouses, lost pets — and always gets into trouble.

Production

The Private Detective Mike was Nagase's first television role in a decade. The year before, Nagase had starred in a series of popular commercials for Boss Coffee, directed by Ryosuke Maeda, who would go on to direct the second episode of The Private Detective Mike. Suguru Takeuchi, director of episode ten, was also a commercial and music video director. The remaining directors had experience in feature films as directors, screenwriters or assistant directors.[1] Kaizo Hayashi was not involved in the production of the series because he was overseas at the time.[2]

The series was shot on 16mm film. According to Nagase, the decision was due in part to the fact the character of Mike Hama had originated on film. In addition, the television dramas that Nagase and much of the cast and crew had watched as children, such as Detective Story, had been shot on film, which was then being displaced by video.[2]

The sixth episode, directed by Shinji Aoyama, was the first to be completed. A feature-length version of the episode was screened at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival under the title Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name before the series proper aired on television.[3]

Cast

Guest cast

Episodes

The series aired on Nippon TV every Monday from July 1 to September 16, 2002. The televised version of the series was released on VHS, while the DVD release contained the feature-length director's cuts of each episode. The series' opening sequence directed by fashion photographer Glen Luchford with theme song by Ego-Wrappin' was excluded from feature-length version of the episodes.[4]

On its 20th anniversary, the series was released in its original televised form on Hulu and Amazon Prime in Japan.[5]

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"31→1 Fable"
Transcription: "31→1 no guwa" (Japanese: 31→1の寓話)		Akira OgataKenji AokiJuly 1, 2002 (2002-07-01)
2"Diva"
Transcription: "Uta hime" (Japanese: 歌姫)		Ryosuke MaedaRyosuke MaedaJuly 8, 2002 (2002-07-08)
3"Wherever You Go, Go Far"
Transcription: "Doko made mo tōku e" (Japanese: どこまでも遠くへ)		Kôji HagiudaKishu IzuchiJuly 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)
4"Sakura Sakuhi"
Transcription: "Sakurasakuhi" (Japanese: サクラサクヒ)		Isao YukisadaIsao Yukisada and Shoichi MashikoJuly 22, 2002 (2002-07-22)
5"Flower"
Transcription: "Hana" (Japanese: 花)		Hideaki SunagaMiyagi YoshihikoJuly 29, 2002 (2002-07-29)
6"Forest With No Name"
Transcription: "Namae no nai mori" (Japanese: 名前のない森)		Shinji AoyamaShinji AoyamaAugust 5, 2002 (2002-08-05)
7"Private Life"
Transcription: "Shiseikatsu" (Japanese: 私生活)		Ryo IwamatsuRyo IwamatsuAugust 12, 2002 (2002-08-12)
8"Time Goes By, You're Beautiful"
Transcription: "Tokiyo tomare, kimi wa utsukushi" (Japanese: 時よとまれ、君は美しい)		Sogo IshiiAkio SatsukawaAugust 19, 2002 (2002-08-19)
9"Mister Nippon: 21st Century Man"
Transcription: "Mister Nippon ~ 21 seiki no otoko" (Japanese: ミスター・ニッポン〜21世紀の男)		Tetsuya NakashimaTetsuya NakashimaAugust 26, 2002 (2002-08-26)
10"700 Yen a Minute"
Transcription: "1-funkan 700-en" (Japanese: 1分間700円)		Suguru TakeuchiNaito YamadaSeptember 2, 2002 (2002-09-02)
11"Woman and Man, Man and Woman[lower-alpha 1]"
Transcription: "Onna to otoko, otoko to onna" (Japanese: 女と男、男と女)		Alex CoxAlex CoxSeptember 9, 2002 (2002-09-09)
12"Bitters End"
Transcription: "Bitāzuendo" (Japanese: ビターズエンド)		Gō RijūGō RijūSeptember 16, 2002 (2002-09-16)

Notes
  1. also known as Mike Hama Must Die!

References
  1. "Please, Hama, don't hurt 'em". The Japan Times. 2002-06-30. Archived from the original on 2003-03-07. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  2. "永瀬正敏主演！20年前の伝説の探偵ドラマ「私立探偵 濱マイク」が遂に配信スタート！". PR Times. 2022-07-01.
  3. "A Forest With No Name". Midnight Eye. 2002-11-07. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  4. "永瀬正敏主演ドラマ「私立探偵濱マイク」配信スタートに「マイクを生き続けさせてくれて有難う」". Nikkan Sports. 2022-07-02.
  5. "伝説的名作ドラマ『私立探偵 濱マイク』放送20年の節目で配信開始 永瀬正敏が語る制作秘話". Yahoo! News. 2022-07-01.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.