Channel 9 (Oceanic Cable) and 20 (Hawaiian Telcom)
Programs are subject to change, without notice. For updated information, call 847-2021)
KIKU-TV 2017 Christmas and New Year’s Specials
“Journey to the Moon,” airs on Monday, Dec. 26, from 9-10:30 p.m.; repeats Tuesday, Dec. 27, from 1-2:30 p.m.
What is destiny? When a series of circumstances bring two people together, is it meant to be? Ryota Shinozaki works for a publishing house, and has traveled to a remote town in the mountainous region of Gifu to meet with an author and pick up his latest work. When he arrives at the train station for his return trip, Ryota notices a blind woman in the waiting area. As he waits for his train, a series of circumstances keeps bringing Ryota and the woman, Rio, together. Finally, Rio confesses she was not at the station to catch a train, but rather, she was there waiting for someone.
“The 67th Annual Red and White Song Contest,” airs Sunday, Jan. 1, from 5-10 p.m.
Köhaku Uta Gassen, more commonly known simply as Köhaku, is an annual music show produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. The “Red and White Song Contest” is a program that divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. The red team is composed composed of all female artists (or groups with female vocals), while the white team is all male (or groups with male vocals). A performance on Köhaku is said to be the highlight of a singer’s career because of the show’s large reach and status.
Kohaku airs in Japan on New Year’s Eve, with the announcement of the winning team taking place at midnight. In Hawaii, Kohaku has become a television viewing tradition on New Year’s night, and 2017 marks the 67th year since the program’s inception.
“Temporary Boyfriend,” Mon, Wed, Thu, and Fri, Jan. 2, 4, 5 and 6, at 7 p.m.
Horizon is a mail order company with more than 100 million items in their catalogue. Horizon’s staff has no problem fulfilling their customers’ every desire with the click of a mouse, but when it comes to fulfilling their own happiness, they fall short. Relationships are more difficult to obtain for the young Horizon staff.
“Making It Through 2016 Special,” Monday, Jan. 2, and Sunday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m.
For 20 years, viewers in Hawaii tuned in to “Making It Through” every Sunday to catch the latest happenings with the Okakura family. Over the 20 year history of the show, we watched characters literally grow up in front of us as Daikichi and his five grown daughters tackled tough subjects such as cancer, death, sibling rivalry, bullying, divorce, and other life experiences.
The “Making It Through” series ended in 2013, but due to high fan demand, the producers have continued to create special episodes chronicling the lives of the series characters following the end of the series. This two-night, four hour special produced in 2016 is the latest, and newest “Making It Through” special.
“Sanada Maru,” – Tuesday, Jan. 3 and Sun, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m.
The 55th NHK Taiga drama, “Sanada Maru,” delves into the life of Sanada Yukimura, Japan’s last great commander in the Warring States period (1467-1567).
Born as the second son to a lord who owned a small piece of land in Shinsu (present day Nagano Prefecture) Sanada Genjiro Nobushige grew up in the shadow of his exceptionally intelligent father and older brother. With courage and perseverance, he faced many hardships and challenges trying to survive very turbulent times, eventually earning him much respect as a samurai warrior.
“Gold Woman,” Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m.
Tamaki Yoshizawa is an up-and-coming female executive of Teito Bank tasked with restructuring an underperforming division, which will result in layoffs and the forced retirement of many long-time employees. In the process of carrying out her unpleasant responsibility, Tamaki learns she was set up by her immediate supervisor, Mai Yajima, to carry out the dirty work.
In an environment where women have difficulty enough succeeding in a man’s world, is there any camaraderie amongst women?
“Professor Eiko,” Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m.
The body of a professor is discovered at a university lecture hall suspended from the ceiling of the stage, with a series of mysterious numbers written on the curtains nearby.
Professor Eiko, a law professor at the university well versed in criminology, is asked to assist police in the investigation, and he uncovers clues that point to him as a suspect.
Why is he being set up? As he and his assistant work to decipher the code left on the curtains, another professor at the university is murdered. And yet another mysterious code is left at the scene of the crime.
“Meikyu Sousa,” Thursday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m.
Detective Yoichiro arrives at a crime scene involving the brutal murder of three family members to find a young 5-year-old boy hiding in the closet. The discovery of the young boy takes Detective Yoichiro back to his own tragic childhood when his parents were killed in a fire.
Without any real clues, the murder investigation continues unsolved. That is, until another murder takes place one year later, this time with a mother and son as the victims. And evidence found at the scene links the killer to the murder that took place a year ago.
“Ishizuka Special,” Friday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m.
Hidehiko Ishizuka, aka The Fat Detective is at it again, exploring Japan and sampling the specialty foods of each area. But traveling with sumo wrestler Oyakata means there is a competition that must be waged before they can eat. The winner gets to eat to his heart’s content, while the loser must be satisfied with just a tiny morsel of food.
“Who Is The Real Celebrity?” Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m.
Which glass of wine came from a $7 bottle, and which came from a $200 bottle? Which is the real $20,000 watch and which is the knock-off? Watch as celebrities are challenged to distinguish the real from the fake in this fun celebrity challenge.
“Kinako (TV Asahi),” airs on Sunday, Dec. 25, from 8-9:30 p.m.; repeats on Monday, Dec. 26 from noon-1:30 p.m.
Kinako is a documentary about a police dog who repeatedly failed at her police dog trials, and her trainer, who refused to accept that Kinako was a failure.
The trainer’s name is Kyoko Mochizuki . Kyoko was 18 when she admitted to the police dog training academy to begin her lifelong dream of training police dogs. Soon after, Kyoko met Kinako, a Labrador retriever puppy.
Despite Kyoko’s efforts, Kinako repeatedly fails her tests, but Kyoko refuses to give up. With patience, determination, and tenacity, Kyoko continues to work with Kinako, believing that one day, her hard work will be rewarded.
“Business Marriage,” premieres Monday, Jan. 9 at 9 p.m.
A single young woman desperately seeking employment takes on a job of becoming legally married to a straight-laced, unexciting, bachelor businessman. Can the couple function in a strictly professional relationship like this without the truth becoming known? Is there any chance of a chemical reaction between a pure company man and a dreamer woman thrown together for mere convenience?
“CSI 2,” premieres Thursday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m.
Satoshi Itomura portrays an assistant police investigator who belongs to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Scientific Investigation Team. They collect scientific evidence and piece together fragments of information in order to help build a story behind criminal cases. Itomura often does not care about the scientific approach and instead pays a great deal of attention to the things the victims always carried with them or treasured, like the toys from their childhoods. And he focuses on these things because they usually carry the victim’s last message.
“Partners 11,” premieres Saturday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m.
The eleventh season of this popular detective series. Detective, Ukyo Sugishita, has great insight and cunning skills. His new partner is Toru Kai. Together they solve many mysterious crimes.
“Doctors 3,” premieres Sunday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m.
Doctors 3 is a continuation of Doctors 1 and 2, which is the popular “Doctors” series about Kousuke Sagara, a highly skilled surgeon who works at a corrupt hospital.
“Shitsuren Chocolatier,” premieres Sunday, Jan. 15 at 9 p.m.
A culinary student’s one-sided love for his once high school sweetheart , is a story of bittersweet unrequited love that will surely melt your heart. His love for her and her love for chocolate lead him on a quest to creating the perfect chocolate in order to capture her heart.
“In the Name of the Mother (Sa Ngalan Ng Ina),” premieres Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 2:30 p.m.
Elena Deogracias is a quiet, but strong-willed and intelligent woman married to Armando “Amang” Deogracias. Amang is challenging the incumbent Pepe Illustre for the gubernatorial seat of the province of Verano. Pepe is related by marriage to the most influential political family in Verano, and they will do anything to hold onto their power.
The night before the election, an explosion goes off, deeply wounding Amang. Members of his political party appoint Elena as Amang’s replacement for the gubernatorial seat. Much to everyone’s surprise, Elena wins the election!
As the new provincial governor, Elena vows to fulfill the wishes of the people and clear Verano of corruption.
Will she be able to see her promise come true?
“Toyama no Kinsan (Toei),” premieres Friday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m.
Toyama no Kinsan will bring back many memories for long-time KIKU viewers. The original series was very popular and ran on KIKU for many years. This new remake stars Ken Matsudaira, who will also bring back memories for KIKU viewers. He was the star of Abarenbo Shogun, another very popular series that ran on KIKU for many years.
Kinsan is a magistrate officer who protects the common people and is tough on criminals. Similar to Abarenbo Shogun, he moves through life everyday incognito, until he discovers crime and confronts the offender. Kinsan’s symbol is a tattoo of flowering sakura on his shoulder. When he lowers his kimono and criminals see his tattoo, they confess and the case is closed!
