Best movies & TV Shows like The Samurai

Before he hit it big, Takeshi Kitano got his start apprenticing with comedy legend Fukami of Asakusa. But as his star rises, his mentor's declines.

In the early 1960s aspiring stage actor Harry H. Corbett jumps at the chance to play junk-dealer Harold Steptoe in a television comedy show 'Steptoe and Son'. However, the show's success proves to be a poisoned chalice for him, type-casting him and thwarting his stage ambitions. Wilfrid Brambell, the actor playing his father, is marginalized in a different way. He is a gay man in an England where homosexuality is still illegal.

The Beatles stormed through Europe's music scene in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring. In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music.

Akumaizer 3 is a Japanese science fiction tokusatsu television series, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Company. The series premiered on Tuesday October 7, 1975 at 7:30, and ran for 38 episodes in that timeslot on NET, now known as TV Asahi. The series remains obscure outside of Japan, but was popular and renowned in its home country. The series was followed by a sequel called Chojin Bibyun which used rejected designs from the Kamen Rider series as its hero designs.

Bagpuss is a UK children's television series, made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate from 12 February 1974 to 7 May 1974 through their company Smallfilms. The title character was, "An old, saggy, cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams." Although only 13 episodes of the show were made, it remains fondly remembered, and was regularly repeated in the UK for thirteen years. In 1999 Bagpuss topped a BBC poll for the UK's favourite children's TV programme.

Dance Moms is an American dance reality series that debuted on Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Created by Collins Avenue Productions, it is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Abby Lee Dance Company, and follows children's early careers in dance show business, and their mothers. A spinoff series, Dance Moms: Miami, set in Miami at Victor Smalley and Angel Armas' dance studio, Stars Dance Studio, premiered on April 3, 2012, and was cancelled in September 2012 after eight episodes. On October 10, 2012, Lifetime announced that they had picked up Dance Moms for a third season, consisting of 26 episodes, which debuted on January 1, 2013.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is an American reality television series providing home improvements for less fortunate families and community schools. The show is hosted by former model, carpenter and veteran television personality Ty Pennington. Each episode features a family that has faced some sort of recent or ongoing hardship such as a natural disaster or a family member with a life-threatening illness, in need of new hope. The show's producers coordinate with a local construction contractor, which then coordinates with various companies in the building trades for a makeover of the family's home. This includes interior, exterior and landscaping, performed in seven days while the family is on vacation and documented in the episode. If the house is beyond repair, they replace it entirely. The show's producers and crew film set and perform the makeover but do not pay for it. The materials and labor are donated. Many skilled and unskilled volunteers assist in the rapid construction of the house. EM:HE is considered a spinoff of Extreme Makeover, an earlier series providing personal makeovers to selected individuals, which the Home Edition has now outlasted. This show displays extreme changes to help recreate someone's space. However, the format differs considerably; in the original Extreme Makeover, for instance, participants were not necessarily chosen based on any recent hardship, whereas the family's backstory is an important component of Home Edition. EM:HE also has similarities to other home renovation series such as Trading Spaces, on which Pennington was previously a key personality.

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient. The series ended on September 24, 1999, although occasional specials were produced until 2002. The series aired 309 episodes. Repeats are regularly aired on the Cooking Channel in the United States and on Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. Fuji TV will air a new version of the show, titled Iron Chef, beginning in October 26, 2012.

Jonny Quest – often casually referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest – is an American animated science fiction adventure television series about a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for Screen Gems, and created and designed by comic book artist Doug Wildey. Inspired by radio serials and comics in the action-adventure genre, it featured more realistic art, characters, and stories than Hanna-Barbera's previous cartoon programs. It was the first of several Hanna-Barbera action-based adventure shows – which would later include Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and Birdman and the Galaxy Trio – and ran on ABC in prime time on early Friday nights for one season in 1964–1965.

Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is Paul Shaffer. The head writer is Matt Roberts and the announcer is Alan Kalter. Of the major U.S. late-night programs, Late Show ranks second in cumulative average viewers over time and third in number of episodes over time. The show leads other late night shows in ad revenue with $271 million in 2009. In most U.S. markets the show airs at 11:35 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, but is recorded Monday through Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m and 6:00 p.m. The second Thursday episode usually airs on Friday of that week. In 2002, Late Show with David Letterman was ranked No. 7 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. CBS has a contract with Worldwide Pants to continue the show through 2014; by then, Letterman will surpass Johnny Carson as the longest tenured late-night talk show host.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from 1986 to 2011. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated talk show in American television history. The show was highly influential, and many of its topics penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as a platform to teach and inspire, providing viewers with a positive, spiritually uplifting experience by featuring book clubs, compelling interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events. The show gained credibility by not trying to profit off the products it endorsed; it had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor did the show make any money from endorsing books for its book club. Oprah is one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey decided to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000.

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.

Tokusou Robo Janperson was the 1993 installment in Toei Company Limited's Metal Hero Series. The series revolved around Janperson, a robotic detective who patrolled the streets of Tokyo and fought against three different underworld organizations who used super technology to subjugate the masses. Unlike most Metal Heroes, a monster-of-the-week was rarely shown and most of the villains are criminals akin to television police dramas. The name given to this series by Toei for international distribution is Jumperson.

Ultraman Max was an Ultraman TV series which started airing on 7 July 2005, and produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd.. The show tried to return to the true formula of new monsters every week and being a fast paced show like previous series with the exception of Ultraman Nexus. The show is full of homages to past series by having three of the original cast members from the first Ultraman series being featured in an episode, updated versions of classic monsters like Red King, Eleking and Pigmon among others. One unusual episode revolves around the filming of the 1964 program Ultra Q which was the predecessor to the first Ultraman show in 1966. Two actors from that show appear as themselves.

Globe Trekker is an adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was inspired by the Lonely Planet travelbooks and began airing in 1994. Globe Trekker is broadcast in over 40 countries across six continents. Each episode features a host, called a traveller, who travels with a camera crew to a country—often, a relatively exotic locale—and experiences the sights, sounds, and culture that the location has to offer. Special episodes feature in-depth city, beach, dive, shopping, history, festival, and food guides. The show often goes far beyond popular tourist destinations in order to give viewers a more authentic look at local culture. Presenters usually participate in different aspects of regional life, such as attending a traditional wedding or visiting a mining community. They address the viewer directly, acting as tourists-turned-tour guides, but are also filmed interacting with locals and discovering interesting locations in unrehearsed sequences. Globe Trekker also sometimes includes brief interviews with backpackers who share tips on independent travel in that particular country.

The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.

The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.

Ultimate Factories also known as Megafactories is an American documentary television series that premiered in 2006 on the National Geographic Channel. The program explores the inner workings of factories worldwide. Each episode profiles the machinery and manpower behind each factory's main product, featuring close-ups, breakdowns, interviews, and side stories to show the sequence of events to produce the product in the factory. Hoff Productions was one of the principal producers of this highly successful series. It also airs in non-US markets as Megafactories.

Samurai 7 is a 2004 anime TV series, produced by Gonzo and based on Akira Kurosawa's highly regarded 1954 movie Seven Samurai. The series was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa and its music was composed by Kaoru Wada and Eitetsu Hayashi. There are 26 episodes, each costing around ¥32,500,000 to produce. The series premiered across Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, as an exclusive high definition CS-PPV broadcast, and was also later aired by the network across its other respective networks worldwide, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America and other regions. Funimation Entertainment acquired the dubbing rights for the North American release. It previously aired in America through the Independent Film Channel in April 2006 and in high definition on Dish Networks Animania HD channel. It has also been broadcast across Canada by specialty channel Razer and across Hong Kong by TVB Jade. The Funimation Channel aired the series on September 6, 2010. It began airing on Adult Swim's revived Toonami block on August 19, 2012. and ended its run on February 10, 2013.

Iron King is a tokusatsu superhero TV series about a giant cyborg. The series was produced by Nippon Gendai and Senkosha, and aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 8, 1972 to April 8, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes.

Redigo is a 15-week Western dramatic series, set on a New Mexico ranch during the early 1960s, which aired over NBC from September 24 to December 31, 1963. The series features Richard Egan as ranch owner Jim Redigo, Roger Davis as Mike the ranch hand, and Elena Verdugo as Gerry. Don Diamond appeared in four episodes, three as the character Arturo. Redigo was the truncated second half-hour season of the previous one-hour series, Empire, which aired from September 25, 1962, to May 13, 1963. Both programs were placed on the Tuesday evening schedule against CBS's The Red Skelton Show. Redigo also lost out in the ratings to the ABC military sitcom, McHale's Navy, starring Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway. In Redigo, Egan's character Jim Redigo was no longer the manager of the large Garrett Ranch but the owner of his own smaller spread nearby. The half-hour format made it hard for the program to develop complex characters as had been done in the initial one-hour version of the show.

The Legends Of Treasure Island is an animated cartoon from the UK that ran from 1993-1995. It had two series of 13 episodes each and each episode runs for 22–25 minutes. The series was loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson's original story "Treasure Island". Featuring a mysterious and dark storyline, it incorporates magic and many new characters. Unlike the book and most adaptations Long John Silver is not an anti-hero with dubious morality but rather a straight villain. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom and in other countries throughout Europe and Latin America and was also aired in Australia. The programme was a FilmFair production for Central Independent Television, The Legends of Treasure Island, is owned by ITV PLC.

Soldiers of Fortune is a 1955 syndicated half hour American television adventure series. It starred John Russell as Tim Kelly and Chick Chandler as his sidekick Toubo Smith who were international adventurers. Each episode would take place in a different country. Many of the film crew had worked at Republic Pictures studios with the show filmed on Republic's backlot then used by television's Revue Productions. The show was constantly rerun on American television into the 1960s. The show was sponsored for two years by 7 Up soft drink. One year after Soldiers of Fortune was cancelled, John Russell went on to star as Marshal Dan Troup in the successful ABC/Warner Brothers western series Lawman.

Edwardian Farm is an historical documentary TV series in twelve parts, first shown on BBC Two from November 2010 to January 2011. It depicts a group of historians trying to run a farm like it was done during the Edwardian era. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television and filmed at Morwellham Quay, an historic quay in Devon. The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn. The series was devised and produced by David Upshal and directed by Stuart Elliott. The series is a development from two previous series Victorian Farm and Victorian Pharmacy which were among BBC Two's biggest hits of 2009 and 2010, garnering audiences of up to 3.8 million per episode. The series was followed by Wartime Farm in September 2012, featuring the same team but this time in Hampshire on Manor Farm, living a full calendar year as wartime farmers. An associated book by Goodman, Langlands, and Ginn, also titled Edwardian Farm, was published in 2010 by BBC Books. The series was also published on DVD, available in various regional formats.

Kyoudai Ken Byclosser was a serial Tokusatsu created by Shotaro Ishinomori (Ishinomori Productions) and Toei Company, in co-production with Nippon Television. The series consisted of 34 episodes, and aired in Japan starting January 10th, 1985 until August 29th of the same year.

Getter Robo G is a super robot anime series created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa and produced by Toei Animation. This direct sequel to Getter Robo was broadcast on Fuji TV from May 15, 1975 to March 25, 1976, with a total of 39 episodes. People familiar with Mattel's popular Shogun Warriors toy collection will remember all three of Getter Robo G's robot formations in that toy line: Getter Dragon, Getter Liger and Getter Poseidon. As a result of the popularity of these toys in the US, Jim Terry included this series in his Force Five anime lineup under the title of Starvengers. Some Starvengers episodes were redubbed and released by FB Productions under the Robo Formers title. The original Getter Robo series, however, has yet to appear in the US. In the UK, Starvengers episodes were released on video by Krypton Force under the name Formators.

American Digger is an American reality television series airing on Spike. The show follows former professional wrestler Frank Huguelet and his company American Savage as they search the United States for buried historical artifacts. The second season of the show was retitled Savage Family Diggers as Savage's wife Rita and son Nick join the crew. On August 7, 2012, Spike TV announced that American Digger had been renewed for a second thirteen episode season. Filming of the new season began Fall 2012 and will air in Spring 2013.

The Tomica Hero Series (トミカヒーローシリーズ, Tomika Hīrō Shirīzu) was a short-lived series of Japanese tokusatsu children's television dramas. Based on Takara Tomy's Tomica toy car line, the series air on TV Aichi and TV Tokyo before being syndicated around Japan. Takara Tomy previously produced Madan Senki Ryukendo, but Ryukendo was not based on a pre-existing set of toys for the company. However, it made reference to the Earth Federation which the UFDA is a branch of, its main cast making a cameo in the Rescue Force movie. Although airing on different days, the Tomica Hero Series served as competition to TV Asahi and Toei Company's Super Sentai and Kamen Rider Series and Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Series. Only two series were made with the Tomica Hero story, which concluded with a stage show featuring members of the Rescue Force cast.

Moonlight Mask (aka Gekko Kamen), is a black and white tokusatsu TV drama series, produced by the advertising agency Senkosha and was aired on KRTV (now TBS) from February 24, 1958 to July 5, 1959, with a total of 130 (or 131) episodes, divided into 5 segments. Since the original show, Gekko Kamen has gained the popularity of being the first Japanese live action television superhero, appearing in films and TV shows well past the length of the original series.

Shōnen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru, also known as Samurai Kid, is a Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation. 65 episodes aired from 7 June 1964 until 31 August 1965. It tells the story of a ninja's pupil that controlled the wind. It was inspired by the manga 'Kaze no Ishimaru' by Sanpei Shirato and was animated by Yasuji Mori and Hayao Miyazaki. The anime was renamed "Kaze no Fujimaru" in order to associate it with its sponsor, Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals. The opening theme, 'Shōnen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru' and the closing theme, 'Tatakau Shōnen Ninja', were both performed by the Nishirokugo Boy's Choir. The series originally ended with a repeat of the opening; the separate ending song came later.

Space Ironmen Kyodyne was a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. The show, like numerous others of its type and era, were produced as a joint effort between manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori and Toei Company producer Hirayama Tôru. It premiered in 1976 and ran for 48 episodes. The show is well known for its strange plot and costume design, rapid-fire and purposefully disorienting editing, and unique, sometimes surreal, atmosphere. The late Yūsuke Natsu and Takeshi Sasaki starred as Skyzel and Grounzel respectively.

Captain Tsubasa J is a TV anime series that retells the story of the original manga and also adds some arcs from the World Youth Saga manga. The anime was originally broadcast by Fuji Television in Japan from 1994-10-21 to 1995-12-22 with 47 episodes. The animation was done by Studio Comet. The series was suspended due to budget constraints.

Space Ace is a Japanese science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuo Yoshida and serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Book magazine from June 1964 to May 1966. It was adapted into an anime television series by Tatsunoko Production and aired on Fuji TV from May 8, 1965 to April 28, 1966.

Butternut Square was a Canadian children's television series which aired on CBC Television between October 19, 1964 and February 10, 1967. The cast featured Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup and Fred Rogers as Mister Rogers, both of whom would follow with their own landmark television series. "Butternut Square" was a show designed for young viewers and featured a variety of segments aimed at entertaining and educating children. The program included storytelling, music, puppetry, and educational segments, often focusing on imaginative play and interactive elements to engage its audience. The show aimed to stimulate creativity, encourage learning, and entertain children through a mix of fun activities and storytelling. Although specific details about individual episodes might vary, the overall emphasis was on fostering a sense of wonder, creativity, and learning in its young viewers.