Several of the new fall drama series begin this week, and one of the season's topics is education. Trendy drama mainstay Masakazu Tamura steps out of character as the title character in "Sayonara Ozu Sensei" (Fuji, Tuesday, 9 p.m.), playing the former manager of the New York branch of a major Japanese bank. Under orders from his superiors, Ozu carried out improper stock deals and was caught. He went to jail and lost everything -- his job, his wife, his family and, most importantly, his reputation as an elite businessman.
Kinpachi Sakamoto (Tetsuya Takeda) teaches tirelessly in the TBS show "San-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei."The only job available for a 50-year-old ex-con banker is teaching at a private high school in Tokyo. Ozu has no interest in teaching, which is fine with his students since they have no interest in learning. The administration doesn't seem to mind either, since this is one of those institutions attended by kids who can't get into good schools.