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When the show focuses on political intrigue, interpersonal relationships, clan dynamics and the clash of cultures, Shogun is riveting. It's also most expressed in Japanese, with English subtitles, so I find it easy to follow.

It's when Cosmo Kramer or the Portuguese dudes are doing the talking that I can't understand what's going on. He mumbles, like a morose Richard Burton. They speak with some kind of hackneyed accent. With 90 percent of the cast already speaking Japanese, why didn't they get a few more actors to speak Portuguese and then do the entire show with subtitles?

Also, when the show feels like it needs to inject some action - whether human or CGI - it falls flat. It feels tacked on, rather than organic to the plot. Tonight's example of particularly egregious.

On the other hand, an important sub-plot in this episode involves the gardener. It is resolved with a 5 second shot of Cosmo putting back in place a large rock that the gardener had been working on earlier. That was some wonderful wordless story-telling.

First couple of episodes were great because they were full of political intrigue while the violence was restrained.

Now we get to Episode 3 and it's full of Hollywood chicanery, hidden identities, a chase scene and abunch of unearned pathos.

The sword battles aren't all that exciting. They only succeeded in making me wish I was watching The Seven Samurai.

But it gets worse. Somehow, in 1600, we get a tiny little woman who has spent her life with bound feet, suddenly breaking into some Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger moves to help save the day.

There's a bit of intrique about 2/3 the way through but then Johnny Bl3ckbeard, or whatever his name is, slips into James Bond mode and it gets stupid again. Cue another chase scene.

I have neither read the novel nor seen the TV mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain.

But I am a fan of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune.

So when I see a show featuring feudal Japanese culture I am prepared to dive in head first.

The parts starring Japanese actors, speaking Japanese, with subtitles, is excellent. I have no trouble following the court intrigue. And no, it wasn't slow as the fans of super-hero movies are claiming here.

But I worry this series is gonna be about an unbathed, uncouth, shouty Englishman who comes to teach civilization to the Japanese. Frankly, if I were the local warlord in that village, I would have cut his head off right then and there when they first drag him off the ghost ship.

Also, I could barely understand a word any of the Englishmen or the Portuguese priest or the Spanish seaman, were saying. Frankly, I would have preferred subtitles for all those "English" speaking actors.

Nevertheless, I saw enough in theh first episode that I'll keep watching.