Fans of the long-running historical drama series "Mito Komon" (Mondays at 8 p.m. on TBS) may have been slightly put off last spring when Koji Ishizaka, the actor who had just assumed the title role, opted to play it without the character's famous wispy white beard. Mito Komon just wasn't Mito Komon without the whiskers.
Apparently Ishizaka has relented. In tomorrow night's special two-hour season closer, Mito Komon is forced to execute one of his trusted retainers for betraying him by conspiring with his archenemy, the evil villain Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, to spread rumors that he has gone mad.
Actor Koji Ishizaka as Mito Komon in the TBS series.