Kung Fu (1972 TV series)

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This article is specifically about the original TV series (1972–1975) "Kung Fu". For other uses, see Kung fu (disambiguation).
Kung Fu
File:KungFU.jpg
David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine
Created byEd Spielman
Jerry Thorpe
Herman Miller
StarringDavid Carradine
Keye Luke
Philip Ahn
Radames Pera
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes60 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producerJerry Thorpe
Running time50 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
Release1972 –
1975

Kung Fu (1972-1975) is an American television series which starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller (who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series). David Chow (and later Kam Yuen) was the technical and kung fu advisor. A full length feature TV movie preceded the series.

Kung Fu follows the adventures of a Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine (portrayed by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a teenager and Radames Pera as a young boy) who travels through the American Old West (armed only with his skill in martial arts) as he seeks his half-brother, Danny Caine.

Keye Luke (as the blind Master Po) and Philip Ahn (as Master Kan) were also members of the regular cast.

Overall series plot summary

In the late 19th century, Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) is the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman. He has been raised in the Shaolin monastery, and trained by the monks to be a Shaolin master.

File:Kung Fu-From Dark Angel.png
Master Po (left) and Kwai Chang Caine (right) in a flashback from the episode "Dark Angel", written by Herman Miller

However, when his mentor is murdered, Caine retaliates by killing the man who murdered him, the emperor's nephew. This forces him to flee China to escape execution. Caine ends up in the American West during which time he discovers that he has a half-brother, Danny.

Although it is his intention to find Danny while avoiding notice, Caine's training as a priest has instilled in him a sense of social responsibility, forcing him to repeatedly come out into the open to fight for justice. After such encounters, he is compelled to leave to stay ahead of the emperor's assassins.

The frequent use of flashbacks is used to recall specific lessons during Caine's training in the monastery while a child (Rad Pera) by his teachers, the blind Master Po (Keye Luke) and Master Kan (Philip Ahn). Part of the appeal of the series was undoubtedly the emphasis laid, via the flashbacks, on the mental and spiritual power that Caine had gained from his rigorous training. In these flashbacks, Master Po calls his young student "Grasshopper" in reference to their first meeting in which young Caine said that to be blind must be the worst affliction. Master Po drew attention to a grasshopper at his feet which the blind master could hear but to which Caine had been oblivious, showing the pupil how much he still had to learn.

During the concluding four episodes of the third and final season, "Barbary House", "Flight to Orion", "The Brothers Caine", and "Full Circle", Caine not only finds his brother Danny, but also his nephew Zeke as well as his two cousins Joseph and Ezekial.

Notable guest stars

Kung Fu had many famous guest stars including: Brandon Cruz, Cannonball Adderley, John Drew Barrymore, John Blyth Barrymore, David Chow, José Feliciano, Rhonda Fleming, Benson Fong, Harrison Ford, Rosemary Forsyth, Jodie Foster, Anne Francis, Barbara Hershey (Barbara Seagull), James Hong, Season Hubley, Dan Inosanto, Don Johnson, Nancy Kwan, Carol Lawrence, Tina Louise, Mako (Makoto Iwamatsu), Pat Morita, Diana Muldaur, Leslie Nielsen, William Shatner, and Victor Sen Yung.

Additionally several members of David Carradine's family appeared on the show: Bruce Carradine, John Carradine, Keith Carradine, and Robert Carradine.

Production history

Bruce Lee's widow's memoirs assert that Lee actually created the concept for the series[1] , which was then stolen by Warner Bros. However, there is no verifiable documentation of such an incident, and Herbie Pilato, in his 1993 book The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western, commented on the casting history for the series, particularly on the involvement of both David Carradine and Bruce Lee:

Before the filming of the Kung Fu TV movie began, there was some discussion as to whether or not an Asian actor should play Kwai Chang Caine. Bruce Lee was considered for the role. In 1971, Bruce Lee wasn't the cult film hero he later became for his roles in Fists of Fury (1971), Enter the Dragon (1973), and Game of Death (1978). At that point he was best known as Kato on TV's Green Hornet (1966-1967). (Kung Fu guest actor Robert Ito reports that Lee hated the role of Kato because he "thought it was so subservient.") "In my eyes and in the eyes of Jerry Thorpe," says Harvey Frand, "David Carradine was always our first choice to play Caine. But there was some disagreement because the network was interested in a more muscular actor and the studio was interested in getting Bruce Lee." Frand says Lee wouldn't have really been appropriate for the series - despite the fact that he went on to considerable success in the martial arts film world. The Kung Fu show needed a serene person, and Carradine was more appropriate for the role. Ed Spielman agrees: "I liked David in the part. One of Japan's foremost Karate champions used to say that the only qualification that was needed to be trained in the martial arts was that you had to know how to dance. And on top of being an accomplished athlete and actor, David could dance." Nonetheless, grumbling from the Asian community would have made sense, given the fact that minor roles for Asian actors were almost nonexistent. James Hong, an actor on the show and ex-president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists (AAPAA) says that at the time Asian actors felt that "if they were going to do a so-called Asian hero on Kung Fu, then why don't they hire an Asian actor to play the lead? But then the show went on, we realized that it was a great source of employment for the Asian acting community." In fact, Hong says, Carradine had a good relationship with the Asian community, (pages 32-33).

The Shaolin Temple which appeared in flashbacks was originally a set used for the 1967 film, Camelot. It was inexpensively and effectively converted for the setting in China.

Episodes

Main article: List of Kung Fu (TV series) episodes

The original series of Kung Fu lasted for three seasons, beginning on October 14 1972, and finishing on March 15 1975.

Sequels and new series

Kung Fu:The Movie

Main article: Kung Fu:The Movie

In Kung Fu:The Movie (1986) Caine (played by Carradine) is forced to fight his hitherto unknown son, Chung Wang (played by Brandon Lee). Herbie Pilato in The Kung Fu Book of Caine, also comments that Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee, was involved in sequels related to the series:

The late Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, played Caine's son, Chung Wang. Toward the end of the film, Chung Wang asks Caine if he is his father. The question seems somewhat ironic since-in real life-Brandon's father was the chief contender for the role of Caine in the series. After Bruce Lee lost the part to Carradine, he went back to China, where he made The Big Boss, the film that began his legendary career in martial arts movies, (page 157).

Kung Fu:The Next Generation

Main article: Kung Fu:The Next Generation

In Kung Fu:The Next Generation (1987), the story moves to the present day, and centers on the story of Johnny Caine (Brandon Lee), who is the great-grandson of Kwai Chang Caine.

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues

Main article: Kung Fu: The Legend Continues

Two decades after the first series ended, a second, related series running in syndication followed the adventures of a descendant of Kwai Chang Caine. Entitled Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, it again starred Carradine, and introduced Chris Potter as his son. The second series ran for four years, from 1993-1997. The series has yet to be released on DVD.

Warner Bros. Webisodes

In 1999 the Warner Bros. website introduced a series of animated "webisodes" that continued the adventures of the Kung-Fu series, and which featured the voice of David Carradine. There were roughly nine episodes, each approximately ten minutes in length, briefly archived on the website, but they soon disappeared after a few months. As of April 2007 they still do not appear to have been archived online.

Feature film plans

In June 2006, Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander announced that a feature film (which will serve as a prequel to the original Kung Fu series and take place in China) is in development.[2] They have also announced that David Carradine "will not be returning to the project, nor will it be an effects-laden movie".[3] In September 2007, it was announced that Max Makowski would direct the movie and that he planned to make the film edgier than the original television series. The movie will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures & Legendary Pictures.[4]

DVD Release

Warner Home Video has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 16 March 16 2004
The Complete Second Season 23 January 18 2005
The Complete Third Season 24 August 23 2005

Quotes

  • "To suppress a truth, is to give it force beyond endurance." - Master Kan.
  • "Yet it is eyes which blind the man"..."Because a man can see, he does not look." - Master Po.

Popular culture

  • In the film Pulp Fiction the character Jules reveals his plan to quit his life as an assassin and "walk the earth, like Caine from Kung-Fu".
  • In the film Office Space the character Peter Gibbons and Joanna discover their mutual love for "Kung Fu", which is the final straw in Joanna's decision to date Peter.
  • In an episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise", when the entire crew is forced to take refuge in a warp nacelle, Commander Tucker, Lieutenant Reed and Sub-Commander T'Pol watch a episode of "Kung Fu" with the first two struggling to grip what is going on.
Tucker: "Did that guy shoot one of his own men?"
Reed: "It's hard to tell them apart in those ridiculous hats."
T'Pol: "The dead man was secretly working for Sheriff Boggs."
Tucker: "How do you know that?"
T'Pol: "Isn't it obvious?"
  • In the film "Surf Ninjas", Iggy is convinced he will be the king of Patusan. When explained he couldn't make it because he was not Asian, he replies with "Oh yeah? Well I have two words for you: David Carradine y Kung Fu" noting that Carradine was also not Asian.

Awards

References

  1. ^ Caldwell, L. Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew.
  2. ^ [1][dead link]
  3. ^ Article not found | February 3, 2008 | AHN
  4. ^ Kung Fu: Big Screen Version of TV Series Has New Director » TV Series Finale
  • Anderson, Robert. The Kung Fu Book: The exclusive, unauthorized, uncensored story of America's favorite martial arts show. Pioneer Books, Inc., 1994. ISBN 1-55698-328-X

External links

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