I think a good measure of whether you'll enjoy it or not would be if you've seen the Incredible Hulk show; if you've seen that and you liked it then you'll probably enjoy Kung Fu as it has that same kind of plot structure of hero wanders into town, gets befriends person in need and then helps out at the end before moving on again on a vague mission.

The Fugitive template was well en vogue, in the 1970s (and early 80s). Aside from the Hulk, there was Kung Fu, Logan's Run, The Phoenix, Planet of the Apes, Otherworld, and the Saturday Morning tv show Run, Joe, Run (which featured a fugitive German shepherd).

The pilot movie for the series is really good. It has Caine walking through an American desert, reflecting back on his past, then shows him as a young boy, a teenager and a young man, training at the Shaolin Temple, His mentor is blind Master Po, played by Keye Luke (the original movie serial Kato and voice of Zoltar, in Battle of the Planets), as well as Master Kan, played by Phillip Ahn. Every major Asian actor appeared in either the pilot film of the series, at one point, including Robert Ito (Quincy), James Hong (Blade Runner), Yuki Shimoda (Cho Pak on MASH), John Fujioka (Six Million Dollar Man,), Benson Fong, Clyde Kusatsu, Soon Tek Oh, Beulah Quo, James Shigeta (Die Hard), Nancy Kwan...you name them. Probably more Asian actors in this series than in MASH.

In the pilot film, Caine is a fugitive, after killing a relative of the emperor, in a fit of rage, after he shot Master Po, while being disrespectful to him. Caine flees to the US to find his American family (His father was an American). In the pilot, he defends himself against bullies, in a saloon, then ends up getting a job working on the railroad. The Chinese workers are abused and needlessly endangered and an engineer is murdered, lest his findings hold up the timetable for blasting a tunnel through a mountain. A Shaolin bounty hunter is brought in for the finale, for a battle with Caine (played by David Chow, who was the fight arranger for the series). The earlier days of Caine are told via flashbacks to his training and lessons from master Po, including how he is bequeathed his nickname grasshopper.



I thought the first season was pretty good, as the episodes usually feature Caine coming to a new town and helping someone in trouble, while reflecting back on a lesson learned at the temple. I watched a bit of that, in recent years. I don't really recall the later seasons, but still recall the general impression that it kind of wore out the premise as it went on. The third and final season does wrap up the hunt for Caine's half brother, Danny, a white man.

David Carridine's brother Keith played the teen version of Caine, in the pilot film, then his father (John) and younger brother Robert (of Revenge of the Nerds) appeared in an episode. Ramses Perda played the young Caine, taking his lessons from Master Po and Master Kan.

Definitely worth watching at least the first season. I would suggest not binge watching, as the formula tends to stick out more. The template worked better in weekly doses.

The pilot film is what was swiped by Marvel and everyone else under the sun. It came along as kung fu films were becoming a fad, at the theater and the weekly dose of kung fu action (mostly in slow motion or basic exchanges) made it a bigger deal. There is a lot of "fortune cookie" wisdom; but, there are a lot of really good actors involved. The training stuff at the temple was stolen by everyone.

Not too long after the series was a hit, there was a made-for-tv movie, called Men of the Dragon, starring Jared Martin, Robert Ito and Katie Saylor. Martin and Saylor are brother and sister, who spent part of their youth in Hong Kong, where they were friends with Ito's character. Saylor is kidnapped (after a fight), to be a concubine for a criminal (played by Joseph Wiseman, in "yellow face," much like in Dr No). Martin and Ito try to find her and rescue her and are forced to fight each other, while blindfolded, unaware that the other is their opponent. David Chow was the fight choreographer and plays the villain's chief henchman. A lot of the plot is swiped from Enter the Dragon and similar things, with doses of Kung Fu, too. I think it was intended as a pilot for a series and was a decent tv movie, but no series followed. It was filmed in Hong Kong, which probably pushed the cost way up there, which might explain why it didn't become a series or a series of tv movies.

(Ignore the stupid narration that some idiot added, well after the fact)

On a tangential note, there is a remake of Kung Fu in the works at the CW, with a female protagonist coming out later this year. Whether it is a continuation with her as a descendent of Kane, or a true reboot/remake, I don't know, but form the looks of the promo poster it has a contemporary setting, not an old west one.



-M

So true of entertainment back then whether it was comic books or TV shows. For comic books continued stories included lengthy recaps because it wasn't easy getting issues every month pre comic book stores. For TV each episode had to stand on it's own pre VCR days because you actually had to be home when the show aired or you missed it. I feel by the 90's the VCR started the change in TV shows to progress episode by episode.

True for the most part, but there are exceptions. I'm rewatching Dark Shadows with Amber currently. I'd hoped Kung Fu would be cut from that kind of cloth, especially since Caine is on a journey that (one might assume) would have a beginning, middle, and end. Apparently not.

I liked KUNG FU when it was first-run, although, I must say, the one thing I never cared for was the "Fugitive" sub-plot. I'd put up with 4 years of Dr. Richard Kimble, and any series that tries to riff on that (especially THE INCREDIBLE HULK) is just asking for a "miss" in my book.

ABC moved KUNG FU to Friday nights opposite something else I was already watching, for its 3rd season, and once past the 2-hour season opener, I decided, I'd wait until rerun season to catch up with it. THERE WAS NO RERUN SEASON. The a-holes took it right off the air as soon as the 3rd season was over. To this day, I have NEVER seen most of season 3.

To this day, the only part of the original series I have in my collection is the pilot movie.



That said, there have been several follow-ups. Allow me to list...


SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- season 6 (arguably, the least-popular ever), had an episode hosted by David Carridine. One of the sketches they did had Kwai Chang Caine in the modern-day, walking into a Harlem clothing shop run by Eddie Murphy (his 1st season on the show). Caine wanted water, but Murphy wanted to sell him some "fine threads". On the original show, Caine would have memories of his dead teacher Master Po. But in this sketch, Caine looked into a mirror and saw Master Po, and SPOKE with him. Just like Christopher Reeve did with Marlon Brando in SUPERMAN (1978, 2 years earlier). "The man of the spirit, wears not the clothes of the pimp. Roll that around in your head awhile, Grasshopper!" At the end, Caine told Murphy, "And now, I must... destroy your store." "SAY WHAT???" "Do not worry... I do it all in... slow motion."



KUNG FU (the movie) (1986) Caine returned in a 2-hour pilot movie intended to start a sequel series. In this, he'd settled down to live in a western town. Trouble reared its head when we found out-- in yet another example of the then-popular fad-- that Caine had fathered a son he NEVER KNEW HE HAD, played by Brandon Lee, who had been co-opted by Caine's enemies, and brainwashed into killing him. This film introduced, for the first time, real SUPERNATURAL mysticism, as Caine was seen HOVERING over the floor while meditating. SNL had predicted not only the return of the show, but the use of the supernatural. The movie ended with some sub-plots unresolved, no doubt intended to be followed up on in a series that NEVER happaned. Oh well.


KUNG FU: THE NEXT GENERATION (1987) This was a one-hour UNSOLD pilot for another series that never happened. In the only KUNG FU to date not to feature Carridine, David Darlow played the great-grandson of Caine, in the modern world, who'd had a falling-out with his son, once again played by Brandon Lee! Also in the cast was Paula Kelly, who I always liked. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. But it didn't sell. And in light of what happened later, was retroactively written out of continuity. (OR... maybe not. Hard to be 100% certain.)


THE GAMBLER RETURNS: THE LUCK OF THE DRAW (1991) The 4th Kenny Rogers "Gambler" film is a 2-part 4-hour mini-series, that acts as an all-star reunion film for a pile of TV western heroes from the 60s... and one from the 70s, as Caine turns up for a 5-minute cameo in the 2nd part, for the first time since the 70s wearing his original hat and outfit. This is a lot of fun.



If there were ever going to be a legitimate sequel to this, it would have to star Chris Potter. Otherwise... WHY BOTHER?