Kung Fu (1972–1975)

The adventures of a Shaolin Monk as he wanders the American West armed only with his skill in Kung Fu.

Creator:

Ed Spielman

Stars:

David Carradine, Radames Pera, Keye Luke

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
David Carradine	...	Kwai Chang Caine (63 episodes, 1972-1975)
Radames Pera	...	Young Caine (46 episodes, 1972-1975)
Keye Luke	...	Master Po (45 episodes, 1972-1975)
Philip Ahn	...	Master Kan (39 episodes, 1972-1975)

Storyline

Kwai Chang Caine is a Shaolin Monk who is on the run after he killed the Chinese Emperor's nephew after that coward killed his teacher in cold blood with a gun. He flees to America both to escape retaliation and to search for his brother in order to settle down in this new land. However, in his travels in the wild west, he can not help but continually run into trouble from desperados and other ruffians as they oppress the innocent, while bounty hunters pursue the price on his head. Against this, he has his skill of Kung-fu martial arts which proves to be devastatingly effective in this gun-dominated land.

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Plot Keywords:

shaolin | kung fu | monk | martial arts | on the run | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Warrior

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (60 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only reason this show went off the air was because star David Carradine quit the series. He had sustained so many injuries, he felt he could not go on. The show got high ratings all three seasons it aired.

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Goofs

In the title sequence, the close-up shots of Caine's arms moving into position over the cauldron show his right arm covering both the dragon AND the tiger.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly (1991)

User Reviews

A miracle of television

It's a shame that the martial arts craze that this show created (in conjunction with the ascendant popularity of Bruce Lee in the early 1970s), in conjunction with the somewhat cheesy '90s spinoff, has served to somewhat obscure what a gem it truly was.

It's heartbreaking to think that a lot of people who haven't seen the show lump it in as old, campy action television, like "The A-Team" or "Charlie's Angels" or something like that. The fact is, any given hour-long episode of "Kung Fu" probably contained about 45 to 60 seconds of actual action--if not less. The fact is, David Carradine was as good a leading man as any TV drama has ever had.

And the fact is, far from being a cheap exploitation of martial arts and Eastern philosophy, "Kung Fu" was created and written in true reverance to those concepts. Meticulous research was conducted, and the lessons that Masters Kan and Po (wonderfully rendered by Philip Ahn and Keye Luke, respectively) teach Caine, and that Caine in turn teaches those he encounters, are routed in authentic Shaolin philosophy.

Nor was the show cheesily made. It involved lush cinematography by televisual standards and innovative use of devices such as forced perspective and slow motion (this was the first show or movie to use different gradations of speed within a single take--the shot would move at normal speed until Caine made contact with an elbow or a fist, and then suddenly switch to delicate, poetic slow motion).

Caine was a true archetype of television--a complete reversal of basically every American screen hero that went before. Not just peaceful--but passive and serene. As Caine described it--"Kung Fu" was an "anti-revenge television show"--an amazing concept when you think about it.

Remember, the American public was not even acquainted with the phrase "kung fu" before this show. Zen Buddhism was gaining popularity in the late '60s and early '70s, but no one had ever heard of Shaolin monks. The creators of this show took a big risk on an untested concept and came up with TV gold.

I hope that the DVD release will serve to remind us all what a special show this was, and of the lessons it has to teach us.