"The Master" (1984) TV series

Creator:

Michael Sloan

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

20 January 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Action

Tagline:

The Master Is Here! He's the supreme warrior. Even his eyes can kill you. His student is the supreme heartthrob. His eyes can melt you

Plot:

An aging American ninja master and his headstrong young apprentice search for the elder man's daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Ninja | Ninjitsu | Cult Favorite | Kung Fu | Katana

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Lee Van Cleef	...	John Peter McAllister / ... (7 episodes, 1984)
Timothy Van Patten	...	Max Keller (6 episodes, 1984)
Shô Kosugi	...	Okasa (5 episodes, 1984)
Cynthia Lea Clark	...	Bridesmaid / ... (3 episodes, 1984)
Andrea Gray	...	Dancer on Phone / ... (2 episodes, 1984)

Also Known As:

Master Ninja (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

60 min | 60 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Michael Sloan Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: When Okasa throws a shuriken to the Master, a guard is clearly standing behind him with a gun pointed at him. After the shot of Okasa ducking away, we cut back to the Master but the guard is no longer there.

Quotes:

Max Keller: Hi, I'm Max Keller.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Best of the Martial Arts Films (1990)

Decent ninja series from the 80's

This Master aired on NBC in 1984 during the ninja craze of the 80's. It only lasted thirteen episodes. It starred Lee Van Cleef and Timothy Van Patten. Van Cleef plays John Peter McAlister, a ninja who comes to America from Japan searching for his long-lost daughter. Once in America, he meets Max Keller, played by Timothy Van Patten, who teams up with McAlister to help find his daughter. Along the way, the duo travel in an A-Team-like van and engage in various adventures while helping those in need. McAlister also teaches Keller the finer points of ninjitsu in his spare time. The Master takes place in various cities across America, however, it was shot entirely in Los Angeles, CA. Sho Kosugi also appears in a handful of episodes as Okasa, an evil ninja hunting McAlister.

While I enjoyed this series, the casting was questionable. Lee Van Cleef was a fine actor, but he was totally miscast in this series. He was in no shape to do any of the fighting required for this series. He is quite obviously stunt doubled by Sho Kosugi(wearing a skull cap!) in almost all of the fight scenes. Van Patten is also stunt doubled in some of the fight scenes.

This series was released as a series of seven videos with the name Master Ninja.

If you enjoy ninja flicks or martial arts in general, give this a try.

P.S. Look for a pre-Striptease Demi Moore in the first episode.