The Master 

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

Creator:

Michael Sloan

Stars:

Lee Van Cleef, Timothy Van Patten, Shô Kosugi

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Lee Van Cleef	...	John Peter McAllister / ... 13 episodes, 1984
Timothy Van Patten	...	Max Keller 13 episodes, 1984
Shô Kosugi	...	Okasa 13 episodes, 1984

Storyline

John Peter Macallister was a Korean veteran who, after serving, decided to live in Japan, and, while there, he studied Ninjitsu and became a Ninja. Thirty years later, he learned that he has a daughter, so left to find her. Apparently, though, he can't leave the sect that he is with, because it means that he is now marked for death. He manages to escape, and, upon arriving in the States, he meets Max Keller, a drifter who has a penchant for getting involved with other people's problems and helping them out if he can. Max and Macallister hook up, with Max helping Macallister find his daughter, and Macallister teaching him the ways of the ninja. At the same time, evading Okasa, one of Macallister's students, who is now sworn to kill him.

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Plot Keywords:

ninja | ninjitsu | cult tv | chop socky | television flop | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Action

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Episode Kunoichi, in middle of the episode it is revealed that one of the villains was a female ninja in training Allison Grant, a reporter who turned out to be Okasa's student. Sho Kosugi would later after this series aired, would battle of a "possessed" female ninja played by Lucinda Dickey in Ninja 3: The Domination as the good guy not the villain like he was featured on the show.

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Goofs

The roof of the bar begins to collapse before the Master kicks it.

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Quotes

Max Keller: Don't worry, I won't leave this bar through the window.

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Alternate Versions

2 episodes of the series were combined into a feature-length video release titled "Master Ninja I". An additional feature-length video combining two episodes was released under the title "Master Ninja II".

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Connections

Featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Master Ninja I (1992)

User Reviews

Guilty Pleasure for Ninja lovers

This movie was simply a combination of the first 2 episodes of a short-lived TV series called "The Master".

I must admit my bias in this review because I vividly remember this TV show when it first aired in the mid-80's, and, like any other 11 year-old child, I LOVED it. (I think it even came on right after the A-Team, but I could be wrong). Anyway, when I was that age, I had a 6-month long fetish with Ninja movies, or any thing with Sho Kosugi or Michael Dudikoff. To this day, I still enjoy whenever I can catch one of the "Enter the Ninja" or "American Ninja" movies; just because I can look back at what influenced me as a child.

This movie / TV show was a pretty lame attempt at capitalizing on the relative success of those movies. Unless you really enjoy the "Ninja" type movies, you will not enjoy this flick, except to make fun of it. In fact, even Ninja enthusiasts will have to admit this is pretty lame.

However, as a guilty pleasure, this movie does its job. Trust me... you will feel very guilty after watching it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Master Ninja

Company Credits

Production Co:

Michael Sloan Productions, Viacom Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1