Kung Fu-David Carradine(and other cool 70's/80's classic series)

[Chinatown Kid]

The rest of the list from above:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW-OSNXatg&feature=related

[Jesse Smooth]

I'm way younger than you all, but do you remember T.J. Hooker? I wish they would release the rest of the series on DVD, but I fear they wont. I'm willing to buy boots just for Seasons 3-4. Heather Locklear was the shizzit back in the day. XD

[Chinatown Kid]

Yes Jesse I do remember when TJ Hooker came on but I was never a regular viewer of that show, but Heather Locklear was smokin hot for sure. I always had a thing for Heather Thomas from The Fall Guy:

Yeah baby!

[HAZ]

Hi

How is the season one dvd set? I've read that its badly cropped to make it 16x9.

Thanks

h

[Chinatown Kid]

Hi

How is the season one dvd set? I've read that its badly cropped to make it 16x9.

Thanks

h

Haz the first Season DVD set is matted in fake w/s but I think is still worth getting because the first season has some of the best episodes imo. One episode titled Alethea features a very young Jodie Foster who plays an eyewitness as Caine is put on trial for murder. Another one titled Dark Angel features Caine confronting his bigoted Grandfather played by Dean Jagger. King of the Mountain features John Saxon playing a Bounty Hunter that Carrradine must battle in the finale with both his legs chained. Another popular one titled The Soul is the Warrior has Caine walking through a pit of rattlesnakes. Lots of good stuff in season one!

[Koyuki]

I managed to pick up all three seasons of Kung Fu over the weekend, just started watching last night. Had to laugh a few times at the first pilot movie... I used to do a lot of volunteer work for a railroad museum, so watching the track building crew pretend they had the slightest clue of how to lay track was highly amusing. The crew in the opening scene of Blazing Saddles did nearly as well... XD

After several months of Shaw Brothers, I was a bit underwhelmed by the monk's demonstrations, but the short-short fights by Caine in a way seemed all the more real than a drawn-out battle would have been, especially against random thugs in saloons.

[QueenBlast]

An American orphan in China is allowed in the Shaolin Temple to study as a priest, and he goes off and uses his skills to kill a prince in a fit of anger. That's what you get for teaching Kung Fu to Americans. 500 years of teaching martial arts to fellow Chinese, no trouble. They let down their guard and teach just one Guailo and the Emporors kid is dead.

I am sick of shows and movies where an American gets to study at Shaolin or is allowed to become a Ninja because some Hollywood executive did not want to use an Asian actor. It always suggests that for some reason the white man can do it better than the Asian man.

[Tosh]

An American orphan in China is allowed in the Shaolin Temple to study as a priest, and he goes off and uses his skills to kill a prince in a fit of anger. That's what you get for teaching Kung Fu to Americans. 500 years of teaching martial arts to fellow Chinese, no trouble. They let down their guard and teach just one Guailo and the Emporors kid is dead.

I am sick of shows and movies where an American gets to study at Shaolin or is allowed to become a Ninja because some Hollywood executive did not want to use an Asian actor. It always suggests that for some reason the white man can do it better than the Asian man.

Well to be fair it was the early 70's, and he was suppose to be half Chinese/White, you have to take in consideration Asian people only make up 4% of the population, and that includes other Asians like Indians, I think Hollywood has come a long way since then. On the other hand Asian movies haven't, Westerners are still portryed as rapists, murders and drug dealers(but hey I'd gladly take a role), so it all gets evened out in the wash.

[Chinatown Kid]

Excellent points Tosh, caucasions are not the only race of people capable of being racist or having prejudices.....

[Chinatown Kid]

Did it ever come to light about what events happened to cause Carradine's death? I haven't heard anymore about it since the first or second week after it happened and they said an investigaton was under way. Was it suicide, kinky sex, murder? Has anyone heard anything

[panku]

From the September 9, 1972 TV Guide Fall Preview issue, here is the small piece on Kung Fu:

Thanks to Tim Cronin for the original scans