Kung Fu: Season 1 (1972)

Genre: Western; Action

Studio: Warner Bros.

Cast: David Carradine as Caine; Philip Ahn as Master Kan; Keye Luke as Master Po; Barry Sullivan as Dillon; Albert Salmi as Raif; Wayne Maunder as McKay; Benson Fong as Han Fei; Richard Loo as Master Sun; Victor Sen Yung as Chuen; Robert Ito as Fong; Radames Pe

Color

Langauge: English

Director: David Carradine; Alex Beaton; Gordon Hessler; Robert Totten

Producer: Alex Beaton; Jerry Thorpe

Writer: Bruce Lee; Howard Friedlander

Everybody was kung-fu fighting after the 1972 premiere of this mystic western starring David Carradine (snatching the role from Bruce Lee) in his signature, Emmy-nominated role as Caine, a stoic Shaolin monk forced to flee China after killing the royal family member who slew his Master. Our wandering hero roams the west in search of his long-lost brother, while eluding American and Imperial bounty hunters, and imparting his ancient wisdom on those he encounters and is compelled to aid. Kung-Fu was never a ratings force, but its cult status was assured long before Samuel L. Jackson referenced it in Pulp Fiction. Along with the inaugural 15 episodes, this three-disc set contains the feature-length pilot that establishes the series' iconography: the inscrutable aphorisms ('When you cease to strive to understand, then you will know without understanding'); the flashbacks to Caine's youth, where the orphaned half-American and half-Chinese boy served as disciple ('Grasshopper') to the Old Man; and, of course, the anticipated moments when the peaceful Caine, like Billy Jack, is reluctantly compelled by some frontier bigot to use his fighting skills. Look for appearances by father John Carradine and brothers Keith and Robert in the episode, 'Dark Angel.' That's 11-year-old future Oscar-winner Jodie Foster in 'Althea.' Other notable episodes include the Emmy-winning 'An Eye for an Eye' and 'Chains,' featuring an Emmy-nominated turn by Michael Greene as a not-so-gentle giant to whom an imprisoned Caine is chained. 'With each ending,' Caine observes in the episode, 'The Third Man,' comes a new beginning.' Kung Fu's new beginning comes on DVD. Thanks to the timeless frontier setting and the uniqueness of its genre-bending concept, Kung Fu dates better than other '70s series. As these episodes demonstrate, the show still has plenty of kick. --Donald Liebenson

IMDb info for Kung Fu: Season 1.