Kung Fu: "I am Caine"

Cafe Society
1

Anyone a fan of this show besides me (he asked knowingly)? I just recently received the entire series from Amazon, and have been overdosing on Shaolin ass-kicking/philosophy for a few weeks.

For those too young to be familiar (and it is a statement of the age of the rest of us that there are probably quite a few here), it was a television show that ran in the early 1970s, which seems to have been the start of the martial arts craze in the USA.

It starred David Carradine (recently of the “Kill Bill” movies…because of this show, actually…watch them if you haven’t), and chronicled the life of a monk from China who was half-Chinese, half-American that came to the American southwest during the “wild west” years of the 1800s to find his roots. He came with a price on his head, so people were always out to get him and collect the reward money.

It was spiritual, transcendent, and trippy to the extreme. The show would cut between his current life in the American West and his former life in the Shaolin temple in China. Frequently.

(I realize that a lot of people are familiar with this show; but I also realize that a lot of people probably are not. I’m not trying to be condescending…just informative. It was a long time ago. Lots of younger Dopers have probably never heard of it.)

What kills me is that my nephews (who postdate my birthdate by about 20 years, thus growing up in the late 80s/early 90s) were just as enamored of martial arts as I was as a child. The difference is that their influence was “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”

My influence was “Kung Fu.”

I think I was better off.

For those who care and do not know: it IS out on DVD, and it’s worth every penny. I haven’t seen these in 30 years, and I am in heaven. Master Po’s eyes glow as white as ever.

Indulge, reminesce, meditate.

Snatch the pebble from my hand, Grasshopper.

2

One of my favorites. I’m tempted to get the DVDs.
“If I don’t have a right to reveenge, who does?”
Caine: “No one.”

3

“Seek not your opponents life, but your own.”

“I seek the Tao.”
“Taos, that’s in New Mexico.”
“No, I seek the Tao.”
“Yeah, it’s in New Mexico”
This is a top five series for me and I have lusted after those DVD’s since they first became available.

You’re right, you were MUCH better off than your nephews.

4

Oh, hey, man…they’re worth it.

I just watched that episode yesterday (“An Eye for an Eye”). That was the fourth regular season episode after the original pilot, and it won two Emmys.

I had some difficulty getting all three seasons at once from Amazon (they kept putting off the delivery date without saying why: I ordered them in late January, and they said they’d deliver–free shipping–in late Feb. Then they started making excuses. Still, I’ve finally got them). You might be better off getting the seasons individually, and putting them together as a bulk order.

Still, here’s a bit more info: there are 64 regular 1 hour (actually 50 minutes without commercials) episodes, as well as the original 90 minute pilot movie (probably a bit less for the same reason, but I didn’t check the timer). These come on 11 disks, all of which are 2-sided (so most of them contain 6 1-hourish episodes). There are also a few “Making of” type features with interviews and such. It comes in three seasons/packages, and well…I’m not currently capable of being too objective. I’m stoked on these.

I paid (with free shipping) $87 and change, but there’s an offer in the sets to get a $20 rebate from Warner Brothers that is good until June of this year. You’re looking at about a dollar an hour here. GOOD DEAL, IMHO.

“Smell the color of the sky.”

5

As a somewhat young un, I think I fall somewhere between the original series and the Ninja Turtles.

I do, however, remember a series called Kung Fu: The legend continues. If I recall correctly I was a young teen when it came out, and I enjoyed it a whole bunch even though it was rather hokey much of the time.

And on a total tangent, you’ve somehow now reminded me of a series called Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future… trippy.

6

If I recall correctly, I believe that “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues” was supposed to be a sequel to the original show. I believe David Carradine reprised his role as Kwai Chaing Caine, but he was older and his sidekick was his nephew (who was the current crimefighter). I remember liking it, too; just because it tried to continue the old show, but it didn’t last very long. Yeah, hokey it was.

The original show was MUCH better (that’s not bias, but just truth). Check out the original. You will thank me.

As to the “Captain Power” thing…I know not.

7

In case it wasn’t evident:

When I said I’d just recently seen the episode “An Eye for an Eye”, I was referring to Dr. Rieux’s quote.

Just in case that was unclear.

8

Yeepers, IIRC, at least.

Although he was still named Kwai Chaing Caine, I think he was supposed to be the grandson of the wild west one, while the cop was supposed to be his son who got seperated from him when “an evil force” destroyed the Shaolin temple.

I wonder where I could get my hands on some of the old videos?

It’s a tooootal tangent, absolutely non-martial arty… but I loved it as a kid. It was, I think, the first and still the only ‘interactive’ TV show, complete with toy tie ins.

9

I’ve read (and it was shown in his biopic) that Bruce Lee helped develop the show and intended to star in it, however the producer’s didn’t think folks would watch a show with a Chinese man as the star and went for Carradine.

However, this has the smell of an urban legend and have never seen any confirmation. And as much as I liked Bruce Lee, I can’t see him doing a better job than David Carradine in this role.

10

I’m apparently around the same age as your nephews (born in the early 80s) and I love this show. I started out watching Kung Fu: the legend continues as a kid. They played reruns of the original series around the same time, so I watched them both. The original is way better than the sequel though. I bought the first season a few months ago, and will be getting the other two soon.

They addressed this on the DVD. According to them, Bruce Lee didn’t have anything to do with making the show. He did try out, but he wasn’t what they were looking for.

11

“You have much to learn, Grasshopper.”

(After villain has all his breath knocked out of him)… “he does not know how to fall.”

12

I remember reading once that Chuck Norris, when “Kung Fu” the original show was still on, was asked about David Carridine’s martial arts skill, he replied: “His kung fu is about as good as my actin.”

:smiley:

13

Could be, could be. It was a long time ago for me. That sounds right enough, though.

AMAZON! That’s where I picked up the entire run of the old show. They sell them individually by season (which might be quicker to ship, though a bit costlier), but I got the entire series as a set. It is glorious.

(All I’m seeing is dvds, though. If you’re looking for “videos” as in tapes specifically, you might have to try Ebay.)

As Omega Glory mentioned, Bruce Lee auditioned for this part, but was rejected. Carradine tells the story on the dvd of how, when leaving the room that he auditioned in, he jumped up and kicked the wall on the way out, leaving a footprint above the doorframe.

They knew they had their guy, and they were right. I don’t know of anyone who could have played this role better than him.

My brother used to tell me that he’d heard that Carradine was stoned on LSD during nearly the entire filming of the series. There’s been no overt mention of drug use in the commentaries so far, although there is a reference to him showing up to work one day smoking a little green cigarette.

Not to spread rumors, mind you, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He certainly seemed on another planet most of the time, and the show itself is almost like a psychadelic. After a few episodes, it’s taking my head hours to get back to normal.

I love it.

14

He then roundhouse kicked the reporter in the face for asking the question.

:smiley:

15

Did the series come to any sort of satisfying conclusion, or did the network cancel it mid-stream and that was that? I can’t remember.

16

I watched Kung Fu when I was a tyke, and thought it was fun – despite the lack of chop-socky action, the psuedo-Zen-Buddhism theme of the show was provocative enough for me to stick with it for a bit.

I’m a bit afraid to watch it now, though, just because I’m worried that it won’t be as good as I remembered it. Rose-colored glasses of nostalgia and all that…

17

It holds up quite well, I think the pilot is one of the some of the best 2 hours of TV drama ever produced.

18

I agree, I watched the pilot recently, and it held up very well. The fight sequences were also very well done, still better than any TV show I’ve seen since and better than most modern action and martial arts movies. It has a more “earthy” feel, just tough guys and stuntmen in the dirt, no wires or cgi.

19

According to the commentaries on the dvd set, Carradine quit. It was getting great ratings, winning awards and all, but he decided that he didn’t want to do it anymore and simply walked away.

There’s a point in an interview with him where he opines that someone (studio or network, I don’t remember which) are still mad at him for it.

20

Damn–forgot:

On the subject of Chuck Norris…Norris and Carradine actually did a film together (possibly more, but I’ve only seen one) called “Lone Wolf McQuade”.

I saw it in high school with a few friends of mine (ironically, one was the father of my above-mentioned nephew’s girlfriend…not then, just now). Norris played his typical “Walker, Texas Ranger” character, while Carradine was the villain. They ulitmately got into a martial-arts showdown over the lovely Barbara Carrera (mother of Tia, recently of “Relic Hunter”). Cool movie.

All my friends wanted to see it because of Chuck Norris, but I insisted that Carradine was cooler. Of course, since Carradine was the “bad guy” it is obvious who prevails.

Totally lame. In real life, Caine could kick Walker’s ass without even trying.

Movies are SO fake. :wink: