If I have any large, boiling kettle on the stove, one that needs to be carried somewhere (to serve, to the sink, etc.), I must consciously resist the urge to pick it up with the inside of my wrists.
I’m sure many people who were childhood fans of the show share understand. I’m also sure that many people who never saw it have no idea why I start doing so.
Bruce Lee hardly had what you could call a “thick accent” in 1974. If anything, he’s easier to understand then Carradines whispery lisp.
I once didn’t resist. As a result, I have ERAWREBRAF imprinted on the insides of my arms.
But I am glad that Carradine got the part rather than Bruce Lee. I would hate to think that the Kung Fu Death Touch that supposedly killed Lee involved touching in Naughty Places.
Regards,
Shodan
I loved watching the show in its original run. Great stuff. A little cheesy, but still great stuff. Definitely one of those shows from which many phrases have become a permanent part of the vernacular, grasshopper!
What channel is this on? I haven’t been able to find it on anywhere since Carradine’s unfortunate demise.
The Kung Fu theme song is my husband’s ringtone.
Nah, I remember that scene well and I still disagree.
Caine and Po, having met for the first time in years are engaged deeply in their emotions and conversation. And because it was only the royal ‘nephew’, not the Emperor himself, there wasn’t a huge precession approaching, just the spoiled brat and a squad of body guards.
When one of the guards tries to push Po aside Po reflexively blocks him (he was blind remember). When the head guard comes over and, outraged, says “You dare lay your hand on a member of the Imperial Detachment?!” (or words to that effect) Po, realizing his mistake (not just in ‘breaking the law’ but in ‘showing dishonor’) very humbly apologizes. The head guard smacks him across the face anyway, but Po accepts this as fair punishment.
But, when the guard then tries to hit him again its only then that Po swiftly grabs & stops the guards arm and says the great line, “Even a member of the Imperial Guard should not punish an old, blind man twice, for the same offense”. Rather than accepting Po’s rather unarguably accurate wisdom however, the brutish body guards feel humiliated and just continue to try and kick his ass. It’s only then that things quickly go from bad to worse.
As Po, the old, blind, priest dispatches one thug after another, suddenly the clearly spoiled, snobbish, dishonorable little royal prick uses his latest spoiled, dishonorable, little prick toy, a firearm from the Western world, just like a spoiled little kid would, as a pop gun. Except not to play cowboys & indians, to murder some worthless, insolent, old peasant. You can see all this in the expression on his face as he sits back in his junior throne and smugly & playfully reloads it.
Although Caine was taught (by Po himself) to be a pacifist, well, as Popeye would say ‘That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!’ and he brushes the remaining guards aside, grabs the spear, takes aim, but still stops and thinks just for a moment about what he’s about to do, and decides to do it anyway.
And immediately upon killing the royal nephew Caine is overcome with guilt and regret. When the dying Po asks if he killed him, Caine says yes, and that “after all you have taught me, I have disgraced myself”. Po then says another great pearl of wisdom, “No, sometimes you must cut off a finger, in order to save a hand”. But he also immediately reminds Caine that there will be a price on his head and that he will have to leave the country, etc.
Before leaving Caine stops once more at the monastery and again proclaims his shame to master Kan. Kan tells Caine that what he did was wrong, but he understands and forgives him for his transgression (but he also reiterates that he must leave and never again return to the Shaolin monastery).
Sorry for the overly long response, I just think the show (and pilot in particular) are not really dated nor flawed.
I don’t know what channel. I bought the pilot on DVD from Amazon.
No, you’re being unfair and incorrect. Lee is not easy to listen to for an extended period, and Carradine did not have a lisp.
Best wishes,
hh
Also a real fan when the show was on. My kids bought me the 3 seasons for gifts as they were released. I thought the show was very unusual in it’s day and still holds up I like the way it dealt with specific elements of Buddhist philosophy in each show.
remember the one about revenge in which the southern girl , pregnant from rape, and her brother, {that actor would eventually play Cain’s brother} go seeking revenge. “If I don’t have a right to revenge who does?” No one, was the answer. That one impressed me because it also dealt with the unborn child, a product of rape.
There was another that dealt with a rich woman, used to privilege, being held hostage by a former servant. “To serve and to be served are folds of the same garment.”
prejudice, war, fear, religion, superstition, it dealt with a lot of subjects. Watching it now I also get a kick out of seeing guests who went on to bigger and better things. Don Johnson as the young Indian, Jodie Foster as the young girl who tells the truth.
On the darker side my kids and I had a running joke about the “wisdom” of Cain which included some profound sayings and Ooooeeee look at the Chiny man, which came from Cain constantly running into bigoted assholes. The joke extended to saying that when we saw someone of Asian decent. Horrible I know, and we never should have laughed that hard.
I have the entire series on DVD and while I haven’t watched it in a while, I did look at it a couple of days ago and the idea of rewatching it is percolating through my brain. I enjoyed the series and for that matter, I will admit that I enjoyed the followup series set in the modern era.
One thing though. The DVD extras. There’s this big dinner thing with David Carradine, the guy who played Young Caine, Cynthia Rothrock and a half dozen others. Through the entire thing, David Carradine is the most self-important egotistical DOUCHEBAG you can imagine, while everyone else sits around kissing his ass and telling him how ‘groundbreaking’ and important he is. The guy who played Young Caine is falling all over himself trying to suck up to Carradine while he sits back and treats the guy as if he’s not worthy of being there.
I think I forced myself to watch the entire thing when I got the series, but WOW, WHAT A DOUCHEBAG is all I can think even now, years later.
I haven’t seen the DVD in awhile, but I think the people behind the show said something similar. Something about Bruce Lee going to the audition and leaping up and kicking the wall just before leaving, which made them think he hadn’t grasped what the show was supposed to be about. They also denied that the premise was his idea.
Carradine certainly had a lisp at least in the Kill Bill era. Are you saying he only acquired it later in life somehow?
Heh. Just watched Episode 1: King of the Mountain.
Brandon Cruz, at the tail end of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father as the kid.
The omnipresent John Saxon as the bounty hunter.
Next episode has John and Robert Carradine in it.
Third episode has Clu Gulager (you might not recognize the name, but he’s worked pretty steadily in a lot of things) and Robert Urich.