Season one of Kung Fu finds Chinese-American drifter Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) solemnly making his way across the Old West, escaping a murder charge (albeit justified murder) hanging over him from his native China. Having once studied for a Shaolin priesthood, Caine is a man of peace and philosophy, keeping his cool no matter how much he is goaded by various western bad guys. But if someone else's life is in danger, or if a weaker person is being persecuted, Caine draws upon his extensive martial-arts skills to ...
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Season one of Kung Fu finds Chinese-American drifter Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) solemnly making his way across the Old West, escaping a murder charge (albeit justified murder) hanging over him from his native China. Having once studied for a Shaolin priesthood, Caine is a man of peace and philosophy, keeping his cool no matter how much he is goaded by various western bad guys. But if someone else's life is in danger, or if a weaker person is being persecuted, Caine draws upon his extensive martial-arts skills to vanquish the villains and save the day. During the series' first year on the air, the directors tend to indulge (entertainingly so) in the "trendy" cinematic tricks of the day (1972), with an excess of hand-held camerawork in the fight scenes, slow- and stop-motion sequences, and multi-image scenes reminiscent of such films as The Boston Strangler and The Thomas Crown Affair. Among the guest stars coming in contact with the series' taciturn hero are Barry Sullivan, Robert Urich, Pat Hingle, Geraldine Brooks, Albert Salmi, Sheree North, Will Geer, a ten-year-old Jodie Foster (as a murder witness), and star David Carradine's real-life father, John Carradine, and brother, Robert Carradine. Rovi
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Set in the American West in the 1870s, Kung Fu portrays the wanderings of a Shaolin priest who is half-Chinese and half-American. A master of the martial art of Kung Fu, Kwai Chang Caine encounters both opposition and friendship as he wanders from town to town seeking to escape justice for a crime he committed in China; he is also seeking his lost half-brother, Daniel Caine. This DVD set includes the pilot movie in which we learn the back story of Caine and his training in the monastery in China. Flashbacks are heavily used in this show; in fact, I look forward to the dialogue in these flashbacks as they usually contain words of wisdom. My two favorite episodes from season one are Alethea and Superstition; these episodes portray two storylines, one in China from Caine's youth and one in the present. My one takeaway from this first season is that words serve as a bridge between humans; thus, one's words need to be positive, constructive, and compassionate, not negative, destructive, and selfish. In sum, Kung Fu is a great show with action, philosophy, and quiet wisdom that will help one improve his or her life path.
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