Kung Fu

1972

Kung Fu

7.6 | TV-14 | en | Drama

The adventures of a Shaolin Monk as he wanders the American West armed only with his skill in Kung Fu.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP24 The Last Raid

Apr. 26,1975

Caine is visiting the Brown family when their son and his friend are taken hostage by a Confederate raider who believes the war isn't over ... and that he may kidnap children in the name of honor.

EP23 Ambush

Apr. 04,1975

Serenity Johnson, the blind preacher last seen in The Nature Of Evil, asks Caine to help escort him with a shipment to San Fransisco. What neither one of them knows is that stolen silver bars are hidden in the shipment, and people involved in the robbery are after them.

EP22 The Thief Of Chendo

Mar. 29,1975

Young Caine and Master Po imagine what it will be like when Caine leaves the temple, and in their dreams Caine is sent to deliver a ring to a Grand Duke by Master Po. Upon arriving at the palace, he is informed that the Duke is dead, but an old man from the Duke's palace delivers him a message that he is still alive. He is being imprisoned by his own cousin, who has taken control of the palace. Caine also meets a thief who falls in love with the Duke's daughter, who is to be married off, and they work together to free both the Duke and his daughter.

EP21 Full Circle

Mar. 08,1975

The Caine family's dysfunctional relationships get resolved. Kwai Chang and Danny are questing to find General Cantrell who has custody of Zeke Caine. After typical adversities everyone is reunited and Kwai Chang reveals where his future lies.

EP20 The Brothers Caine

Mar. 01,1975

Caine finds where his brother is hiding, but is unaware that Danny has been told there is a Chinese bounty hunter who wants to kill him.

EP19 Flight To Orion

Feb. 22,1975

Caine goes searching for Danny, with Danny's son and a woman Danny Jr. has found out is his mother, with riders pursuing them, and is forced into an Indian death match along the way.

EP18 Barbary House

Feb. 15,1975

Caine learns that Danny might be working at a gambling hall that features bare-knuckle boxing, and winds up protecting Danny's son, after Danny angers the hall's owner by hitting him and leaving his job, before Caine's arrival.

EP17 Battle Hymn

Feb. 08,1975

Caine meets two traveling musicians, who are looking for a supposedly magical cave, all unaware that there are silver hunters looking to strike it rich with the cave.

EP16 One Step To Darkness

Jan. 25,1975

Caine tries helping the depressed wife of an Army sergeant, with a drug addiction, and winds up fighting an inner demon of his own creation.

EP15 The Forbidden Kingdom

Jan. 18,1975

This episode shows how Caine fled China, being pursued by a relentless Lieutenant in the Emperor's army, and how he faces possible betrayal by a woman who pledges to help him; but has secretly made an offer to turn him over to the Lieutenanf, in exchange for her brother's release from prison.

EP14 A Lamb To The Slaughter

Jan. 11,1975

Caine meets the son of a man who died defending his father from muggers, and wants to repay him for his debt of honor by working for him. However, the man doesn't want work as payment but to learn how to fight, against a gang of bandits terrorizing the village he lives in.

EP13 The Vanishing Image

Dec. 20,1974

Caine seeks out a photographer who took a picture of his brother, Danny, in hopes that he will be able to help find him. He also encounters and befriends an Indian that attacks him and the photographer, and later wants to kill the photographer for taking a picture of him, for which he believes has stolen his soul.

EP12 The Demon God

Dec. 13,1974

After being stung by a scorpion, Caine remembers a time in China, where a member of the royal family poisoned him in order to discover what was on the journey to death, during which time Caine had visions of the American west.

EP11 Besieged (2): Cannon At The Gates

Nov. 22,1974

Caine and the others try to defend the monastery, while the cannon the Warlord SIng will attack them with is still enroute. In the meantime, he must contend with the fact that a woman who wants to become a Shaolin monk and rejected Sing's hand in marriage, has fallen in love with him.

EP10 Besieged (1): Death On Cold Mountain

Nov. 15,1974

A reclusive hermit, Tamo, arrives at the Honan monastery to inform them that the Fukien monastery was attacked and destroyed by a warlord with his cannon, and that he has survivors seeking refuge there. One of the survivors is a woman who wants to become a Shaolin monk. She later reveals the warlord wanted her to be his wife, and she fled. Now the warlord is preparing to attack the monastery and having his cannon brought there.

EP9 The Garments Of Rage

Nov. 08,1974

Caine goes to work for a railroad which is being sabotaged, and meets a Shaolin priest he knew before.

EP8 The Devil's Champion

Nov. 01,1974

We return to Caine's past in China. Caine witnesses a man defeat six others in the village. The man instructs Caine to deliver a challenge. He demands a fight to the death with Master Kan or he will kill a villager every day until he gets it.

EP7 Cry Of The Night Beast

Oct. 19,1974

Caine hears the cry of a child begging to be saved, but there is no child to be found. Only a very young buffalo calf and his mother. Caine protects him from a hunter who is determined to kill him for the hide.

EP6 My Brother, My Executioner

Oct. 12,1974

Caine thinks he has found his brother, but he is really an imposter who is being pursued by a young gunfighter.

EP5 The Predators

Oct. 05,1974

Caine is accused of murder and must seek out a witness who is a member of a gang of Indian scalphunters, who doesn't want to help him. He must also deal with an Apache warrior who wants to kill the witness for his crimes against the Apache.

EP4 This Valley of Terror

Sep. 28,1974

Caine helps a young woman who has visions of future events. They always come true and this terrifies her.

EP3 A Small Beheading

Sep. 21,1974

Caine is offered a chance to return to China, after a sea captain delivers a pardon from the Emperor. The pardon, however, has one condition: Caine must lose a finger.

EP2 Blood of the Dragon (2)

Sep. 14,1974

Caine meets a woman that was his grandfather's lover, and is very hostile to his inquiries, while a group of Chinese assassins (believed to be able to summon forth demon fighters) closes in on him.

EP1 Blood of the Dragon (1)

Sep. 14,1974

Caine goes to meet with his grandfather again, only to find he has been murdered. He searches for the murderer, unaware that a group of assassins from China are after him.

7.6 | TV-14 | en | Drama , Western , Action & Adventure | More Info

Released: 1972-10-14 | Released Producted By: Warner Bros. Television , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

The adventures of a Shaolin Monk as he wanders the American West armed only with his skill in Kung Fu.

Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

David Carradine , Keye Luke , Philip Ahn

Director

Jerry Thorpe

Producted By

Warner Bros. Television ,

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Trailers

Cast

David Carradine

as Kwai Chang Caine

Night of the Templar Eldorado True Legend Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Corman's World Dinocroc vs. Supergator Detention Dark Fields Bad Cop

Keye Luke

as Master Po

Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood Gremlins 2: The New Batch Alice The Mighty Quinn Dead Heat Sidekicks A Fine Mess Kung Fu The Movie Gremlins

Philip Ahn

as Master Kan

Jonathan Livingston Seagull The Sex Serum of Dr. Blake Kung Fu Thoroughly Modern Millie Diamond Head Yesterday's Enemy Hong Kong Confidential Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing Hell's Half Acre

Reviews

tupungato When I first watched Kung Fu I expected action and violence, because of the title and the wild west setting, but I didn't anticipate much with respect to a plot. The quality acting, both on the part of David Carridine and just about every character he encountered as he wandered the United States western frontier, pleasantly surprised me. I especially enjoyed the performances of the rough-edged, uncultured types who inevitably lived to regret their decision to test Caine. Without behaving simply as stereotypical outlaws these actors did a great job of making the threats or insolent comments that ultimately resulted in their humiliation at the hands (and feet) of a man that did not seem physically or psychologically capable of harming anyone.I think that many viewers saw in Caine a person they admired and would like to emulate. He required very little in terms of material possessions to carry on, didn't prejudge those he met (though they sometimes prejudged him), maintained a profound spiritual life yet confronted daunting situations realistically, and possessed superior survival skills in an often less than civilized world. At a time when some people in the U.S. were seeking greater spiritual fulfillment in Eastern philosophies and religions, Caine was serving as something of a role model.If someone were to recreate the Kung Fu series, viewers would probably expect, if not demand, two changes: 1. A man of Southeast Asian ethnicity would have to play the part of Caine, not a Caucasian, even if, as was the case with David Carridine, his features suggest some Chinese ancestry. 2. The man playing Caine should also possess a more athletic physique. His unassuming and unimposing interpersonal style should continue, but if a threatening situation requires that he employ his expertise in martial arts, he ought to have a build that jibes a little more with his talent.

rcj5365 This series was a phenomenon when it premiered in fall of 1972......Taking the martial arts craze with the elements of a western,and from there you have one of the biggest cult hits that ever grace the early 1970's......KUNG-FUThe series was filmed on location(with most of the scenes filmed on the backlot of the Warner Bors. Studios Lot in Burbank,California),this was a series that became ABC-TV's biggest hits. From the premiere episode on October 14,1972 until the final episode of the series on April 26,1975,the series KUNG-FU ran for three seasons on ABC,producing 91 episodes all in full color.While the show itself had some clever action and martial arts scenes(brilliantly executed and choreographed),it was the integration of the western and eastern culture that made this show a surprise hit. The pilot episode was especially brilliant along with the cinematography,blazing action(the character uses his hands and feet as a weapon as a means of self-defense)along with David Carradine's astounding acting and dialogue made it worthy of being a full length theatrical feature. Carradine's character of Caine actually appeared to be more of an honest biblical wanderer than a half-Chinese American mystic that made this series not only stand out,but made it a cult favorite,due to its star David Carradine. As far as the series goes,some of the episodes were brilliant,but some of them were a bit too repetitive. The best episodes from this series were "The Sign Of The Dragon","The Way Of The Tiger"(the pilot episode),"King Of The Mountain","The Well"(one of the few hour long dramas to authentically depict the plight of blacks in frontier America), and "The Squaw Man"(another one of the hour long dramas to depict the struggles of the Native American Indian). This was a series that had some great guest stars in some of the episodes especially from some of the great actors: Don Johnson, Bruce Dern, Harrison Ford, William Shatner, Jack Elam, and Jodie Foster.

rob-andrea If you gave this series less than a 9 or 10 one of the following has probably happened:1) You didn't watch the prequel movie to see what this show is really about. 2) You haven't watched more than one episode. 3) You don't believe in the concept of brotherly love. 4) You have been totally brainwashed by American culture and the love of materialism and violence. 5) You can't appreciate the beauty and simplicity of Eastern teachings. 6) You feel the show moves too slow because you have been conditioned to believe that good entertainment must constantly keep you in hyperventilation mode. 7) You haven't reached the age of 7 yet, or maybe you don't understand English very well.There is truly no other show that even comes close to combining simple thought provoking lessons of life and living in an entertaining video art form. I am constantly amazed at the profound lessons I come away with when watching another episode. The Jodi Foster episode alone is a priceless treasure, worth viewing over and over again. Go out and buy the 1st season, watch it with full attention and then tell me it isn't one of the true timeless classics of TV.

Brian Washington This will always be one of the more original series to come out of the 1970's. Imagine a Western where the main character is half Chinese and half Caucasian and doesn't use a gun. Now think of how this series wound up as one of the great cult classics of its era. Even though this series originally was the idea of Bruce Lee and would have featured him as the star, David Carradine still pulls off the job and comes off as very believable as Caine. You also can see that he tries not to play to stereotype, but he does make this show very mystical, which can be seen as a positive and as a negative. Also wonderful were Keye Luke as master Po, Phllip Ahn as master Kahn and, of course, Radames Pera as the young Caine. This show will always be a cult classic of its era.