Kung Fu on TV

[tessaray]

The history of Kung Fu on television spans decades. Compare and contrast KF (2021) with them all, from the original series to Showtime's Warrior.  

[Trini]

Some IMDB info:

The original Kung Fu series, starring David Carradine, aired for 3 seasons from 1972 to 1975.

The sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, starring Carradine and Chris Potter, aired for four season from 1993 to 1997.

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As a kid I remember watching The Legend Continues and Kung Fu in syndicated reruns, but I really don't remember much about them. It was always peculiar that it featured Chinese martial arts but the lead was white.

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Also worth noting that this newest version seems to be the first (American) TV drama with majority Asian/Asian-American cast.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Trini

[tessaray]

Eastern philosophy was huge in the 60s/70s. I never saw KF:TOS in its original run but it was very popular with the guys and popular culture references. I did finally see it after watching KF:TLC. (TLC was one of my first online fandoms. 90s syndicated TV was the best.) Since it was filmed in Toronto, at least they were able to hire Asian actors for supporting roles. I did like the show but parts of it are painful to watch today.

It will be interesting to see what parts of the original premise they incorporate, if any. 

 

[Trini]

 

[Trini]

This article explains some previous adaptations of Kung Fu, : 'Kung Fu: Inside The History of a Martial Arts Classic'

A few of those projects I'd never heard about.

From the article:

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What’s more, Kung Fu is promoting itself as an Asian family drama which could fill a newly opened gap. Two wildly successful Asian family sitcoms just went off the air – ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat ended its six-season run in 2020 and Kim’s Convenience announced that their final episode after a five-season run will be April 13, 2021 (In the wake of Kim’s Convenience, CBC is launching a spinoff series, Strays, following the character of Shannon Ross, the only white actor credited in show’s opening). This leaves the door wide open for Kung Fu to capture fans of Asian family dramas. Plus it’s The CW, a network that thrives on soap opera-esque dramas. 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by Trini

[tessaray]

The first sequel movie was really bad. 🙂 

 

 

[tessaray]

For those who are curious about the original series, this link is to a guide done by a fannish friend quite a long time ago, back when the internet was young. There are lots of quotes too. 

http://kungfu-guide.com/guide.html 

[Trini]

'“Kung Fu” - The ABCs of Asian Representation in Hollywood'

This article talks mostly about the original Kung Fu series.

A couple excerpts:

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“I can honestly say that we haven’t found anyone, before or since the series began, who can play the part better,” Furia was quoted about the casting of Carradine over an Asian actor. He did promote the fact that that show was proactive in the hiring of Asian actors for the secondary roles, which not only added authenticity but was the right thing to do and distinguished the series as one of the primary employers of Asian actors at the time.

In May 1973, the show reached the pinnacle of popularity when it reached No. 1 in the ratings. Ironically, at this same time, Bruce Lee topped the box office charts with his film Fists of Fury. His explosion of fame had many wondering why Lee wasn’t given the opportunity to play Caine and myriads of reasons have been debated over the years.

 

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But Lee would again resurface when ABC took the project for their movie of the week. Along with Mako and George Takei, Lee was being considered for the role of Caine. According to reports, the creators found that none of those actors could carry the series and so they chose to focus on the American half of Caine’s DNA in choosing their hire. Takei, along with the Association of Asian Pacific American Actors, filed a formal complaint about unfair hiring practices. While their pursuit of seeing an Asian actor hired as the lead was ignored, their demand for a Chinese historical advisor was met and incorporated. Needless to say, the Asian acting community wasn’t happy, but with so few acting opportunities afforded them at this place and time, they saw at least the opportunity for secondary roles being available.

 

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Fred Weintraub, who was an executive at Warner Brothers at the time they were producing Kung Fu, and later produced the 1973 film Enter the Dragon starring Lee, looked back on the historical perspective of the show in his memoir.

“The powers that be had a hundred different reasons why Bruce was wrong for the part: he was an unknown, he was short, his English wasn’t good enough, he lacked the necessary serenity to play the role… But at the end of the day, there was really only one reason,” he wrote. “In the history of Hollywood, there had never been an Asian hero.”