Kung Fu - The Complete Third Season

Season 1 and 2 are truly excellent representations of what television can be. Caine is rational man in an irrational world, purposeful & heroic. Sadly, the 3rd series becomes extremely mystical and delves into large amounts of superstition & pseudo-psycho babble. Gone are the profound stories dealing with racism, family, art, life, death, etc. They are replaced with ghosts, 2nd sight, an over indulgence in the past, and a general decline in the quality of the stories & themes. I still bought it and will finish the series but this set can't hold a candle to the first 2.

I just finished watching all 3 seasons, and will add my seal of approval. Carradine's Kung Fu sequences in Season 3 were the best of all 3 seasons -- much more skillful, graceful, and fun to watch! By season 3 I had come to appreciate the Zen philosphy and found it an important part of the show. And I was still awed by the nature shots! I WAS disappointed, though, in the ending, because there really was only ONE full show and a few minutes of a second with the Caine brothers actually together. I just felt like I was cheated after such a build-up. While Kwai Chang had a chance to learn about his brother, Danny hardly knew anything about Kwai Chang. It would have been nice to have even one more episode of Danny getting to know his brother better. And Kwai Chang's final words were impossible for me to make out...

Like the previous reviewer I have a problem with the episodes having been shortened a few minutes to make room for more commercials, which cuts into the story and makes it choppier. And the screen also seems to have been cropped too. But overall, I guess it's better to have them in this format and versions than not at all. But that's why the three-star rating.

The third season's episodes are notable for the appearances of Eddie Albert, Patricia Neal, Barbara Hershey, William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, and John Carradine. I don't recall which season it was, but one of my favorite guest actors was Andrew Prine, who had a major role in the science-fiction series "V." I also read once he had classical Shakespearean drama training. He certainly had great poise.

A brief comment on the martial arts, since I am a teacher of kung fu and also karate. A judo instructor, oddly enough, was the first expert engaged to advise on the martial arts for the show. At some point, someone apparently said shouldn't we get a kung fu expert since that's what the show is about? And so they retained Los Angeles sifu Kam Yuen, a master of the very interesting tai mantis style of kung fu, which is an offshoot of the original northern praying mantis style and considered a very sophisticated system.

There are actually dozens of different praying mantis styles at this point, including six harmonies mantis, plum flower mantis, shiny board mantis, 7 star praying mantis, and southern mantis, although the latter probably isn't a true praying mantis sytem.

So it was interesting that a master of one of the rarer kung fu styles in this country was chosen, rather than something more common such as Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Choy Li Fut, or 7 Star Praying mantis, all of which are more common styles. But whatever style was chosen, the show introduced millions of people to kung fu in a way that was technically accurate and faithful to the original style.

Also, Keye Luke, who played the old temple master, is actually a tai chi practitioner rather than kung fu, although some tai chi styles, such as the Chen family style, are much more martial and kung fu like, as compared to say, the more common Yang or Wu tai chi styles.

Compared to most mindless drivel on television now, the three seasons of Kung Fu are a breath of scented air. I found the feature of Carradine in China to be humorous, real, and very moving. For those who objected to the focus of the esoteric and spiritual over the fighting- well maybe they'll get it next lifetime! Masters Po and Khan have been saying it all along: to hear the grasshopper at our feet.

I haven't watched half of the episodes yet but having watched
the first two seasons- this one strikes me as more witty and complex than the others and avoids some of the corniness that sometimes cropped up even if it is part of the fun. Even more philosophical and flashing back to previous episodes ties some things together but not too much. I'm really savoring this last season and highly suggest it-