Kung
Fu aired originally
in the United States on ABC Television, with 60 x 50 minute episodes from 1972
until 1975. David
Carradine stars as Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine, in
this extremely popular award-winning western drama series made by Warner Brothers.
Kung Fu was created by Ed Spielman, produced by Jerry Thorpe and developed
for television by Herman Miller.
In
the series which is set in the 1870s, we follow the exploits of Kwai Chang
Caine (David Carradine), whose Chinese mother and American father are dead.
The orphaned Caine had been brought up in a Shaolin monastery in the Hunan
Province of China and the monks at the monastery had trained Caine to become
a Shaolin master.
Sometime
after Caine had achieved the status of Shaolin master, his mentor, the
unsighted Master Po (Keye Luke) was killed by the emperor's nephew. Kwai
Chang Caine then kills Master Po's murderer, flees China and heads
for the American Southwest. Whilst Caine is in America, he learns that
he has a half brother - Danny Caine, and starts the search to find his
sibling.
Kwai Chang Caine now has a price on his head for the killing of
the emperor's nephew. Caine's wish for anonymity is in vain, for wherever
he travels he almost invariably encounters hostility and is obliged, reluctantly,
to invoke his training as a Shaolin master. Caine is pursued relentlessly
by American bounty-hunters and Chinese assasins alike, who are hoping to claim
the not inconsiderable reward of $10, 000 for Caine alive, or $5,000 dead.
During
Kwai Chang Caine's quest to find his brother, he encounters many situations
where he feels it incumbent upon him to help his fellow human being. This sense
of duty and social resonsibility has been instilled in him from his earliest memory,
but very often leaves Caine in vulnerable situations. He is frequently
forced to reveal his training as a Shaolin Priest in order to resolve a conflict.
As soon as Caine has dealt with the situation and the status quo has been
restored, Caine then moves on to a new location in the relentless search for his
sibling.
June
4 2009: The death of David Carradine has been announced
