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'''''[[Kung Fu]]''''' is a television series that ran for three years beginning in 1972, about the adventures of a [[Shaolin]] [[monk]] in the [[Wild West]] armed only with his skill in [[martial arts]]. It was produced by [[Warner Brothers]] for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and starred [[David Carradine]] as Kwai Chang Caine and [[Rad Pera]] as the young Caine.  Also part of the regular cast were [[Keye Luke]] as Master Po and [[Philip Ahn]] as Master Kan.

The [[television pilot|pilot]] for this series was a 1972 [[TV movie]] of the same name.

== Overall series plot summary ==
{{spoiler}}

In the late [[19th century]], Kwai Chang Caine was the orphaned son of an [[United States|American]] [[man]] and a Chinese [[woman]]. He was raised in a Shaolin [[monastery]], and was trained by the monks to be a Shaolin master. After becoming a master, due to a violent incident he had to flee [[China]] to escape legal [[prosecution]], ending up in the western United States looking for his half-brother. Although it was his intention to escape notice, the demands of [[morality]] and the responsibility to use what he had been taught in the monastery to aid the innocent against injustice, forced him to come into the open from time to time to right a serious wrong&mdash;and then to move on in a further search for [[anonymity]] and [[security]].

After many adventures, the television series ended and Kwai Chang Caine passed beyond the eyes of [[Fiction|fictive]] [[history]], outside of a [[1986]] TV movie starring Carradine and [[Brandon Lee]] in which Caine was forced to fight his hitherto unknown son.

Carradine won the lead role over [[Bruce Lee]], who had extensive involvement in its development (he conceived the original concept of the series, originally called by him "The Warrior").

The set of the Shaolin Temple was originally a set used for the film Camelot (1967). It was inexpensively and effectively converted for the Chinese setting.

The show makes frequent use of [[flashback|flashbacks]] in which Caine recalls a particular lesson from his training as a [[student]]/[[disciple]] at the monastery.

The first season of the series was released on [[DVD]] in North America in 2003, but was controversial with viewers due to the decision to use a simulated [[widescreen]] format, [[letterbox]]ing the episodes which were originally produced in full frame.

The second season of the series has also been released on [[DVD]] in North America in early 2005.

==Later series==
Two decades later a second, related series running in [[TV syndication|syndication]] followed the adventures of a descendant of Kwai Chang Caine. Entitled ''[[Kung Fu: The Legend Continues]]'', it again starred Carradine, this time co-starring [[Chris Potter]] as his son. The second series ran for four years, from the beginning of 1993 through the end of 1996.

== References ==
For extensive notes on episodes, plots, etc., see '''The Kung Fu Book''', by Robert Anderson. ISBN 155698328X

== External links ==
* [http://www.kungfu-guide.com/ Unofficial ''Kung Fu'' site]
* {{imdb title|id=0068823|title=Kung Fu (TV)}}
* [http://www.alibali.net/loisirs/television/kungfu.html Fan page] (in [[French language|French]])

[[de:Kung Fu (Serie)]]
[[es:Kung Fu (serie de TV)]]
[[fr:Kung Fu (s�rie t�l�vis�e)]]
[[nl:Kung Fu (televisie)]]


[[Category:Western television series]]

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====References====
* Adapted from the [[Wikipedia]] article, "Kung_Fu_(TV_series)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(TV_series), used under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]