Kung Fu

Kung Fu appears to have been created by someone who hated every single element of the original except the Kung Fu part. Old west to modern day, Man to woman, last-resort fighting to ready-to-rumble, real-word to supernatural elements, isolated loner to deep family connections. If there is any feature you remember from the original besides a monastery premise and a bunch of fight scenes, you can be assured it's not in this version.

It's really hard to understand why they bothered to say this is based on the original, since it's clearly not.

Some changes are good. The lead character is played by an Asian instead of a white guy who doesn't look remotely Asian. Even as a white kid in the 70s that made zero sense to me. And while it's been years since I saw the original, I think the fight scenes are probably better in this one, although no less gratuitous (in the original, Kaine always said he didn't want to fight, but he fought in every episode).

But let's ignore comparisons to the original and just think about this series as though it is a totally new creation. Is it good on its own terms?

Not really. This is your basic CW teen/early adult drama, with annoying pop songs, a bunch of annoying, attractive young people with dubious acting skills, a hey-kids-let's-put-on-an-investigation approach to crime, and a high annoying quotient. As always, I feel obligated to note that I'm an old man who has a lower tolerance for these series than a youngster - if I'm going to watch a teen show, it needs to be as smart and original as Impulse or Sweet/Vicious.

I wish this were an Asian/female version of the original show, with the same Daoist philosophy and unusual approach. But it's not, it's just another CW show that I can do without. But if you like stuff like Riverdale maybe it's the show for you.

Kung Fu and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues were interesting primarily because there was this one outsider, Cain, with a strong moral code about being kind to others, but who didn't really understand the world around him especially well. Cain would always zero in on some simple truth or flaw that lied at the heart of the episode's conflict, and explain what this was with an outsider's wisdom.

In this version, the new Cain, Nicky, is not an outsider at all. In the first episode, she returns to her childhood home to live with her large family and catch up with her friends. There is no real reason her perspective should be much different to that of the others, and it really isn't in any significant way. She's just a woman who fights well, occasionally with mild superpowers like in the original. The end result is something that's barely different to any other procedural with some mystical MacGuffins thrown in, and it's so very dull.

Yes, I watched the original Kung Fu and while the story takes a very different Generation Z young female approach to the story, I find it VERY watchable. If you want the same mold as the original, sorry; this will not be your show. But if you can revisit a discipline from a modern Chinese American approach, I think you will appreciate the struggles this young woman is going through. But if ONLY a David Carradine clone will do, then don't bother. I certainly find this show to be above average. I'm not going to say "stellar" in the 8-10 range. As I have gotten further into the series I'm liking the main character even more. The plot line about her aunt is a nice twist.

No surprise at all, the biggest revelation so far is the stupidity of many "reviewers" on IMDb who don't have a clue how to actually review a TV program or movie. Their only objective is to try to trash it.

Why do we watch a show on TV? To be entertained. I really enjoyed the old Kung Fu show, but it was totally, yes totally, different from this one. So far after three episodes I have enjoyed this new TV series enough. But I decided to quit watching it simply because I have a certain amount of "viewing time" and this TV show doesn't give me that "I wonder what will happen next week" excitement. However it is a reasonably entertaining show that doesn't deserve the very harsh criticism from some quarters.

Comparing it to an old, totally different show has no merit. But then a few here on IMDb have no clue how to actually review anything.

The original "Kung Fu" TV series was about morality. Yes, the fight scenes were fun and brought something new to Western audiences that amazed us all, but at the heart of the series was a map for how to live a moral life; how to connect with all things.

This series is a disgrace to the "Kung Fu" name. It is written for a young audience and it appears to center around a sword with magical powers (Holy Green Destiny, Batman) and only its rightful owner can hold it (shades of Thor's hammer).

The first episode hints at magical powers to come, and it implies that the charismatic young heroine has developed amazing kung-fu skills in three short years at a monastery. At least in the original series, Caine grew up learning kung-fu and the ways of their Taoist. Zen philosophy.

Apparently the producers of this new series believe young people are not interested in thinking deeply. The plot is as thin as a bad kung-fu movie where the plot centers around, "You killed my teacher!" And of course, they threw in a Tong war. So far, there is no hint of the series that might have been -- a wise and skilled young woman coming back home and helping people not only with her fists of fury, but also helping teach them to accept others and live a more balanced life. As a result, the producers have ripped the heart out of the "Kung Fu" series and shown it to us, beating in their hands, before the series dies.