The Master

I am groaning as I write this but during the early '80s with all the ninja craze as as a kid who practiced and loved karate, I loved this show. I never knew who Lee Van Cleef was prior to this TV show but my father did. He remember Lee in all the spaghetti westerns and would laugh that the villain of the cowboys was a good guy ninja now.

You have to wince at some of the shows you liked as a kid but, you know, thats what makes the memories of your childhood so amusing if your lucky.

Now, I am older and a father, and I appreciate actors like Lee more than the pinheads in Hollywood making $20 million + a picture. Actors like Lee kept us entertained and made guys like Clint Eastwood ("For a Few Dollars More") and Kurt Russell ("Escape From New York") look so good.

When he died in '89 it gave me pause. He deserves to be remembered and I won't forget this weird funny show he did that kept me glued to the screen with all it's oddball fantasy.

The 13-year old boy in me gives this a 9 star rating and a 10 star rating for the beady-eyed, hawk-nosed actor who played the lead.

Rest-in-Peace, Lee, you are remembered.

This was good. Lee Van Cleef was very and Van Patten was good.The one with a very young Demi Moore was exciting. This was an excellent ninja show!If you like ninjas and are able to watch it and haven't yet do so because its good!

This series will always live on in my memory despite my not having seen it for a number of years. Sho Kosugi was well cast as the ninja bad guy. It is such a shame that he never became a greater star, but such is life. However, the casting of Lee Van Cleef as the good ninja was just pitifully unrealistic. Whilst a fine actor, it required too much of a suspension of disbelief to believe he could do any of the martial arts maneauvers he was supposed to. He was just plain too old.

That said, I have many a fond memory of this series. No doubt, were I to watch them again now I would find many of the episodes cringe-inducing (just like some of the original Star Trek series). But still worth a look at on a rainy day.

Not a bad little series, but held back by the fact that while America was going through it's Ninja Craze, it was also knee-deep in the Reagan attitude of "USA A-OK" which involved any protogonists using any methods to get 'the bad guys.' A bit narrow-sighted (and hypocritical), but this show is often more fun than most of it's brethern of this time period.

The only fault I can find is the all-too-obvious stunt double for the then-aged Lee Van Cleef. I think some padding on the double's part could have made it a bit less obvious, along with some more creative editing.

But anyway, it's a way to waste an hour and it's not shoving Ramboque messages down your throat. Check it out and give it a try.

Ebay always have some of the Trans-World Entertainment releases on tap. Just enter "Master Ninja" into your search and you should come across all seven volumes within a month.

Enjoy.

I remember this series quite well. Back in the 80s when the US underwent a "ninja" phase, this came out. Lee Van Cleef is an American trained as a ninja who decides to leave "the family". Sho Kosugi (a real life kick butt martial artist) goes after him. Cleef comes to America and meets up with Tim Van Patten who joins up as his apprentice, hence, the title. It's kind of cheesy, but not as bad as it could have been. A lot of the "wandering do-gooders" a la "The Incredible Hulk" and "Scooby Doo". I remember watching this on Friday nights and enjoying the heck out of it.