I don't know if this question would be better on the Reviews Board, but has anyone watched the Complete First Season Of KUNG-FU yet? How many episodes are on it and does it include the original pilot film that aired on the ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK?

Also, how does the show itself hold up? I remember liking it the first season, but then David Carradine got so cosmic about everything in his life and determined that people were actually watching the show not for the Kung-Fu fighting, but for the Eastern philosophies the show espoused. He dictated the shows be more pacifist in nature, with less violence and more religion. Being 13 years old at the time, I didn't think that was the best of ideas.

...those jerks were fast as lightning. In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they fought with expert timing. There was funky China men from funky Chinatown. They were trapping when up, they were trapping when down. It's an ancient Chinese art, and everybody knew their part. For my friend, ain't you a stiff, then I'm kickin' from the hip. Everybody was Kung Fu fighting, those kids were fast as lightning. In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they fought with expert timing. There was funky Billie Jim and little Sammy John. He said, here comes the big boss, let's get it on. We took the bow and made a stand, started swaying with the hand. A sudden motion made me stiff, now we're into a brandnew trip. Everybody was Kung Fu fighting, those kids were fast as lightning. In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they did it with expert timing. Oh-oh-oh-oh...Everybody was Kung Fu fighting, those kids were fast as lightning. In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, make sure you have expert timing. Kung Fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning...
HHUWAH!

Need to pick up this set one day.

When I was a kid in the 70's I watched the show for the fighting, which they only showed 2 a show.
Now I want to watch for the philosophies.

I do hope you aren't serious.

It is scary that you still remember the lyrics of that song.

Thanks, Superman, for the info. I'm still on the fence whether to buy this one or not. I'm sorry, but Carradine became such a nut and so annoying, that it kind of turns me off to the show. Plus the fact that the "creators" and producers ripped off Bruce Lee's original concept for a similar series kind of leaves a bad taste. I can't help but think how great it would have been starring Lee instead of moonbeam boy Carradine. However, I did love it as a kid and may just get it for reasons of nostalgia, which usually filters out a lot of the surrounding crap.

Of course, there is the fact that the DVD release is thrown on the Widescreen bandwagon, when the original show wasn't formatted for widescreen.

this is a testing

Carradine was not a particularly skilled martial artist, and the show is a bit heavy-handed, fortune-cookieish and preachy at times. But still, it has that fun early 70's hippie/abstract/spiritual vibe going, and they tried, with varying degrees of success, to interject some serious themes, philosophies and issues into the plots of the stories. I don't think any martial arts TV show has been that ambitious since. And, they also did some interesting slo-mo/speed-changing/trick-editing stuff for the fight scenes. Also, I do notice the occasional solid, real kungfu technique in there. I'm not saying I prefer this to the Shaw Brothers classics, but I'm enjoying this set, and I think it was an admirable and fairly succesful attempt to bring Chinese martial arts and philosophies to the small screen, especially considering the time it was made.