"Kung Fu": Notes on the TV Series

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A seventeen year old boy became Emperor of China (named Kuang-hsu) in 1873 and died in 1875. He could have had an older sister who had a son about his own age who was the boy Caine killed (but, actually, he didn't have any sisters that old although the word nephew might have been given to a cousin's child). And he might have been called Emperor before he actually took over the reins of power in 1873. But before 1873 and after 1875 until after the turn of the century (except for a few years in the 1890s), China was ruled by the Dowager Empress (for more information on Tz'u-hsi and her reign see the book DRAGON EMPRESS by Marina Warner).

In "Sun and Cloud Shadow" the assassin seeking Caine comes from the Dowager Empress but in other stories only the Emperor, or (in two episodes) the order that is sworn to protect him and his household, is mentioned (the only other mention of the Dowager Empress is in "The Cenotaph" where the concubine says the chair was a gift from the Dowager Empress). The woman in "The Cenotaph" is the Emperor's concubine and yet the Emperor at that time (well before Caine killed the Emperor's nephew) was maybe 14 years old!

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Books referred to or quoted herein are as follows:

The Kung Fu Book by Robert Anderson, Pioneer Books, Inc., 1994 (abbreviated as KF Book)
The Kung Fu Book of Caine by Herbie J. Pilato, Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1993
The Kung Fu Book of Wisdom by Herbie J. Pilato, Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1995 (quotations marked with something like *2*p3 are from this)

The Spirit of Shaolin by David Carradine, Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1991
Epi-Log #32 (July 1993) Ed/Pub William E. Anchors, Jr., Epi-Log Communications
KUNG FU 1. The Way of the Tiger, The Sign of the Dragon by Howard Lee based on the teleplay by Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander, Warner Paperback Library, 1973 (of pilot) (Note: we have been informed by David Spencer that Howard Lee was a pseudonym.)
KUNG FU 2. Chains by Howard Lee based on the television story by Paul Edwards and Gene L. Coon, Warner Paperback Library, 1973 (of #11) (Note: we have been informed by David Spencer that Howard Lee was a pseudonym.)
KUNG FU 3. Superstition by Howard Lee based on the television story by David Moessinger, Warner Paperback Library, 1973 (of #12) (Note: we have been informed by David Spencer that Howard Lee was a pseudonym.)
KUNG FU 4. A Praying Mantis Kills by Howard Lee based on the television story by Robert Lewin, Warner Paperback Library, 1974 (of #9) (Note: we have been informed by David Spencer that Howard Lee was a pseudonym.)

These books have a great deal of misinformation in them; some of which is just due to the fact that neither the Anderson book nor the two Pilato books used information from the broadcasts. All the information they gathered on the episodes were from the scripts and what was actually shot and broadcast was often different from the script. Some of that misinformation is corrected in the list below which is taken from the broadcasts and actual screen credit which is the final arbiter. Some of that misinformation includes:

* "SUN AND CLOUD SHADOW" was written by Halsted Welles not 'Wells' as stated by The Kung Fu Book of Caine.
*"THE PRAYING MANTIS KILLS" is named as "A Praying Mantis Kills" in the novelization of the story as well as in The Kung Fu Book of Caine, The Kung Fu Book, and Epi-log. And The Kung Fu Book of Caine lists the writer of "THE PRAYING MANTIS KILLS" as Richard Lewin when it is Robert Lewin.
*"THE SQUAWMAN" is one word. The title isn't 'Squaw Man' as it is listed in both The Kung Fu Book of Caine and The Kung Fu Book.
*"THE WAY OF VIOLENCE HAS NO MIND" is named by its working title "The Raiders" in The Kung Fu Book and Epi-Log.
*"CROSSTIES" is listed as hyphenated ('Cross-ties') in The Kung Fu Book and Epi-log.
*"ARROGANT DRAGON," not "The Arrogant Dragon" as per The Kung Fu Book.
*"THIS VALLEY OF TERROR" not "The Valley of Terror" as in The Kung Fu Book of Caine.
*Writing credits for "THE DEVIL'S CHAMPION" are to the two Michaelians - David Michael Korn is not included in the screen credits for this script.
*Writing credits for "THE GARMENTS OF RAGE" only go to Theodore Apstein though the books also give credit to Ed Waters & Herman Miller.
*"BESIEGED" pt. 1 is credited to William Kelley but he shares writing credit for pt. 2 with David Michael Korn (which may be why each part has its own subtitle). All the episode guides give credit to Ed Waters for both and David Michael Korn for the part he is really credited for and the other as well.
*"ONE STEP TO DARKNESS" not "One Step Into Darkness" as in The Kung Fu Book of Caine
*"BATTLE HYMN" was not credited to D. C. Fontana as all the episode guides claim. She was only credited for the story - teleplay was by Herman Miller.
*"THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM" is not credited to Bernard Bossick and Lary Gibson as all the episode guides claim but to Norman Katkov with story by David Michael Korn & Norman Katkov.

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The description of what a Shaolin priest can do seems to connect to a passage in the Tao Te Ching #14:

"Look it cannot be seen - it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard - it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held - it is intangible."

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The KF Book says that "for reasons undetermined Stephen Manley (who played young Spock years later in 'Star Trek III - The Search for Spock') played young Caine in two episodes rather than Radames Pera. It is presumed that Pera was ill..." Actually, these two stories called for a younger Caine (before his parents were killed and before he came to the temple) which Pera could no longer play. Proof that this is the reason comes from the fact that in "One Step To Darkness," two ages were needed and so both young actors were used in this one episode.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Many of the quotations for the TAO TE CHING used in the above episodes are from the translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English and those are noted with a [F]; but other quotes are from various other translations.

(NOTE: Although not all credits are listed here, Carradine says in Spirit/Shaolin*2* that Frank Westmore won an Emmy for make-up for the first season of "Kung Fu" and Emmys should be noted).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mistakes: (After sending out some copies of the above guide, I have received corrections and additions from Kathy Kimber, who has found misquotations and even made me add whole sentences to the quotations by showing me what I had previously left out, from Linda Tenenbaum, who has corrected a number of discrepancies, and from Patricia Deneault who completed some quotations for me. Since I hate making mistakes, I am grateful that these people have found so many so that now there are fewer to be found in the future to embarrass me. However, I take full credit for every single mistake herein - and may the Fates have mercy on my soul!)
Coding & Distribution: I first did this guide in Word Perfect and sent it to a few people in that format back before the web was much available. I started getting requests for further copies and since I couldn't attach such a file to an outgoing message from AOL, where I was at the time, Terry Owen started sending out the Word Perfect version to anyone who requested a copy from me. Later Deb Walsh made an HTML version to go with her "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" guide and still later, Terry Owen did some additional HTML and put it up on her Geo-Cities site. I am deeply grateful for the work they did and which I didn't have to do with the HTML when I made this site. As it is it took me months to get this into a partial shape. If I had had to start from scratch, it still wouldn't be finished. Their version, by the way, is still available in the printable version available here.