Story: Thoroughly trained in the art of kung fu as a child, Kwai Chang Caine has reached the height of his ability and now must face the harsh life of the old west. It's hard living in a dangerous land where you're considered a foreigner and looked down upon around every corner, but Caine's swift feet and graceful fists ensure punishment to those wishing to hurt him and those close to him, a noble man in an ignoble land.

Review: The first season of "Kung Fu" kicks off with a pilot movie thrusting us into the desert as Kwai Chang Caine is wandering towards town and experiencing intermittent flashbacks of his acceptance into the temple to train. Caine is an interesting enough character from the beginning, a kung fu trained half Chinese half American man in a world of saloons and cowboys. Both absurd and rightfully hilarious is Carradine playing a man of mixed descent, doing his best to look out of place, and he does in more ways than one.

The pilot movie is forgotten upon moving on to the first episode, and any crucial setting up of the story that took place is instantly retold throughout the first few episodes in an ever so slightly different manner. Think of the movie as a sample of things to come, a preview of all the dry dialogue, dodgy cultural mysticism, and entrancingly dull action. To be fair, the series is much more entertaining than the pilot film, but it suffers from the trappings of its thematic tango, a palpably lukewarm dance between the East and the West; cowboys and kung fu.

"Kung Fu" is similar to many "action" shows of its era, just with a premise playing off of the previously ignited kung fu phenomenon. Much like shows such as "The Incredible Hulk" among others, "Kung Fu" is a bit lethargic in its storytelling, and sometimes seems unsure where it should be placing the intermittent action. Caine uses his kung fu skills throughout the series to fight off ne'erdowells, tame wild horses, beat up roughneck Indians, as well as everything else short of making paint dry, which this show is akin to watching.

Aside from the lackluster action, which would be completely permissible in a show not named "Kung Fu" (which is like naming a show "Car Racing" and flashing minute long segments of boxcars at irregular intervals), the acting is for the most part stiff as well. While it's interesting to see such a young Carradine bumbling awkwardly around the wild west as the man from the east, he sometimes assists in running a lot of the show into the ground. While his "Me Tarzan" speak is mildly entertaining, it's hard to maintain interest in what is essentially a very dull character. This is also combined with frequent flashbacks to his days in training, voiced over by the Ben Stein of kung fu masters, lending a level of excitement and tension previously only thought possible with middle school educational filmstrips.

All action, performance and pacing issues aside (of which there are many), it's apparent that this show is meant for a certain crowd. This first set was released, not to win over new fans (as it will be hard pressed to do), but as a great collection for those already in love with the world of "Kung Fu" (you know who you are). While it's plodding story line and poor performance on the test of time may spell disinterest for newcomers, fans are fans and they will no doubt love waxing nostalgic over all 780 minutes present on these discs. If you're already an addict of this series and want to preserve the fond memories of Caine's east meets west exploits, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better medium than this thick dvd package. However, if you've just come from seeing "Kill Bill" and want to buy this solely for Carradine, I'm afraid you'll only find disappointment through this method, young grasshopper.