It’s fair to say that there are going to be a lot of people who are going to wonder about the lead character in the upcoming Kung Fu and why a woman was given the lead role, but I’m not going to be one of the many that will remark about it other than to say that it could be interesting. On that note, thinking about the different directions it could take the series in, it does feel that there are a few more openings that could occur as a result of this casting and it might turn out to be something that will last for a while, but that remains to be seen since a lot of times when we tend to think that things will be able to withstand the criticism and the fans, they either don’t or they have a long struggle until they’re finally accepted. But as Kung Fu with David Carradine was something of a pleasure to watch back in its day, this too might be something that fans can get behind since to be fair, it already looks like it might be worth taking a look at. In fact, the only thing that is bound to make a lot of people shake their head is the fact that the main character is going through a quarter-life crisis, which a lot of people might not know that much about since it’s not something that’s usually discussed among a big number of people.
The main character’s quarter-life crisis appears to be the inciting event that gets her to quit law school, travel to a Shaolin monastery, and supplement her beliefs and her skills with what they have to teach her. Once she returns home however it’s easy to see that crime has taken over the streets and that the place she loves is becoming little more than a den of thieves that she wants to clean up and take care of. This is where Kung Fu broke down in the original showing and is likely to break down for some people in this current version since a single person taking on what amounts to an army of thugs and gangsters is all well and good if they’re dumb enough to try to take her one on one at all times, but even with her Shaolin fighting skills, it feels likely that things are going to take on an almost supernatural quality since she’ll probably end up kicking a great deal of butt by being the baddest fighter on the scene and someone that can handle herself no matter the situation. If realism is bound to be brought into the mix then an MMA fighter could possibly take her down and render a lot of her attacks useless. One thing that people need to remember is that as impressive as the Shaolin monks are, these days they tend to practice more for show than for the true battle prowess that was important back in historical times.
But in terms of action, this will no doubt be one of the many shows that the CW will be able to utilize in a very efficient way since it will bring back an idea that a lot of people found enticing back in the day. It will be interesting to see if this series pays any respect to the original Kung Fu, but from the trailer, it almost appears that it might not be aiming to do so unless there’s something that was missed and will be picked up as people continue to analyze it as people tend to do. The show will be premiering on April 7th, so there’s plenty of time to find out more about it and perhaps even come to terms with the idea for a lot of people since it is quite different and there are still folks that aren’t entirely comfortable with changes to some of their favorite shows from the past. But since David Carradine passed away some time ago, and the original show and its resurgence have been left in the past, it does feel that it’s time to step forward and create something that will be enjoyed by those that are wanting to see something impressive and perhaps packed with action. How well it’s received is going to be dependent on a lot of factors, but one of those is likely going to be where or not people are willing to accept the lead character as the new focus for the show.
It’s fair to say that if the first season doesn’t wow and inspire enough people that it won’t last long, but there’s a big hope that this won’t be the case and that it will stick around for a while. Things have got to change every now and then after all.
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