Adam Lenhardt
Senior HTF Member
The series premiere aired tonight.
Rather than a remake or a sequel or spinoff, it's more of a spiritual successor to the original franchise. The general premise is the same: After years of training and study at a Shaolin Monastary, the murder of a beloved mentor drives a priest and martial arts expert from China to seek out family in the American West. Upon arriving, a sense of social responsibility leads to a fight for justice.
All of the particulars differ, however. Instead being set in the 1870s, it's set in the present day. The protagonist this time around is Nicky Shen, the overscheduled Millennial daughter of an overbearing tiger mom who sought out the monastary as an escape from a life that felt suffocating. The series lead, Olivia Liang, is a Chinese American actress playing a Chinese American character -- a bit more authentic than the white David Carradine playing the biracial Kwai Chang Caine.
I was actually quite impressed with the fight scenes. The fight choreography is fairly sophisticated, and the fights are shot in such a way that you can understand what's going on, with use of slow motion that felt effective and not overdone. Liang moves like a dancer, which gives her martial arts a real flow. I'm sure stunt performers are deployed heavily on this, but the transition between the actual actress and her stunt double felt pretty seamless.
Unfortunately, Liang lacks the charisma that Carradine brought to the original series. She feels very much like a prototypical CW young adult lead. In the pilot, you don't quite feel the impact of the years spent living in isolation and deliberate study.
The great Tzi Ma is wonderful as Nicky's father, who disagrees with the choices she's made but is still careful to make sure she knows how much she is loved. Kheng Hua Tan makes for a nice foil as Nicky's mom, who felt betrayed by her daughter's abandonment of the plan she had carefully crafted and sacrificed heavily to implement. One of the ways this show does differentiate itself from most other CW shows is it's interest in telling a multi-generational story. The aging parents are just as essential as the twentysomethings.
Vanessa Kai, as Nicky's Shoalin mentor Pei-ling, lacks the mischievous sense of humor that underlaid Master Po's teachings.
There are a number of mythological elements in the pilot which may or may not have a supernatural basis.
Much like the CW's "Walker" reboot, this isn't good television but it's very watchable television.
Rather than a remake or a sequel or spinoff, it's more of a spiritual successor to the original franchise. The general premise is the same: After years of training and study at a Shaolin Monastary, the murder of a beloved mentor drives a priest and martial arts expert from China to seek out family in the American West. Upon arriving, a sense of social responsibility leads to a fight for justice.
All of the particulars differ, however. Instead being set in the 1870s, it's set in the present day. The protagonist this time around is Nicky Shen, the overscheduled Millennial daughter of an overbearing tiger mom who sought out the monastary as an escape from a life that felt suffocating. The series lead, Olivia Liang, is a Chinese American actress playing a Chinese American character -- a bit more authentic than the white David Carradine playing the biracial Kwai Chang Caine.
I was actually quite impressed with the fight scenes. The fight choreography is fairly sophisticated, and the fights are shot in such a way that you can understand what's going on, with use of slow motion that felt effective and not overdone. Liang moves like a dancer, which gives her martial arts a real flow. I'm sure stunt performers are deployed heavily on this, but the transition between the actual actress and her stunt double felt pretty seamless.
Unfortunately, Liang lacks the charisma that Carradine brought to the original series. She feels very much like a prototypical CW young adult lead. In the pilot, you don't quite feel the impact of the years spent living in isolation and deliberate study.
The great Tzi Ma is wonderful as Nicky's father, who disagrees with the choices she's made but is still careful to make sure she knows how much she is loved. Kheng Hua Tan makes for a nice foil as Nicky's mom, who felt betrayed by her daughter's abandonment of the plan she had carefully crafted and sacrificed heavily to implement. One of the ways this show does differentiate itself from most other CW shows is it's interest in telling a multi-generational story. The aging parents are just as essential as the twentysomethings.
Vanessa Kai, as Nicky's Shoalin mentor Pei-ling, lacks the mischievous sense of humor that underlaid Master Po's teachings.
There are a number of mythological elements in the pilot which may or may not have a supernatural basis.
Much like the CW's "Walker" reboot, this isn't good television but it's very watchable television.
