"Kung Fu" Battle Hymn (TV Episode 1975) Poster

(TV Series)

(1975)

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7/10
Jose Feliciano and 'Cannonball' Adderley
kevinolzak27 August 2010
Season 3 Episode 17- Lighthearted entry spotlighting a pair of hitmaking musicians- guitarist Jose Feliciano, blind since birth, whose biggest success was a 1968 top ten version of "Light My Fire" (and was then riding another success, dual themes for CHICO AND THE MAN, in which he also appeared once as Freddie Prinze's cousin), and Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley, whose distinctive jazz saxophone sparked a top twenty hit with the instrumental version of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" in 1966 (preceding the later top ten vocal version by The Buckinghams). The accidental death of a bounty hunter pursuing Caine forces him to travel to the town of Savalo, the destination for Jonno Marcado (Feliciano) and Trim Delaville (Adderley), itinerant musicians who play for pennies until Jonno can return home to his boyhood dream involving a dry wash and a circle of oaks. Beverly Garland plays Mrs. Theresa Hobart, widow of the late bounty hunter, conspiring with the crooked local sheriff (Joe Maross) to deprive Jonno and his cousin of their rightful heritage, which turns out to be a silver mine. The sheriff's equally crooked deputy locks up Caine and his two companions, encouraging a lynch mob to avenge the 'murder' of Mrs. Hobart's husband. The happy ending finds Caine receiving a new flute carved by Jonno (replacing the one destroyed in "The Demon God"), and all three engage in a brief jam session (David Carradine was, like his father, an accomplished musician). In this episode, Caine shaves his head, sporting this crew cut for the remainder of the series. Adderley died a mere five months after this broadcast, while Beverly Garland and Joe Maross died within a month of each other in late 2009, here reunited 15 years after playing husband and wife in the THRILLER episode "Knock Three-One-Two" (Maross came to a bad end both times). Also, story credit goes to STAR TREK's D. C. Fontana, and Herman Miller the final script. Next up- "The Forbidden Kingdom"
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7/10
Inviting famous musicians prove absence of creativeness on flawed episode!!
elo-equipamentos27 October 2023
Unusual storyline about two wandering musicians a blind guitar player Jonno (José Feliciano) and the black saxophonist Trim Dellaville (Julian Cannonball Adderly) driven into a small city where Jonno lived his childhood, hoping see again a rocky dry creek with nearby cave where inside enclosed an unspoken secret, in the meantime Caine has been pursued by hunting man trying arrest him dead or alive upon a reward sponsored by Chinese Imperator, on the action the man gonna dies on the horse accident on the stony terrain, thus Caine decides bring back their belongs also his horse for his wife Theresa Hobart on the town, firstly he meeting the traveling musicians on the way.

Turns out that Theresa's husband had a hidden map that the Sheriff Mike Barrow wanted it back about the same spot cited above by the blind guitar player, soon they heading for the Jonno's brother's farm followed by Deputy Hank Archer at behest of the crook Sherriff Barrow to got the rights of the lands all around of the dry creek area by force, then Caine struggles against the violent deputy, after all settled the Caine allowed his own arresting at local jail, foreseeing witness the Sherrif Barrow provides a nighttime hanging.

Bringing a famous musicians in western Caine's journey wasn't a right choice at all, aside the songs played between the happenings became a futile entertainment for the audience, José Feliciano is a well-known musician, thus it sounds fake and silly for a reliable series like Kunf Fu promoting these guys, losing a credibility got with so strength previously, bad move!!

Thanks for reading.

Resume: First watch: 2023 / Source: DVD / How many: 1 / Rating: 7.5.
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