I've seen a number of reviews of this series that complain about the stock location clips (e.g., a Ferry leaving the SF harbor) that are played repeatedly throughout the episodes, and the soundtrack, which seems to be comprised of only two songs (the airy opening title sequence song, which I'll call "Master Soul", and the more rock-infused anthem, which I'll call "Lee Shaolong") and their instrumental variations. Given the relatively small budget for these entire series (around $7-8 million for reportedly 50 episodes, which is the equivalent to Charlie Sheen's salary for 4 episodes of 2 1/2 Men at his peak), that didn't really concern me that much, as they really aren't the focus of this in depth look into Bruce Lee's life.
I've actually only seen the first 20 episodes, but the biggest complaint I have, thus far, is the somewhat sloppy adherence to established facts about Bruce Lee's life. The inaccuracies are too numerous to count, but, just to point some out..
It would seem, based on this laundry list (which, as noted, is not nearly comprehensive of factual errors seen in the series), that I would think this was a horrible reflection of Bruce Lee's life.
Despite all of this, though, the aspect of this series that makes it compelling to continue watching is the psychological thread of these episodes that examines the fomenting of Bruce Lee's martial arts philosophy. Although a lot of Bruce Lee's philosophical nature was captured in his books (from his first publication, The Tao of Chinese Gung Fu, released in 1964, through his "Bruce Lee's Fighting Method" and, later, "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do"), much of this has been lost over the years as Hollywood focused on his physical exploits. The one thing that this series does try and do as show how all his various experiences impacted his relationship with martial arts over the years.
If you can suspend a bit of factual accuracy for a look into the types of things that fed his evolving relationship with martial arts, the series has merit. Certainly, Danny Chan, who has become a devoted Jeet Kune Do practitioner, looks the part and does a decent job capturing the mannerisms and essence of Bruce, if not quite the physicality.
I plan to continue watching the rest of this series, as the interpretation of his life (however off from the established facts) still interests me. For the devoted Bruce Lee fans, this may be a little disappointing for the reasons I've listed above, but an interesting watch nonetheless. Despite it's flaws (including the ones related to budget), it might be one of the more comprehensive takes on his life to date.
I've actually only seen the first 20 episodes, but the biggest complaint I have, thus far, is the somewhat sloppy adherence to established facts about Bruce Lee's life. The inaccuracies are too numerous to count, but, just to point some out..
- Bruce Lee was 13 years old when he started to take Wing Chun lessons, but the timeline in the series makes it seem like he was considerably older (and that he grasped Kung Fu tremendously quickly).
- Bruce was a well-known and well-established film star in Hong Kong during his teenage years, but there's not even a reference to this during the first several episodes that covers this part of his life.
- Bruce had a reputation for being a bit of a street fighter in Hong Kong, and his troubles with the Triad were probably less savory than the 'noble' vision this series (and the recent biopic, "Bruce Lee, My Brother") portray.
- Jesse Glover (portratyed as 'Jesse' in this series) was actually an accomplished Judo fighter who taught Bruce some Judo early on after they met.
- Bruce Lee fought and beat a Karate champion named 'Uechi' in 11 seconds, not Taky Kimura, who was simply a friend Bruce met. Taky was 18 years Bruce's senior, but appears to be almost the same age in this series.
- Bruce did have a girlfriend before Linda Emery, but she was of Japanese descent (named Amy Sanbo), not Filipino, as depicted in the series, and he was the one to propose marriage to her and dote on her incessantly, not the other way around. She was the one who declined.
- Wally Jay was a well known Jujitsu expert, but he was of Chinese descent from Hawaii, not the white guy depicted in this series.
- Dan Innosanto was a Filipino martial artist versed in Eskrima and other stick arts, but he was not a professor of any sort.
- Ed Parker may have sparred and practiced with Bruce Lee, but he certainly didn't injure Bruce in any way. Lee's prominence in the martial arts world really grew after he was invited to demonstrate some of his unique abilities at the Long Beach Karate Invitational in 1964.
- Bruce and Linda actually eloped, and her parents found out through a marriage announcement in the paper.
- Bruce was famously challenged by Wong Jack Man (someone he had never met before) after opening his school in Oakland. There are disputes over whether this was over the right to teach non-Chinese (Bruce Lee claimed this at the time; Wong Jack Man has provided a slightly different explanation). Bruce was not badly hurt in this fight. In fact, his back injury occurred nearly 5 years later due to a weight lifting accident. He was told by doctors that he would never be able to practice martial arts again, but he was not told he could never walk.
- Bruce was actually signed to be a part of 'The Green Hornet' around the time of Brandon's birth, but there is no mention (thus far) of his interest in pursuing film work.
It would seem, based on this laundry list (which, as noted, is not nearly comprehensive of factual errors seen in the series), that I would think this was a horrible reflection of Bruce Lee's life.
Despite all of this, though, the aspect of this series that makes it compelling to continue watching is the psychological thread of these episodes that examines the fomenting of Bruce Lee's martial arts philosophy. Although a lot of Bruce Lee's philosophical nature was captured in his books (from his first publication, The Tao of Chinese Gung Fu, released in 1964, through his "Bruce Lee's Fighting Method" and, later, "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do"), much of this has been lost over the years as Hollywood focused on his physical exploits. The one thing that this series does try and do as show how all his various experiences impacted his relationship with martial arts over the years.
If you can suspend a bit of factual accuracy for a look into the types of things that fed his evolving relationship with martial arts, the series has merit. Certainly, Danny Chan, who has become a devoted Jeet Kune Do practitioner, looks the part and does a decent job capturing the mannerisms and essence of Bruce, if not quite the physicality.
I plan to continue watching the rest of this series, as the interpretation of his life (however off from the established facts) still interests me. For the devoted Bruce Lee fans, this may be a little disappointing for the reasons I've listed above, but an interesting watch nonetheless. Despite it's flaws (including the ones related to budget), it might be one of the more comprehensive takes on his life to date.