"Martial Law" (1998) TV series 1998-2000

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Creator:

Carlton Cuse

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

26 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Action

Plot:

A Shanghai cop who is a master of martial arts fights crime in the Los Angeles Police Dept.

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Police | Interracial Friendship | Cult Favorite | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Sammo Law (44 episodes, 1998-2000)
Kelly Hu	...	Chen Pei Pei (44 episodes, 1998-2000)
Arsenio Hall	...	Terrell Parker (36 episodes, 1998-2000)
Louis Mandylor	...	Det. Louis Malone (22 episodes, 1998-1999)
Gretchen Egolf	...	Amy Dylan (22 episodes, 1999-2000)
Tom Wright	...	Capt. Benjamin Winship (22 episodes, 1998-1999)
Melissa Weing	...	Det (22 episodes, 1998-1999)

Runtime:

45 min (44 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo's first starring role as well as his first English-speaking role in an American production.

Quotes:

[Terrell has accidentally run over Otto the rat with his car]
Sammo Law: You know, in China, some people believe that the death of a rat means seven years of bad luck.
Terrell Parker: You mean if I tell the kids about Otto the curse will go away?
Sammo Law: No. You are doomed.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: (1999-02-09)" (1999)

And you thought they didn't make them like they used to...

"Martial Law" was a throwback to the days of cop shows that put action above studies of the tortured hero's homelife, all grit and gristle. Twenty years ago "NYPD Blue" would have been cancelled after two years and this one would have run and run, rather than the other way around. But hey, Burger King can be as satisfying as a seventeen-course banquet.

Devoted credit watchers might have seen all the signs of a series in trouble (all those producer and cast changes in the first season - although for the most part the cast changes worked; Terrell is far less irritating than Dana), and the second series hasn't worked as well as the first, but it's still entertaining, and even has some surprisingly effective moments of drama (such as Grace's reason for not wanting to face the villains in "Friendly Skies," also Kelly Hu's best work so far).

As far as silly cop shows go, this is far better than most. (And unlike most series that change themes, Joel Goldsmith's propulsive music is as good as (while entirely different to) Mike Post's first-season one.)