I thought that the first couple of episodes of "The Master" (later released as "Master Ninja I') had some nice moments. Lee Van Clief may have been far too old, flabby, and frail to physically convince the audience that he could be a ninja master (amazing how "he" lost his gut whenever the stunt double stood in for him in the black ninja costume) but he did project a certain old school machismo and he could always deliver a good line. Yes, Demi Moore stuck out like a sore thumb in episode 1, and the wheelchair chick and the dancer from episode two delivered some of the worst lines in the history of television, but still...There were some decent stunts (for a TV series) and some energetic sword fights and a few decent attempts at wry East-meets-West humor. It was never 'great' the way "The Fugitive" was great, but it didn't actively suck...at first. And episode 2 had one great line (even though Van Patten flubbed it): "I knew the Master would find a way to get me up on a tightrope sooner or later." Given the situation, it was pretty funny. The problem lay in the fact that a) the producers rapidly ran out of ideas after the first few episodes, reducing the show to a buddy version of "Then Came Bronson", and b) Timothy Van Patten's mush-mouthed delivery and frozen faced acting got old quick and c) there was very little chemistry between the two lead actors. Anyone who wasn't a male adolescent with an obsession with martial arts would find very little to interest them, especially since the series producers watered down the 'ninja' content extensively - they seemed to be trying to increase the series' appeal to American audiences, but they only alienated that core element who was only watching the show for the ninja action in the first place.Especially annoying was the fact that Van Patten was supposed to be some kind of "Tiger Beat" teen-idol and had a different love interest in every episode, but the lack of chemistry between him and his female of the week was apparent even to a blind man. To be fair to Van Patten, the writers put him in some incredibly contrived situations and gave him some very dopey dialog to convey his hipness...I'm not sure Cary Grant could have pulled off some of those scenes.Although I spend a lot of time thinking about and practicing martial arts, I gave up on this series by episode 4, and every time I checked in on it for a minute or two (as the season wore on) I found even less to keep me going back. It looks like everyone else agreed, and the show sank without a trace. Too bad...but the series was a day late (to cash in on Bruce Lee) and a dollar short (wasn't willing to live up to the potential of its concept).

Max Keller, the unintelligable, custom-van-drivin', gerbil-totin', dirt-bike-racin', light-aircraft-pilotin', young-gal-smoochin' hero of "Master Ninja I" is back, in another film that bares a striking simularity to the television show "The Master". "For a Few Dollars More" star Lee Van Cleef is back too as Max's Ninja instructor, who drops about thirty pounds everytime he dons his ninja robes. This time they battle corrupt fish canners who have killed several union organizers without reprisal, then lend a hand to some tense hostage negotiations.This installment of the venerable series is star studded (compared with the last one, who's star power consisted of Clu Gulager and Claude Akin's butt). Joining Max and The Master are Crystal Bernhard (TV's "Wings"), George Lazenby ("Who Saw Her Die"), David McCallum (TV's "The Man From Uncle"), and Monte Markham (TV's "Campus Cops"). OOOO!Timothy Van Patten applied his experience of starring in "The Master" to his later career, directing episodes of "Touched by an Angel" and "The Sopranos". Lee Van Cleef died. If you enjoyed this, perhaps you'd like "Master Ninja III", "Master Ninja IV", "Master Ninja V", "Master Ninja VI", "Master Ninja VII", or "Three Ninjas Kick Back".

This movie is ungodly unbearible. Between lame dialog and bad story continuity, it has other amazingly impossible things (Including 'The Master' cutting off a steering wheel with a length or rope....) In 1991, The Mystery Science Theatre 3000 people tried to do an episode on it, and even they failed miseribly at making it funny. The only good thing about the MST3K episode is the Master Ninja Theme Song at the end, pure genious. I would highly discourage anyone from watching this stinker.

i must say, the action sequences in this had me laughing. Did Van Cleef really have to break the slot machines, bar glasses, and roof support to prove his point? Plus, seeing Demi Moore in this humiliating story was great. Van Patten has the martial nuances of Jeff Speakman. I just waited for the end of this watch us walk on jump ropes horrid tale of boredom, lunacy, and pure gibberish!