HaemovoreRex Ah the early 1980's......how I miss them! The era embodied a sort of innocence which dissipated towards the end of the decade and has sadly yet to return. Who can forget the fads of the time; In music we 'bopped' along to the sounds of New Romantics, pioneering synth pop acts and additionally were blessed with a wonderful array of 'big hair' heavy metal bands. On TV we enjoyed such classics as Knight Rider, Airwolf and the incomparable, The A-Team and in cinemas we were treated to probably the best decade for horror and action movies......yes, the eighties....ah, they were the days.There was actually another craze that swept the western world during the early part of the decade also; What was it you may ask? Why it was Ninja Mania! We just couldn't get enough of these enigmatic stealth assassins in fact. The public obsession first began proper when the Cannon Film Group released the Sho Kosugi outing, Enter the Ninja in 1984. Kosugi himself went on to a semblance of super stardom literally overnight - this despite the fact that he was actually playing the films main villain! Such was the mystique and allure that these historical figures exuded on screen. Needless to say, more ninja flicks were swiftly put into production by a plethora of film companies, each trying to out do the last and cash in on the publics apparent insatiable fixation on all things connected to the ninja. It was inevitable of course that these seemingly semi-mystical beings would break out into other entertainment mediums also. This they did in the form of numerous comic books, novels, toys, games and in the instance reviewed here, a television series starring veteran actor, Lee Van Cleef and as it happens, the by this time living legend, Sho Kosugi.The plot concerned Cleef's character returning from Japan where he had spent years studying the ninja arts, in order to find his estranged daughter. Also along for the ride was the token wise cracking side kick (as was a somewhat unfortunate trend of the eighties....) who becomes Cleef's new student. Unfortunately, our veteran ninja is also being hotly pursued by a fellow ninja from his clan (Kosugi) who is incessantly intent on sending him to the great beyond.Despite ninja mania in full swing at the time, the show curiously lasted for only one season before disappearing as quickly as......um.......well, a ninja in fact.Whilst mildly enjoyable in its own right, it has to be said that the series was unfortunately hampered by its incredibly formulaic treatment. As with the vast majority of eighties TV shows, the plot was never more ambitious than to set our heroes (who just like in every other eighties show), travelling around from place to place helping out those in trouble (invariably a sexy, feisty female) from evil property developers and the like. Every now and then to spice things up, Kosugi puts in an appearance and it's no coincidence that these episodes are the best of the series which sans his presence is somewhat pedestrian at best.For a bit of nostalgia or else those still desperate for a fix of anything ninja related the series is probably worth a look as long as you don't set your expectations too high.

upirons I remember my excitement, as an 11 year old at the time, when I learned that "The Master" TV series was going to come out on TV. At the time I was really into Bruce Lee movies and just about any Kung Fu/Ninja related movie or show I could find. Of course the same year saw the release of "The Karate Kid" so this was just a great year if you were a fan of martial arts.Unfortunately this series didn't live up to the hype. But for me, it still holds a place in my heart because it happens to be the very first show that I ever taped with a VCR - a beta-max no less! I remember watching parts of that first episode over and over again as I marveled over my newfound ability to rewind and replay video.All these years later I can see that the show has no real legacy and was cancelled after just 13 episodes. If you watch this movie, it is really just the first 2 episodes of the series.

Gideon40 I've recently picked up the habit of downloading MST3K episodes, (since they never showed them here) and I have to say Master Ninja is the worst of the 6 mst3k episodes I have. Not that the commentary was bad, but the movie itself. The acting was just atrocious, even deathstalker 3 had better acting than this! The music, was simply painful to hear. Watching two ninjas fight while cheesy 80s synthsizer tunes played in the BG was unbearable. There was this one scene (SPOILER) where 3 ninjas try to kill the master. Instead of prowling on his roof or doing anything remotely stealthy, the ninjas got into these stupid poses and walked right into the master's front door where he was just standing there looking. To give you an idea, imagine 3 ninjas walking behind a paper wall so you can only see their shadows. Then imagine while they're walking, they're in these crane stances like the one in karate kid. It is dumb I know. Thankfully Joel and the Bots made this movie very funny to watch, they always do a good job of that.

the_knightly_one 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.