The Last Ninja (1983) was a pilot for a TV series that never happened. The movie took a more mature take (like the Karate Kid) of the Ninja Boom era. Unfortunately, the 80s (excessive and extreme) wanted no part of it.
It's a great show .. not like magnum at all. CBS wanted to turn it into Magnum though. All the episodes are on UA-cam, check it out. Some amazing fight scenes.
When you have sho kosugi plaing Okasa aka also played in ninja abomination, ninja assassination ,enter the ninja,revenge of the ninja, pray for death.the master, you knew it was going be cool.shouldve had kosugi playing the lead role
I saw the last ninja with my mother when it came out. I was 14. To say that it was different would be an understatement. But I was surprised to never see it again until 5 years ago on UA-cam, and I remembered everything. That's how much the movie stuck with me.
I recorded it when it first aired and watched it until the tape broke. IMHO the closest to an accurate Ninja movie. No wild flips or antique weapons taking out machine guns. Misdirection, fear, intimidation, manipulation, using the environment, Tai sabaki, really good stuff. 👍
5:33 - “Jonathan Raven (Jeffrey Meek) was an American boy, being raised in Japan, until his parents were killed by assassins. To avenge their death, he joined the Black Dragons, the very organization that murdered his parents. Now in Hawaii, with the help of his old military buddy, “Ski” (Lee Majors), he is searching for the son he has never seen.”
Raven....Baywatch meets PI detective story....with Ninjas! TV gold for sure. Lee Majors was once the Fall Guy and The $6 Million Dollar man, now drunk sidekick.
all awesome! Loved The Master when I was a kid! Unfortunately didn't know the others, would've loved them as well. Everything with ninjas in it was amazingly awe-inspiring to me by default! :)
(During Training hanging from a rope) "Can I come down now?" "No!" "Why?"..."Come down in a few hours?" "What are you going to do?" "I'm gonna take a nap" - Last Ninja
The Last Ninja never made it beyond the pilot episode, but it was the only one of the three that treated the subject material seriously. You can get it on DVD and worth the money. The Master was okay, never liked the Van Patten kid, but Lee Van Cliff was always great and of course Sho Kosugi was amazing. Raven, never watched it. Didn’t have an appeal to me.
It would have been better if they cast someone other than a Hollywood fake martial arts celebrity-- his moves were better suited for roller skating in Xanadu!
Least convincing Ninja-- the first one-- looks like Ashida Kim was his stunt double in the intro/opening ninja silhouette showing off his "master" moves!!!!
The Last Ninja and The Master were both shown on ITV while Raven was on Sky One and both The Master and The Last Ninja are now owned and distributed by ViacomCBS-Paramount
This was a TV pilot back in 1983 that from what i remember was shown in 1983 and again in 1993. Unfortunately it never caught on. It didnt have an 80s action feel or or was over the top with the Ninja skills. I guess at that time it was more in demand. It was a very good movie on own.
Given the opening titles, I'm not remotely surprised The Last Ninja never went any further. The Master, on the other hand, did pretty well with what it had. If only it had left uncut all of its post-High Rollers episodes (meaning the freeze-frame sequences for all episodes, beginning with Fat Tuesday), it would have been on to something. Raven had the best run out of the three, not taking itself too seriously but nor being one-note one-dimensional. The true history of the craft runs far deeper than anyone thinks.
Racist much, you saying whites can't train or have the dedication to be a martial artist but a black man who never receive any formal training under a butcher like oda nobunaga can be called a samurai..
Looking at 'The Master', it makes me wonder if it influenced the creation of 'Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'. Seems to have the same dynamic duo archetype of the wise old master and the young hotshot protégé.
ABC and NBC were racist for not having Mako and Sho Kosugi the lead good guys in there shows. Jeffrey Meek in Raven said that he looks back fondly on his time as Raven, and went on to say that he was sorry the show was cancelled so soon, as he would have liked to seen the character and his relationships evolve more through the years. According to Jeffrey Meek, they were constantly getting lots of flak from CBS, who wanted the show to stay away from the "all the Japanese stuff" as they called it. When speaking of Raven's cancellation in a 1993 interview, star Jeff Meek said, "There were too many people involved in the creative process, all with their own opinions, telling the show what it should be like. One of the big problems was that the writers were in Hollywood and we were in Hawaii."
The Master wasthebest known, and right at the height of the Ninja boom, with Sho Kosugi, star of the Ninja film trilogy, as the bad guy. Typical Figitive plot, pursued by a nemesis, looking for the family member, daughter in this case, with lay side kick. Dukes of Hazzard county week to week, good old boy enemies to defeat, like Roadhouse. John was the old Master, rather than a young star, in a way, the most believable of them. Cancelled after one season
The Last Ninja was a pilot film that never got made into a series, despite its potential. Like The Power Within or Northstar. Most intense back story, no fugitive element. Had the secret identity, superhero take, plus the Airwolf working for the government agency bit Used the ninja master of disguise more than any tv character, apart from Hannibal in The A Team A Knight Rider feel about it, missions from a boss, one man making a difference, ninja skills rather than a super vehicle Almost a new take on Batman or even Daredevil
Magnum Adds the Fugitive element, now chased by not one Ninja like Okasa, but the whole Black Dragon clan Searching for a son, rather than a daughter The side kick polarity is reversed, the hero is now young, while the sidekick is old. Magnum military element added, as they were Army buddies, went through the war together, etc Interestingly, Lee Majors is recruited as Ski, who everyone knows as Six Million Dollar Man the Fall Guy, so an icon, as well as a veteran actor The word Ninja is never used Raven is his actual name, not some code name. Obvious Tengu reference, though they were a crow not a Raven While the Master travelled all over the US, in his dual role as Fugitive and Seeker, from Osaka and Daughter respectively, Raven stays on Hawaii . Which makes you wonder how hard would it be to find the son on the island. Or for the Black Dragons, a group not one person, to catch and finish him Which makes you wonder why the Hulk, The Fugitive, The Immortal, Caine in Kung Fu, and The Littlest Hobo made it so hard Running from reporter Jack Magee, Lt Gerard, the dying old cancer man, the authorities, while looking for cure, one armed man, brother, or brother Not sure what the dog was running from or looking for
To my recollection, Raven had a great pilot episode and then promptly began to suck after that. I think I made it about halfway through the season and lost interest.
Wish producers had the balls to let Kosugi take the lead. The series might have survived if that were the case. Van Cleef looks ridiculous in a ninja costume, and he moves like he looks.
I concur. I like Lee Van Cleif in Westerns but he was not convincing as an occidental ninja. They should've gotten someone like Chuck Norris to do the role if they didn't want Kosugi to lead. At least we would've had the treat of seeing two authentic martial artists go at each other.
Aside from the Master, I didn’t know the other two even existed.
The Last Ninja (1983) was a pilot for a TV series that never happened. The movie took a more mature take (like the Karate Kid) of the Ninja Boom era. Unfortunately, the 80s (excessive and extreme) wanted no part of it.
I used to watch Raven. Lee Majors was in it.
I remembered watching "The Master " and I vaguely remembered seeing "The Last Ninja"
But, never even heard of "Raven"
Me either were was I working I was around 15
I remember Raven because I'm a fan of Lee Majors. Also Jeffery Meeks played Lord Rayden in the Mortal Kombat tv series.
I honestly can't remember "The Last Ninja," but I would have loved it back then. I watched "The Master" religiously.
It was only a TV movie, but it was a bit different from the standard Ninja stuff
The Master ! Epic Series Lee van Clif was awesome and Mako was awesome as a narrator as well
Never heard of Raven. Was even more surprised to see Lee Majors was in it. The intro looks like a cross between Baywatch mixed with martial arts.
I say more Magnum PI mixed with martial arts.
It's a great show .. not like magnum at all. CBS wanted to turn it into Magnum though. All the episodes are on UA-cam, check it out. Some amazing fight scenes.
When you have sho kosugi plaing Okasa aka also played in ninja abomination, ninja assassination ,enter the ninja,revenge of the ninja, pray for death.the master, you knew it was going be cool.shouldve had kosugi playing the lead role
^This I Absolutely Agree On.
I saw the last ninja with my mother when it came out. I was 14. To say that it was different would be an understatement. But I was surprised to never see it again until 5 years ago on UA-cam, and I remembered everything. That's how much the movie stuck with me.
If he was the last ninja how they make more movies and series about ninjas after that?
I remember Mako was in it.
I recorded it when it first aired and watched it until the tape broke. IMHO the closest to an accurate Ninja movie. No wild flips or antique weapons taking out machine guns. Misdirection, fear, intimidation, manipulation, using the environment, Tai sabaki, really good stuff. 👍
The last ninja was amazing!! Trying to get a copy now as my video of it has died..
The master was the best would haul ass home to see cause sho was the best ninja good guy or bad sho was great
5:33 - “Jonathan Raven (Jeffrey Meek) was an American boy, being raised in Japan, until his parents were killed by assassins. To avenge their death, he joined the Black Dragons, the very organization that murdered his parents. Now in Hawaii, with the help of his old military buddy, “Ski” (Lee Majors), he is searching for the son he has never seen.”
Had to fit every cliche they could in there.
@@iaincowell9747 Ah, but it still intrigues the heart
I didn't know raven and the last ninja anyway best intro is the master... simply awesome..
Its interesting to note that The Last Ninja was created by Ed Spielman, the same guy who a decade earlier created the classic tv series Kung Fu.
Spielman didn't create that-- he ripped the idea off from Bruce Lee!
@@algallego Whatever. His name is listed in the credits of Kung Fu. He is the creator of the show regardless of what you are saying.
@@rangers199487 he produced it, not created it. Bruce Lee created it.
Going from Mako to Tim Van Patten in the voiceovers results in a drastic reduction of awesomeness!
I could never find The Master on tv, so I would rent the tapes... lol
It is on Tubi TV for the moment.
The Last Ninja is available on DVD now, I saw it in the UK on ITV back in 1988, one off, never aired again to my knowledge.
That's the copy I had LOL
Raven....Baywatch meets PI detective story....with Ninjas! TV gold for sure. Lee Majors was once the Fall Guy and The $6 Million Dollar man, now drunk sidekick.
all awesome! Loved The Master when I was a kid! Unfortunately didn't know the others, would've loved them as well. Everything with ninjas in it was amazingly awe-inspiring to me by default! :)
The Master! It was must see tv for me.
Every Friday night, in front of the tv w/ a bowl of C-3PO cereal....
I can't get enough of that The Master theme.
TV series shows that I often watch when I was little when I was 6-7 years old.
Never seen the last ninja but that music does nothing for the opening sequence. Whereas The Master..perfect!🤩
The ninja moves in silhouetted from look like they hired "MASTER" Ashida Kim to do the choreography! BwaaaHahahahahahahahah!!!!
The last ninja is way better than the master way more realistic and true to ninjitsu
@@thecodingmaster2466 But the opening credits were a stinker in comparison to the Master. Raven was the best of both worlds.
"You are strong..." -- The Last Ninja
(During Training hanging from a rope) "Can I come down now?" "No!" "Why?"..."Come down in a few hours?" "What are you going to do?" "I'm gonna take a nap" - Last Ninja
man, i wish i could find these on youtube. Im a sucker for Ninja stuff
I remember watching Raven on CBS and now watching the intro was a little painful. lol
What sort of debauchery are they getting up to in Japan when they've all got kids they never knew about?
The pilot movie for Raven is pretty good.
The Last Ninja never made it beyond the pilot episode, but it was the only one of the three that treated the subject material seriously. You can get it on DVD and worth the money. The Master was okay, never liked the Van Patten kid, but Lee Van Cliff was always great and of course Sho Kosugi was amazing. Raven, never watched it. Didn’t have an appeal to me.
Given Frank Lupo's track record after leaving Stephen J. Cannell's side, you probably wise to skip "Raven".
Warriors, come out and plaaa-E-aaay.
Only film this Michael Beck Person did that was Worthwhile.
In the early '80s you could get almost every throwing star design imaginable..but not the coolest one of all, the one in the "The Master" opening.
It's probably because it came from the Sho Kosugi private collection.
The Last Ninja had the best script out of all of them.
A more believable partner and a far BETTER back-story explaining his origin in greater detail.
It would have been better if they cast someone other than a Hollywood fake martial arts celebrity-- his moves were better suited for roller skating in Xanadu!
@@algallego I did enjoy this Actor in the Warriors, Though.
@@algallego You remember the scene at the dock where he was cast free of his motorbike and landed square in the drink?
Loved the last ninja
Least convincing Ninja-- the first one-- looks like Ashida Kim was his stunt double in the intro/opening ninja silhouette showing off his "master" moves!!!!
The Master.. Loved it..
"The Master" was the series that introduced me to Sho Kosugi
I loved all three and was disappointed they were cancelled. 😔☹
"The Last Ninja" wasn't 'canceled'. It was a one-shot MFTV movie.
All three were great!
Lot of teeth in that last intro it made me share it aswell. The nineties must have been fun😎
Raven ist the best
Before seeing The Master on MST3K (under the Film Ventures Home Video title "Master Ninja"), I only vaguely remember seeing it on prime time TV.
The Last Ninja and The Master were both shown on ITV while Raven was on Sky One and both The Master and The Last Ninja are now owned and distributed by ViacomCBS-Paramount
Lee Van Cleef was a legit bad@$$. He had the look, the voice and the presence of a man you do not want to be on the wrong side of.
AWESOME Intros What a Memories🎉
Was that the A Team van in the opening credits to The Master
Raven always gives me goosebumps
i only know Master Ninja and Raven, i haven't The Last Ninja. And Raven is the reason study martial arts.
The raven looked dope was that colt Seaver's like a ninja magnum p.i.
Font recall the last ninja, i do remember the master and raven
This was a TV pilot back in 1983 that from what i remember was shown in 1983 and again in 1993.
Unfortunately it never caught on. It didnt have an 80s action feel or or was over the top with the Ninja skills. I guess at that time it was more in demand. It was a very good movie on own.
NBC also had Samurai (1979) with Joe Penny.
The Last Ninja theme reminds me of Friday the 13th theme :D
the master is the best
I never heard of The Raven. I saw the other two when I was a kid.
Given the opening titles, I'm not remotely surprised The Last Ninja never went any further.
The Master, on the other hand, did pretty well with what it had. If only it had left uncut all of its post-High Rollers episodes (meaning the freeze-frame sequences for all episodes, beginning with Fat Tuesday), it would have been on to something.
Raven had the best run out of the three, not taking itself too seriously but nor being one-note one-dimensional. The true history of the craft runs far deeper than anyone thinks.
Saudades dessa época!!
Raven, the best!!!
Totally agree. I used to tape the episodes off CBS onto VHS to watch for years later, until they finally started dropping them on DVD.
@@ravenfive I did the same!!
It's always hilarious how Anglo Saxons are trained by ninjas and samurai 🤣🤣🤣
Racist much, you saying whites can't train or have the dedication to be a martial artist but a black man who never receive any formal training under a butcher like oda nobunaga can be called a samurai..
Looking at 'The Master', it makes me wonder if it influenced the creation of 'Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'. Seems to have the same dynamic duo archetype of the wise old master and the young hotshot protégé.
Please does anyone know where I can watch the last ninja. I use to watch that almost everyday on VHS as a kid in the 80s 90s.
Raven!!! I looooved that TV series when I was growing up, you can't go wrong when you mix martial arts with hot babes!! 😄
The last ninja was my favorite. But as a kosugi and cleef fan i had to watch the master. The other bored me
ABC and NBC were racist for not having Mako and Sho Kosugi the lead good guys in there shows.
Jeffrey Meek in Raven said that he looks back fondly on his time as Raven, and went on to say that he was sorry the show was cancelled so soon, as he would have liked to seen the character and his relationships evolve more through the years. According to Jeffrey Meek, they were constantly getting lots of flak from CBS, who wanted the show to stay away from the "all the Japanese stuff" as they called it. When speaking of Raven's cancellation in a 1993 interview, star Jeff Meek said, "There were too many people involved in the creative process, all with their own opinions, telling the show what it should be like. One of the big problems was that the writers were in Hollywood and we were in Hawaii."
The Master wasthebest known, and right at the height of the Ninja boom, with Sho
Kosugi, star of the Ninja film trilogy, as the bad guy.
Typical Figitive plot, pursued by a nemesis, looking for the family member, daughter in this case, with lay side kick. Dukes of Hazzard county week to week, good old boy enemies to defeat, like Roadhouse. John was the old Master, rather than a young star, in a way, the most believable of them.
Cancelled after one season
The Last Ninja was a pilot film that never got made into a series, despite its potential. Like The Power Within or Northstar.
Most intense back story, no fugitive element. Had the secret identity, superhero take, plus the Airwolf working for the government agency bit
Used the ninja master of disguise more than any tv character, apart from Hannibal in The A Team
A Knight Rider feel about it, missions from a boss, one man making a difference, ninja skills rather than a super vehicle
Almost a new take on Batman or even Daredevil
Raven takes the American Ninja concept to Hawaii so we have a Nagnum feel to the show
Magnum
Adds the Fugitive element, now chased by not one Ninja like Okasa, but the whole Black Dragon clan
Searching for a son, rather than a daughter
The side kick polarity is reversed, the hero is now young, while the sidekick is old.
Magnum military element added, as they were Army buddies, went through the war together, etc
Interestingly, Lee Majors is recruited as Ski, who everyone knows as Six Million Dollar Man the Fall Guy, so an icon, as well as a veteran actor
The word Ninja is never used
Raven is his actual name, not some code name. Obvious Tengu reference, though they were a crow not a Raven
While the Master travelled all over the US, in his dual role as Fugitive and Seeker, from Osaka and Daughter respectively, Raven stays on Hawaii . Which makes you wonder how hard would it be to find the son on the island. Or for the Black Dragons, a group not one person, to catch and finish him
Which makes you wonder why the Hulk, The Fugitive, The Immortal, Caine in Kung Fu, and The Littlest Hobo made it so hard
Running from reporter Jack Magee, Lt Gerard, the dying old cancer man, the authorities, while looking for cure, one armed man, brother, or brother
Not sure what the dog was running from or looking for
at 2:16 I thought the Ninja was taking a leak
Wait...Michael Beck from the Warriors?
I would have said Michael Beck from Megaforce and Houston Knights, but yes, he was also in Warriors and Xanadu.
Swan and Raven
He hates Xanadu...
I thought he looked familiar. I was just about to look him up but then I saw your comment.
@@AllRequired Xanadu Certainly Isn't For Everyone.
nice, thanks
So many white Ninjas
Muito bacana,Lee Van Cleef do faroeste pras Artes Marcias
Knew about the 1st 2, but don't remember Raven at all...
The Last Ninja was never a Series, Only a Pilot.
The Master...looks oddly familiar...
To my recollection, Raven had a great pilot episode and then promptly began to suck after that. I think I made it about halfway through the season and lost interest.
nobody did it better then sho only one would gave sho a run for the money blk star nina from america, ninja
They should have Ninja program where the audience does not know who the ninja is.
Michael Bowie now that is a epic idea!
IS A NEW TYPE OF JAPANESE CAMERA
Interesting idea
I thought the last ninja was just a TV movie.
Wish producers had the balls to let Kosugi take the lead. The series might have survived if that were the case. Van Cleef looks ridiculous in a ninja costume, and he moves like he looks.
I concur. I like Lee Van Cleif in Westerns but he was not convincing as an occidental ninja. They should've gotten someone like Chuck Norris to do the role if they didn't want Kosugi to lead. At least we would've had the treat of seeing two authentic martial artists go at each other.
@@wilykat or even if they'd gotten the actor who played the title character in the first two "American Ninja" movies
@@wilykat great idea but Chuck Norris would have been expensive to get.
@@karlsmith2570 Michael Dudikoff was trying to get his movie career started. Im not sure he would have agreed to a television series.
Didn’t Jeff meek play raider in Mortal Kombat and ended the series with shao Kahn killing all the main characters.
The Master was the best.
The last ninja was way better and more realistic to ninjitsu
@@thecodingmaster2466 Could be but The Master sounds more epic 👌👍💪
The Last Ninja, lol. That was some terrible opening music. The Master has a great intro. Especially with the music, and Sho Kusugi being in the show.
la serie Raven" parece la intro de Baywach wtf!?
Isn´t "the last ninja" a film?
It was the 2 hour pilot for a TV series that didn't get picked up.
গ্যুগ্লচ্যকচ্র্যক্র
The Last Ninja was a “made for TV” movie. It was never a series.
Actually, it was the pilot for a proposed TV series that unfortunately didn't get picked up.
@@KosugiChronicles : Child of the 80s but looking back TV executives made some messed up decisions on great ideas.
@@KosugiChronicles correct. It was supposed to be a series
I imagine if the Last Ninja had gone to Series, It would have lasted one season.