So states the opening monologue of NBC's 1984 action series The Master, starring the prolific "Spaghetti Western" star Lee van Cleef as John Peter McAllister and Timothy van Patten as Max Keller. McAllister, a veteran of World War II, chose to stay in Japan after the war and train as a ninja. However when he receives a letter from his daughter, he returns to the United States in search of her. His departure is seen as a great dishonour to the ninjas and Okasa (Sho Kosugi) is ordered to track him down. Not long after he arrives in the States he meets Max Keller.
Max is a drifter, estranged from his father following the deaths of his mother and brother in a plane crash. He drives around in a customized van and takes odd jobs where he can get them. After meeting McAllister in a bar, he asks to be trained in the ninja arts to help him survive. The series follows their travels across the United States as they search for McAllister's daughter while trying to stay one step ahead of the assassin Okasa.
The Master appealed mainly to those with an interest in action, martial arts, and Japanese culture in general. Throughout the series there are many nods toward the actual practises of ninjutsu and the fight scenes are highly realistic. Sho Kosugi who played Okasa also served as the stunt coordinator as he had extensive training in several martial arts.
A number of notable guest stars appeared in the show, including Demi Moore, Clu Gulager, George Lazenby, and Doug McClure. Unfortunately the show didn't attract a large enough audience and was cancelled after 13 episodes. In the mid-1980s the show was released on VHS, re-edited into a series of 90 minute movies containing two episodes each. In 2018 all the episodes were released in their original format on DVD and Blu-Ray.
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