Martial Law
- TV Series
- 1998–2000
- 45m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
A Shanghai cop who is a master of martial arts fights crime in the Los Angeles Police Department.A Shanghai cop who is a master of martial arts fights crime in the Los Angeles Police Department.A Shanghai cop who is a master of martial arts fights crime in the Los Angeles Police Department.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
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Featured reviews
When I saw Martial Law for the first time when it aired, I was immediately hooked! And I made it my Saturday night ritual! Sammo, Terrel, Grace, and Amy are all very provocative, coloful, and cool characters in their own way. I miss Louis, though. I'm also a big fan of Jackie Chan's movies, too. And the director of this show is the same who did those Jackie Chan movies! In this show, you not only have crimes being solved, you have comedy, cool karate moves, and most of all a fun show to watch!
Even Arsenio Hall is learning some of those slick karate moves, himself, and I love his comedic antics! Sammo is awesome, Grace (Kelly Hu) would make a good role model for young girls who watch this, & she has cool moves like Sammo, and Amy too, and she's cool as the boss!
Even though we're still left hanging from last season's cliffhanger, this show is getting better in every episode they make. I hope CBS renews it for a third season! Either way, it's still an awesome and spectacular show! If you haven't seen it yet, feel free to see this one!
Even Arsenio Hall is learning some of those slick karate moves, himself, and I love his comedic antics! Sammo is awesome, Grace (Kelly Hu) would make a good role model for young girls who watch this, & she has cool moves like Sammo, and Amy too, and she's cool as the boss!
Even though we're still left hanging from last season's cliffhanger, this show is getting better in every episode they make. I hope CBS renews it for a third season! Either way, it's still an awesome and spectacular show! If you haven't seen it yet, feel free to see this one!
I loved this show. This was just mindless entertainment for me. It made me almost forgot the problems of the day or week.
I read some comments saying that Sammo Hung fighting reminded him of Jackie Chan's fighting craziness. I hope so - since they both grew up together the China. Sammo, Jackie and another martial arts actor Yeun Biao(sp?) grew up together and made movies (sometimes, acting together). They were called, in Hong Kong, "The Three Brothers". Their fighting styles were somewhat similar. Here is some small tidbits of info on the show: - In the pilot episode, Sammo had to do his own stunts. From what I read in the papers at the time, his personal stuntman had problems with his paperwork so he couldn't be there to double for Sammo.
I read some comments saying that Sammo Hung fighting reminded him of Jackie Chan's fighting craziness. I hope so - since they both grew up together the China. Sammo, Jackie and another martial arts actor Yeun Biao(sp?) grew up together and made movies (sometimes, acting together). They were called, in Hong Kong, "The Three Brothers". Their fighting styles were somewhat similar. Here is some small tidbits of info on the show: - In the pilot episode, Sammo had to do his own stunts. From what I read in the papers at the time, his personal stuntman had problems with his paperwork so he couldn't be there to double for Sammo.
- In one episode, I found out later, Jackie Chan made a small appearance as a drunk. It was done as a favor from one brother to another. Now, I have to see which episode and what point of the episode.
"Not slow, just fat"
I've been watching this show from the beginning, and I think I'll continue to do so. The action is good, and the story is, as far as I can see, devoid of stupid little flaws. (Then again, I haven't been looking for them). However, the first episode of the second (?) season (the one with the new chief and Jerry Doyle as McQueen) had a small flaw that I noticed without running it on slow motion: A pair of handcuffs breaking, then being whole again in the next cut. I hope there's not a lot of these, as I will be looking forward to the next episode.
The best things about it, in my opinion, are Sammo's wit and a great pace.
I've been watching this show from the beginning, and I think I'll continue to do so. The action is good, and the story is, as far as I can see, devoid of stupid little flaws. (Then again, I haven't been looking for them). However, the first episode of the second (?) season (the one with the new chief and Jerry Doyle as McQueen) had a small flaw that I noticed without running it on slow motion: A pair of handcuffs breaking, then being whole again in the next cut. I hope there's not a lot of these, as I will be looking forward to the next episode.
The best things about it, in my opinion, are Sammo's wit and a great pace.
This show was given a second shot in Season 2 and seriously blew it. For some reason, they brought in Arsenio Hall to try and capitalize on the fame of Rush Hour and it killed the show. Instead of making sexy Kelly Hu Sammo's partner, they pushed her off to the side and that made the show half as good as it could have been.
As the novelty of Sammo Hung wore off, there was nothing in the show to make up for it. Arsenio Hall's antics were more annoying than funny. No further depth was given to Kelly Hu's character. Luckily the show had just enough left to be worthy of syndication. With the combination of Sammo Hung, Kelly Hu, and a magical second season theme by Joel Goldsmith, the son of the great Jerry Goldsmith, the show still has just enough watchability to pull you in and hold you.
Its still fun to watch Sammo Hung's fighting skills. As a child he trained with Jackie Chan in a Peking Opera School, where strict training and harsh discipline were the norm. Despite his size, its easy to see that Sammo Hung is clearly one of the best martial artists in the world.
As the novelty of Sammo Hung wore off, there was nothing in the show to make up for it. Arsenio Hall's antics were more annoying than funny. No further depth was given to Kelly Hu's character. Luckily the show had just enough left to be worthy of syndication. With the combination of Sammo Hung, Kelly Hu, and a magical second season theme by Joel Goldsmith, the son of the great Jerry Goldsmith, the show still has just enough watchability to pull you in and hold you.
Its still fun to watch Sammo Hung's fighting skills. As a child he trained with Jackie Chan in a Peking Opera School, where strict training and harsh discipline were the norm. Despite his size, its easy to see that Sammo Hung is clearly one of the best martial artists in the world.
I can't say enough good things about this show. As a 18-year old action loving teenager, I think this is the best action show on television. But enough about me, let's talk about the show. The show centers on Sammo Law, played by Sammo Hung, as a Chinese cop who trades places with a cop from L.A. Sammo and his student, Grace/Pei-Pei, begin to work as detectives on the L.A.P.D., under the command of Lt. Windship (Tom Wright). Arsenio Hall was thrown into the mix, just for comic relief, as Tyrell Parker. And Louis Mandylor rounds out the group as detective Louis Malone. The characters all work great together. The best part of the show, however, is Sammo's martial arts moves. Sammo is a big guy, but he still manages to kick butt like it's nobody's business. Martial Law is way superior to Walker, Texas Ranger, Nash Bridges, and Sons of Thunder all put together. More people should watch this show so it won't canceled or anything like that.
Did you know
- TriviaAfter season two, CBS offered Sammo Kam-Bo Hung a third season, but Hung said he would not do it without a final say on scripts, claiming that the new screenwriter CBS assigned to the show for season two made him nothing but a fighting machine. An article in Black Belt Magazine mentioned that due to the two million dollar cost of production per episode, the show was cancelled.
- GoofsWhen pistols are fired there are no movement of the weapons slides.
- Quotes
[Terrell's car has been stolen]
Terrell Parker: When we find the guys who did this, I'm gonna open a big can of whoop-ass on them!
Sammo Law: Whoop-ass?
Terrell Parker: Yeah... Whoop-ass... is my kind of karate.
- Crazy creditsBloopers play before each episode's closing credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Target Presents CBS Sneak Peek (1998)
- How many seasons does Martial Law have?Powered by Alexa
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