Martial Law Online

The 1990's were quite disappointing for fans of action shows. Martial Law was one of the few good shows.

Sammo Hung played Sammo Law in this show. He was brilliant. I am not a big fan of Martial Arts shows but this was entertaining. The stunts and the fight scenes were just amazing. Sammo was very agile for his size and there was always fun in watching him beat the bad guys; he always used their own weapons against them. No bad guy could beat Sammo-even if they had a gun or a knife. Sammo just kicked their butts.

Add to this the chemistry between all the characters and the great villains throughout the series and you have one really great show. Check it out.

"Martial Law" is your standard cop show in one way - the actual "cop stuff" is the usual nonsense you can see anywhere on TV, the "same old same old" which makes real cops wince. What makes this show worth watching is the incredible martial arts prowess of the cast - especially Sammo Hung. Just like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, Sammo trained at the Peking Opera School, which makes for a unique - and often funny - style of martial arts. The entire cast works well together, and they can all actually *act* - unlike a certain 'Texas Ranger' who comes on after this show. Lots of comedy in this show - they don't (usually) go for the cheap "Chinaman in America" jokes, and they actually seem to remember what they've done from one show to the next. All of the martial arts used on the set are real - Sammo, obviously, is an expert, and Louis Mandylor ("Louis") is trained in "muy thai" (Thai kickboxing), while Tammy Lauren ("Dana") is a black belt in Karate [I haven't heard a real reason for her departure], and Kellu Hu ("Grace / Pei Pei") is a brown belt in Karate. Tom Wright ("Lt. Winship") is a former stuntman, and does his own stunts in the show as well. And, just as with Jackie Chan's movies, at the end of every episode they have a brief "outtakes" section, showing some of the goofs that occured during the filming of the episode.

Good acting, decent plots, and plenty of kick-butt action, as well as many comedic moments (Sammo playing "Smoke On The Water" on the guitar...) make this a show to watch.

"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.

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!

When "Martial Law" premiered, I was hooked. Sure, it wasn't great art or fabulous writing on display, but the show was goofy fun. But then bit by bit, the producers tinkered with the show, and with each adjustment, the show became worse.

The first misstep happened shortly after the theatrical movie "Rush Hour" became a hit. The producers must have thought "Hey! What this show needs is an obnoxious, hip, and streetwise partner for Sammo Hung!" Shortly afterwards, Arsenio Hall became a cast member, and his character was EXTREMELY annoying.

The next misstep was when the second season of the show premiered. First, the producers had fired several cast members, despite these fired actors and their characters being a very likable bunch. They also ignored or quickly wrote out the plot threads that had been going along in the previous season.

After some time, the producers tinkered with the show again. Suddenly Kelly Hu's character had a COMPLETELY different background, and the show suddenly had the characters fighting with a secret organization that threatened the city each week. This organization was treated with the same goofiness of the evil secret organization in the "Inspector Gadget" animated series.

Fortunately, the show was cancelled after the second season had played out. (And around this time, to Arsenio Hall's credit, he admitted that the show was terrible.) Since this series only ran two seasons, it is highly unlikely that the show will be seen in syndication, at least in North America. Just as well. If you DO get the chance to see the show, watch it until Arsenio Hall appears. Then stop watching!

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.

I started watching this show a while back thinking it would be something decent to watch on a Saturday, thats kinda like Nash Bridges. After a few episodes, I liked this show more than Nash Bridges and I've liked it ever since. Sammo Hung is really good at martial arts and reminds me a lot of the Jackie Chan movies. Areseno Hall adds his fighting style and comedy to the show. Overall the show is really good and you should all watch it!

I tuned in to 'Martial law' a few days ago on UK satellite TV. Well, I've never seen a 'police' series quite like it - it makes Hawaii 5-0 look positively archaic by comparison, Sammo,Grace and Company combine to offer a beautifully choreographed and seemingly non-stop sequence of action packed episodes (aided by some dazzling stunts and clever camerawork ) One can forgive the fact that the rest of the city police force appear to be surplus to requirements and that the plots are sparkling gems of improbability - the whole programme is propelled forward by an irresistible combination of incandescent martial arts skills, transcendental displays of the powers of deduction,coupled with what appears to be an undercurrent of good humour which is never far from the surface.This is a programme which is a fine example of the type of professionalism which maintains credibility but doesn't take itself too seriously.A first class example of comedy/action which is a sheer joy to watch, and mercifully free from cliches and stereotypes.Strongly recommended to those who want to enjoy themselves !

It's great to see Sammo performing stunts in his own show. It's neat that he has made references to training in the Peking Opera and his bouts with the police martial arts instructor provides a good mix of action and comic relief. With the addition of Arsenio Hall the show has gotten better although Arsenio needs to act more like himself than Chris Tucker from Rush Hour.

While you can't always expect a solid story in a stunt show, if the script editors were more thorough they would catch some of the many flaws in each episode. For example: In one episode Sammo and Louis are searching an apartment and Sammo announces where one of the occupants is from. Louis thinks Sammo has used some kind of Chinese detective methods to conclude this but Sammo matter-of-factly states that he read it off the luggage tags. The flaw here is that later in the story we find out that the owner of the luggage flew in on private plane and that would mean no luggage tags would have been issued.

Guest appearances with Jackie Chan or Yuen Biao would be great for the viewers who know the connection between them.

I look forward to this show every week for its action, humor, and foreign flavor. I hope that it can continue to strengthen its cast and story to ensure many more seasons of success!

Martial Law first entered my television set in 1998, it completely surpassed my expectations.

Being a huge Sammo Hung fan already I thought, this cannot be as good as some of his films, I was right, it was a hell of alot better than some of his films.

I have now watched every single episode, and am now watching the re-runs (second time round), and still love it as much now as I did when it first came onto my television.

For Sammo Hung fans, this is a series not to be missed. For Martial Arts fans, this is a fantastic array of stunts, humour, tricks, tips and kick-ass.

This series truly is a wonderful masterpiece, by a wonderful, talented, brilliant and artistic person, Mr Sammo Hung.

I am just now hoping there will be a new series and a video/DVD release of the old series, it would be a shame if there were not.

This show is a new idea that definitely worked! However, I have read a review that says that this show is "better than that lame Texas Ranger show." I say this is a total copy of "Walker, Texas Ranger." It has the same plot and everything. Plus, I think it is a little more childish than "Walker." But even still, this is a really, really good show that all martial arts and/or crime fighting fans should definitely watch.

I loved this show, espically the first series - it was a great way of watching a "Jackie Chan / Sammo Hung" -esque movie without paying the hefty price tag for the cinema ticket / video rental.

The show had lots of action in it. Sure it didn't have as much action as say the big budget action movies, but it tried hard and it was a real hoot...

The plot lines were sometimes done very well - one time there was a plot about a drugs baron wanting to see his son - and they were dealt with quite well...although other times they were very painful...most of the time it had Sammo tracking down his arch-nemesis from China.

But unfortuently it soon went downhill, the introduction of Arsenio "Coming to America" Hall didn't help the show, however sexy Kelly Hu defintley did...the action was still good - but it sometimes went to the extremes of blowing things up for no reason with the storylines left the casaulty...

With all TV shows like this you have the obligitary ninja epsiode, the obligitary duel to death with arch-nemesis episode (to be honest, once the arch-nemesis was gone, the show ran out of steam), and other episodes which may have you thinking "am I watching Batman (1966) or a cool 1998 TV show?"

Anyway, there were brief returns to normality such as Sammo looking for his son - but it came to nothing, as half way through the second series, the plug was pulled...its a shame we never got good strong plots, and its a shame that in the plots Sammo never seemed to get hurt in fights or even looked like he was going to lose.

I guess all that doesn't matter, its a very entertaining show, and I guess that's all that counts.

Why do you ruin your chances of receiving a much higher rating by utilizing the extremely poor acting skills of Arsenio Hall? The only decent actor in the entire cast is the lieutenant.

Empty suits: the invisible destroyers of TV shows

Season 1 ended with a cliffhanger that was completely ignored in season 2's opener. This is the meaning of the word frustration. Sammo was excellent. Arsenio's addition was criticized but I thought he added to the show. (The dynamic is nothing like Chan and Tucker in Rush Hour.) Season two got rid of Sammo's hottie potential love interest Julia Campbell. They got rid of Lieutenant Winship and Detective Malone. Sammo was upset over season 2's scripts and that coupled with high production costs led the suits to close the show. This is where a syndicate would come in and take over but it didn't happen in this case.

I highly recommended crime who.

I watched this show as a kid and it was a fun show to watch. Best moment were the stunts and fight scenes. Sad good shows are short lived.

Hmm need more animated amazing chan charlie chan. Cancelled two years, the cats more Asian token.

I had never heard of this but stumbled on it and it's a hoot. Well worth the time.

I just finished Episode 1 of Season 1. I was reminded of the Rush Hour movies. The bottled blonde on the series in was completely idiotic. She couldn't hold a gun properly. She didn't know what she was doing with the gun when she walked, when she ran, when she did anything. Whoever was working with her to get her moves right did a lousy job. The show itself was completely lame and idiotic. No successful completion in getting the bad guys. If episode is an example of the rest, it's no surprise it only lasted two years. The question is how did it manage to get to season 2.

"Martial Law" was a throwback to the days of cop shows that put action above studies of the tortured hero's homelife, all grit and gristle. Twenty years ago "NYPD Blue" would have been cancelled after two years and this one would have run and run, rather than the other way around. But hey, Burger King can be as satisfying as a seventeen-course banquet.

Devoted credit watchers might have seen all the signs of a series in trouble (all those producer and cast changes in the first season - although for the most part the cast changes worked; Terrell is far less irritating than Dana), and the second series hasn't worked as well as the first, but it's still entertaining, and even has some surprisingly effective moments of drama (such as Grace's reason for not wanting to face the villains in "Friendly Skies," also Kelly Hu's best work so far).

As far as silly cop shows go, this is far better than most. (And unlike most series that change themes, Joel Goldsmith's propulsive music is as good as (while entirely different to) Mike Post's first-season one.)

This show was great for its first ten episodes, and it was an excellent alternative to renting a Jackie Chan film on Saturday nights, but somewhere around its tenth episode the show took a nose dive into idiocy. Is there a law somewhere saying Chinese martial arts stars must ALWAYS be paired up with a wise-cracking black cop? And what's with the cheesy 60's plotlines? I've seen better scripts on the back of a cereal box. To be fair, the last couple of episodes featuring Sammo's son were entertaining, but only because the show managed to be serious for a few moments.

Sammo Hung and Arsenio Hall are like two best comic partners in crime-fighting. I like Sammo's moves. Arsenio needs to be even more talented in martial arts. Whenever Sammo and Arsenio are together, it becomes very thrilling. I've never seen a cop TV show like this one, the one who never ever gives up.

Another thing! I also like that cute one who is in that show, she's Grace (Kelly Hu). I've also seen her talented moves too.

This show is one of the best martial arts series of many years.

Although the plots can be unusual, the out-takes at the end of each show make up for this.

Terrell Parker may have a good on-screen relationship with Sammo, he will never replace Dana Doyle.

I used to stay home on Saturdays for this show. It had great action scenes and the story, while not always great, held the show together. I also loved the rotund hero Sammo Hung, whose acting was Jackie Chan-esque Bring this show back! If you want to cancel a show, cancel Walker.

This show is awesome!!!! The series is the best!!! I like all the characters especially Sammo and Arsenio Hall! However, some of the plots remind me of the ones that were featured on an earlier action series -- High Tide(1994). The producers should keep up the good work and the network that airs this series should be thanking God for this one!!!!