Gung Ho (TV series)

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Gung Ho
Gung Ho TV Series Title Card.jpg
Genre Comedy
Developed by Edwin Blum
Starring Gedde Watanabe
Scott Bakula
Patti Yasutake
Stephen Lee
Clint Howard
Rodney Kageyama
Scott Atari
Heidi Banks
Sab Shimono
Composer David Michael Frank
Country of originUnited states
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Executive producer John Rappaport
Running time30 minutes (including commercials)
Production companies Imagine Television
Four Way Productions
Paramount Television
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseDecember 5, 1986 (1986-12-5) –
February 9, 1987 (1987-2-9)
Related
Gung Ho (film)

Gung Ho is an American sitcom based on the 1986 film of the same name. The series aired for one season on ABC from December 5, 1986, to February 9, 1987. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

Just like in the movie, the TV series follows the exploits of Hunt Stevenson (here, played by Scott Bakula as opposed to Michael Keaton in the movie), a laid-back American employee liaison of a Japanese car company (Assan Motors) in the fictional city of Hadleyville, Pennsylvania. Much of the humor arises from the abounding clashes between Hunt and the new Japanese plant manager, Kaz Kazuhiro (Gedde Watanabe, reprising his role from the movie) while looking for ways to bridge the culture gap between one another.

Cast

Besides Watanabe, many of the other Japanese actors from the movie also reprised their roles for the series. Clint Howard (brother of Gung Ho movie director Ron Howard) was the only Caucasian actor from the film also to appear in the TV series.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Pilot"Jeff Chambers Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel December 5, 1986 (1986-12-5)
Hunt, acting as labor's liaison to management, tries to restore the job of a fellow worker who brashly expressed his opinion of a new employee rule book. [2]
2"Line of Credit" John Bowab Bruce Ferber & David Lerner December 12, 1986 (1986-12-12)
Hunt uses a new company credit card to entertain a date (Mary-Margaret Humes), an action that lands him back on the assembly line.
3"Talk of the Town" Dick Martin UnknownDecember 26, 1986 (1986-12-26)
Hunt invites Kaz to a civic meeting, where Kaz's straight talk is a hit with the crowd after Hunt's ramblings strike out. [3]
4"Sick and Tired"Dick MartinUnknownJanuary 2, 1987 (1987-1-2)
The flu puts Kaz in bed, leaving Saito in charge, just as a reporter (Earl Boen) arrives to do a story on cooperation between the Americans and the Japanese.
5"Love Me Tender" Art Dielhenn UnknownJanuary 9, 1987 (1987-1-9)
Hunt proclaims himself a one-woman man, but Kaz and Umeki have evidence that his girl friend isn't similarly inclined.
6"Help Wanted"John Bowab James Berg & Stan Zimmerman January 16, 1987 (1987-1-16)
Hunt encourages Umeki to get a job selling TVs and stereos, but Kaz is outraged by the idea of his wife working.
7"Kaz Over Easy (a.k.a. All Work And No Play...)"Dick MartinBruce FerberJanuary 23, 1987 (1987-1-23)
When Kaz's workaholic friend from Japan dies of a heart attack, Kaz drastically alters his own work habits.
8"Where the Boys Are"Dick Martin & George Sunga James Berg & Stan ZimmermanJanuary 30, 1987 (1987-1-30)
Umeki can't contact Kaz to tell him that the prototype he plans to introduce at the auto show was totaled in transit.
9"Brother, Can You Spare a Dollar?"Thomas LofaroUnknownFebruary 6, 1987 (1987-2-6)
A visit from Hunt's brother Eddie (Marc Poppel), a Chicago commodities broker, sparks sibling rivalry. Eddie gets Kaz and Saito to invest in a high risk investment where they end up losing money.

See also

References

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