I am relatively new to the Charlie Chan series and have thoroughly enjoyed them all, more so with the earlier films than the later films. I was thinking of purchasing the tv series. How do they stack up against the movies? Is it worth the cost and time to watch or just a bad imitation of the movie version? I would appreciate your input. Thanks, Richard Hart
Dear Sir: It's just my opinion, but I find "The New Adventures of Charlie Chan" TV show to be quite good. The actors portraying Charlie and his son Barry fulfilled their roles admirably. (J. Carrol Naish and James Hong) That being said the 39 episodes are only available in what I would call "decent" quality. That is to say it's watchable, but Not a crystal clear picture. Also, I must tell you that the program was only half an hour long. It is difficult to develop a complex mystery in so short a time frame. Despite it's drawbacks and lower quality I do reccomend it. I feel it is a legtimate part of the film history of Charlie Chan and well worth the viewing. I'd describe it as a series of mini Chan mysteries.
Ditto to Russel's response. This a good contribution to the Chan canon, J. Carrol Naish is a very creditable Chan, and they are fun for a Quick (30 minute) Chan fix. The first five shows were shot in the US, the remainder in Europe, and after son Barry (James Hong) arrives in show #5, the series picks up. Interestingly this is the only Chan son to be named Barry.... which is actually the name Chan gives to his son, in honor of another character, in one of the original Earl Derr Biggers Chan novels... (Behind That Curtain, I think).
The price is decent, as is the material. Worth acquiring. (And I believe that Rush Glick is working on adding a page to this website on these episodes.)
Here is my two cents, for what it is worth. I have watched all 39 episodes of "The New Adventures of Charlie Chan" and I found them interesting.
I believe the TV series has a stronger link to the Biggers novels than to the previous movies.
If you are expecting mini-movie mysteries, you will be disappointed. "New Adventures" is a crime drama, not a mystery or suspense series. The earlier episodes are the weakest in the series. It took this group a while before they got into the groove of Charlie Chan.
Like all weekly TV series, there are weak episodes and excellent episodes.
The later TV episodes are the better episodes. Naish and Hong work well together, but it bothered me that Number One Son is taller than "Pop." Naish is serious in playing "his" Chan, and Hong brings humor to these serious episodes. When these two actors work together, the series is at its best.
By this time in Chan history, Naish is the fourth actor to play Charlie Chan. There is a bit of a parody in the Naish's character of Chan.
Don't play full-price for this series. There are sources for low-priced DVDs of this series.
